Document b5w8mbL788Yjm9G8YQaKpXVQg

B.F. Goodrich Chemical Company A DIVISION OF THE . W. OOOOHICH COMPANY CITY OF CARSON * 2104 CAST 223*0 STRICT * LONG ICACH, CALIFORNIA SOSIO A. W. CLCMCNT* PLANT MANAOC* April 23, 1974 Dr. Maurice N. Johnson Director of Environmental Health Building 5-H Dept. 00 20 Akron. Dear Dr. Johnson, We appreciate very much your efforts on behalf of our people to explain and to discuss the medical problem at the Louisville Plant. Your comments were most helpful in allaying their anxieties and apprehensions of such an occurrence at the Long Beach Plant. During the past several months we have held numerous meetings where many medical type questions were asked concerning this situation - questions which we could not answer. As a direct result of your talks with our group these were answered, and many of their fears have been relieved. It was also fortunate that Dr. Tabershaw was able to attend two of our meetings. This helped to impress on our people the seriousness with which we have been working to solve this problem and to ensure a safe working atmosphere within our plant. Another important result of your visit was to help ensure the full cooperation of our people with the implementation of the final stages of the NIOSH recommendations. Our staff people were particularly impressed that you were able to take time from your busy schedule to visit Long Beach before going to all of the larger plants such as Avon Lake and Henry. Again many thanks, and I am looking forward to seeing you in Cleveland at our next get-together. Lv K UjU^L April 26, 1974 To: Management Comaittee Briefing Group From: W, T. Duke (CHEMICAL CffifFANY; A. Vittone cc: E.W. Harrington J.L. Kelson EB. Osborne B.K, Zvicker F.J. Weaver R.D, Downey) The attached news release concerning public exposure to vinyl chloride moved on the U?I wire late yesterday and in an altered version this afternoon. One query from a newspaper has resulted fton the wire story, Ben Zinser, who is science editor for the Long Beach Independent Press Telegraph, called the Long Beach plant and inquired about the report, The Long Beach plant referred the call to me. I returned the call to Hr, Zinser and told him that we had just seen the story and that for further inforEntioa he should check with the Environmental Protection Agency. I gave him background information about the Long Beach, plant in regard to number of employees and products manufactured, stressing the fact that it is an extremely snail plant which was started in 1560. X then gave him previously released information on the current FVC situation. Hr, Zinser has not used any of the FVC stories in his newspaper up to this point and will point out in a short story in the Long Beach paper that there have been no employee fatalities at the Long Beach plant. Hr. Zinser mentioned to me that he felt the repoTt was most inaccurate from a scientific standpoint. The Center for Science in the Public Interest is located at 1779 Church Street, N.W., Washington, D.C, 20035, Tel. 202-332-6000. It was organized in 1971 as a Ralph Kader operation but apparently operates independently with support from some foundations and the public. It's a con-profit organization and has investigated lead and other gasoline additives, aerosols, asbestos and food additives, strong others. Its principals include Albert Fritsch, a Jesuit priest with a Fh.D. is organic ch&.eistxy from HUT; and James Sullivan, with a Ph.D. in meteorology end oceanography iron KIT. BLM1 tl ii :i 11 **ITr. W. T. Duke :plh Attachment (S3 o> Oo o H- T ( :f H r-j `l iH U H n !i Ii !j M ri ;j f,-1: H ji it-i4- 8 o.t m *7'2 H -fti il WASHINGTON (UK? -- A RIFEARCH GROUP TOLD THE C-OVTRKMEXT TODAY THESE IH A "FEARFUL rOSSlBUJTT' THAT PF.OPiS. LIVING IN AT LEAST TERSE INDTSTRUL AHEAS O? THE NATION ARE 3MNG EXPOSED TO AIRBORNE . DQS'ES OF VINYL CHLORIDE, A CHEMICAL LINKED TO LTVEB CANCER. THE CENTER FOR SCIENCE m THE FCBLIC INTEREST URGED THE EXVlTiO.NL.lHNTAL PliOTECTTOX AGENCY TO RAVE STATE AGENCIES MAKE MEASUREMENTS NEAR FACTORIES IMMEDIATELY TO DETERMINE THE EXTENT T Of the hazard. 'WE REGARD T1H3 AS A IOTBN7IALLY SERIOUS PUHLi'C HEALTH PROBLEM, '* JT SAID. ''AND WORTHY OF IMMEDIATE INVESTIGATION. OUR BESS ARCH INDICATES THAT CERTAIN TOWNS AND CT1L`S MAY EE SERIOUSLY AFFECTED BY VINYL CHLORIDE POLLUTION." IT SINGLED OUT THE HOUSTON, TEXAS, AREA, SOUTHERN UtnnSlANA AND WESTERN KENTUCKY* AS THE THREE PRIME AREAS WHERE FACTORIES PRODUCE SO MUCH VINYL CHLORIDE THAT STICKKSTACKS AHE VEXTXSC THE CHEMICAL. HiUJI in.-MlDiTV AND OTHER CLIMATIC CONDITIONS LS THOSE REGIONS. IT ADDED, COULD MAKE THE SITUATION WORSE. IT ALSO SAID THERE SAY BE A SIMILAR PROBLEM TN Tin; PALNSVILLE, OHIO, AREA AND AROUND JONG iiACB, CALI FORNLV. TTfK CENTER SAID IT liAD LEARNED THAT ERA'S OWN MF AS1:3i EMLN TS SHOWED 0.;r? PARIS PER MILLION VINYL CHLORIDE ALONG ROUTE 225 IN PASADENA, TEXAS, 'IX IHE HEART OF THE LARGEST VINYL CHLORIDE PRODUCING REGION IN THE UNITED STATES." IT CALCULATED THAT AT THE END OF EACH BATCH OF POLYVINYL ' Ciii/J.HDE MALI IN A lO.GGfi-CALLGN KFACTUH THERE 1$ A STACK EMISSION 03 >-* *o0 o o ^ OF S.oco (TRAMS OR VINYL CIILGJliDE CAS. "A PERSON UNFORTUNATE ENOUGH TO BE DOWNWIND 100 METERS FROM THE EMISSION WOULD RE EXPOSED TO 2l>0 PAinS tirt> \rrrj Tnr " IT ADDED. '>r - d p?, r r t f \Ti ' 'i r