Exposure to Formaldehyde Among Fish Hatchery Workers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Lee, Stephen A. ; Radtke, Timothy M.
• Description:
  Evaluations were conducted by NIOSH at six fish hatcheries in Montana, Arizona, and New Mexico to assess the effects of formaldehyde (50000) exposure on fish hatchery workers. Formalin was used at the hatcheries at concentrations of 1,400 to 1,700 parts per million (ppm) for treating trout and salmon eggs to control infections from Saprolegniaceae fungi. It was also used to prevent parasitic infections in fingerling trout. Two air sampling methods were used to evaluate potential formaldehyde exposures of workers. Exposure to formaldehyde was shown to be below the Occupational Safety and Health Administration permissible exposure limits at each site. However, the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists' ceiling limit of 0.3ppm was exceeded in one hatchery and was probably exceeded for brief periods in three of the others. Engineering controls in use at two of the hatcheries demonstrated that it was possible to greatly reduce worker exposure during the treatment of fish eggs and fingerlings. These controls also eliminated hazards to the eyes and skin due to accidental spillages or splashes. Several recommendations were offered, including the use of chemical protective clothing, proper cleaning and laundering of such clothing, use of chemical safety goggles, provision of quick drench showers and emergency eye wash facilities, as well as provisions to detect and contain any formaldehyde spills, decontaminate the work area, and to ensure proper waste disposal. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Communicable Diseases Environmental Monitoring Hunting Occupational Health Safety Skin Skin Absorption
• Keywords:
  Air-quality-monitoring Fishing-industry Infection-control Skin-absorption Skin-exposure Worker-health
• ISSN:
  1047-322X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Arizona ; Montana ; New Mexico ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 6 ; OSHA Region 8 ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  3-6
• Volume:
  13
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00241256
• Citation:
  Appl Occup Environ Hyg 1998 Jan; 13(1):3-6
• CAS Registry Number:
  Formaldehyde (CAS RN 50-00-0)
• Editor(s):
  Tharr D
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1998
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  1141 - Fishing - (NAICS)
• Source Full Name:
  Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:5fbabfdab8a394f811b4e03eca50d6e042f2dfb6103bfeb34351d312d0c3e0c41e978cc8287413371c1302ba071442d0e0b18383db1c2c5f1a389ebd8c28eaca
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/198082/cdc_198082_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 529.60 KB ]