Document nm3Xp789OeZN7R2O48JEebkRa

DRAFT TOXICOLOGICAL PROFILE FOR VINYL CHLORIDE Prepared by: Sciences International. Inc. Under Subcontract to: Research Triangle Institute Under Contract No. 205-93-0606 Prepared for U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Public Health Service Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry August 1995 "DRAFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT" CMA 112979 t 4 4. PRODUCTION, IMPORT, USE, AND DISPOSAL 4.1 PRODUCTION Production of vinyl chloride monomer in the United States was approximately 13.75 billion pounds in 1993 (C&EN 1994; USITC 1994), an increase of nearly 22%. This exceeds the latest available U.S estimated total production capacity figures (beginning of 1993) of 12.79 billion pounds at the beginning of 1993 (SRI 1993) and represents a substantial recent increase in production and capacity, even if vinyl chloride production is at full capacity. Previously, vinyl chloride production had grown only 1-5% per year over the last 5 years (C&EN 1994). Over the last 10 years, vinyl chloride production has grown at an average rate of about 7%, not including the large increase in 1993, although production volumes were fairly volatile (C&EN 1994). Vinyl chloride is currently produced in the United States by 10 companies at 12 facilities, which are as follows (SRI 1994); Westlake Monomers Corporation in Calvert City. Kentucky; Borden Chemicals and Plastics in Geismar, Louisiana; Dow Chemical in Oyster Creek. Texas, and in Plaquemine. Louisiana; Georgia Gulf Corporation in Plaquemine. Louisiana; PPG Industries in Lake Charles, Louisiana; Vista Chemical Company in Lake Charles, Louisiana; B.F. Goodrich Company in LaPorte. Texas; Formosa Plastics Corporation in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and in Point Comfort, Texas; Occidental Chemical Corporation in Deer Park, Texas; and Oxymar in Ingleside, Texas. Table 4-1 summarizes the facilities in the United States that manufacture or process vinyl chloride. This information was obtained from the 1992 Toxic Chemical Release Inventory (TRI92), and it summarizes the reported release data for 1992 (TRI92 1994), Table 4-1 also lists the maximum amounts of vinyl chloride that are present at these sites and the end uses of the vinyl chloride. Vinyl chloride was first produced commercially in the 1930s by reacting hydrogen chloride with acetylene. Currently, vinyl chloride is produced commercially by the chlorination of ethylene through one of two processes, direct chlorination or oxychlorination. Direct chlorination reacts ethylene with chlorine to produce 1,2-dichloroethane. Similarly, oxychlorination produces 1,2-dichioroethane, but this is accomplished by reacting ethylene with dry hydrogen chloride and oxygen. After both processes, the 1,2-dichloroethane is subjected to high pressures (2.5-3.0 megapascals) and temperatures "DRAFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT"' CMA 112980 . PRODUCTION. IMPORT. USE. AND DISPOSAL Table 4-1. Facilities That Manufacture or Process Vinyl Chloride Facility Location3 Range of maximum amounts on site in pounds Activities and uses KEYSOR-CENTURY CORP. SAUGUS, CA 1, 000,000-9,999,999 As a reactant UNION CARBIDE CORP. TORRANCE, CA 10,000-99,999 As a reactant FORMOSA PLASTICS CORP. DELAWARE CITY, DE 1, 000,000-9,999,999 As a reactant GEORGIA GULF CORP. DELAWARE CITY, DE 1, 000,000-9,999,999 As a reactant WESTLAKE PVC CORP. PACE, FL 1, 000,000-9,999,999 As a reactant UNION CARBIDE CHEMICALS TUCKER, GA 100,000-999,999 As a reactant BF GOODRICH CO. HENRY, IL 1, 000,000-9,999,999 As a reactant; As a product ax component BORDEN CHEMICALS & PLASTICS ILLIOPOLIS, IL No Data As a reactant BF GOODRICH CO. LOUISVILLE, KY 1, 000,000-9,999,999 As a reactant s AIR PRODS. & CHEMICALS INC. CALVERT CITY, KY 10,000-99,999 As a reactant WESTLAKE PVC CORP. u c WESTLAKE MONOMERS