Document oDEE7ZYLdq1yYR1RwqNoErJkr

May 12, 1975 DOW CHEMICAL U.S.A. P. 0. MIDLAND. i s.:7 :nteh 4 aw C| 5 ffls ess css ess O' 1--* f--* Honorable John St.ender Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health U.S. Department of Labor Washington, D.C. 20210 REQUEST FOR MODIFICATION OF VINYL CHLORIDE STANDARD Dear Sir: We hereby petition for a modification cf the present definition of a "fabricated product" under the previsions of the vinyl chloride standard (29 C.F.R. 1910.93q(b) (5)), v.'hich exempts certain products from the scope of that standard. The purpose of the proposed modification is to cl:r-ify the scope of the fabricated product exemption as it applies to certain resins (polyms:::-; or copo.'t ymers of viry."' chloride) which contain a residual vinyl chloride level so lev that, oven vnhci'i p.-oeerned at temperatures sufficient to cause mass melt i.nu , ai?r concentre Liens to vhieh e;"p? ey cos won.1 d bo exposed would not ox coca the standard's action level. This clarification of this cu: exert ion v.'ould relievo certain employ or a of soL.se of the mere tim.e-censurr.ing and burdensome require ments of the standard, simplify enforcement of the standard in many cases by the Occupational Safety and Health Administra tion, and provide an incentive to reduce residual vinyl chloride levels in polyvinyl chloride. At the same time, employees handling the newly exempted products would incur no greater health risk tk ,n that eo which o trier employees may now be exposed under the standard's action level concept. THE PROPOSED MODIFICATION: The present definition (1910.93q(b)(6)) reads: "(6) 'Fabricated product1 means a product made wholly or partly i.vom polyvinyl chioride, and which docs not require further processing at temperatures, and for times, sufficient to cause mass molting of the polyvinyl chloride resulting in the release of vinyl chloride." AN OITIVOINC! UNIT Or THt DOW C.Hf. V.lOAl. COVWANY Vui*. v Hon-. rabl a John S fender 2 Kay 12, 1975 3*3 Vvo propose that the definition be modified to read as follows: "(6) * Fabricated product ' means a product made v,'holly or partly"from'polyvinyl chloride; (i) v.'hich does not- require further processing at temperatures, and for times, sufficient, to cause mass melting of the polyvinyl chloride resulting in the release of vinyl chloride; or (ii) v.'hich, altno a g h such product docs require further processing at temperatures, and for times, sufficient to cause mass melting of the polyvinyl chloride, results in the release of wo3;kplacc atmosphere concentrations cf vinyl chloride which do not exceed the action level . " RATIONALE for the proposed modification. It is generally acknowledged that the present scope of the vinyl chloride standard is exceptionally bread, arguably covering many semi-completcd products where further processing cannot result in exposures above the action. Despite this lew' level of exposure -- a level of exposure v.'hich has not yet been iden tifiod vvi th anv si gni S' leant harmful healt h eff acts emolovors den 1ing with nch pr r\ ducts arc scill pet c.n U -L C< L ii.. subjected to many roc: u Irene ntc of the standard whi ch Tv;o Old apperr v to have no s i g n i :-c i c a nt r_\ fleet on reducing t *1 c level of hoajth risks to which th c-r orr.fl.o- v-c s are o>:r.cr o'; . Or the of .or l- ` ' f.