Document vVxOZJKp4pV84xDXrjYvEwqLw

`V . V N.P.V. LA , 72 Bd Convention Proceedings Atlantic City, %. J. l|;9 5 9 002287 N37899 /> NATIONAL PAINT, VARNISH AND LACQUER ASSOCIATION Legislative Forum October 19* 1959 Haddon Hall Atlantic City, New Jersey ONlENE*EiPWnAqRtYcKnORA2K-V5ES!N8&8UE TLhawe SMteAnoSgTraEpRhy6R13*EWWCPSAAoTOSRnerHRvNtieInETNgnRIGt3iNBTo-2UOnG5sI6NL1D4C*INGOGeMnePraAlNRYep,orItinncg. 105WFECRSHTanIUACmDAAG2M-O2S053S$TREET TABUS OF CONTENTS NATIONAL PAINT, VARNISH AND LACQUER ASSOCIATION Monday Morning Session October 19, 1959 Page Chairman Frank R. Pitt, presiding ............. ... Jl Call to Order ................................ 1 Address of Mr. Edward F.0 `Toole, Esquire..... 3 Discussion .................................... 21 Address of Mr. BruceHomer ................... 29 Discussion ................................... 45 A d J o u r n r o e n t ............................. 63 002289 46 ; about a paint product, it might well have been. In Detroit, she climbed up on the kitchen sink when her mother turned her ! back for a moment and got ahold of a can of Draino and of . course, she immediately put it to her mouth. Fortunately she didn't get very much of it as we learned later, but her ii| mother called the local Poison Control Center and It was a matter of only minutes until there was a police squad car there and took her and the youngster to the hospital and within 15 minutes after the child got the stuff, they had her stomach pumped out; In the hospital and in bed and all in good shape. Now I think that's a pretty good illustration of what this Poison Control Center is and what do and how they coordinate with the hospitals and police or whomever may be Involved and it's really an important job. They are doing a real good job. CHAIRMAN PITT: I'm sure that the Glidden Company approves of the establishment of Poison Control Units. I want to introduce to you, Daniel Ring, Esquire, who is General Counsel to the Association and who is here to j ! serve you in -- particularly In connection with these problems relating to hazardous household products labeling and anything 1 007,335 47 i i ! . . else that may come before you of a legal nature. Dan? MR. RING: I would like to step a little ahead and tell you why it is the National Association is taking such ; an interest in what to the old time paint grinder might look like a whole lot of red paint; frills. i We have a very definite purpose in mind. A couple of years ago, we used to wait until the fire started and then try to put out the blaze in all of the cities where you have "scareheadB" saying "Paint Is killing children; paint is killing children.11 Then we tried to convert them to the fact that it wasn't. We decided to take the positive approach rather than to - and to be on the offensive rather than on the defensive. This is one of the steps in that direction that has been approved by the Executive Committee. Whereas, pret/, * viously, eur-folders went out with a skull and cross bones on a can of paint with the story that paint Is killing children. ii We are now converting the public health authorities in the various localities to the fact that It isn't the fresh paint that Is going on the wall; It isn't the fresh paint that is going on the furniture that's killing children at any time in ( i ; t j | I 48 these present days; hut the old, flaking paint that was drput on decades ago and which is not a problem so much for the paint industry, although I don't desolve us of any *$ *6 responsibility at all, but primarily the problem of the community. A community problem for the education of your * housing people in the community, of those who permit & dilapidated houses and slums to deteriorate to the detriment of the public health and the parents who don't watch what their children are doing. The net.result is that we are beginning to find in community after community there are public health people saying, " X read one statement from one city not long ago; this is a routine case and it is caused by the parent not taking proper care of the children and not informing the children. And the newspaper article was an article that stressed the need for parents to keep their children from eating lime, piaster and flaking paint in old houses. That's what we want; that's where we want to put the emphasis and we have sent out whenever we've noticed any flare-up of publicity a statement to public health authorities; we sent it to Cleveland, we've sene it elsewhere; Cincinnati and elsewhere telling what part this industry is playing in trying to protect 49 the public health and protect children from getting poisoned. We tell them about the labling that we've recommended to all of our members for the last five years; we point out that the basic causes of lead poisoning as developed in Mr. Bowdltch's Lead Industries Hygene Conference last November,, are \ dilapidated homes, kids from one to five ; eating flaking paint and the failure to take old paint off ; and put new, safe non-toxic paint on. i | We recommend a suggestion of four steps to be taken. j j Let the interested health authority survey sub-standard i dwellings to the end that flaking paint may be removed and i j safe paint substituted; let the diagnostic criteria which we helped to develop when we were finding that every damn questionable childhood fatality was being laid to lead poisoning without proper diagnosis. We went into that and in with the cooperation of the Public Health Service, developed standards, diagnostic criteria which were distributed !during the course of this year to all physicians throughout jthe country telling them what to look for before they -- and how to go about It in a safe way to determine the children have been subjected to lead poisoning. j j j Iat those diagnostic criteria, we say, be circulated j 50 among all pediatricians and toxicologists; let the publicity : 1 on lead poisoning have an educational background for parents and let the public health authorities and all others interested1 in preventing lead poisoning join with the paint industry in a cooperative movement for education and action to secure v: an objective mutually sought; namely, the welfare and health j J of our children. So we're moving ahead on a positive basis and not waiting for this to come to us so that we're