Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA #2002-0418-2912: Richards Industries, Cincinnati, Ohio

Details

• Personal Author:
  Finley, Melissa D. ; Nemhauser, Jeffrey B.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  On September 20, 2002, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) received a management request for a health hazard evaluation (HHE) at Richards Industries in Cincinnati, Ohio. The request centered on workers' exposures to paint, catalyst, and thinner during spray painting operations. On October 8, 2002, NIOSH investigators conducted an exposure assessment that included personal breathing zone (PBZ) and general area (GA) samples for methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), toluene-2,4-diisocyanate (TDI), and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Qualitative samples were collected with thermal desorption tubes to determine the appropriate VOCs for analysis. MEK and TDI were chosen for sampling because of their presence in paint components. The October 8 site visit also included a local exhaust ventilation (LEV) assessment of the paint booth using a velometer and smoke tubes and a medical survey of employees working in and around the Paint Department. Based upon the samples collected with the thermal desorption tubes, the PBZ and GA samples were analyzed for toluene, butyl acetate, propylene glycol methyl ether acetate (PGMEA), cyclohexanone, limonene, and total hydrocarbons (reported as decane). Toluene ranged from 0.004 to 0.34 parts per million (ppm), butyl acetate ranged from 0.02 to 0.57 ppm, PGMEA ranged from 0.03 to 0.58 ppm, cyclohexanone ranged from trace to 0.59 ppm, limonene ranged from 0.02 to 0.07 ppm, and total hydrocarbons ranged from 0.28 to 0.3 7 ppm. The MEK results ranged from 0.15 to 31 ppm, and the TDI monomer results ranged from not detected to 0.06 parts per billion (Ppb). All of these results were below applicable occupational exposure limits. The ventilation assessment revealed that air flow into and out of the paint booth was below recommended standards. Air flow within the drying booth was inadequate, and the air over the mixing table was stagnant. Employees in and near the Paint Department reported, during confidential medical interviews, that they had experienced a variety of health effects, including headache, anxiety, and respiratory problems. They believed these health effects to be either caused or worsened by workplace exposures. The cause(s) of the reported symptoms could not be determined by NIOSH investigators. Although air sampling did not identify any over-exposures, ventilation within the Paint Department did not meet minimum airflow velocity requirements. Recommendations are provided to further reduce employees' exposures to these chemicals by improving ventilation and by the appropriate use of personal protective equipment.
• Subjects:
  Butanones Headache Lung Occupational Health Paint Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Solvents Toluene Ventilation

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• Keywords:
  2,4-toluene Diisocyanate Anxiety Butyl Acetate Cyclohexanone Esophageal Reflux Disease Fatigue Hazard-Unconfirmed Headache Limonene Manufacturing Industrial Valves MEK Methyl Ethyl Ketone Organic-compounds Organic-solvents OSHA Region 5 Paint Booth PGMEA Propylene Glycol Methyl Ether Acetate Pulmonary-system-disorders Respiratory-system-disorders Shortness Of Breath Solvent-vapors Spray-painting Spraying-booths TDI Toluene Ventilation-systems

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA200204182912
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• 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:
  27 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Grote, Ardith ; Lu, Howard ; Smith, Robin ; Snyder, Erin ; Streicher, Robert
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20024696
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2004-104754
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HETA 2002-0418-2912, 2003 Sep ; :1-20
• CAS Registry Number:
  Toluene (CAS RN 108-88-3) ; n-Butyl acetate (CAS RN 123-86-4) ; Cyclohexanone (CAS RN 108-94-1) ; Limonene (CAS RN 138-86-3) ; Methyl ethyl ketone [MEK] (CAS RN 78-93-3) ; 2,4-Toluene diisocyanate (CAS RN 584-84-9)
• Editor(s):
  Arthur, Penny
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2003
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3491 - Industrial valves - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:cd0a42c7e5cadf31f1f91ae5fc21149d15cdc710b20e29065de8ab30a0cb0b15303bf010b2c1f401c6b89108340d96be1c81f2b2477edb19c02d6c8d525a20da
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/170812/cdc_170812_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 383.75 KB ]