Document pmRvqo4L2BM86JbzebjRedDda

R&S 025298 / / January 1976 Volume 40, No. 1 INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE DIGEST LITERATURE ABSTRACTS ENVIRONMENTAL AND OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY NEWS INDUSTRIAL HEALTH FOUNDATION, INC. 5231 CENTRE AVENUE . PITTSBURGH, PA. 15232 InduNtnui Hygiene iJignat lb7G Uu Pont ScicnliHt Labels UMPA a Possible Carcinogen, Ur^es Caution . K-IOQ3I ' Laboratories employing hexnme'.hvliihoxiihnrumirtc (HMI'A) un .1 solvent have linen advised to handle the chemicul with caution appropriate for u potential carcinogen. In a letter to .Science magazine published in the Oct. 31 issue, John A. Hupp, Jr., director. Haskell Laboratory lor 'lexicology tmd Industrial Medicine, l: .1. du Pont do Nemours and Co. . Wilmington, Del. , indicated tats exposed to UMPA in u long-term inhala tion toxicity study developed malignunt nasal tumors that in some cases penetrated the hrain. Using Charles Itiver CD struin housed in rooms with laminar flow ventilation, tmd paying strict attention to sanitation, Uu Pont began its experimentation in December 1974, with four groups ol 120 male and 120 female rats eacii. ex posed to. respectively, 0,30,400 and 4,000 parts per billion of UMPA bix hours per day. five days per week. After *:ix months, 18 animals in each group were killed, but showed no compound-related lesions, Xapp re ported. Uy the eighth month, August 1975, some rats in the same two groups showed enlarged noses and ex perienced breathing difficulty. When killed, autopsies revealed squamous cell carcinoma in the nasal cavity, which in dome cases filled the cavity and penetrated the brain , Tumors originated from the epithelial lining of the nasal turbinate bones, Xapp said, "The incidence was dose-related, 12 nasal tumors being found in 15 ruts (out of 240 exposed) that died or were killed in the eighth month in the htgli-expusun- group (4,000 pbb) , us compared with seven tumors in eight unitnnls (out of 240 exposed) that died or were killed in the mid-exposure group (400 ppb) Xapp concluded. Of six rats randomly selected and killed from the low-dose group exposed to 50 ppb levels or UMl'A, none showed uny malignancy. --Job Sufety $ Health Report 5; 212. November 3, 1975 9/70 Accreditation Group Formed for Occupational Health. -Safety, An accrediting commission, governed by eight leading professional societies, has been formed to play a sig nificant role in helping industry understand and implement effective occupational health and safety programs. Called OlISPAC-for the Occupational Iloalth/bafety Programs Accreditation Commission--tlie non-profit group has begun contacting industrial companies and other organizations to make known its purpose and the bene fits it offers through the accreditation process. OlISPAC' accreditation is based upon fulfilling criteria in five major concerns of occupational health and safety: medicine, nuising. industrial hygiene, health physics and the administration of these functions. The accreditation process reviews policies, organization, pro grams, regulatory compliance, facilities, equipment, diagnostic procedures, hazard prevention, emergency preparedness, record-keeping and many other operational, assessment and surveillance criteria. OlISPAC. represents a combined effort of the American Academy of Industrial Hygiene. American Academy of Occupa tional Medicine, American Association of Industrial Nurses, American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, American Industrial Hygiene Association . American Occupational Medical Association, American Society of Safety Engineers and Health Physics Society. Each, of the member organizations has a commissioner on OllSPACs governing board. Accreditation policies are established by the commissioners. A special re view committee of the commission makes final authorization of accreditation for industrial firms and other organizations participating in the program. Dr. Robert E. L'ckurdt, chairman of the commission, explained that OlISPAC is designed to be an educational as much as an accrediting process. Companies seeking accred itation may wish to have all or part of their facilities approved. In any event, accreditation is approved on the busis of separate facilities or operations and not for the company as a whole. Dr. Eckurdt said, "We, of course* can't guarantee that a plant which has gained accreditation will never be subject to a Federal viola tion under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, but generally we feel if it meets our requirements it will be living up to objectives as set forth by law." Headquarters stuff includes William E. McCormick, execu tive director, and Larry D.' Hyde, accreditation coordinator. Companies seeking accreditation should con tact OlISPAC headquarters, 6G S. Miller Road, Akron, Ohio 44313; (218) 864-8808. For an initial fee of $100, the company will receive OllSPACs "Standards, Interpretations and Audit Criteria for Pelformance of Occupational Health Programs," and upon filling out the document criteria, the first steps will be taken, 11 is estimated that the entire process will cost a company between $3,000 und $5,000. -Occupational Health $ Safety Letter 5: 8, November 8. 1975 A Japanese National Safety Standard for Vinyl Chloride. ) "~j A Japanese national safety standard for vinyl chloride may be issued by year's end. The Ministry of Health $ Welfare already has set a provisional 2 ppm limit inside monomer plants, A belated stir over vinyl chloride safety has followed the provisional linking of a chemical worker's death from liver cuncer last month in Nagoya to long-term exposure to the monomer. The government has since told polyvinyl chloride mukers to arrange medicul examinations for workers exposed to vinyl chloride. --Chemical & Engineering News 53: 10. November 10, 1975 co