Feds add to probable carcinogens list
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. - Five chemicals used to make plastics, including a form of styrene and a chemical used in fluoropolymers, were added Dec. 11 to a federal list of probable cancer-causing materials.
The listing in the National Toxicology Program's Report on Carcinogens does not trigger immediate regulatory action, but is likely to mean that state and local agencies will focus more on the chemicals, said C.W. Jameson, who directs the report for NTP. NTP, based in Research Triangle Park, is part of the Department of Health and Human Services.
California agencies, for example, are required to examine every chemical listed on the register.
A listing means the chemical is either a known or likely cause of cancer, but NTP does not make an assessment about whether exposure levels for each chemical are dangerous, Jameson said. The report has less impact on federal agencies because they generally are aware of the research that led to the listing, he said.
The chemicals are: vinyl fluoride, used in fluoropolymers; vinyl bromide, used in polymer fibers; styrene 7,8 oxide, used in reinforced plastics; 2,3-dibromo-1-propanol, used in flame retardants; and 2,2-bis-(bromomethyl)-1,3-propanediol, used to make polyurethane foam.
Valeo consolidating assembly in Spain
PARIS -Valeo SA plans to close its Valeo Illuminacion SA automotive lighting assembly plant near Barcelona, Spain, and consolidate in a second facility in the country.
Closing the plant in Sant Esteve Sesrovires will cut up to 261 jobs, although Paris-based Valeo said it hopes to find jobs for some workers at the other lighting facility in Martos or elsewhere. Valeo already employs nearly 1,800 at Martos.
The company said it is consolidating to become more competitive in a tight market. Valeo outsources production of all its plastic lighting parts, said a company spokeswoman in Paris.
Timing of the closure still is uncertain.
The company also is launching its first facility in Romania. The 43,000-square-foot site will be in a new supplier park in Mioveni established by Romanian car builder Dacia SA. The plant will employ 300 and produce full wiring systems. The plant will not do any plastics processing, but will source components from a mix of Romanian and Western European suppliers, according to the spokeswoman.
Valeo group operates 139 plants and 53 research and development centers in 25 countries and employs 71,000.
SPE section donates to Toys for Tots
DETROIT - Members of the Detroit Section of the Society of Plastics Engineers have teamed up again to donate 30,000 toy buses to the U.S. Marine Corp.'s annual Toys for Tots drive.
SPE coordinated the holiday effort, with four companies donating time and materials. American Plastic Toys Inc. of Walled Lake, Mich., provided the molds and press time to turn out red buses. PolyOne Distribution Co. of Cleveland supplied 11,000 pounds of polyethylene. Print Parameters, a Clawson, Mich., printing company, produced SPE and ``Plastivan'' logos to decorate the buses, while CZ Cartage Inc. of Novi, Mich., donated a truck for shipping.
The chapter organized the first toy effort in 2001, and had strong response both from members and the community, said project coordinator Don Root.
