Document ZBQdeZxORROgwkyd3JYMkGnV0

MINUTES VINYL CHLORIDE SAFETY ASSOCIATION MEETING Philadelphia, Pennsylvania April 17 and 18, 1974 DISTRIBUTION LIST A. Vittone R. D. Scott J. L. Nelson E. W. Harrington G. H. Metzger L. B. Crider E. G. Sehvaegerle A. M. Fairlie C. R. Flynn JH. Waltestate B. M. G. Zvicker W. J. Wilcox__________ / R. N. Rylands P. H. Lawrence A. R. Webber C. B. Cooper A. W. dements C. L. Woods E. B. Katzenaeyer, Jr B. A. DlLiddo W. E. Brodine R- M. Kreager H. N. Johnson T. R. Linek R. L, Toole COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL BFG62292 0172001 N n FJ (.1 CJ minutes VINYL CHLORIDE SAFETY ASSOCIATION MEETING Philadelphia, Pennsylvania April 17 and 18, 1974 John T. Barr reviewed Che OSHA Temporary Emergency Standards for vinyl chloride. He also mentioned that Che MCA toxicology study had shown that two mice developed angiosarcoma when exposed to SO ppm of vinyl chloride. This may now change these OSHA Standards. The goal is to have a permanent standard by June or July. The present temporary emergency standards ap ply anyplace where vinyl chloride would be present. This would not only include PVC manufacturers, but would include all customers of resin and compound. Personnel monitoring on a ten-minute sample basis will be re quired to meet the OSHA Standards. Half of the companies present at the meeting are presently using a half face, mask while the others are using full-face masks for air supplied masks. Host people plan to put in air supply systems and are currently using bottled air. .Two-thirds of the companies represented use air res pirators for areas of vinyl chloride concentration greater than 50 ppm. Five other companies besides Goodrich use respirators for reactor clean ing. One-third of the people represented plan to implement the OSHA Emergency Temporary Standards by Monday, April 22, 1974. Several companies reported that changing of charging procedures and opening of reactors helped meet. lower residual monomer requirements. Airco has now gone to filling the poly with water before opening it. This has measuredly reduced vinyl chloride content. The water is then discharged to a remote area. A vac uum system could be used for evacuating the reactor prior to opening, but Airco felt that this would require more time. General Tire at Painesville reported that they have an EPA standard for the water discharged of three parts per million vinyl chloride max. Twelve of the companies present monitored their dryer vents. One repor ted values below 50, four reported values of 50 to 200, and seven reported values of 200 and greater. Ventilation and air flow was discussed, and six people take die intake air for the dryers from inside the building. This is wasteful of fuel but helps improve the ventilation. Goodyear plans to provide 30 air changes per hour. No companies had any ideas on how to eliminate vinyl chloride vapors to the atmosphere. Someone mentioned it sight be scrubbed out with kerosine or red oil and then distilled to remove vinyl chloride later. One plant in Germany apparently is using charcoal to scrub all exhaust. Dow is working on a destructive method for vinyl chloride to convert it to HC1 for scrubb ing before releasing it to the atmosphere. BFG62293 4> ** O ?; (V; o h' 10 u *%i VC1 Safety Association Aoril 17-18, 1974 - Minutes Page 2 Four people besides Goodrich provided daily change of clothing. Imper vious suits, or raingear, are used by American Chemical Company. The question was brought up regarding a time velghted average and is the time velghted average really necessary now that the April 5th Emergency Temporary OSHA Standards are issued. The Emergency Temporary Standards are concerned with a ceiling value rather than a time velghted average. It vas reported that the SFI is going to represent the FVC industry in a public hearing with OSHA. Twenty companies do not know if they will testify on the proposed standard or not. Three of four companies indica ted that they would testify regarding tne proposed standard. Shell demonstrated and discussed their personnel monitoring system by collecting a sample of vinyl chloride containing air in a plastic bag. This method appears to be very reliable, and does not have the disadvan tage of deabsorbing the vinyl chloride from the charcoal trap. The bag can also be kneaded in order to mix the air sample up before running it through the chromatograph. With their bag system, they can monitor a job for eight hours. Shorter samples can also be taken. They claim the bag method is accurate to one part per million. Most people reported they were using Bendix or MSA pumps to do personnel monitoring. The sipin pump vas demonstrated at a room during the evening. This pump appears to do a good job for low flow rates, but the charcoal collecting tube needs to be enlarged. Most companies reported about 90100Z recovery from the charcoal crap. Several are using Pittsburgh PCB-type carbon 12530 mesh supplied by the Calgon Company. Twenty-four companies are doing personnel monitoring. Three are using the bag method and one is using the gas sample tubes. All others are using the carbon trap method. Bullard has a solid state personnel monitor which ve have in trial at Avon Lake. Some companies expressed interest in this system. Eight plants reported they have had OSHA inspections. Seven plants repor ted visits by NIOSR, and three of these people had return visits by NIOSH. 