Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA 2000-0041-2796: OmniSource Corporation, Precious Metal Recycling Facility, Ft. Wayne, Indiana

Details

• Personal Author:
  Gwin, Kristin K. ; Nemhauser, Jeffrey B.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  On November 1, 1999, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) received a management request from OmniSource Corporation to conduct a health hazard evaluation (HHE) to evaluate occupational exposure to silver at their company's precious metal recycling (PMR) facility in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. The request was prompted by concerns about one employee who had been diagnosed as having argyria, a blue-grey discoloration of the skin, mucous membranes, and/or eyes resulting from prolonged silver exposure. Management also expressed concern about worker exposure to the fixer solution from which the silver is recovered. A site visit, conducted on January 10-11, 2000, consisted of an environmental and medical component. The environmental evaluation included a full-shift personal breathing-zone (PBZ) air sample to assess worker exposure to silver and 26 other metals and minerals and full-shift area air sampling to assess exposure to 26 different metals and minerals, glutaraldehyde, hydroquinone, and hydrogen cyanide. Qualitative ventilation measurements were also performed to determine airflow patterns. The medical evaluation consisted of a record review, employee interviews to assess a medical and occupational history, and focused physical examinations of each of the three PMR facility employees. The one full-shift PBZ sample taken on an operator revealed a time-weighted average (TWA) silver exposure of 0.14 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m3), 14 times greater than the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and NIOSH exposure limit of 0.01 mg/m3. Full-shift area air sampling revealed silver concentrations ranging from 0.009 to 0.19 mg/m3. All area samples, with the exception of one, had concentrations that exceeded the OSHA and NIOSH exposure limits. The PMR facility furnace operator wore a half-mask powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR) in the furnace room and main PMR facility
  
  however, respirators were not worn when employees were in the workstation and office area, where silver concentrations ranged from 0.012 to 0.02 mg/m3. These levels exceed OSHA and NIOSH exposure limits. Full-shift area air sampling for glutaraldehyde, hydroquinone, and hydrogen cyanide revealed no detectable amounts of those substances. None of the 26 other metals or minerals analyzed for in the air samples exceeded any applicable exposure limit. The qualitative ventilation assessment indicated that the furnace room was under strong negative pressure, that should prevent silver dust and fume from escaping the room. However, silver was detected in area samples taken throughout the rest of the facility, suggesting that silver is migrating from the furnace room to other areas. Neither exhaust hood (one was in place over each of the two working furnaces) was operating during our visit. Fumes off-gassing from the furnaces could periodically be seen escaping the hoods. During the loading and unloading of the crucibles, the furnace room doors are left open and airborne silver may escape the room. Pressure tests indicated the workstation and office area to be under neutral pressure. It is also possible that the furnace operators are unknowingly transferring silver from their clothes, gloves, and shoes to other areas of the facility. Of the three workers interviewed, none revealed health effects thought to be related to exposures at OmniSource other than the one worker with a diagnosis of argyria. However, based on the history provided by the worker with the skin lesion, it is unlikely that the lesion represents localized argyria. NIOSH investigators concluded that employees in the PMR facility are overexposed to silver when powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs) are not worn. Although the furnace room is under negative pressure, it appears that airborne silver may be escaping the furnace room and migrating to other areas of the PMR facility, including the workstation and office area where respirators are not usually worn. Recommendations are offered in this report for improved exhaust ventilation, personal protective equipment, general safety, and housekeeping in the workplace to decrease worker exposures. Medical recommendations to assess the body burden of silver are also included.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Dust Metals Metal Workers Occupational Health Poisoning Safety Silver Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Argyria Exhaust Hoods Exhaust Systems Exhaust Ventilation Gluteraldehyde Hazard Confirmed Hydrogen Cyanide Hydroquinone Metal Dusts Metal Fumes Metallic Fumes Metalworking Metalworking Industry Precious Metal Recycling Region 5 Secondary Smelting And Refining Of Nonferrous Metals Silver Silver Compounds Silver Poisoning Smelters Smelting Ventilation Equipment Ventilation Hoods 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/NIOSHHETA200000412796
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Indiana ; 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:
  29 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Roegner, Kevin C. ; Smith, Robin F.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20021119
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2004-104734
• 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 2000-0041-2796, 2000 May ; :1-21
• CAS Registry Number:
  Silver (CAS RN 7440-22-4) ; Glutaraldehyde (CAS RN 111-30-8) ; Hydroquinone (CAS RN 123-31-9) ; Hydrogen cyanide, liquefied (CAS RN 74-90-8)
• Editor(s):
  Arthur, Penny
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2000
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3341 - Secondary nonferrous metals - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9a9f53fc6cad03cff5911e5e40f8a589d54d8f6b27381cc1bb509f049681247f9eadc956f4152aa80edecc0ff5cf50008afa5d29c2a234fe3f1c221b71e9a7b8
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/170955/cdc_170955_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 264.28 KB ]