-,,7 - nr y a v: i t h t i i s s' o r . q u i r c m c: i1. s c rca teS serious b U j. . _i. LOj. the cv.pl oye IT a. I r.der those cir C"V* rest ance clorifjca t i o n o f v lie fabric ci U t-i d product exonption it applies to these semi-completed products sears to bo warranted. Furthermore, clear availability of the exemption will en courage manufacturers to conduct the work necessary to reduce the residual monomer level of such products, a desirable policy objective. To better illustrate the intent of the proposed mod.;.f.icm.tion, we provide the foJ lowing example of one of our products v.'hich we believe would be exempted thereunder, including our data on exposure levels. EXAMPLE: "SARA"" RESINS MANUFACTURED TO A LESS THAN 1 PPM RESIDUAL VINYL CHLORIDE CONTENT. Dow Chemical U.S.A. produces a copolymer of vinylidone chloride and vinyl chloride. The copolymer, a synthetic plastic rosin commonly known as Snran, is a dry free flowing powder which is packaged in plastic film lined drums and Honorable Jo; btc nee: 3 M.'iy 12 f 19 7 5 carton. , bulk n t truek s , and bull: shipment railroad cars for purposes of storage and transport. Some of the resin is used by Dow in the m. anufacturc cf Suren Vbuep mlast film and some .is sold to cost oners v;ho convert it into packaging films and mcnofilam cr.t fibers. During the past, year Dow has successfully mad e several improvements in the copolymer manufacturing proce 53 directed at reducing the amount of vinvl chloride resi duo in the resin. The most recent of these improvements has resulted in the consistent manufacture of resin which is ncndctcctable in residual vinyl chloride when analyzed by a method sensitive to 1 ppm c This resin, v?e believe, would pose no vinyl chloride inhala tion hezar' to workers during 'warehousing, transport, or handling c. the renin such as during opening of containers or subsequent fabrication operations. Our belief that this resin poses no vinyl chloride inhalation .hazard is based upon vo:. k n r ex r osu r rt nc n i. c o y t g v; ni r> h v: e b ':ve C c no. 71 e-s u Its of tli i r; m O j. to r i jig S liov: th a t v: or.k ar s i r-j vo 1 v C v_i V," r til V, a e- hou sing, t r a n ~ ore opc ni; g of cont a i n a r s f cr:r s ub c q 1 * > t han dliur o t tii .L s r "S. s in a r c no c ex pc r. e 5 in oy.ee c- s of i- \ Q 0.5 ppm o f v i n ./ I c n 1 or i CO a c ti on i c V c 1 D Xi l_C4 sul\ il c; from thi <-, m.c r a *C o rin ar o sum ...ar i zed in Xc* s * v.to r-? _ i h j. a. ij X S dnu t v;c Figures \:h?c.h fo] lov;. S3 43? PO cs? 5 o*. OJ ul Sample^ Point TABLE I EMPLOYEE EXPOSURE TO AIRBORNE VINYL CHLORIDE FROM SARAN RESINS CONTAINING <1 PPM OF RESIDUAL VINYL CHLORIDE Description page 4 Q> a; a S3 53 On UJ -fc. ppra VC vol./vol. 1 Drum packer at Dow Saran Resin Plant filling drums all shift. Value affected by Saran Manufacturing Plant Lac):ground level. 8 hr . TV;A 0.3 2 Breathing zone level alongside paks stored in Dow warehouse. Values affected by Saran Manufacturing Plant background level. Various determinations. Air concentration 0.1-0.4 3 Warehouse man werking all day in Dow Saran warehouse operation. Man No. Man No. Man No. 1 - 8 hr. TWA 2 -........................ 