Document aBnKmJLp8w4J371VwxQ2Jaw1B

HILL AND KNOWLTON, Inc. TEE BRIDGEPORT TELEGRAM BRIDGEPORT, CONN. 0. 12,425 OCT 2 1974, ^ But Industry Hits New Rules ` V U.S. Bears Down on Gas '^Exposure for Workers .1By ARTHUR^H;`ROTSTEIN. "This- will not cause.'the in \ ;' vV* *:?v ' '* dustry Uo.shut down,'';.Stender CHICAGO ' (AP)-- The. gov added. ' ' / ernment announced on Tuesday But Walker charged that "the new safety standards to'reduce OSHA standard for vinyl chlo worker exposure to the cancer- ride exposure puts the vinyl causing, gas vinyl chloride. ". plastics industry on a collision John H. Stender, ' assistant course .with economic disaster.! Secretary of Labor, said . the More importantly,'1 it throws new Occupational Safety and two million jobs down the Health Administration (OSHA) drain, according to an econom standards won't cause any'in ic impact study made earlier dustry shutdowns.- But the in this year' by Arthur Little & dustry .reacted quickly, i- de Co.,", an industrial , consulting nouncing the ' regulations and firm.'; - filing lawsuits iseeking-, judicial He said his company plans to review. challenge the standards. The current allowable level Polyvinyl chloride substances will remain in effect until Jan; are used in a host of. plastics 1, 1975, Stender said. Present products. ' ' 1 regulations allow workers han dling polymer .vinyl chloride to be exposed to up to 50 parts per. imillion in eight hours. Under the new standards, iemployers must by Jan.' 1 re duce levels to one part per mil lion iaveraged . ever any eight- In April, OSHA ordered an emergency lowering from the then-prevailing limit of -600 parts per million, after several deaths from a rare diver cancer were thought to be related to handling the chemical. hour period and five parts per ^Preliminary tests - conducted million averaged over-any peri in Northbrook, HI., later that od no longer.than 15 minutes. month showed that test mice 'Starting in 1976, the wearing developed' liver cancer when of a respirator will be mandato exposed to concentrations of 50 ry for any worker exposed to parts per million of vinyl chlo levels greater than these. Until ride. then, the wearing-of respirators ` Criminal provisions of the will be optional if levels remain standards include a maximum below 25 parts per million. 510,000 fine and six months' im Todd C. Walker, president of prisonment. the Firestone Plastics Co.," a di T'he Society of the Plastics vision of the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., called the stand resents'mnte~ihih 00 per cent ards' "economically unrealistic; of vinyl cloride and polyvinyl technically unfeasible, political chloride products, filed suit in ly motivated and medically ri New ' York asking the U.S. diculous,. comparable to a law Court of Appeals for judicial re aimed at stopping automobile view. A separate suit was filed deaths by lowering the . speed by the Hooker Chemical Co. of limit to one mile per hour." Stamford, Conn. Stender. said some of the 7,50<i In a statement, SPI President polymer plants in the United Ralph L. Harding said the gov States employing. some 350,000 ernment `may believe it has workers will have trouble meet adopted a compromise position ing the tightened standards. between organized labor on the However, he said there , would one hand and industry on the be provisions to> allow a com other, but the result is the pany that can't meet the stand standard that does not take into ards to reduce the output to the account in a practical way the lowest practical level, provided known, medical and tech workers are given respirators. nological facts." _ ________ 23527128