Document v1nna9LZvV3N7KymYj0x6NeaR

FOAM OM>IOOOO MV, Ml Mr. J. Wilkinson to Mr. R. Chartier El Stamford at Assonet from V. C. Pitts at New Haven subject Polyvinyl Chloride - Current Awareness Project 8300-026 NHTIS 73-11, Supplement VIII - Business News -fV.X v.1. COPY TO ! HAVEN ' H. Bialecki W. Boswell A. C. Bridge A. J. Flanagan J. B. Haglind (w/o att J. H. Ludes R. E. Maizell (w/o att R. Tope J. A. Wood B. I. C. T. R. C. (4) Attached is our most recent collection of articles on news and business aspects of polyvinyl chloride, except in the areas of plastic pipes and fittings. (See NHTIS 73-168). Articles and patents of a more technical nature will be included in Supplement IX to be issued shortly. As in the past, we will obtain copies of abstracted articles or full copies of those in which only the first page has been included, as you request them. VCP/rfd Attachments Sources: European Chemical News, July 13 - October 12, 1973. Europlastics Monthly, July - August 1973. Modern Plastics, June - September 1973. Plastics Rubber Weekly, September 7, 1973 - October 26, 1973. Plastics Technology, September - October 1973. Trends in End Use Markets for Plastics, August - November 1973. OLI 7549 WMV Flit THIS COPY? IF YOU MUT RETAIN IT. RPtCIFT A DEFINITE DETENTION PERIOD* ONE YEAR. OTHER November 14, 1973 CHEMICAL WEEK New heat on PVC? A warning on polyvinyl chloride pack aging was given in the Nov. 5 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Assn. Three women who wrap meat, an article stated, developed severe respiratory problems following exposure to fumes produced by cutting PVC film with a hot wire. "We are reporting these cases because we suspect the phenomenon is not un common," contended the three Califor nia physicians who authored the article. The workers, all middle-aged and all smokers, developed symptoms such as shortness of breath, coughing and wheez ing, which resembled an asthma attack, according to the doctors. The discomfort cleared up when the women left the packaging room, but they had respiratory problems when wrapping meat with some other materials, the doctors said. The difficulty could stem from the plas ticizer or stabilizer used in making the PVC film, Union Carbide speculates. The heat might have volatilized some of the materials in the film, the company theo rizes. Carbide says it is a large producer of PVC resins but that its major outlets for them do not include food packaging. This is not the first time that questions have been raised about PVC packaging. A few months ago the Food and Drug Administration temporarily banned molded PVC bottles for liquor because of concern about monomer migration into the liquor. Moreover, had FDA not acted on PVC liquor bottles, the Environmental Protec tion Agency was reported ready to submit "new evidence" that a substantial in crease in the use of PVC in packaging would be harmful to the environment. Nov. 26. 1973 C&EN New syndrome laid to PVC meat-wrap film Polyvinyl chloride film is the suspected cause of an apparent new syndrome, meat wrapper's asthma, turned up by William N. Sokol, Yossef Aelony, and Gildon N. Beall of Harbor Gen eral Hospital, Torrance, Calif. (Beall works also at the school of medicine, University of Califor nia, Los Angeles.) The three physicians tell all in the Nov. 6 issue of the Journal of the Amer ican Medical Association. Their evidence comes from three fe male patients, ages 40,45, and 54, employed as meat wrappers. The three suffered severe respi ratory problems following expo sure to the fumes produced by cutting the PVC film with a hot wire. The patients' symptoms-- shortness of breath, coughing, and wheezing--appeared soon after the supermarkets where they wrapped meat switched to PVC film. In their six to 10 years of wrapping experience, the ladies had not previously been thus afflicted--notwithstanding the facts that the wrapperies were crowded, not specially ven tilated for fume removal, and chilled to about 52* F. Two of the patients show symptoms only when exposed to the PVC fumes; the third was that way at first, but now has chronic short ness of breath (dyspnea) "and produces sputum." What with one thing and an, other, the three Torrance doctors are highly suspicious of the PVC film. They don't know how wide ly the syndrome occurs, but sus pect it is not rare. In fact, the manufacturer of the film--the same product was used by all three patients--had had reports from several cities of respiratory problems associated with PVC film in meat wrapping opera tions. Thus alerted, the compa ny had already completed a study of the matter. Manage ment had PVC film pyrolized, determined the composition of the resulting gases, and conclud ed that they offered no hazard to meat wrappers. (The thought process that led to this conclu sion must have been reasonably sophisticated, but the JAMA ar ticle gives no details.) The three doctors were un lulled by the fact that hydro chloric acid occurs naturally in the stomach. They note that it occurs also in the combustion products of PVC, is a bronchial irritant, and "could conceivably cause the patients' symptoms." Despite the uncertainty over causes, however, they are in no doubt about the syndrome. "... it seems advisable," they write, "to call this matter to general attention to gain some idea of its prevalence...." OU 7550 7 Plastiscope 1 Society-for Testing & Materials, as well as 26 suppliers. The spj's first official reaction was one of "shock." Presi dent Ralph Harding pointed out that SPt has an extensive and broadening commitment to improved flammability standards and test methods, including a program of close cooperation with the National Commission on Fire Pre vention and Control--which has just concluded a two-year study on fire safety. And he notes the irony of the timing of ftc's class-action proposal. It was issued barely a month after spi revealed plans for a sweeping new research/ analysis endeavor (in cooperation withe federal govern ment and private agencies) that is intended to yield basic new information for developing standards and tests rele vant to actual fire situations (June mp, p. 104). PVC's `Perils of Pauline': environmental goblin Is replaced by toxicity dragon With sales of polyvinyl chloride all but going through the resin suppliers report that tests conducted after the fda's roof, resin producers and compounders aren't very much temporary ban are highly encouraging. Still, the fact that alarmed by a federal action that threatens to squash a five- pvc has once again been put into question is bound to wa year-long experiment in the use of molded pvc bottles for ken second thoughts among some potential user compan liquor. The action--a ban on such containers imposed by ies. And consider this; An official of the federal Environ the Food & Drug Administration, pending determination mental Protection Agency confides to modern plastics of the potential effects of monomer migration into alco that if fda had not issued its stop order on pvc liquor bot hol--was taken at almost the same moment that the pvc li tles, epa was prepared to submit "new evidence" that sub quor bottle-was about to receive unqualified approval stantial increase in the material for packaging applications from the Treasury Dept.'s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco would be harmful to the environment So, regardless of / and Firearms, based largely on a report that shows pvc to what the industry does to prove the safety of pvc for liquor have a lesser environmental impact than glass (see p. 52). packaging, the issue still is a long way from being settled. The prevailing, but not unanimous, industry attitude is that if the liquor market is lost, it will relieve a little pres RP poles market comes alive sure from a supply situation that is already at the alloca tion stage. But this may be a dangerously short-sighted Even though the national master plan calls for burial of view. The kicker is that FDA requires proof of safety before electrical transmission lines, the demand for above-ground permitting any "incidental additive" to show up in foods utility and lighting poles is growing at an estimated or beverages. Incredible as it seems, considering the inter 25%/year. Coupled with continued adversity in the eco est by suppliers and distillers alike, no such data exist on nomics of timber products (recent attempts to cut wood monomer migration into alcohol, which is, of course, an prices notwithstanding), this factor establishes a new active solvent. The fda says it was not alerted to the po growth platform for reinforced plastic poles. The potential tential problem until February of this year, when data market is pegged--conservatively, say suppliers interested were supplied by a distiller and other sources. in it--at 91,000 metric tons (200 million lb.) annually. What next? The question that is now raised by many The idea is not new, but it appears to be one whose time people (including a consultant with a long background in has come. The two leading U.S. manufacturers of rp poles chemicals and plastics) is whether similar discoveries will report sharply rising demand this year among public-util be made that could damage Pvc growth prospects for food ity companies and private contractors. While the shortage and nonfood markets. The consultant points out, fqr ex in wood is the prime mover, the rp poles also are report ample, that prior sanctions for pvc in food packaging are edly being selected over gavanized steel or aluminum based on extractability data compiled from tests with four structures on grounds of performance, light weight, instal solvents: water, acetic acid, heptane, and ethanol. Thus, he lation economies, long service life, and ease of mainte says, there are a number of fatty or oil-based products now nance. Thus, although the plastic poles are initially more packaged in pvc whose status could be put in jeopardy on expensive than any of the alternatives, cost/performance is the same grounds as those that could wipe pvc out of the another story; one that is getting wider currency among liquor market. So it may be that suppliers and users prospective customers. shouldn't be unduly lulled by FDA's statement, published Starting `small.' The ultimate aim is production of an in the Federal Register at the time of the liquor-in-PVc RP pole that could replace the ubiquitous 40-ft. wooden hold, that "there is no indication at this time that fvc powerline distribution pole. But such a pole is only in the resins in contact with nonalcoholic foods will result in mi early experimental stage in the U.S. The market that is gration of monomers." opening wide is. that for 16- to 23-ft. hollow-core lighting The fact is that vinyl chloride--and other monomers, standards that accept top-mounted fixtures and are fed by raw materials, and chemicals--are under intense scrutiny buried power lines. It's not small potatoes. Such units are by the federal government. The aim is to establish, once increasingly used to illuminate streets, shopping centers, and for all, solid and documented test data on which to and other residential and commercial complexes. base safe tolerance levels, whatever the exposure, and re Among a number of firms in the business, the two larg gardless of any economic impacts (see June mp, p. 55). est are Whatley Inc., Denver, Colo., and Shakespeare Co., For perspective, it must be noted that while vinyl chlo Columbia, S.C. Each has its own materials/processing ap ride is a deleterious substance. FDA concurs that there is no proach to production of the tapering structures. indication that the amount migrating into liquor is any The pole made by Whatley is glass fiber-reinforced thing more than a harmless trace quantity. And several polyester, filament wound on automatic equipment de- OLI 7551 16 Modern Plastics, July, 1973