on the defensive; this is part of that crusade and this should be the responsi bility of our people back home to develop with their local poison control centers, somebody from your technical staff who could be available for a call saying "Does this vinyl eppoxy or something or other--ingredient listed in this paint -- ; what is the chemical constituency of your paint"; and be able to tell them or tell them where they can find out; that's all that they want to do. X think it'1s a great thing that our industry has done to go along with this cooperation; X think it's forward t looking and X think our industry for that speedy response that they made to the appeal that General Battley put out is to be congratulated very deeply. I wanted to say that and I ' had It on my chest; I thought I'd get it off. i, Thank you for listening. | CHAIRMAN PITT: Thank you, Dan. j j MR .BOWDITCH: May I add Just a word or two? I ; thought I would mention that besides Doctor Zavon, Doctor cann, who is the National Clearing House Poison Control Center ! man is also here this week and I am sure that either of them could be contacted if anybody wished to do so. Secondly, I have here a copy of headlines on health, which the Public Health Federation of Cincinnati -of October 1959 -- I have never heard of this publication until early this month when this copy was sent to me and I would like to read a paragraph from It; "Lead Poisoning Prevention; A center to coordinate Health and Welfare Agencies in treating and preventing lead poisoning In children has been established at the Convalescent i Hospital for Children. j ! " John E. Allan, M.D., was working on the problem. The Center will aim at removing the sources of lead In the home or by relocating the family or child. There have been 5^ cases 002340 52 of lead poisoning In Cincinnati since January 1st." Now listen to this; "The disease now kills and cripples more children than polio." Thatb quite a statement. I promptly wrote to another physician in Cincinnati whom I know very well and X have a page and a half from him in a letter here that describes the work or the proposed work of this center and if anyone is interested X will be very happy to make it available to them. CHAIRMAN PITT; Thank you very much, Mr. Bowditch. You can see, gentlemen, that this gives us a tremendous opportunity, of creating proper images for the industry in the public eye and X stated at the beginning of this meeting, I can think of no work in which we have done lately which Is more constructive than the work that is being done along these lines. I'm just wondering, Dan, whether we might at least broach this subject to the contractors so that when they go in to paint a building which looks -- habitation which looks like i t *8 not the proper coat of paint on it, that they t 53 7 i at least should advise the owner that this Bhould be removed. I think that that might give us an opportunity to enlist another group because after all, It's pretty hard for the average health department to send out inspectors to examine all of these older dwellings where these adverse conditions might exist* Gentlemen, is there anything further? MB. STAMMER: Yes. CHAIRMAN PITT: Mr. Stammer. MR. STAMMER: This thing is highly provocative and I think It should be congratulated; but I could not help but -- sitting here -- thinking here that Mr. Rath -- I wonder if Shell knows what -- I wonder if they have received an order from Mr. Rath which stated on the bottom I am not acquainted with the toxicity or potentialities of toxicity in these new chemicals which are our supply. And pleaae -- and please advise us of what .we should do In our label with respect to ." you see, what we've all belated In today -- and I don't think it was done Intentionally, but a lot of the responsibility for our labeling rests on our raw material supplies. I know my company makes a paint now with -- there are 31 Ingredients In it and I will be absolutely frank with 54 |! you, I don't know what 14 of them are; they may he poison or not. I think that the one thing that would pay all of us In buying materials would be buying a stamp that says "Thi3 is toxic, please give us the next chemical nature of material and the necessary antidotes," and let the boys who supply the raw materials and who are essentially the most prosperous of this group-- (Laughter) (Continuing)-- X was amazed when I was up at i St. Vincent Hospital in Bridgeport visiting a friend; I picked i up a "Register" and then X found out that that particular 1 "Register" said'-- you will be interested in this, Mr, Bowditch -* that titanium dioxide was toxic and then X had some fun with : duPont and the titanium paint business. How I, think that every time you want to know anything . about any of your raw materials you have to call them up i i and say "Hey, is this stuff bad for you?" It's an amusing thing and it's paradoxical that on our labels we say i ! "Avoid prolonged breathing and use adequate ventilation," et cetera, et cetera; but on the other hand we never put in there, "Don't drink it." Now assuming that for further purposes of argument 55 |! 1 we don't put it on the label, which is the proper thing to do, t and X would still like to know whether Shell's TS-28 is good | for you or if it isn't. And, if it isn't, what do you do i j about it? I I! CHAIRMAN PITT: I think Mr. Homer here has a I i comment to make. v MR* STAMMER: I can say this, that I think in this " type of legislation we are discussing this morning, it may clearly indicate the necessity of finding out, on the part . i i of the paint manufacturer from his raw material supply -- MR. HOMER: Shell puts out a series of bulletins; there must be about 40 to 5 now. where they give you all the dope on it. There may be one or two -- there may be one or two or three pages. Also, X think -- was it versamid you were talking about, that In your glue versamid that you get from General Mills -- they have bulletins on that too, but we've had occasion to get It. We've had it for the same thing and X think it's as you say, It's up to your purchasing department to say to these people when they come ! i i in "We have to have this," CHAIRMAN PITT; Mr. Clark,*. MR, WALTER M. CLARK (Nuodex Products Company, Elizabeth, New Jersey); I would be remiss in my duty if I A IW 1 4 4