CORP. CALVERT CITY, KY CALVERT CITY, KY 1, 000,000-9,999,999 1, 000,000-9,999,999 As a reactant Produce; For sale/distribution VULCAN MATERIALS CO. GEISMAR, LA 100,000-999,999 Produce; For o g on-siteuse/processing; As a by-product; As a reactant BORDEN CHEMICALS & PLASTICS GEISMAR, LA No Data Produce; For on-site use/processing; For sale/ PPG IND. INC. LAKE CHARLES, LA No Data distribution; As a reactant Produce; For sale/distribution; As a by-product; As an impurity; As a CERTAINTEED CORP. VISTA CHEMICAL CO. FORMOSA PLASTICS CORP. SULPHUR, LA WESTLAKE, LA BATON ROUGE, LA 1, 000,000-9,999,999 No Data 1, 000,000-9,999,999 reactant As a reactant Produce; For sale/distribution Produce; For on-site use/processing; For sale/distribution; As a RHONE POULENC BASIC CHEMICALS DOW CHEMICAL CO. BATON ROUGE, LA PLAQUEMINE, LA 10,000-99,999 No Data by-product; As a reactant Ancillary uses Produce; For sale/distribution; ns a reactant; As a manufacturing O M CD 00 Facility Table 4-1. Facilities That Manufacture or Process Vinyl Chloride (continued) Location' Range of maximum amounts on site in pounds Activities and uses PRODUCTION. IMPORT, USE, AND DISPOSAL BF GOODRICH CO. GEORGIA GULF CORP. PLAQUEMINE, LA PLAQUEMINE, LA 100,000-999,999 No Data UHION CARBIDE CORP. MARINE SHALE PROCESSORS INC. OCCIDENTAL CHEMICAL CORP. DOW CHEMICAL USA MILES INC. VISTA CHEMICAL CO. OCCIDENTAL CHEMICAL CORP. BF GOODRICH CO. GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER CO. VYGEN CORP. BF GOODRICH AVON LAKE VISTA CHEMICAL CO. OCCIDENTAL CHEMICAL CORP. GREENWOOD PLATING DOW CHEMICAL CO. HAHNVILLE, LA AMELIA, LA ADDIS, LA MIDLAND, MI KANSAS CITY, MO ABERDEEN, MS BURLINGTON, NJ PEDRICKTOWN, NJ NIAGARA FALLS, NY ASHTABULA, OH AVON LAKE, OH OKLAHOMA CITY, OK POTTSTOWN, PA GREENWOOD, SC FREEPORT, TX No Data 1,000-9,999 100,000-999,999 100,000-999,999 100,000-999,999 No Data 1, 000,000-9,999,999 1, 000,000-9,999,999 100,000-999,999 100,000-999,999 1, 000,000-9,999,999 1, 000,000-9,999,999 1, 000,000-9,999,999 1, 000,000-9,999,999 No Data SHINTECH INC. FORMOSA PLASTICS CORP. FREEPORT, TX POINT COMFORT, TX No Data No Data UNION CARBIDE CHEMICALS & UNION CARBIDE CHEMICALS OCCIDENTAL CHEMICAL CORP. RHONE-POULENC BASIC CHEMICALS GARLAND, TX TEXAS CITY, TX LA PORTE, TX HOUSTON, TX 100,000-999,999 1, 000,000-9,999,999 1, 000,000-9,999,999 10,000-99,999 As a reactant Produce; For on-site use/processing; For sale/distribution; As a reactant As a by-product As a reactant As a reactant As a reactant; Ancillary uses As a reactant As a reactant As a reactant As a reactant As a reactant As a reactant As a reactant As a reactant As a reactant As a product component Produce; As a by-product; As an impurity; As a reactant; As a chemical processing aid Import; For on-site use/processing; As a reactant Produce; For on-site use/processing; As a by-product; As a reactant As a reactant As a reactant Ancillary uses Ancillary uses i. PRODUCTION, im p o r t , USE. a n d DISPOSAL Table 4-1. Facilities That Manufacture or Process Vinyl Chloride (continued) Facility Locat ion' Range of maximum amounts on site in pounds Activities and uses OCCIDENTAL CHEMICAL CORP. BF GOODRICH CO. OCCIDENTAL CHEMICAL CORP. GEON CO. OCCIDENTAL CHEMICAL CORP. BONDCOTE CORP. oi 3>1 PASADENA, TX DEER PARK, TX DEER PARK, TX LA PORTE, TX GREGORY, TX PULASKI, VA No Data 1,000,000-9,999,999 No Data No Data No Data 100,000-999,999 As a reactant As a reactant Produce; For sale/distribution Produce; For sale/distribution Produce; For sale/distribution As a formulation component 0 Source; TRI92 1994 -co Post office state abbreviation used 1 o 8 m 5 ! O 2> to CD 00 U> 4. PRODUCTION, IMPORT. USE. AND DISPOSAL (550~550C). This causes the 1,2-dichloroethane to undergo pyrolysis, or thermal cracking, which forms the vinyl chloride monomer and hydrogen chloride. The vinyl chloride monomer is then isolated (Cowfer and Magistro 1985). The technical grade product is available in 99.9% punty (H5DB 1994). Efforts are being made to minimize by-product formation in 1,2-dichloroethane pyrolysis (Cowfer and Magistro 1985). 