Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA 96-0032-2649: A. W. Dimock Laboratory, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

Details

• Personal Author:
  Krake, Ann M.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from Cornell University, a health hazard evaluation was conducted at the A. W. Dimock Laboratory (SIC-0181), Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. Concern had been expressed regarding exposure of researchers and greenhouse workers to nicotine (54115). The greenhouse contained a variety of plants used to study the transmission of viruses by aphid vectors. Nicotine alkaloid was used in a biweekly rotation about every 6 weeks with other fumigants. Personal breathing zone samples from three workers indicated that they were not exposed to levels of nicotine which exceeded the recommended limits. Area air samples were collected before, during and after a 13-hour fumigation process. Within 10 minutes of the start of fumigation the nicotine concentrations inside the sections peaked at 3.3mg/m3 but fell within 60 minutes to less than the 0.5mg/m3 limit. Wipe samples on commonly used surfaces showed that residual nicotine levels in some locations were 60 times higher after fumigation. The author concludes that airborne nicotine concentrations did not represent a hazard to greenhouse personnel. As nicotine is readily absorbed through the skin, the author recommends that workers remove or cover portable tools and hoses during fumigation and use gloves and good personal hygiene practices.
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Inhalation Exposure Insecticides Occupational Health Safety Skin
• Keywords:
  Agricultural-chemicals Fumigation Greenhouse Hazard-Confirmed HETA-96-0032-2649 Inhalants Insecticide Life-sciences Nicotine NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Ornamental Floriculture And Nursery Products OSHA Region 2 Pesticide Pesticides Skin-exposure

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA9600322649
• 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:
  18 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Blythe, Ellen E. ; Grote, Ardith A. ; Kiefer, Max ; Pendergrass, Stephanie M. ; Petersen, Martin R.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00240347
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB98-125560
• 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 96-0032-2649, 1997 Aug ; :1-16
• CAS Registry Number:
  Nicotine (CAS RN 54-11-5)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1997
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  0181 - Ornamental nursery products - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:56d2a0fba90b65abd567e9be2a6c0c9297cc954971078694b6b08eaba9ce074bcf56e67ffe01a8162ea5914a2d3f1d799de7761854126f08b418ddaf9855c7c1
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171093/cdc_171093_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 248.44 KB ]