Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA 97–0106–2770: Sommer–Allibert Industries, USA, Inc., Kansas City, Missouri

Details

• Personal Author:
  Kinnes, Gregory M. ; Mortimer, Vincent D.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  On February 12, 1997, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) received a confidential request for a health hazard evaluation (HHE) from employees of Sommer-Allibert Industries, USA, Inc. (SAI) in Kansas City, Missouri. The request was prompted by the reported occurrence of adverse health effects that employees associated with exposures to airborne contaminants from the paints and coatings used during the manufacture of automotive fascia (plastic front and rear bumpers). On April 28-29, 1997, investigators from NIOSH visited the SAI facility to conduct environmental sampling and evaluate the existing ventilation systems in the paint kitchen. Environmental air samples were collected for acetone, butyl alcohol, isopropanol, isobutanol, naphtha, toluene, butyl acetate, ethylbenzene, aromatic naphtha, xylenes, methanol, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), and formaldehyde. Formaldehyde concentrations determined for four area air samples ranged from 0.03 to 0.11 parts per million (ppm). These concentrations were above the NIOSH Recommended Exposure Limit (REL) of 0.016 ppm as a time-weighted average (TWA). In addition, one area sample collected in the distribution area had an airborne formaldehyde concentration (0.11 ppm) which equaled the NIOSH ceiling limit of 0.1 ppm. Although NIOSH has established numerical RELs for formaldehyde, it also considers formaldehyde to be a suspected human carcinogen and recommends that exposures be reduced to the lowest feasible concentration. All of the TWA concentrations for the remaining analytes calculated for each of the three areas in the paint kitchen and the paint mixers were well below their relevant evaluation criteria. In addition, all of the short-term exposures determined during this investigation were well below the relevant evaluation criteria for all the analytes, where applicable. The potential additive effects of exposure to these solvents on the central nervous and respiratory systems was also assessed. Three samples collected from the paint mixers and the average area concentrations for the distribution area indicated the potential for excessive solvent exposures. Although half-mask air-purifying respirators, which reduced worker exposures to these solvents, were required in the distribution area, these respirators did not protect against exposure to formaldehyde. The ventilation assessment and the environmental sampling results indicated that the ventilation system for the paint kitchen was not adequate and that improvements to the existing system were needed.
• Subjects:
  Automobiles Butanones Environmental Monitoring Occupational Health Paint Respiratory Protective Devices Safety Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Acetone Air-samples Aromatic Naphtha Automotive Fascia Bumpers Butyl Acetate Butyl Alcohol Ethylbenzene Formaldehyde Hazard-Confirmed Isobutanol Isopropanol MEK Methanol Methyl Ethyl Ketone Motor-vehicle-parts Motor Vehicle Parts And Accessories Naphtha OSHA Region 7 Painting Pneumatic Spray Painting Respirators Spray-painting Toluene Xylenes

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA9701062770
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Missouri ; OSHA Region 7
• 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:
  26 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Grote, Ardith A. ; Ratliff, Denise
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20000596
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2000-107833
• 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 99-0106-2770, 1999 Dec ; :1-21
• CAS Registry Number:
  Acetone (CAS RN 67-64-1) ; Methanol (CAS RN 67-56-1) ; n-Butanol (CAS RN 71-36-3) ; Isobutyl alcohol (CAS RN 78-83-1) ; Isopropyl alcohol (CAS RN 67-63-0) ; n-Butyl acetate (CAS RN 123-86-4) ; Methyl ethyl ketone [MEK] (CAS RN 78-93-3) ; Ethylbenzene (CAS RN 100-41-4) ; Toluene (CAS RN 108-88-3) ; Naphtha (CAS RN 8030-30-6) ; Formaldehyde (CAS RN 50-00-0)
• Editor(s):
  Arthur, Penny
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2000
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3714 - Motor vehicle parts and accessories - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7905ab855228bfb2070e0fa036dae6145d9af01889779140f0864385eaaf10f8b5851b776e9b7654369cb11e76e570af040d513260718697e84674643fe2cca0
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/170976/cdc_170976_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 265.72 KB ]