Document mbm4g1zR4LpVVgp9NogzDG2q0

THE SUNDAY RECORD, NEW JERSEY FEBRUARY 24, 1974 Liver cancer strikes a seventh; .chemical worker Bj ANN CRAWFORD Staff Wrlftr A seventh case of a newly recognized occupational cancer among vinyl chloride workers has turned up at a Union Carbide Corp. plant in South Charleston, W. Ya. The first six cases of angio sarcoma of the liver, a rare and fatal form of cancer, w ere at the B. F. Goodrich Chemi cal Co. plant in LouisviUe, Ky. Only one of the victims is still alive. Five chemical plants in New Jersey are known to state offi cials as converters of vinyl chloride to polyvinyl chloride, the proervs which appears to be associated with the illness. Scientists from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health - last Wednesday began an intensive scrutiny of eight plants in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Ken tucky, where the vinyl chlor ide industry is concentrated. The team,., working under Dr. Joseph K. Wagoner, direc tor of clinical investigations and field studies for the insti- > tute. is examining medical and death records of current and. former workers. A decision on whether to send the team to the five New . Jersey plants, likely this week or next, will depend on the out come of the present investiga tions, according to institute spokesman Richard Wilson. If the surveys in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and - Kentucky pinpoint the cancer cause, additional plant visits will not be neces sary, be said. Researchers hope to learn first if the cancer victims worked with an old form of polyvinyl chloride or with a^ 10-year-old form with differ ent-shaped crystals. The answer to that question could eliminate the need to survey some polyvinyl chlor ide plants. The institute has a list -- incomplete as of last week -- of 27 U S. manufactur ers of the versatile poly mer. Exposed for 10 years Most of the known cancer victims had been exposed to vinyl chloride and its chemical offshoots for about 20 years, working first with the old and then with the now form of polyvinyl chloride. Most were involved in the production stage in which gas eous vinyl chloride is com bined with water and a cata lyst under pressure to produce polyvinyl chloride, a vhite crystalline powder. The ' powder is a principal In. redient of plastic shower curtains, auto seat covers, and some food wraps. Researchers do not know if workers who make these final products are running exposure risks and doubt that there are hazards for consumers. The team has a number of other unknowns to juggle: A Harvard University re searcher suspects another vi nyl chloride offshoot -- vinyli- causative agent. Vinylidene appears in the Goodrich pro cess. Institute workers in Hous ton and Cincinnati recently have noled a new ailment called meat wrappers' asth ma. It appears among super market workers who seal the transparent plastic wrap -- made of polyvinyl chloride -- in which meat is w rapped. e A basic dispute among cancer researchers is whether malignancy is caused by pro longed exposure to a cancercausing agent or by exposure at a critical period. The liver cancer problem came to light last munlh when a Goodrich physician ex pressed concern about what appeared to be related deaths, and the company reported his findings to the institute. The five New Jersey chemi cal plants., together employing more than 1.7U0 workers, are: B. F. Goodrich Chemical Co. Division, Pcdricktown. Hooker Chemical Corp.. a subsidiary of Occidental Pe troleum Corp., Burlington. Pantasote Co. of N.Y- Inc., Passaic. Tenaeco Chemicals Inc.,. Plastics Division, Burlington. Tertneco Chemicals Inc., Intermediates Division, Flemington. BFG22580 T006WL2S