Document a42NGvYN1pkwMDrJxdEO5powN

Huaatw a ELASTICS NEWS - tohnnry II, 1974 \. - ' -* >*. r^iv^wiWiiMiHwjpxpetfed' to ibe* costly if not WASHINGTON. Jam 29-r-The Occupa'#3r-prohibitive,;.-/ .v , to SltSZMOCA* a to b. rerjl.W4; to>'.vjdeoc.' prOTini^CtCA producing chemical,... . * producing .nr; humans.. OSHA test* on MOCA, DuPontf'st. bbrraaopdd^nampMorf-'.mice, PMA sdd^h&uldnpfbp' used to 4.4-Methyleoe' bis-(2-chl6roaniUne). extrapolate similar result* in humans.' . i polyurethane, curing ageni, `is *jncluded^\ ; Evidence'to badf up PMA's claims ha* ! among the 14 alleged cancer^prodpeing^: .beep suggested by DuPont. itself. The > chemicals-fof;i'which-.ifina^pSHA.standftv * company-has l*en nroniug tests for some j arda on- employee wtposurajwere^pub-;,;. time^oq dog*.rathe* (ban mice.' on i - Wend"> clo$er -f *'. ..Though amended sometyhatfrorn pro* ',\. kin to man himself than rpdents; ; ' posed standards-published lastyear.'.final ./r*''Spokesmen? for"DuPont say that1 its rules issued today wiU; rcquirpYspecificJv 'te*ts *o far. -have failed-'to' show/auy employee, protective^measures, and will/*/, evidence of; MQCX-related cancer in the .limit the amount of MOCA^ip.-solid or-;.dogs. ; ; < L&- f ' ' Irakis IN PROMULGATING rules i?foTr. ir..r,,i<am. V**r*-$n: T i cMbOeCmAicaanlTd,lasberpiaerdateclya, nfocer rt-hpero1d3uoctihnegr.' .. Dropped - fromthe!, eariier'. proposed^ regulations. was.'a 'requirement for an? : -OSHA permit' to'.make, use or handle f \OSHA brushed aside arguments that tests on mice are inconclusive with respect to likely human reactions. 7 MOCAj.--- ," ij.** y ; "We think it improper to afford less. Retained, ;however, aie^rpqpirements -? portection to workers when exposed to fpr a so-called ?ciosed -loop'' or "dosed substances' found to. be carcinogenic Csystem^.'for.'hanJingi^MOCA," special;/) .{cancer-producing] only in experimental clothing for'-workers^ decontamination. - - the. agency said. "Once foe carcinogenicity of a sub- : .^empioyeeg*^,;.^.^,. ,,.i w ry\:^lt * ternatives are to consider them either !-v OSHA's earlier1 proposed^rules were non-carcinogenic or carcinogenic to hu-' /assailed,on. sever*l`-counts by. the Poly*./ m.n until evidence to the contrary is urethane Manufacturers Association, fo{vy produced. - . whose members; the, burden, of compJK ~ continued BFG22584 22753001  continued . "About all the dogs have gotten so far," RPN was (old, "are flea^." - DuPont has continued lo produce MOCA., under the temporary emergency standards imposed by OSHA last year. Spokesmen say there has been minimal impact on output or costs as a result of compliance, largely because the firm has *. long treated MOCA as a "nasty actor," a messy, highly Cbrrosive substance if not .-a carcinogen, and 'has controlled 'em- ' . ployee exposure-all alongr*'^ ^".; : ' DuPont spokesmen concede, however, (hat few pf its`customer^ 'particularly _ smaller firms,. wiU be able, to accommo date the new OSHA standards', without. "major dislocations." V . It was hinted that the company would - try to help where it could, particularly in procedures for. testing content of MOCA in polyurethane products. - "The first alternative would logicaIly_ require, poti reUxetT consuls. on expos"ure, but exclusion from regulation. Thd other alternative logically leads > to, tl treatment* of a' substance is. if'it was known to be carcinogenic, to man.!! 5^ : ' " OTOER SUBSTANCES' OSHA. standards ...were . issued ; include '2-Acetylaminofluorend; 3,3!-Dichioroben-'; zidine .(and its salts); ^Dimethylamino-, izobehzenef. alpha-'Napthylamine; N-Ni-v trosodimethylamine;' beta-Propicdactone;, Ethyleneimihe;"4-Aminodfpbenyl; Benndine. (and. its. salts); 4-Nitrobiphenyl; .Methyl chloromethyl ether; beta-Naphtb*; ylamine, and bu-Chloromethyl ether.'-: I * . Assistant Secretary of Labor John IL Stendfcr, who" heads .OSHA,. explained^ that separate standards woe issued,for . each. substadbe>"!to make it easier for employers to determine what they most do to protect their employees from these" hazardous substances.*!. >;V. yC-'-.v Commenting generally on the thrust of the standards for each of the substances,-! Stender'noted that the feasid approach set; forth'for. handling. is. by "an" isolated,, fully dosed, system achieved by .enp-" neering controls.'*-.''.-'; .* The reason .Tor the general ban on. "open vessel operations* in which cm-. . ployees are exposed to the raw chemicals.. Slender said, is. that "engioeering control, such as by. closed-.systems, mechanical seals, remote-controls and local exhaust; ventilation... most effectively isolates' em*. ployees from potential contamination.