Document zo5dpzNKKzwmbr0q3Q3mdKoOB

Sep 2 7 1974 JOHN 7. CONNOR Albert F. Watters Vice President Corporate Relations P.O. Box 3000 R, Morristown, N J 07960 (201)455-3216 iVED ,M ASI 000017082 ALLIED CHEMICAL CORPORATION MEMORANDUM September 25, 1974 Mr. A. F. Watters The planned CBS show on vinyl chloride is a one hour special, presently scheduled to be broadcast at 10:00 P.M. Saturday, October 19. It is being produced by Gene DePoris and narrated by Morton Dean. CBS has not approached Allied Chemical on this subject at any time, to my knowledge. Rich Blewitt, MCA's publicity chief, who has been handling industry contacts with CBS on this show, tells me that CBS has never asked to visit an Allied Chemical plant or raised Allied Chemical's name in connection with the show. Blewitt says CBS has filmed at Dow's Midland, Michigan Monomer Plant, and at the PVC plants of Carbide in South Charleston, West Virginia and Goodrich in Louisville, Kentucky. CBS also has done a studio film of the Goodrich President, Mr. Vittone and Goodrich's top medical man, Dr. Maurice Johnson. Also interviewed on film, at the MCA headquarters in Washington, was Theodore Torkelson of Dow, who spoke both for Dow and in his capacity as Chairman of the MCA Vinyl Chloride Task Force. Blewitt says the MCA and industry people who have been in contact with CBS on this project expect that the show will be highly critical of the chemical industry, charging in particular that the industry, because of its secrecy agreement with European chemical producers, delayed sounding the alarm on vinyl chloride as a carcinogen for more than a year. Blewitt believes that the program was suggested to CBS by Dr. Selikoff, of New York's Mount Sinai Hospital, the most out spoken critic of the vinyl chloride industry. Blewitt says CBS has filmed Dr. Selikoff and representatives of several unions including the oil, chemical and atomic workers, the steel workers and the rubber workers. He expects all their negative views to be well represented on the show. According to Blewitt, CBS has been working on this program for more than six months. CBS tells him that no one outside the CBS production staff will be allowed to preview the show. This, they say, includes the unions and Dr. Selikoff, as well as industry representatives. AS I 000017083 Mr. A. F. Watters Page 2 September 25, 1974 Incidentally, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL has a three part series on vinyl chloride that may be printed any day now. It was prepared by Barry Cramer of the New York staff, who contacted MCA and most, if not all, of the vinyl chloride/polyvinyl chloride producers. Cramer contacted me a couple of months ago but did not show much interest in us after I explained our limited present involvement in this business. Blewitt, who has had lots of contact with Cramer on this series, says he expects it will be critical of the chemical industry and, like the CBS show, will make mention of the industry's failure to publicize Italian studies establishing the carcinogenicity of vinyl chloride. ' \ ' // /- - ' i. Norm Herington / ASJ 00001 7084 ALLIED CHEMICAL CORPORATION MEMORANDUM October 3, 1974 To: Subject: Mr. E. W. Callahan Vinylidene Chloride I understand that Mr. Brooks has talked to you on this matter. I have checked this story out with Dow and PPG. Dow is aware of this as a rumor, and they have asked Dr. V.K. Rowe, now in Europe, to investigate. Doctor Bell of PPG states the following: ICI advised the British ministry of Health about a week ago that they had information that Dr. Viola had induced tumors in laboratory animals at highly elevated exposures to vinylidene chloride. This was reported to NIOSH and OSHA by the British. None of the three companies mentioned is stopping vinyli dene chloride, PPG, as a cautionary measure, is re-instructing employees and advising their customers of the known hazards of vinylidene chloride and concurrently advising them of prelimin ary evidence of carcinogenic risk. W. S. Ferguson YfSF:mn AS I 000017085