Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA 94-0219-2620: Walsh Construction Company, Boston, Massachusetts

Details

• Personal Author:
  Miller, Aubrey K. ; Sylvain, David C.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from representatives of Walsh Construction Company (SIC-1611), an investigation was begun of possible exposures and potential health effects associated with asphalt paving at the Boston Third Harbor Tunnel Construction site in Boston, Massachusetts. A walk-through visit, and industrial hygiene and medical assessments were conducted on two paving crews. The highest concentrations of total particulate (TP), benzene soluble fraction (BSF), and polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) were measured above the paver screened auger. None of the personal breathing zone exposures to asphalt fumes exceeded the recommended limits. Low molecular weight PACs measured in every PAC sample exceeded the high molecular weight PACs. Measured area TP, BSF, and PAC concentrations were up to ten times higher than those found during open air paving, indicating that the ventilation within the tunnel was very poor. The most frequently reported symptoms were eye irritation, cough, nasal irritation, and shortness of breath. Three workers demonstrated significant bronchial lability during the survey. One of these reported acute respiratory symptoms concurrent with bronchoreactivity. Some pavers may have been exposed to total particulate concentrations which exceeded the NIOSH 15-minute ceiling.
• Subjects:
  Construction Industry Hydrocarbons Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety
• Keywords:
  Asphalt-fumes Asphalt Fume Benzene Soluble Particulate Bitumen Construction-workers Elemental Carbon Eye Irritation Hazard-Confirmed HETA-94-0219-2620 Highway And Street Construction Highway Tunnel Macadam-pavements NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Occupational-exposure OSHA Region 1 PACs Paving Polycyclic-aromatic-hydrocarbons Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds Respiratory Irritation Road-construction Road-surfacing

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA9402192620
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• 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:
  Allen, James ; Herrera, Veronica ; Lovell, Patricia ; Reh, Beth D.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00236560
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB97-174239
• 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 94-0219-2620, 1997 Jan ; :1-21
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1997
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  1611 - Highway and street construction - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f0a9a0302a4f5a3be7312ff451d25fac5483bf51a820971e1ca69e7325cc496166aa9794c14841d738f10dc05489e6454c86c29d90fe4a596c2a74c1db68dde5
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171147/cdc_171147_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 301.02 KB ]