Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA 97-0118-2664: Remington Arms Company, Inc., Ilion, New York

Details

• Personal Author:
  Trout, Douglas B.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from the United Mine Workers of America International Union, a health hazard evaluation was conducted at Remington Arms Company (SIC-3484), Ilion, New York. Machine operators potentially exposed to metalworking fluids (MWFs) had reported having headaches, sore throats, bloody noses, respiratory problems, skin irritation, and rashes. The facility employed about 1,100 workers in the manufacture of firearms. About 450 people work with MWFs. A questionnaire was completed by 946 employees. The most frequently reported symptom was sinus problems, reported by 294
  
  55 felt their symptoms were work related. Symptoms most likely to be reported as work related included irritation of the eyes, nose or throat, reported as work related by 85. Work related rash or skin irritation was reported by 33. Of 12 bulk samples taken, four yielded fungal groups and ten yielded bacterial growth. The author concludes that, although it is not clear which components of MWFs were associated with respiratory and irritant symptoms, exposure to aerosolized MWF should be minimized. Particular job duties, work materials, machines, or areas of the facility which may be associated with particular health effects should be identified. Improved maintenance of the MWF in specific machines is needed to minimize employee exposure to microbial contaminants.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Bacteria Eye Foreign Bodies Fungi Irritants Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Metal Workers Occupational Health Safety Skin
• Keywords:
  Eye-irritants Hazard-Confirmed HETA-97-0118-2664 Machinists Metal-workers Metalworking-industry Metalworking Fluids Mycobacteria NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report OSHA Region 2 Respiratory-irritants Skin-irritants Small Arms Manufacturing

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA9701182664
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2
• 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:
  20 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Decker, John A. ; McGraw, Patricia C. ; Sullivan, Patricia A.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00241055
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB98-137599
• 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 97-0118-2664, 1997 Nov ; :1-16
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1998
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3484 - Small arms - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:759ad1671fbefd665f905121deded2f56c51a66906716bbe61aaca0cc53396a9c6f1abbb31dda0306d5167805f3e68d2390f6d6d3dc5c781de9b1692fe225433
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171089/cdc_171089_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 223.42 KB ]