Document YD0LvwdkVYrOE7x0mOO6KmaqE

r CONFIDENTIAL Subject to Protective Order in Boss v. Conoco, Inc., No. 90-4837 14th Judicial District Court Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana STAFF REPORT by William J. Driver March 13, 1974 EXHIBIT H Vinyl chloride/polyvinyl chloride producers were shocked to learn January 23 that the B. F. Goodrich ChemicaL Company had experienced four cases of fatal angiosarcoma of the liver among the former employees of its Louisville VC/PVC operations. Goodrich's prompt recognition of the probable occupational relationship was made possible by the infor mation developed in research programs sponsored by European producers. This information was made available through an information-sharing arrangement between the European and U. S. projects, the latter on animal exposure and epidemiological studies under MCA administration. After Goodrich had reported its findings to state and Federal occupational health authorities on January 23, Goodrich officials met with representatives of the U. S. project sponsors and with European company observers on January 25, and panels were established to develop industry recommendations on medical surveillance, work practices and industrial hygiene monitoring and analyses. In response to an invitation by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), MCA also submitted a list of available industry experts, and NIOSH named Dr. Z. G. Bell of PPG, C. G. Kramer, M.D., of Dow, M. N. Johnson, M.D., of Goodrich, Dr. W, Mayo Smith of Air Products and Chemicals and R. N. Wheeler of Union Carbide to its panel of consultants. The first meeting of the panel was on February 12, following a NIOSH briefing of industry and labor representatives on the VC/PVC problem in Cleveland. On February 15, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) held an informal hearing in Washington to solicit data on whether it should promulgate temporary emergency standards for vinyl chloride or whether it should develop permanent standards. MCA outlined the history of its activities in research on vinyl chloride hazards and recommended the latter course. CMA 01253 STAFF REPORT March 13, 1974 page 2 jss MCA also suggested to the European producers it would be helpful if Professor Cesare Maltoni of the Institute of Oncology, Bologna, Italy, and director of the European research program came to the United States and presented a full report on work in progress. Following his testimony, Professor Maltoni met with representatives of MCA's animal exposure and epidemiology study contractors. Professor Maltoni, in describing his research, showed a high incidence of tumors (predominantly angiosarcoma) among rats exposed to vinyl chloride concentrations of 250 ppm and greater. A subsequent study, involving larger numbers of animals exposed to levels between 50 and 250 ppm, is still incomplete and no significance can be given to the failure so far to observe any tumors. The present national consensus standard is 500 ppm. The technical representatives of companies partici pating in the MCA project are recommending a breathing zone target of 50 ppm to be achieved as rapidly as feasible and the adoption of work practices that will minimize all worker exposure. They also recommend controlling the residual monomer in the resin to levels that will provide adequate protection to production workers using polyvinyl chloride. *** CMA 012536