Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA 95-0209-2515: Parsons Footwear, Parsons, West Virginia

Details

• Personal Author:
  Berardinelli, Stephen P. Jr. ; Husberg, Brad
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a confidential employee request, an investigation was begun into possible hazardous working conditions at Parsons Footwear (SIC-3021), Parsons, West Virginia. Workers in the packing department reported sinus problems, headaches, sore throats, hoarseness, dizziness, nausea, lightheadedness, and stomach problems which began following the introduction of a new formulation of sock lining glue. The company manufactured shoes and employed about 170 workers, including about 50 in the packing department. Samples indicated that employee exposure to heptane (142825) ranged from 41 to 315 parts per million (ppm). Seven samples were collected from sock lining employees and three from production line workers. Exposure was highest for sock liners, with six of the seven readings having concentrations exceeding the recommended exposure limit (REL) of 85ppm. Toluene (108883) exposure ranged from 20 to 132ppm with three of the seven readings for sock liners exceeding the REL of 100ppm. Medical interviews indicated complaints pertaining mostly to the central nervous system effects which may be caused by adhesive exposure. The authors conclude that a health hazard existed for socklining employees from exposure to heptane and toluene. The authors recommend that improvements be made in ventilation, and that goggles and gloves be worn by socklining employees. An alternative would be to replace the solvent bases adhesive with a water-based adhesive.
• Subjects:
  Adhesives Environmental Monitoring Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety Solvents
• Keywords:
  Air-quality-monitoring Assembly-line-workers CNS Effects Hazard-Confirmed Heptane HETA-95-0209-2515 NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Occupational-exposure Organic-solvents OSHA Region 3 Rubber And Plastics Footwear Shoe-manufacturing Shoe Manufacturing Toluene

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA9502092515
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  West Virginia ; OSHA Region 3
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  18 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00231094
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB96-209952
• Citation:
  Morgantown, WV: 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 95-0209-2515, 1995 Jul ; :1-16
• CAS Registry Number:
  n-Heptane (CAS RN 142-82-5) ; Toluene (CAS RN 108-88-3)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1995
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3021 - Rubber and plastics footwear - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:cf7684bbe9c42f5522d59e57ba15ee4d60ba1af7db4ce4221fcdac53f4ac88d00a8cb3465db0426c43961c9d24e7be01fbaa1e81f59223ab457f2ef4cb95540b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171209/cdc_171209_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 197.27 KB ]