**- k COMMENTING on the exclusion of solid and liquid mixtures containing less than l' percent of MOCA (extended to - seven of the 13 other chemicals as wdl), .Stender noted that the intent was to "avoid substantial obstruction, if not stoppage, o( the use of many processes' 'and products whidi are considered useful in industry.---!* .. . - . The standards, made public today are to become mandatory bn February 1L BFG22585 22733002 . RUBBER 4 PLASTICS NEWS Ftbrumty It. 1974 the jjlastics indMstry, B.F.Goodrich last week disclosed that it had .alerted Ken- > lucky health officials and the National' ''Institute*-of' Occupational Safety and. Health (NIOSH) %to the possibility that' ^three ctnacr deaths in its "Louisville, Ky4; 'plant-wore related to occupationklex- . posure to health hazardfc-^\ -ys The 'Louisville' plant deaths affected, employees working in polyvinyl chloride; {FVG) , production. The original an nouncement was'based on-two deaths it 197X und one that occurred m 1971--- and today -a Goodrich spokesman con*', finned that their on-going review, of past, medical records has- revealed .another . related death in 196&. ' . -f * ** .-The -deaths, were -afi attributed to. angiosarcoma--a rare form of fiver can- cer that daimTonly.21 fives annually ha - the whole U.SA*-,, v rV Federal health inspectors rushed to the j plant withhT-48 hours,' and NIOSH tut-." nounced plans to desdop stringent ban- - dling and-exposurg practices for PVC . -operations, possibly-within a-few weeks.T Neither BPG or NIOSH experts are' able to finger a' specific material as the. carcinogenic agent responsible fox the -deaths.-.' -. V- '- ' Y-: There is no apparent violation of the' existing federal standard .for vinyl chlor ide vapor exposure--00 ppm on a time- weighted-average bads. Goodrich reports maximum exposures in the 50 to 100 ppm range in its plants. -. Goodrich has engaged the services of Tsbenhaw-Cooper Associates (Berkeley,' Calif.) as consultants on the direction of their investigations. : Yet another investigative agency hat' entered the picture, as the United Rub ber Workers (URW) have turned the.. University of North Carolina loose -on a '"crash epidemiological study'* of URW locals involved in PVC production. .(71k Goodrich LouisviDe plant is not organ-*, ized under the URW). Goodrich1* voluntary disclosure is a "first ever for alerting. NIOSH to aserious health problem." _ __ .________ BFG22586 22753003 ftUBBSW ft PjASTlCS NW$~ F*hturf If, ?W ^ -- .j PMAMavSue^, - - ..., _ CHICAGO,'. FA'^^ITw.J'olyarettoae,! ` Manufacturers Asspciation^said -today.T-3 probably wifi instftutelegal action1against ;1'* - the Occupational' Safety and Health'. Administration', (OSHA) for* including''' ^ MOCA* as one of. 14 alleged -cancer- \ - 'For story on OSHA's permanent stand. - .. ards for MOCA, see Page 6T For related - ..story involving' PVC as a possible car= onogen.'see Page 5:; : producing '.cherriicals'for which It pub-o lished final OSHA- standards on employee . exposure'Ian. 29A ; 1; PMA, which in-the past hascharged-' that OSHA lacks'-condusve ^'evidence proving MOCA to be cancer-produdhg -; in htimans,'said' itif attorneys lare. now *. ' studying the"possibility. of * suit.- ___ .v ~ ` 'i' : Meanwhile, PMA has-domed theSyn-'-. . thetic Organic Chemical ManufacturersV-' 'Assn. (SOCMA),. two' other trade assof-v! ciations and a number of,chemical com-;i panics in filing a suit to - seek Judicial' review - of' OSHA"* ' permanent work - safety standard^- rT--f : '_] The suit was filed in the Court of . 'Appeals, third circuit, in Philadelphia,. ` Jan. 29, the same day OSHA published its regulations.^-' Polyurethane manufacturers, who use ' - MOCA in their.products! and at the end users of the parts,'cotfld be hard hit by - the permanent standards. Some poly- _ urethane parts' cant be aired sadsfao* torfiy with anything but MOCA.-_ ,-rJ OSHA Calls for.' PVC,Hazard Data WASHINGTON, Jan- J30--The Occupational Safety and. Health. Administration (OSHA) today an nounced that-.it would conduct ~a" hearing February 15 ""on possible* hazards associated with the mann- factureand/or use of vinyl chlor ide." ' ~' The bearing' was apparently prompted by recent disclosure that Goodrich was *. investigating the ; cancer deaths of three workers at a~ Louisville, Ky. plant. The workers had been 'involved in' PVC .pro duction. ' ` Meanwh3e,*OSHA has requested written data from any interested parties, relating to toxicity of vinyl chloride and. other chemicals used 'in its production. - - ^:' * : '. - Also sought is information on technolopes and numbers of work ers involved in the manufacture and use of the material and opin ions as.to "whether the available ' information warrants the issuance of an emergency temporary stand ard, or the commencement of a regular rulemaking proceeding. Deadline foe submission Of such - data was set for Feb. 28.-- . IS 2753004 BFG22587