Document mq21b78DVKDBnKnRN52Xg2yjJ

To: \ -GAYAR 10 DLi<,r;TY .An )1-.Uu'3TRiAL KYG1LYY LA BOO_AKAXAi'ii Liii 360 Christie Street, Toronto q., Grst Y R Bison Air samples for vinyl chloride taken at 3.F.Goodrich Canada Ltd., Fort Robinson, Cnt Company contacts: Hr. 3. R. Clayson, Mgr., hr. J. Kagy, Safety Supervisor. Requested by Dr. hastromatteo. report l\ c.. jJa te : to : rr on: TP 3o 7 Cc t - c: 1 19c5 hr. J . ti e Is on Dr. Ks s Dr . But H. v/all In this plant vinyl chloride is polymerized to polyvinyl chloride by batch processes. After completion of the reaction it is necessary to enter a reactor and scrape the adhering polymer from the inside be fore the next batch is started. The safety precautions observed for the entry and scraping were described by Dr. Hastronatteo in a report dated June 16, 1965 The air samples described in this r eport were taken as an aid in assessing the present safety precautions. All air samples were taken at the operators breathing level while working under the conditions described in Dr. Kastromatteo!s report, The air was pumped from the sampling sites into bottles. The air in these bottles was subsequently analyzed in the laboratory for chlorine and from this the concentration of vinyl chloride in the air sample was calculated. The results are given in the following table. Location Vinyl Chloride PPK Inside it #.4 #4 Reactor u it #21 tt n #16 it it #16 Scraping Top " Bottom u Bottom n Top M Bottom 31 52 68 44 22 There appeared to be much more^dhering polymer in reaction #4 than was the case in reactors #16 and #21. #4 and #16 reactors were small, #21 reactor was large. For a continuous forty--hour per week exposure to vinyl chloride a threshold limit value of 500 ppm has been suggested. KITAGAWA VINYL CHLORIDS DETECTOR TUBES These tubes are made in Japan. In taking a sample,.air is drawn through the tube for three minutes by means of a special pump. Acc ording to the manufacturer's literature, when vinyl chloride is present the orange color of the tube changes to green. The amount of vinyl chloride in the air is estimated by the length of the green stain.* Ahead of the green stain in the tube there is e. red stain which is ignored. The lower limit of detection is stated to be 500 ppm with a three minute sample. V/hen a mixture of vinyl chloride from a valve and air was drawn through the tube, the color changes described by the manufacturer were found to occur. 'There was no difficulty in detecting the end of the green stain. 2581635 BFG44865 ) Tj /6Ci is ccnti-ious ly Gi awn into Clio flame ioiiizctl^n coll, whore it contacts a hv. dro^en flame. a portion oi` tho carbon cotvciaid (0) present in the sample burns in the hydrogen flams ; This results in carbon ions being present in the flame. An electrical potential is :rovidod across the flano jet, and an electrode located above the florae in the combustion products stream. An electrometer circuit ucas rers the ion current which, flows between the flamo jc t, and the collector electrode above it* wo chocked 2j? poly::.ori3cr entries* iwsults of gas tests: Avaerraapg;ey lxaarig'i.eu ^;jooxly.y reuauduiinug^'os 33 L`pm C^KT IG'-'StS20-J0------3TOJ0 ^0~0 of ppm / .171 ppn ppm ppn Hd ;s. 3 13 20 27 5^-60 ppiii 0 00-60 ppn 2 60-100 ppn 1 Total 71 All nigii readings wore only momnfcarily. ppm Avera^o small poly readings (without Vinyl Acetate) 23 ppn Total U-ra 173^T5'",_^0-50----- ------------------------------?0-60 5tPS0 80-100 17 30 15 16 7 22 1 . 90 All high readings tforo only iiomontarily. ppn if of Rdgs Average small poly readings (with Vinyl Acetate)'. 