4.2 IMPORT/EXPORT Imports of vinyl chloride totaled 119 million pounds in 1992 and 164 million pounds in 1991 (CPS 1993). Imports have been steadily declining from a high of 302 million pounds in 1989, prior to which they had been increasing (CPS 1993). Exports of vinyl chloride were 1.63 billion pounds in 1992, down from the all time high of 1.78 billion pounds in 1991. Over the past 20 years, exports of vinyl chloride have fluctuated fairly widely, but have been generally increasing an average of about 17% per year since 1975. 4.3 USE Vinyl chloride is an important industrial chemical because of its wide variety of end-use products and the low cost of producing polymers from it. Furthermore, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is one of the most efficient construction materials available when analyzed on an energy-equivalent basis (Cowfer and Magistro 1985). Major end-use products include PVC products, such as automotive parts and accessories, furniture, packaging materials, pipes, wall coverings, and wire coatings, as well as vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer products, such as Films and resins (Cowfer and Magistro 1985; Eveleth et al. 1990). End-use data for 1992 indicate that 98% of vinyl chloride monomer production is for making polyvinyl chloride and various polyvinyl chloride copolymers; the other 2% is for miscellaneous uses (CPS 1993). Vinyl chloride has been used in the past as a refrigerant, as an extraction solvent for heat-sensitive materials, and in the production of chloroacetaldehyde and methyl chloroform (IARC 1979). In the United States, limited quantities of vinyl chloride were used as an aerosol propellant and as an ingredient of drug and cosmetic products; however, these practices were banned by the EPA in 1974 (IARC 1979; HSDB 1994). '"DRAFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT'" CMA 112984 I 4. production, import, use. and DISPOSAL 4.4 DISPOSAL Since vinyl chloride has been identified by EPA as a hazardous material, its disposal is regulated under the Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) (EPA 1993d). The transportation of hazardous materials for disposal is regulated by the Department of Transportation in compliance with this act (DOT 1993). The recommended method of disposal is total destruction by incineration. The temperature of the incinerator must be sufficient to ensure the complete combustion of the vinyl chloride in order to prevent the formation of phosgene. The recommended temperature range for incineration is 450-1,600tlC, with residence times of seconds for gases and liquids, and hours for solids (HSDB 1994). If in solution, the vinyl chloride product may need to be adsorbed onto a combustible material prior to incineration. Recommended materials include vermiculite. sawdust, or a sand-soda ash mixture (90/10) covered with wood and paper (OHM/TADS 1985). The vinyl chloride can also be dissolved in a flammable solvent prior to incineration. An acid scrubber should be used in conjunction with the incinerator in order to remove any hydrogen chloride that is produced by the combustion process (HSDB 1994; OHM/TADS 1985). Alternatively, chemical destruction may be used, especially with small quantities. One-to-two days is generally sufficient for complete destruction (HSDB 1994). Aqueous by-product solutions from the production of vinyl chloride are usually steam-stripped to remove volatile organic compounds, neutralized, and then treated in an activated sludge system to remove nonvolatile organic compounds remaining in the waste water (Cowfer and Magistro 1983). `"DRAFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENTTM CMA 112985