Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA 96-0137-2607: Yankee Atomic Electric Company, Rowe, Massachusetts

Details

• Personal Author:
  Sylvain, David C.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from the Health and Safety Supervisor at the Yankee Nuclear Power Station (SIC-4911), Rowe, Massachusetts, an investigation was begun into ozone (10028156) exposure during plasma arc cutting and welding. Welders had reported chest tightness, dry cough, and throat and bronchial irritation. The nuclear power station was in the process of being decommissioned, and workers were dismantling components using welding and cutting methods. Of the operations observed during the site visit, the highest ozone concentrations were generated during plasma arc cutting, followed by metal inert gas (MIG) welding and arc welding. During plasma arc cutting the average and peak concentrations exceeded the NIOSH ceiling recommended exposure limit of 0.1 part per million. The author concludes that ozone exposure during plasma arc cutting and MIG welding presented a health hazard to welders. The author recommends that improvements be made in the local exhaust ventilation, that nitrogen-dioxide (10102440) levels be monitored during hot work, and that many exposed workers wear protective clothing, use ultraviolet blocking lotion, and continue the use of appropriate shade of eye protection.
• Subjects:
  Irritants Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety Ventilation Welding
• Keywords:
  Arc-welding Direct-reading Instruments Electric Services Hazard-Confirmed HETA-96-0137-2607 MIG Welding NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning Occupational-exposure OSHA Region 1 Ozone Plasma Arc Cutting Respiratory-irritants Ventilation-systems Welding

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA9601372607
• 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:
  13 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Esswein, Eric J. ; Lovell, Patricia ; Moss, C. Eugene
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00234321
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB97-136972
• 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 96-0137-2607, 1996 Oct ; :1-12
• CAS Registry Number:
  Ozone (CAS RN 10028-15-6) ; Nitrogen dioxide (CAS RN 10102-44-0)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1997
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  4911 - Electric services - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e9c32bf643e6f036e1df2b16aebed83cf04ee3217f2feec98fc7edb602406f60d926b306445109bfa858e4761f3a5452f59bbae00508f11ff73061e126d67b02
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171175/cdc_171175_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 220.84 KB ]