2. Pete Bogart of Tenneco reported on the 36,000 gallon car of vinyl chloride that vas turned upside down in the roadway in Philadelphia, Pa. The vapor excess flow valve held; however, the liquid excess flow valve which was in the vapor space did not hold. They turned the car back upright to 45* and then the dip leg in the liquid spewed monomer into the street. They vere able to design a clamp to close up the leak on the spot. They now have a kit to do this on a routine basis. They had 750 gallon a minute fire water monitor on the ear and the water from this was washed from this into the river. OSHA had representatives on the site. According to Pete, they in terfered with his people working to stop the vinyl chloride leak and to get the monomer into trucks. OSHA was concerned about carcogenic effect of the people in the immediate area. They felt everyone close to the operation should be wearing Scott airpaeks. The people actually working on the car vere wearing Scott airpaeks. However, OSHA wanted the crane operators and these .type, people who were anywhere within 50 feet of the car to wear Scott airpaeks. Generally, they interfered with the operation of getting the w O k-;. BFG62294 U 00 ---- ---- -- April 17-18, 1974 - Minutes Page 3 monomer contained. They were cold that they would be cited for exposure to levels of vinyl chloride above 50 ppm. 3. It was reported that 16 companies who are fabricators (also PVC manufac turers) have started monitoring for vinyl chloride vapors. They have found high levels in the compounding operation, especially when handling bulk resin. Suspension resin in ribbon blenders have obtained values as high as 500 parts per million on both OVA and gas chromatographic analysis. A poll was then taken to determine what each company could live with. No company would agree to a ceiling value for vinyl chloride vapor since instan taneous leaks could cause high values. Concerning time weighted averages, the . poll showed the following results for PVC manufacturers: 10 parts per million -- 5 companies can live with this value' (this includes B. F. Goodrich) 20 parts per million -- 4 companies 30 parts per million -- 6 companies 40 parts per million -- 19 companies 50 parts per million -- 5 companies Vinyl chloride monomer producers: 10 parts per million -- 7 companies 20 parts per million -- 2 companies 4. Hr. C. H. Kim reported on the MCA studies. Only one company admitted to not belonging to the MCA, and this was Atlantic Tubing. The HCA does not want to get Involved with further work with vinyl chloride monomer because of the political and economic impact. Therefore, each individual company is going to have to develop their own rebuttal to the OSHA proposed standards. HCA STUCK RESULTS MICE 10/5 31/9 7/13 8/13 RATS 4/4 10/8 6/9 5/7 HAMSTERS 13/22 20/20 22/29 27/27 VC1 Level 0 ppm 50 ppm 200 ppm 2500 ppm Total ANGIO Tumors LUNG SARCOMA SKIN Control -- No Tumors Found 4 22 2 6 34 2 19 17 17 3 BFG62295 April 17-18, 1974 - Minutes Page 4 There has been no report yet from the Tabershav-cooper study. Doctor Maitool is also finding tumors in his controlled study very early. There fore, this is probably at the 50 part per million level. Firestone person nel have asked for hazard pay when working in PVC and vinyl chloride polymer ization conditions. 5. Mr. Harlan Jewett of General Tire discussed their measurement of vinyl chloride levels in slurry. Their slurry contains approximately 30* PVC and 70Z water. They take 100 oilllleters of slurry and add hexane and dis till it and cold trap out the vapor and then run chromatographic results on this material. They claim to get a 10 ppm accuracy. Normally, they get 1500 parts per million vinyl chloride if stripping is satisfactory. This is on a total slurry weight basis. Similarly, they analyze dry resin by adding a sol vent and then cold trapping the material in a distillation operation and then run a VPC on the trapped material. Several of the companies reported that resins with lower molecular weight and lower porosity have higher vinyl chloride content. Stripping- temperature and time was reported to be important. In the Chemical Engineering magazine of April 15, 1974, DeGasse in Germany apparently have a process to oxidize low molecular weight hydrocarbons. It was reported that about half of the PVC producers represented currently analyze their resins on a routine basis. General Tire reported that they have tried thin film stage stripping to re duce residual monomer levels in the slurry. 