Document kZryK7eX1bOLawY2Vjga9x3n

H ILL a n d KNOWLTON, I n c . -1* NEWS record NOV YORK, N. Y D. 25,000 JUN20 1974 OSHA Issues Temporary Guides on Vinyl Chloride j j WASHINGTON (FNS) -- The Labor Department Wednesday issued stringent The new standard will be the subject of hearings starting Tuesday and many other inspection guidelines for plants using vinyl chloride as the plastics industry, in a scathing * : user industries are expected to echo SPI's warnings that "The vinyl chloride and 1 attack, assailed the agency's proposed new health rules covering the chemical. j polyvinyl chloride resin-producing industries will be forced to dose down immediately," The SocietyjrfJLhe Plastics Industry charged the new regulations proffered by the department's Occupational Safety & Health Administration to offset carcinogenic dangers could throw 1.6 million employes out of work and cost |65 billion in lost sales and production. i l i if the standard is adopted. Nearly 80 organizations already have said they will testify. Meanwhile, OSHA's inspection "guidelines" are for the temporary standard, issued April 5, which limits permissible employe exposure to 50 parts of the chemical per million parts of air. Under these new guidelines, which are really regulations, only qualified Federal or OSHA's proposed new standard, which would cut the air content of vinyl chloride in State industrial hygienists will be allowed to conduct workplace inspections. plants to a "no detectable level," is "infeasible to achieve, even with the highly , Retroactively to April 22, inspectors finding firms that have not monitored the sophisticated methods of in-plant control that have been developed by the industry," SPI ] atmosphere will issue them a citation -- and in most cases "the alleged violation will be {insisted . i dassed as serious." OSHA said. .... ... ` / CHEMICAL AND ENGINEERING NEWS WASHINGTON, D. C. W. 115.000 safe and of a low degree of risk." He said that "the proposed perma- try prediction of economic doom as JUL 1 1974 1 nent standard is not technologically blackmail, Mr. Bommarito con feasible and, if adopted, would shut tends that although some of the down the industry." SPI estimates older plants might have difficulty Hearings under way on vinyl chloride rules that this could result in the loss of 1.7 million to 2.2 million jobs and a i loss of domestic production value of justifying major alterations, "newer plants have a different problem characterized by the will, not the I $65 million to $90 million annually. ability, to do the job." The labor The Occupational Safety and 1 In place of OSHA's proposed per- position drew support from a draft Health Administration opened . manent standard, Mr. Vittone pro environmental impact statement public hearings last week on the 1 agency's proposed permanent stan poses a stepped reduction for work er exposure in polyvinyl chloride Erepared by the Department of abor, which concludes that "no dard to reduce worker exposure to resin plants that would lower the evidence to date indicates that pro vinyl chloride to a "no detectable ceiling to 40 p.p.m. this year and to mulgation of the proposed standard a level." The hearings promise to be > 25 p.p.m. by late 1976. His pro will stop vinyl production and use." 3 Q K) long and acrimonious. There are 89 scheduled panels of witnesses, and questioning is permitted. posed standards for monomer plants are a ceiling exposure of 25 | p.p.m. for 1974 and of 10 p.p.m. for What effect testimony at the hearing will have on OSHA's final permanent standard remains to be A lead-off witness for the Society late 1975. seen. But Daniel P. Boyd, director u> . of the Plastics Industry, Anton Vit- However, United Rubber Work of the office of standards develop Q\ tone. presidenF ot B. F. Goodrich ers president Peter Bommarito told ment for OSHA, said that in pre Chemical, argued that there are the hearing that the "Government's paring the final standard, which "no data showing that exposure goal of `no detectable level' for must be set by Oct. 5, OSHA levels as provided under the emer vinyl chloride is both necessary and : would consider the availability and gency standard [50 p.p.m.] are not feasible." Characterizing the indus j cost of appropriate technology. W0Z.T2CZ