Document mbD0YD68n4zG9YLBw95bZRKDO

THE HEW HAVEN REGISTER, WEDNESDAY, JUNE M, W74 New Evidence Links Vinyl Chloride To High Liver Cancer Death Rates ] 20 to 30 cam of the disease WASHINGTON (API - A force the industry to dose had been reported annually in medical study has produced scores of plants with the loss of the United States. new evidence suggesting a high as many as 2.2 million jobs. Key also disclosed that within incidence of death from a rare "The proposed permanent the put two weeks scientists liver cancer among factory em standard is not technologically have documented two more liv ployes working with vinyl chlo feasible and. if adopted, would er cancer deaths in men em-1 ride. a chemical widely used in diut down the indistry.' warn ployed at plants using polyvinyl! the plastics industry. ed Apton Vittone, president of chloride to fabricate other A study of vinyl chloride the B. F. Goo*ich Chemical products. workers at the Goodyear plant Co. Vinyl chloride, a gas. is used in Niagara Pails. N.Y.. found that three of 24 deaths were Vittone. representag the plastic industry trade associ to produce polyvinyl chloride, a white nggary-like material due to coma. the cancer, angiosar ation. proposed a different used in the manufacture of standard in prepared testi most pUstw" ? Dr. Irving J. Selikoff. direc mony. His proposal would re tor of the Environmental Scien duce worker exposure to vinyl ces Laboratory of the Mount chloride from 50 parts per mil Sinai School of Medicine, cited lion of air now in force to 10 the study. He emphasized the parts per million, effective Oc critical importance of reducing tober 1977. the amount of vinyl chloride But Selikoff argued that "the workers are exposed to. Jo a only prudent course for th pre "no detectable level" as pro vention of angiosarcoma ... is posed by the Labor Depart to provide a work environment ment. with no detectable levels of vin* Selikoff was among dozens of ` y! chloride." witnesses Tuesday at a bearing Dr. Marcus M. Key. director on the Labor Department s pro of the National Institute for Oc posed standards for regulating cupational Safety and Health, vinyl chloride use. aid the finding of 19 cases of Representatives of the angiosarcoma -- 13 of them in Society of the Plastics tafostry. the United States - among vin Inc., a trade association, ar yl chloride workers between gued that the medical evidence January and May "indicates was too inconclusive to mpiire thnt we are observing a newly banning worker exposure to the rdoeBnized occupational disease chemical. They said the pro associated with ocpamie" to posed regulations were impos vinyl chloride. sible to achieve and would He said that previously about OL1 U6