800 ppm is about as low as they can get. Goodyear reported a five-fold variation from lot to lot on the same type of resin. Airco reported they obtain three-fold variation. No one present wanted to discuss any specific numbers concerning monomer content of their resins. 6. Joe Mudd of General Tire reported on their medical surveillance program. They have hired an outside laboratory, American Biological, in Louisville, to do blood and urine testing. Cost is appropriately $25 per employee. Ten per cent of their total -people showed some abnormalities of blood and urine. For ordinary problems, they were told to see their family doctors. Eight of fifteen had elevated enzymes In the SMA-12 test and these people will be given resamplest GdndtfaX Is "getting all employees to complete health evaluation forms. General plans to get hand and chest x-rays in addition to the blood and urine work. A general physical will then be done on only certain sus pect employees. One company reported they had a doctor from ttt. Sinai Hospital come to their plant and do a hands and physical test to determine liver size and potential abnormalities. PFC reported they have run liver tests for twelve years and found that if a man is alright originally, they have not found him to be out on subsequent testing. - Fourteen have added liver testa to pre-employment physicals. Three were doing this already.No companies are doing any physical testing for em ployees required to wear respirators or cartridge masks. Most companies felt that contract employees should be given the same type tests as your employees have. By contract employees we are talking about those that are normally working on a day--by--day basis in the PVC plants. BFG62296 D ttl'y I O h' O f- -4 o April 17-18, 1974 - Minutes Page 5 Of the PVC producers, the following survey was taken: All plan to do per sonnel and employee screening. All planned to continue this periodically. All people plan to have pre-employment physicals and will not hire people if they have liver problems. Mai Trowbridge from Goodyear reported that three of his people refused to take the blood test and they were not forced to do so. 7. Several cosyantes have installed systems to pick up dust from the bagging spout and bagging areas. Of the companies represented, 20 give their em ployees dust respirators, 16 of the companies see their employees wear the respirators, but only 10 of them force their people to actually wear them. No one is currently using fresh air masks for dusting applications. Conoco reported that they are considering this, however. Five companies reported they have automatic bag packaging operations; 22 companies reported they load bulk ears by gravity; 14 reported they convey resin to the loading operation; 2 people reported they use a closed-type double pipe system for loading PVC to cars. Ten companies reported using dust masks in the compound areas, but some were using them for only compounds containing lead. Seven people supply work clothes to their employees for dusty operations. Of the plants repre sented, 14 did a thorough clean-up of dust in their plant originally, but do not have any plan for continuing. Ten companies allow their personnel to eat in operating areas. Since the NIOSH standards have come out, six people have stopped this practice. Of the companies represented at the meeting; sixteen use Class I, Group D, Division 1 electrical systems, while six use Class I, Group D, Division 2. GENERAL COMMENTS Various instrument manufacturers were represented at rooms in the motel. Wilks has a good 1& unit which could be an excellent instrument to monitor not only vinyl chloride but vinylidene chloride as well. Century and Bendix were also represented. Bullard was there, and they have a personnel monitor ing system which uses a solid state cell with a pump for personnel monitoring. This appears to be an extremely simple type operation. Conoco reported low levels (0-10 ppm) of residual monomer at their Oklahoma plant. Their plant runs routinely and wind storms are not any problem. They do provide outdoor work clothing for their operators. Their worst problems as far as weather is concerned is ice storms, and this can cause a plant shut down if it gets too bad. About 902 of the time their workers are inside the Control Room or a sheltered area. GDS/ds Atts. 5 4/29/74 BFG62297 to