Health Hazard Evaluation Report: Health Hazard Evaluation Determination Report HETA 77-119-481: Houston Chemical Company Beaumont, Texas

Details

• Personal Author:
  Lybarger, Jeffrey A. ; White, Gary L.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from an authorized representative of employees at the Houston Chemical Company, Beaumont, Texas, an investigation was begun into possible hazardous working conditions at that site. The company was founded in 1961 and employed about 56 persons. Organic chemicals were produced on site including ethylene- dibromide (106934). The current EDB reactor was brought online in 1977. General area samples and personal samples were tested for EDB and other airborne organic vapor contaminants. Medical evaluations were conducted for 24 workers and nine controls. Evidence indicated there was a potential exposure to EDB, but there was no evidence of testicular toxicity as monitored by sperm counting. The authors conclude that a health hazard did not exist at the time of the survey. It is recommended that strict adherence be given to personal hygiene and good work practices, that one person per shift be responsible for maintaining respirators, that management continue developing its industrial hygiene program, that management continue developing its health and safety education and awareness program, and that several courses be provided for health and safety personnel. The current medical program should be maintained along with special lead (7439921) surveillance programs.
• Subjects:
  Bromine Compounds Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Safety Spermatogenesis Urogenital Diseases Urogenital System
• Keywords:
  1,2-Dibromoethane Chemical-industry-workers Chemical-manufacturing-industry EDB Ethylene Dibromide Hazard-Confirmed HHE-77-119-481 NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation Organo-bromine-compounds OSHA Region 6 Personal-protective-equipment Reproductive-hazards Reproductive-system-disorders Respiratory-protection

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE77119481
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Texas ; OSHA Region 6
• 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:
  21 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Flesch, Jerome P. ; Grote, Ardith A. ; Lowry, Larry ; Stroman, Raymond
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00236846
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB-291672
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HHE 77-119-481, 1978 Apr ; :1-23
• CAS Registry Number:
  Ethylene dibromide (CAS RN 106-93-4) ; Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1)
• Editor(s):
  Morris, Linda
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1978
• NORA Priority Area:
  Reproductive-system-disorders
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:5f2ef8d0f1b1b01700a167ca52cab612fa3f14542c526ad145402aef34c104eea190927add2a23364c7ca6b8d0b7c30cd56e40bf179b3dd9cffa14177a561bef
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171134/cdc_171134_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.59 MB ]