3- " " 0,18 0.0G 0.08 4 Air concentration inside transport vehicle iust prior to unloading at customer's plant. Samples taken and analyzed by customers. Customer "A" Customer "B" rail car truck trailer <0.1 <0.1 Man unloading transport vehicle. time needed to unload vehicle. TVnA during Customer "A" - rail car Customer "B" - truck trailer < .01 < .01 6 Breathing zone level alongside paks stored in customer's warehouse. Air concentration Customer "A" (after 1 week storage) Customer " 13" < .01 < .01 1 Sample points are shown by number and location on Figure 1. Sample Point 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 TABLE I CC'.'T. page 5 Description Trapped headspace air inside polyethylene bag liner in fiber pak. See Fig. 2 and Table 2 for detail. ppm VC vol./vol. <^1 Man opening nks at the rate of 1 to 1 1/2 minutes per dc (includes opening of P/E bag liner) . TVOA for only time required to open the paks. Sampled At No. of Pahs Time Minutes Dow Dow Customer "A" 10 8 20 14 .02 11 .03 30 < . 01 Man dumping opened pnks into blender. This test was done v?ith Saran Resin containing approx. 15 ppm res idual VC. B-Z TWA during 22 minutes needed to dum P 17 paks at Customer "C". 0.1? Man reloading resi n into paks from blender. Done v;ith seme (approx. 15 ppn vc) resin as use:cl in point 9. 7'_ r* L' mx *\v A during 16 nrinuioo needed to unload b lender 0.20 Unusual case of loading machine hopper from a pak with a scoop. TWA for 3 minutes at Customer "A". 0.09 Simulated "worst case" air cone, at possible B-2, 3 inches belov; top. inside of pak 1/4 full of resin after bring covered for one hour. To simulate person reaching into scoop resin. C.01 Air concentration at top of open machine hopper of Saran resin. Dow Saran-Wrap Plant Customer "A" Film Line 0.02 0.03 Film extrusion line operator. B-Z TWA during time at the line. Includes resin and product handling plus line adjustment and maintenance. Dow Saran-Wrnp Plant Dow Film Line Customer "A" Film Lino 0.04 0.02 0.05 l 900ZS00 <ffA Sample Point 14 TA3Ln i co:-:rr. paoa 6 Description ppm VC vol./vol. Air concentration immediately above die extruding molten Saran resin. Dow Saran-Wrap Plant Customer "7\" Film Line 0.02 0.02 JQ tcCo /a4/ VR 7W a Va 4ai im vw iti FICl 1 FLOW CHART OF SARAN RESIN HANDLING FROM PACKAGING THRU FABRICATION - page 7 . ' ; Blo" a| Di k)Ct i fZE mAcHu^i C LaADu^G- i FASJ2/CATlO^ .2 page 8 TYPICAL CAP;,:; PACKAGE POLYLTLYLLNL FILM LAG INSIDE FILER rAK Sr\r+P`-C K C3 S3 Sam p.' /?' S' p/t m.n >/k, r-zt'/Ki (Z. AU>J/-L~ Lot No. 73205 73236 73237 73238 73 289 73294 73295 73296 73302 73303 TAFI-r 2 pak ith `iDSFACE CONCENTRATION OF VINYL CFLOP.IDL OVERiV i S C C.. A * j-iT 11. w * 1 PPi. OF RLS-ijj'ip.'ii- \. Pa]: N o. 41 46 42 8 41 7 48 11 42 3 Mf g. Date 1-18-75 If II 1-19-75 1-20-75 n H 1-22-75 tt Headspace Analysis - PPM VC vol./vol. as sampled on 1-22-751 < .1 1.1 0.67 < .1 < .1 < .1 0.24 < .2 0.54 0.66 2 -12-75 0.54 0.48 0.12 2-14-75' 0.51 0.61 0.03 Sampled at Dow prior to shipment. 