I used to work in an automotive wire manufacturing plant. One of the plastic coatings we used was PVC. When the operators would have quality problems (centeri

I used to work in an automotive wire manufacturing plant. One of the plastic coatings we used was PVC. When the operators would have quality problems (centering the copper within a few mm of the plastic sheath or uneven sheath surface defects), they would suspect their tooling (tip + die) was in some way dirty or compromised. The proper way to remediate was to shut down the line (plastics extruder, pulleys, etc) and replace the tooling with a fresh clean set. Then restart. Total cycle time might be 30 mins. Unfortunately, this came at great expense to the operator in lost efficiency since they were paid by productivity (how much good quality wire was produced during their shift) which obviously took a serious hit. So, in spite of warnings about the dangers of toxic fumes (phosgene), they would take the personally efficient and lucrative shortcut of running a blow torch against the suspect tooling while the line was in motion until the quality “wrinkle” was ironed out (e.g some rogue piece of hardened plastic on the tooling has been melted/burnt away). Problem solved and paycheck protected. It was a daily occurrence to see little plumes of smoke regularly wafting upward periodically across 7-8 separate production lines and settling in the top 1/3 of the factory airspace. Phosgene was undoubtedly a large component. No amount of admonishment and warning can be effective when it hits the operators wallet. For those unaware of phosgene, “ When vinyl chloride burns, it releases hazardous chemicals such as phosgene and hydrogen chloride into the air. Phosgene is a colorless gas with a pungent odor that can cause vomiting and breathing difficulties“ [0] [0] https://trulaw.com/the-dangers-of-vinyl-chloride-phosgene-and-dioxins/ https://trulaw.com/the-dangers-of-vinyl-chloride-phosgene-an...