A Maintenance Worker Dies from Exposure to Dichloromethane (Methylene Chloride) While Stripping the Floor of a Baptismal Font in a Church

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cierpich, Hank ; Harrison, Robert ; Styles, Laura
• Corporate Authors:
  California Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program (CA/FACE) ; California. Department of Public Health. Occupational Health Branch
• Description:
  A maintenance worker died while using a paint stripper, which contained dichloromethane (methylene chloride), to strip the floor of a baptismal font within a church. The maintenance worker (victim) poured an unknown amount of the paint stripper (up to one gallon) over the steps and floor of the baptismal font and spread it around using a push broom. With the windows and doors open, he then left the area to allow the stripper to work into the surface. He was found later that evening lying face down on the baptismal font floor with the doors and windows closed. The victim was wearing an unknown type of glove and was not wearing any other personal protective equipment. There was no local or general exhaust ventilation in place to prevent harmful exposure. Contributing factors identified in this investigation were the use of a paint stripper containing methylene chloride, an enclosed workspace with poor ventilation, and incomplete implementation of a hazard communication program. The CA/FACE investigator determined that in order to prevent exposure to methylene chloride, employers should ensure that a hazard analysis is performed to determine the risk of exposure to toxic levels of methylene chloride.
• Subjects:
  Chlorine Confined Spaces Hazardous Substances Maintenance Methane Mortality Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Paint Race Factors Risk Assessment Safety Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Chlorides Confined-spaces Employee-exposure Floors Hazardous-materials Injuries Injury-prevention Intoxication Lethal-dose Maintenance-workers Methanes Methyl-compounds Mortality-data OSHA Region 9 Paint-removers Racial-factors Risk-analysis Surveillance Toxic-dose Traumatic-injuries Work-environment

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• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Hispanic
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE12CA002
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20041602
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2013-101342
• Citation:
  Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 12CA002, 2012 Jul ; :1-8
• CAS Registry Number:
  Dichloromethane (CAS RN 75-09-2)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2012
• Performing Organization:
  California Department of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  81 - Other Services (except Public Administration) - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2005/07/01
• End Date:
  2026/06/30
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6d0f68caf04bc7d2e3a503bab3382c7addf152f3b50e17be5e727492315ba8aa1f2aded5c932c00c9dbe0cf3e60d57231fa31d59cb4006cce3ad7d6679e44208
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/165190/cdc_165190_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 443.43 KB ]