2 Sampled at cus tomer1s plant (by customer} . All samp.l o s taken wi th svrinqe and hllow needle punctured through P/L film bag into Lends pace air BHBBBZBBB^BBh Honorable John Stondc 9 May 12, 1975 COMCLIib J Plastic resins produced by Dow Chemical 'J.S.A. which ore ccpoly -,ers of vinylidene chloride onu vinyl chloride, corn."'.only known as "Sarar.," are now n.anuf ac Cured to comply with a specification of nonietoctaide (less than 1 ppm) residual vinyl chloride content. This resin has an extremely low potential for contributing vinyl chloride to the work place atmosphere. Personnel monitoring of workers involved with warehousing, unpackaging, and handling of these resins has shown that workers performing these operations would not be exposed in excess of the 0.5 ppm of vinyl chloride action level. We believe this example illustrates the case for clearly classifying certain serai-completed product.a (especially certain plastic resins) as fabricated products through the modification proposed in this petition. The proposed modifi cation would not increase worker exposure to vinyl chloride beyond exposure levels presently permitted by tire standard, would relievo employers (most cf v;hor? are smaller conger.;, s which purchase such resins from resin iranufuctvrers for sona furthor processing) of r cu i re-men ts which an be difficult to meet, would simplify enforcement of the standard, and w'ould serve as sc:mi-- com r Icte V.T4 vinyl c h lorid we urge you t o an inducement to the manufacturers of such . r c C -^.-4 CCS to r od uce th a re s a a uni ,L<_'V ei. or j n th f'i *i pr oduc ui . U *.-V| '! ^- a- th a s e c i r cm;:.'vuae, a d opt thi s prop QC0 d C 1 ai G y ? no modi f i c a t i c n , vh ieh we v.oul Ci be pi e-are d to d -e S CJ uss fur on a r with you or yo ur rep r u r a r 'Cc lciv es Re spectf u 11 y SIlbmi tt ocl, L. M. Thomka 01 e f i n P low tic s D c-p a r t m e n c cc Mr. Grover Wrenn, OSHA (Division of Health Standards Development) i i' J 0 11; P: J1r0, earn i.:;;a??cn Dir K.vy , 1 '1 ? S I.L. lio. 439 TO: F^-nd 11 Arjufarr.*r ^>'r, Food Parkur: ng Ka tci ins Suppliers FhJMFVT : Feud !-.i ckso i i'i'.i r. containing Vl:v/ ' Chicri de For msr.y y-.':s po J yv ' r.y) ch loride , a v?r!i-'.t il" [ 1 3 ` i f roc-.uy polyr-eizinc v i : i y) ch'.oririv, Fas bem "rr.d to fabricate i wj rp variety c t r>rot',ic'. s , including '.-errtcrii. l r< for foods. Fincn vinyl - dlorj-> a gas at r'ur?] rV'n .-c, it g ocrally pt-j: , ' r 11973 tl-a-. any unpoly- r.ri'j 7''d noi'i.'..'.':1' v",aiM:n ip j.o.lyvir,yl- -hir i.d t- renin after y.-i ->-r -vi nation P would d . " u ; f'.r-ri >:n rar:u u-bieciGci to l.m b'jon j ictyr i.? ;d re.:, uf i.y that residual i . 1 `.hi r:d- : n i r. f-r' ; .'-L'rjjst in rab;uc!l .l'- f----j r ..yk: g i ng '...Cl - .--rt- in 'encc it :--sy l"'.- tr . isierrod `foodr. Feet :r.[| h.7''-.''01 cf t',o Food and Drug P^nuT at tone v-roFibits the sale o any food in a package ttm. may yic-iri to its content =M'iy substance that may or injurious to the 9 1 t.h i_,f a (ptiitner of ''.r food. Tiiere i ; cm;' ir!