Document zoD46Br531VqDmzmnnMn09p80

THE NEW YORK TIMES,:. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 1981 vi--, 50 W omen Workers Shifted 1 By Du Pdritto Avoid Peril;; ^ PARKERSBURG, W.V*-,'April 7 CAP)j -- About-50 women were transferred to; new jobs a t Du Pont Company plant! after a prelim inary study Indicated thata chemical they were working with might' cause birth defects, a company official said.;- ~i,. **-..-* ^ The chem ical, known as FC-1-43, has' been used in plasties for many years, and; most has been supplied by the Minnesota' 1Mining and Manufacturing Company, of., fidsissaid. **> i "We w ere advised that FC-M3 caused! birtih defects In the unborn when fed by! stomach tube to female rats in a labored . tory experim ent,'' said Howard Todd,-! m anager of the plant owned by E-Ldu! Pontde Nemours &Company.- "1 -1"- --( "This was a preliminary, range-find-! lag study designed to determine dosage - lim its p rior to a full-scale study an FC-i' M3`a potential to cause birth defect* in] m ts," headdecL~ ,, . John .Bowers, superintendent of em? ployee relations a t the company's Wash? wgton Works plant near Parkersburg,' said th a t none of the women would lose their jobeorcurrentpay.. -s) Additional laboratory tests are planned Attachment 2 III