Document a1abr72KLvBe37L7jMnv1eXYM

September 24, 1986 Page 5 PESTICIDE fc TOXIC CHEMICAL NEWS EPA ENFORCEMENT OFFICE SHUFFLE BEGINS AS ADAMS CONVENES STAFF Enforcement rejuven on serving the need: ing last week with 1 and Compliance Moni Memo from DR. A. S. CUMMIN policy -- and emphasis ; of a first staff meetrator for Enforcement Several staff moves Edward Reich to hei Sept. 17, Page 2). Stiehl, who moves t FIFRA enforcement 4 enforcement, is exp| The criminal enforce and Adams told the! experience, would t> Adams also said he I regional staffs. Th] toward the regional*. TO PRODUCT & INGREDIENT SAFETY TASK FORCE W. Barton P. Columbus C. Drugge R. Hohman T. Holzinger T. Mekaru E. Sklest M. Gruenwald C. Kirchner C. Weaver ing confirmation of it under Adams (See Reich replaces Fred ich oversees TSCA and lit along with criminal dams. ial litigation group, minal enforcement adquarters staff with d said he has a "bias" VINYL CHLORIDE EPIDEMIOLOGY STUDY AMONG TSCA 8(e) REPORTS Preliminary results from a vinyl chloride epidemiology study were am ng TSCA Section 8(e) substantial risk reports. At the same time, the Chemical Manufac turers Association submitted a "for your information" report on the study. The 8(e) report was not yet in the public file last week, but CMA said in the "FYI" report that the study "shows an excess mortality from three causes not pre viously associated with vinyl chloride exposure." The CMA report continued: "The study showed an excess of liver and biliary cancer over and above the ob served mortality from angiosarcoma of the liver. Without the known angiosarcomas, there were 22 observed deaths from liver and biliary cancer vs. six expected. Because some of the deaths from liver and biliary cancer may, in fact, be undiag nosed deaths from angiosarcoma, it is not certain at this time that there is, in fact, a vinyl chloride related excess in these cancers. "In addition, the study showed an excess mortality from emphysema, which includes bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. However, the dose-response relationship is not consistent with vinyl chloride as a causal agent. If it were, one would expect that the excess would become greater with increasing duration f expo sure when, in fact, the opposite is observed in the study. Also, one would expect that the excess would be greater in those hired at the youngest ages. Again, the reverse is true. Finally, one would expect that persons whose exposure began a long time ago would have more emphysema than those whose exposure began recent ly, which was also not observed in the study. Therefore, although the excess deaths due to emphysema appear to be real, their relationship to vinyl chloride is questionable." The CMA submission was on behalf of 19 companies which sponsored the study as an effort of the CMA Vinyl Chloride Program Panel (See separate story). In another Section 8(e) report, Ciba-Geigy noted findings of liver necrosis, focal _,"Ver hemorrhages and marked renal tubular degeneration during a 28-day study BOR 006882 Page 6 September 24, 1986 PESTICIDE & TOXIC CHEMICAL NEWS in rats with a company product trade-named Tinuvin 1130. The company said it has no CAS number yet but was the subject of 1985 Premanufacture Notification number 812. It was described as the reaction product of beta-(3-(2H-benzo- triazol-2-yl)-4-hydroxy-5-tert-butylphenyl propionic acid, methyl ester and poly ethylene glycol. Ciba-Geigy said it does not believe the results constitute a substantial risk because there is little likelihood of vapor inhalation exposure and "dermal expo sure will be mitigated since the product has a strong dermal sensitizing poten tial, and protective equipment, impervious gloves, is already recommended in the material safety data sheet." A revised MSDS was submitted which said in part: "This material will not be sold for use in products for which prolonged contact with mucous membranes or abraded skin, or implantation within the human body, is spe cifically intended. Because of the wide range of such potential uses, Ciba-Geigy Corporation is not able to recommend this material as safe and effective for such uses and assumes no liability for any such uses." The company also said it is notifying laboratory staff and customers of the finding. TCE SAID TO DEGRADE TO VINYL CHLORIDE Bacterial degradation of trichloroethylene (TCE) in landfills can result in the formation of vinyl chloride, scientists from Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories told the American Chemical Society National Meeting in Anaheim, Calif. Sept. 11. Dr. Peter M. Molton and Richard T. Hallen said they had tested both samples of primary sewage sludge from anaerobic digesters at the Richland, Wash., wastewater treatment plant and from California landfills. The sewage sludge presum ably had never been exposed to any form of chlorinated industrial solvent; both might contain organisms like those in the landfill, they said. Solvents may enter landfills in items such as paints, paint thinner, plastic wrap, garden hoses and phonograph records, the Battelle researchers said. "Older landfills may contain more vinyl chloride, as this compound was not recognized as carcinogenic until recently, and permitted levels of the residual gas contained in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic used to be much higher than they are today," they said, adding: "Decomposition of PVC itself does not appear to contribute significantly to vinyl chloride release." Molton and Hallen said vinyl chloride emissions are "not currently considered a health hazard at observed levels in the low parts per million (p.p.m.)," but these emissions deserve further study and monitoring (See separate story). They suggested the problem could be alleviated by minimizing the amount of chlorinated solvents dumped, by collecting and burning the evolved gases, or by other, more innovative techniques now under development. Toxics Found in Class tt T^mrifills bv California Researchers Another paper presented at the ACS Environment Division Symposium, by John A. Wood, of the South Coast Air Quality Management Distrit, El Monte, Calif., reported finding "unexpectedly high concentrations" of benzene, vinyl chloride BOR 006883