--vc.i'1 > r ciur.t i i r mu medical `vidcnc.' iiitigostt t!i it. vinyl chlo ride, v.h'n inhejed, is harmful to mar*. The oral toxicity d-'ra which aj-.. presently available are insufficient' 'o allow the re ta'ol i '-ijirent ol a saf* lo-ul of this nonon.Mi :n Cn-adr. The-rr f - y, it has been i mo 1 iKii-'.!, in ti v inter..sts of protecting t.hr health cf cons.;-^r, that the qual ity of jx'i yv.i i'j : dilori-io 1 .ad materials for pe.chauii.u food: i.huuld be such that tho\ ? wi I ! be no i.].>!.( ion of vinyl ihlorid;. fj\Mn h- ~o miiturr.is to foods packaged their in. Hv'bt;*' and i ire Sa.nte u \ `- I ( n if tc'M )-'3 Canad-t !o 9 !'1.1 19 a 'a sa ie **esi as <33 <S3 <33 O' U> ra <33 I,. R. I.'"' 4 39 ,YJX: F -}) i i r ?: ' .i d 1 n 1 j :. tm , r s , Fcy. i v- ni'ir.'-'i! r. i -i' lT!' i 0.' ] ! no-- 0BJE7: :GG'-'``! ' lie '` chae.-rure a-- vinvie ccntvn-.r.t dn Lo j r-.'lyvi r.y 3 r>, p 1 ar-' : qe- A u-riu'm i : 1 i. 3 | ?d-"iv? d" ii pr-1 y- =>-i r a- tior: 1m ciii .rn; ?' vinyl'-, <-C`, ,i --,wr i i i r ji::5 ! a t la r- cat '.Oil prir. I.--; 1 7 ' ~ r ji 1 i .<>Y .mi' , y ">"- l ; 1,1. . ent u: y r. 1 ; ' r : ,, = i ]<:- . <;n pretrr <; V':.'Jv: ,, n , mcnoiP' j.-' d-MV- ! n ro'u'i polyrcr i - :' ii >.. >' O'. procc-d do f y! nr ei ^ r.-'-- !' ) r-' - -i' mm-- - . J! a :d;r chi-.'rnr-:d : r. :.' ;: o r.^T. 1 r-;M fait. ? f jr C air: ..;i*s cptt" '.- i.' d >u : 1 ~ . poor , ..I'-'. 1-..C tr'jy- - r, ij.o it rt it i: : r ocre trine- rrrntr, sor lea ilir-rnts ot dv^yuo'i, ii est dcfep.d'i dc '.'Oiiur" no aliro.nt dont l'e.M'bal- Irqr pout ' r-nisr. -t-*--:. ri pi-.n'-.enu unr suL'S tanoc im', 3'P u'jirii.'m a I" cant^ d 1 un c'. : ' . r i - ibliv::. P-.: t r : I'Ci'iiit > jiT"' ..!'s . irnti/ : :.i ie 91 mud i - calls dor,:'-;-:,* a yc...-..-:r uu.' 1 ' inhy 1 a*: i ru dr chlorurr d Vi.iyl.,. or*: nu.isihlo a l'hrpj.K,-. Lot- d.-'Mi:-1 :ri 1- rui in :. r;-.u pit-^ oralr- rf. =>iff. i,. par j'l.jr ctablir un ni.v' j ar sr i 'ir C '.- uc:;: rPre dnn:; l'.-s i .2 i re r ' . ,r,-i r1 0 nr iror ] i, qn;- , pour j : Jo d'i - ,r;uvt;..' , i .. i. :. t \ i 1 ~ a r d<- cnlrrurr dr po) yvinyl" uf j j. j P ' p.nr L 1 - i -b-t 11 ju" d':p j..;...: dui > 1 : i ir r- u , nit ntri t.rllc i 1 -i ' ; t l pi: '.It. r< .< u r t f ior. da c;i3oriur` ti.. . ii.-i'. ce ,iV. -r : el au pi c.'dui - 1 - J - M". i ..-i t . I I., c 1 ... 1 i 002006321 I*, is r.y i n > ontior., i "refoi"J , to i nd D v i s i i i 5 of: the Ford cr.d onto Kv-po J ;.! iono be a"-- no--- to prohibit f'O sole r> i'.iiv load in ^ ; ackcoa that r,,s" yi' ic' f.o its c.." .ents e-fy -v-o ;;.t of vinyl chloride, as fi'.'i.'-mir.'.n chc official i-'-'tJio.d for that. food. Your or. o1 ^iproposal should b-:. dii Led to the As chn -~ -1 Director Gen ital, Food Directorate, ihoith Protection , D. pnri. i.-.-jit of v-it.v.nai Health and W* lia'i', "'vl ir.-jocod Plaza, ottav.'a, !>i it-tr i o r PiA 01?, Witihi one ;ronth from ' i. ^ r. o t o of this letter . -2 - J'-1 r,f ): v t : ? : :.-.r,o r _ - nr r o no '. -7.no le "J'.lv :.J ' y- i r-' n.-- Jm oii- rtntr < c , o n:-' -*; so it --t i i f i n d-' fip'o A is.t `.rdi re la vent1* ri.- toot olnn-ont conn n:> errhtj 1 ".o'- y.~-j' .-o'- t r--. n -i zh non to^Loriu n'inporto c.inll'- 'p.. nf it 6 de chlcrire d ? v irivh, d h t erri n jo re Ion la rH't.hcdn of f .1 7 r.'.j 1 > penr 1 ' fi 1 i i -nt on qutr r i.'