95 ^bTO IfP'20" 20-50 5^.0 ii0^a^"^0'-^0 &0-100 100^200 200~$00 k$ K 6 32 12 6 Average floor reading 6 ppn (Headings as low as 2ppm were recorded) Tol Conclusions of these tests: a) Flam Ionization Tester is a very sensitive instrument end is able to measure readings from 2 ppvi up* b) entries are riada under conditions well belo'w the recommended safe Units, (soc page i-;t Oocu: mutation o f Ti-roshold Limit Values, Cormiti on Threshold Limit values, Copyright 1966 by American Conference of Government Industrial Hygienists.; and are kept below this level e 25816036 BFG44866 ( ) CO.: Ol. : i\ \ 'G Julius ;,G have- v large polyuorizcro ... 33^^` ';a lions each and 11 small polymerisors ,> HOC gallons each The*, polynerisors are located on the 3rd floor of the I-iaxixama distance between polymerizers is QO feet* ocess Building. After any charge of C-eon has been, dropped from a polymerizer, there is always a residue of material on the polymerizer walla, tho agitator blades, baffles, roof, etc* Some of this material is looso and may be removed by simply rinsing with water* The rest is partially fused material which must be removed by scraping with a sharp tool. This is the treason why polymerizer must bo entered, for cleaning* Once the charge has been dropped; it is recovered to 25-27" Hg vacuum* Evan after this we still have an explosive atmosphere in the polymerizer* A Poly Safety Check Sheet is then completed to prevent the possibility of any polymerizer still under pressure from being opened# Once opened the polymerizer is locked out, isolated and using the polymerizer exhaust system cleared of all remaining gas to a safe entry level. The Gas Analizer is able to detect gas concentration as low as 2 ppm. In order to enter, the Gas Analizer reading must be below the safe level end oly Safety Check must .he: completed by the cleaner* and a check-oiit man* ' ; During cleaning, the atmosphere inside the polymerizer i3 kept at a safe level by an exhaust hose. The polymerizer exhaust system consist of an Exhaust Blower of 25*30 scfm capacity and the necessary ductwork to provide each polymerizer with an exhaust station* The maximum number of exhaust stations to be used at any one time is four (4) and under these conditions we get the following air changes: large poly 1*4 changes/min* or 84 changes/hour (theoretical) snail poly 4*^5 changes/min. or 254 changes/hour (theoretical) A Portable Flame Ionisation.motor (Davis Instruments, Diviaon of Davis ii-iorgency Equipment Co. Inc*, 47 Ilalleck St., Newark 4? HJ., U.S.A*) model Ho. 11-654? was .used to conduct tost3 on polys to determine gas concentrations during cleaning. ffiiis instrument is designed to detect trace amounts of hydrocarbons in air and is calibrated for vinyl chloride. Six range selections wore available from 2 ppm to 20,000 ppm. Speed of response varies directly with sample flow-rate, 2-3 seconds, exclusive of external sample transport. The basic principle of operation of this detector is ionisation qt? hydrocarbon molecules in a hydrogen flame. The sam :1c being anal 2581 HO-v? ` BFG44867 Welland, Ontario 3/5/66 .R. Clayaon Akron-u/CO20-B/5-H 3/S/66 Apparently the Ontario Department o Labor is doing vhat is currently being proposed by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists In the United States, namely, to reduce the TLV for vinyl chloride fras 500 to 5Q ppm. 1 eta. familiar with this intent end al though it has not been made final, 1 strongly expect that it vill be done, We, of course, do not like it, but 1 an afraid that ve vlLl have to live with it. 1 appreciate your calling this to our.attention, We will vent to review your operations fron tine to Use to be sure Chat they do octet the nev requirements. If you feel there Is any question- about this* ve vill be glad to arrange for doing this in the very near future. cc: F.&. Boddle P.B. Hason J. B*gy J.K. Hysiop 4W/i+***: Vf.S. HeCocslek 25816038 3PG44868