Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA 91-0230-2543: International Association of Fire Fighters (Iaff), Henderson, Nevada

Details

• Personal Author:
  Deitchman, Scott D. ; Kinnes, Gregory M. ; Short, Steven R.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from the International Association of Fire Fighters on behalf of members of the Clark County and Henderson fire departments (SIC-9224), an investigation was begun into exposures to chlorine (7782505) during a leak at the Pioneer Chlor Alkali Facility, located adjacent to the Henderson city limits in Nevada. Estimates indicated that 70 to 100 tons of chlorine were released. Major highways were closed, and many residential areas were within the cloud. Fire fighters involved in the immediate area were hosed down with water following the incident. Of the approximately 200 fire fighters involved at the scene, several were sent to the hospital for evaluation. Four were admitted to a hospital, and six others held overnight for observation. During the incident, chlorine concentrations in the air ranged from less than 0.2 to 17 parts per million (ppm). Of the fire fighters responding to a subsequent questionnaire, most reported inhaling chlorine gas, even though most used respirators during the incident. Symptoms included coughing, tightness in the chest, wheezing, tearing eyes, sore throat, and headache. The duration of symptoms increased with proximity to the leak itself. Analysis of the findings suggested that the occurrence of symptoms may have been related to improper fit or to delays in putting on respiratory protection and the use of structural fire fighter's protective gear instead of appropriate chemical protective clothing.
• Subjects:
  Firefighters Fires Hazardous Substances Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Safety
• Keywords:
  Chlorine Fire-fighting Fire Fighters Firefighters Firemen Fire Protection Hazard-Confirmed Health Effects HETA-91-0230-2543 Incident Command System NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report OSHA Region 9 Personal-protective-equipment Police Respiratory-protective-equipment Respiratory Symptoms Self-contained Breathing Apparatus Toxic-gases

  More +
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA9102302543
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Nevada ; OSHA Region 9
• 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:
  37 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Fedan, Kathleen B.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00231095
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB96-209945
• 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 91-0230-2543, 1995 Oct ; :1-40
• CAS Registry Number:
  Chlorine (CAS RN 7782-50-5)
• Editor(s):
  Marlow, Kate L.
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1996
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  9224 - Fire protection - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e464ae439de7f6a1b1eb860546789280c4e6fa9c7f975730859a92a7f55a87aef14ef5a2f6c020baa20c235c66ddb42f2522227bb4082bb1cace68903ad95cf3
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171208/cdc_171208_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.04 MB ]