Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA 95-0147-2542: North American Refractories Company, Cincinnati, Ohio

Details

• Personal Author:
  Burton, Nancy C. ; Kawamoto, Melody M.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from the Aluminum, Brick, and Glass workers Union, an investigation was begun into possible hazardous working conditions at North American Refractories Company (SIC-3297), Cincinnati, Ohio. The company produced aluminum graphite tubes. Workers in the press and kiln areas reported skin rashes, nosebleeds, sore throats, and breathing difficulties which they suggest were the result of furfural (98011) exposure. Of the 15-time weighted average personal breathing zone samples collected, 11 exceeded the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists' Threshold Limit of 2 parts per million (ppm), but none exceeded the OSHA level of 5ppm. Sample concentrations for respirable particles were well below the occupational exposure limits. The symptoms reported included fatigue or sleepiness (63%), skin symptoms (44%), headaches (41%), spotting of blood from the nose (30%), mucous membrane irritation (26%), and lower respiratory symptoms (26%). The authors conclude that a health hazard existed at the time of the survey due to furfural exposures. The authors recommend that engineering controls and administrative changes be instituted to reduce furfural exposures.
• Subjects:
  Aldehydes Formaldehyde Furaldehyde Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Phenol Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Sense Organs Skin
• Keywords:
  Aluminum Graphite Tube Manufacturing Central Nervous System Depression Furfural Hazard-Confirmed HETA-95-0147-2542 Mucous Membrane Irritation NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Nonclay Refractories Occupational-exposure OSHA Region 5 Phenol Respiratory-system-disorders Respiratory Irritation Skin Irritation

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA9501472542
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• 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:
  Burr, Gregory A. ; Ristinen, Elaine
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00231096
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB96-209580
• 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 95-0147-2542, 1995 Dec ; :1-20
• CAS Registry Number:
  Furfural (CAS RN 98-01-1)
• Editor(s):
  Day, Caren B.
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1996
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3297 - Nonclay refractories - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f8a07af4d19c9478f1a80d3aedf5f71cb7ad079da932516277b6ecb6de0358d6176b69630216f4bb4915ba7265751c88e4f1d880514cf90332c939c1c92f5d34
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171207/cdc_171207_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 205.57 KB ]