Document xjD5vMdO6ne9XnDx8JYqwkVqm

Page Tan gn* ^ no rr*v?.C 1 STEEL LAiOft July. 1974 The Ui>/A wants a permanent safety standard for workers exposed to gaseous vinyl chloride set at zeroindustry claims it can't be done. 4f i. 1 A four-day vinyl chloride physical examination program, jointiv-sponsored b y the Steelworkers Union and the Mt. Sinai Medical Hospital in New York, was held lune 2-5 at Midland, Mich., for workers employed by Dow Chemical Co. The massive testing program examined 450 local 12075 members for possible health disorders recently discovered to be associated with vinyl chloride exposure. Up to this date, the testing pro gram---held in a nearby community center--was tne largest of its kind in the nation. A team of six medical doctors, and more than a dozen technicians, led by Dr. Irving Selikoff from Mt Sinai, found themselves overwhelmed by the union's response--and actually scheduled an addi tional day of examinations in order to accommo date .the unexpected number of applicants. Nearly 150 members who applied at the last minute were unable to participate in the testing--which tasted 10-12 hours daily. Each Dow-Midland worker participating in the examination program was required to com plete an extensive work and medical history. Applicants then proceeded from one station to another for a variety of tests, which included blood ; samples, lung function, urinary analysis and a com plete physical. The entire examination generally took about two hours, with a follow-up x-ray scheduled for later at a nearby hospital. Dr. Selikoff is an internationally-known expert on job-related diseases, who did much of the land mark research linking the inhalation of asbestos fibers with cancer. He says that vinyl chloride gas and related polymer compounds may be an even more wide-spread cancer-causing disease. Numer ous circulatory and health disorders, including fiver cancer--known as angiosarcoma--have been asso ciated with vinyl chloride exposure. CASEOUS VINYL CHLORIDE is the foundation of the plastics industry--and when "polymerized" Into a powdery white chemical called polyvinyl chloride (PVC)--it is used for making thousands of products such as: textiles, synthetic rubber, paints, wire, construction pipes, phonograph rec ords, and plastic bottles. Dow Chemical is one of the largest plastic pro ducers in the world, and at its Midland location, vinyl chloride is used as a component for Dow consumer products like a plastic wrap called Saran. Numerous industrial compounds and polymeriza tion operations at the Midland plant over the past 20 years have exposed an estimated 650 workers to various levels of vinyl chloride gas and PVC resins. USWA Safety & Health Rep. Francis Crimes helped set up the examination program at Midland ; with Mt Sinai. He expects to have several other such testing programs done at other plant loca tions where there is known vinyl chloride exposure to Steelworker members. One of these plants ; Includes some 260 workers at Ethyl Corp.'s Visi queen Division in Terre Haute, (no., where PVC pipe is manufactured. Mr. Crimes estimates from a computer survey ; conducted of Steelworker-organized plants, that a minimum of 1,500 members arc involved in some wav with vinvl chloride production. Several thou sand more members are involved in what are termed "secondary operations" as extruding, molding and forming of various plastic products. There is some evidence that these secondary op erations expose workers to "unreacted" vinyl chloride found in PVC. THE US. LABOR DEPT, has proposed a flat ban on worker exposure to vinyl chloride, but because industry complained so loudly, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) set a temporary emergency standard at 50 ppm (parts per million). This was a sharp reduction from the 500 ppm previous limit Hearings are currently being conducted by the labor Dept, in Washington, D.C., on a proposal to seta permanent standard which requires "no detectable" level of exposure. The Steelworkers and AFl-CIO are strongly in favor of the zero pro posed standard. Industry claims that such a stand ard can't be met. According to Mr. Grimes, public realization that vinyl chloride exposure causes liver cancer was first discovered earlier this year by the deaths of seven workers at a B. F. Goodrich Co. in louisville. This meant some 6,500 workers employed in vinyl chloride operations nationally would be possible victims of health disorders and liver cancer asso ciated with the gas. But since that initial discovery, several other cases of angiosarcoma were discovered in second ary operations which turn vinyl chloride into poly vinyl chloride. The plastics industry employs up to an estimated 700.000 workers--who all would be subjected to similar tightening of potential expo sure standards. DR. SELIKOFF, WHO IS director of Mt. Sinai's Environmental Science laboratory, said he expects results from the testing program at Dow-Midland to he available sometime by late summer or early fail. He said when the results of each union mem ber's examination are determined, a letter will be sent to the participant, describing the condition of his health and recommending if any action should be taken. Although the testing program at Midland drew praise from medical experts--it received nothing but criticism from Dow Chemical. The un ion received no cooperation from the company, even though Dow publicizes its constant concern for employe health and safety. Steelworkers Dis trict 29 Director Charles Younglove charged Dow refused to release lists it had of workers employed in vinyl chloride operations and their levels of ex posure. "Dow Chemical's refusal to cooperate with the union is just another example of the company's paternalistic attitude toward its employes on mat ters of health and safety/' Mr. Younglove declared. But the company's attitude toward the Steel workers is expected to change--the 5,300 mem bers of Local 12075 have been on strike against Dow Chemical since March IB--and safety is among one of the many issues of their strike. *% --- -- --- ^ Above: Dr. Irving Selikoff interviews Local 12075 members employed at Dow Chemical, Midland, Mich., in vinyl chloride testing program. Blood test program Ibottom picture) involved a substantial portion of the workers at the large Dow.plant. 8elow. District 29 Staff Rep. Ceorge Watts. Local 12075 Safety Committee Chairman Bryce Alexander and USWA Safety & Health Rep. Frank Crimes dis cuss the program which they coordinated at Mid land. i --------- - - -- USWA-sponsored research aids detection of vinyl chloride A simple test has been developed by Dr. Irving Selikoff, director of the Environmental Sciences Laboratory at Mt. Sinai Hospital, tor detection of circulatory problems related to vinyl chloride exposure. Dr. Selikoff demonstrates the technique in a medical testing program conducted among workers employed at Dow Chemical Co. in Midland, Mich., with Floyd Steele---who worked 13 years in the Saran Department, which uses vinyl chloride to make Saran Wrap. Steele is a member of Local 12075. The technique involves cutting oft the blood supply in the fingers of the hand by pressing rhe blood vessels at the wrist. When the pressure is released, the time it takes for the blood to recirculate will indicate the circulatory condition of the extremities. According to Dr. Selikoit. it has only been recently discovered that there is a de terioration oi blood circulation in the hands and feet among workers who are exposed lor long periods oi time to vinyl chloride. BFG25597 zooxnez