Document gaBeGXbzpD3qwBM9OebONaBV3

i The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. 355 Lexington A.enae. New York New York 10Ot 7 (212) 573-9400 VCM-PVC SUMMARY PREPARED FOR PRESS AND OTHER INTERESTED NON-INDUSTRY PARTIES RECEIVED contact: SEP 2 8 1976 E, ,,S. N. uspRT..iWge. rLaundrie Director of Public Affairs (212) 573-9400 Vol. 1, No. 1 ON THE REGULATORY FRONT / / , / Best estimate is that EPA standard for vinyl chloride emissions could become final the t last week in September or first week in October. FDA/EPA Task Force dealing with jurisdictional question over potable water pipe may be reaching agreement in principle whereby EPA will have primary jurisdiction over piping systems . . . violations resulting from migration into water will be dealt with by FDA under Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Syracuse Research Corporation, Syracuse, N. Y. awarded a S77.650 contract by NIOSH to review, summarize and evaluate literature to support update and revision of some 15 criteria documents including vinyl chloride. ON THE LEGISLATIVE FRONT In Washington, the House on August 23 approved H. R. 14032, the Toxic Substances Control bill ... Senate passed a similar measure in March 1976 and both bills now go to House-Senate Conference ... Administration opposes House bill which would require manufacturers of any new chemical substance to notify government 90 davs before starting commercial production, and also to test potentially hazardous chemicals for their effects on public health and environment. ON THE MEDIA FRONT August 10 The Washington Star editorial -- "Toxic Substances Control" -- refers to poly vinyl chloride ... reports "The trick is to keep factory workers from getting cancer while they're handling the substance, to keep subway workers from inhaling the toxic fumes if the car they're in happens to catch fire, and to keep the hamburger consumer from wondering whether the pain in his liver might be polyvinyl chloride related. "... Ralph L. Harding, SPI President, pointed out following in an August 12 letter to the Star's editor. there is no evidence of any health risk to the general public from any finished PVC plastic product. FDA in a specific finding of September 5, 1975 said that PVC film wrap is safe. GENC 010978 2- - PVC is hard to Ignite -- doesn't emit "vinyl chloride" when it is burned -- PVC is used to protect electrical wiring because it is both durable and more fire resistant than traditional Insulating material. ON THE TECHNICAL FRONT July 20 Preventive Medicine has paper "Smoking and Occupational Cancers" by Drs. Dietrick Hoffmann and Ernst L. Wynder of the Naylor Dana Institute for Disease Prevention .,. says review of literature shows a lack of epidemiological data for joint action of occupational carcino gens (halo ethers, vinyl chloride etc, and tobacco smoke ... reports, however, theoretical possibility that VCM plays a role in cancer of the lung in smokers but clues of syncarcinogenic activity of VCM will have to come from retrospective studies of cigarette smoking VCM workers. July American Industrial Hygiene Association under "News of Note" reported a small clip-on device less than 1/4 inch thick and weighing less than an ounce has been developed by Louisiana State University's Institute of Environmental Studies ... device is capable of measuring vinvl chloride exposure accurately . ,. reportedly will require little modification to detect other gas pollutants. NEWS BRIEFS September Colloquium on Proposed Science Court Secretary of Commerce Richardson has announced a September 19-21 colloquium to be held at Xerox International Center for Training and Management Development near Leesburg, Va. . . . sponsored by Commerce Department, National Science Foundation, and American Association for Advancement of Science, will look into creation of an impartial Science Court to assess such issues as ozone controversy and chemical carcinogenicity. Other meetings and conferences of interest are: Origins of Cancer. September 7-14, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. American Chemical Society Centennial, San Francisco, August 29 - September 3. Aquatic Pollutants and Biological Effects with Emphasis on Neoplasia. New York City, September 27-29. Q&A Booklet on ,mVC and Health" to be Distributed To be sent shortly to all members of VCM-PVC Producers Group is "PVC and Health -- Questions and Answers" ... contains questions most commonly asked about vinyl chloride and health .. answers based on known scientific evidence and industry experience ... should help marketing, sales "nd management personnel to answer questions from customers and others stemming from n ^understanding and misleading impressions. 6ENC 01097? -3 National Bureau of Medicine Has Toxicological information Services The National Bureau of Medicine's Toxline -- new information services on toxicological matters -- went into effect July 1 .. . available on a $15 per hour charge for computer connections between 10:00 a, m. and 5:00 p. m. daily, with an off-peak charge of $8 per hour ... also have a Chemline with similar retrieval arrangements ... Toxline contains bibliographic citations and abstracts from 1971 primary journals forward ... older information is in Toxline backfile called Toxback which contains about 200,000 records. Historic Occupational Health Bulletins are Available Selected bulletins dealing with occupational health and hygiene published by Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor statistics between 1910 and 1930 are now available from National Technical Information Service (NTIS1 ... out of print for many years, containvaluable info for occupational health researchers ... deal with such subjects as lead poisoning, organic chemicals and solvents, inorganic dusts, carbon-monoxide poisoning. # ## GENC 010980