-:; A co j/opon, -. uj 1 j 0 - t. 0 c r - r ctscr-"'.' t.; Pi : c ft to. ; i; 'r-i i adjoint, a la pi rentier. :;l~- alincnt's, Direction centre I c- dr To 1 retort in i do la cn.oto. Minister*.' bo la For,-;'' nation:,! e <>; du Di oti-et-.) a ee i1 , Co r). -d Pier OttT.o, Piif-irjo, K1A DL2, b un h-'l'i d'nn r''.K spr'-- :a date do c^tt/e inttre*. Lc Sous-.- i nistro adjoint, / J Y' A.E. Morriro:., h -D. , Assistant Deputy iiniRtcr t iVi ^Tnu e<eft ft IiSatJ 0 3 3r a i * <\ i* !', 0 V c. 1 C >j 0 .1G G 1 1 j l i w r i ' i L i' i. >\ u j i i. 0 I ;; -J ijSY t mo in r ir i. V Von h.'.;. Su i zx 7 COO D. C. 20030 Dear Ar, forcovici: T i: 1 o is to c-. Avis'-* ir p 1 -: n : o t i o n onf p rr. a ti c o of tbv >irr:-ri>r : '..-.1tri.j:-j og n:;tlinc-u in your letter of . " V* > S Mill >w i 1 f IJ i f;70 . po "o s 1-7 \ w1 :! c :. t i s fy 17.o rcp;j i r c*o\,tz of 0 c z J pc. r. i;vo 1 f 0. f o c .on -< i Or; o i . n j\ ` r "i " t re t'; n (... 3.) 3 f n.: o r<; 00 CfA U10.93 (r:)'for Ini-clin;: vinyl cfloriJa (VC) or po;y v i r y j color u ((' .' C}' f;: i -1': c rr n o The m.-puect Pro..; F. f-onfrich; {rr ~.:rr-':j to in your lofv-rr > n .<> \ iIP- !ri c<- i:;r cues ; ...orrv tv rrn U r. i e_* of St or Vr-v'* iij ,'/ u i. O : Vi f C;:>J O 0 ' I' u V "C : 'j VO C : O C Ol i 0 ,-i !1 i, O '! ;, i 1' ? O V P t u. bu Trero arc rr prov 1 oi o;. c fisr oxclup'ioii or err.- tc i j.o re tii at arc for ox;'ore ; r; v r-vr e v.. You r. r y , hove vor s pcticior t.vr AosicUr.ri: vofrr I'r.rt 1011.3 fop c.v.-cnd- r.orf to tiro sttsiOcrJ. A copy of i'ert 1011 'is enclose;- for your i ;ifor.r; tio, T h _* ;r 0,; v c ;1 r u 1 P olso opnly to f!'.c. r^:rvr: i: l-.* v: v,t `cvvy'-los 0 i j' > j v . j i C : i i u . ' i j i r . . t u L- C: 1 j . i j \ J k 1 -;- yu.v IntLor;. i\'o 1 n . you Vie v j' U C f i O 11 r ( c; :; L r o n z r- Zi r re u o i o i of i VC scroplos. In creh ins lance v;ivon p.oti t i oni for an '`.:.:-jU'.;';Oiri;, yen 5 ii DV< i i G U vi`,/ C iiu C C i:O ClV.w i 1 C II o '* P C i - . G , i .!.; - i G 1.; C i, ' i C: u o , o;x 'tens or prccoGGos use... cr prr.r.oso.; t c _ .:.. i\ ' Vi i ;i i9B Z B 0a. W A ; ro v '! . o c;- .`l vy - 'v-i'i i". n:; J pi or : ri.t' 'j.'.'- j I 0 -0.1 ; (i C: .< 1 o ; i i c! i ..iL . Pi' 1 i io `.i i._ : 11 .! .* 0 . 0 f ^ -l *| u" t'n 1 o VC. v;; 11 r. ! !ij w: x. r<:: $ tn .!. J f I cnc ;j-j of v li r-jjiicr o or;:: ;'i ;c...r]:/. ;, c o . ol-n 11 k. . v, i. i.i jcini scmnoTi U i i.s i, . , . j r. j* L'vCrC'P/. TV Cm' L. 11 Vx j O 0 i' 0 or . h, T MSA ll^onf. Qii/?u/7b p* L..`t r-j p-s p-T -a L,,\ .4 ics ih-jii?c -c f<ir- luesi^m union 0M11 DC Nt^YORK >Y 1 n o oa*?a -FT ZIP (<7^cE n' ?* ?** n i *. \J L w u i li vac** <>Tts por.r^o ;rl O a~ ~ tA; S~" - 5-1 U L Li MR K U SCHUTER CLT I.fc.ENT*.u OIL CO Pi^K EIGHTY PLAZA LAST SADDLE BrtOOK NJ 07662 u~-ji o EP* Hi3 EXTENDS D DEADLINE FOR CG`^-tTS ON MODEL PLANT ECONOMICS UN"*- 1L --AY SO, T h J 3 WILL RUSH HACK. ISSUANCE 0* STANDARD A w IN01F J wIT t PhKI OL-, LXPL AN a TOR Y LETTER FOLLOWS JOnN R L.A.sPtr-CE TECHNICAL OX^tCTOR THb SOCIETY OF Thf PLASTICS INDUSTRY CHEMICALS Research APR3 J 1975 16ilR EST mgk.n*kt m$a tHi i. o O o o o o D a D O -\ ,. i