Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HHE 80-077-847: Signetics Corporation, Sunnyvale, California

Details

• Personal Author:
  Belanger, Pierre L. ; Keenlyside, Richard A.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from an authorized employee at Signetics Corporation (SIC-3674), Sunnyvale, California, an investigation was begun into possible hazardous working conditions in the Military Division office. The request was prompted by the fact that employees were suffering soreness of the eyes, nose and sinuses and were tired in the afternoon. There had been reports of uncirculated air, and exposure to fumes and soot. The company was a large semiconductor manufacturer. An evaluation was made of possible exposure to trichlorofluoroethane (76131) (Freon-113), isopropanol (67630), formaldehyde (50000), carbon-monoxide (630080) and carbon-dioxide (124389). Concentrations of Freon-113 ranged from 0.34 to 25.3 parts per million (ppm) and isopropanol concentrations ranged from less than detectable to 2.87ppm. Of the 50 workers who normally work in this area, 15 were interviewed for medical histories. All complained about the heating and air conditioning system with the most frequent complaints being stuffy air, poor air circulation, uneven temperature control and excessive heat. The authors conclude that the workers were not overexposed to the compounds of concern, but the heating and air conditioning system often provided them an uncomfortable work environment. The authors recommend that the heating and ventilation system be adjusted to eliminate these complaints.
• Subjects:
  Air Pollution Formaldehyde Occupational Health Safety Semiconductors Ventilation Workplace
• Keywords:
  Air Quality Monitoring Carbon Dioxide Carbon Monoxide Hazard Unconfirmed Isopropanol NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation Office Workers OSHA Region 9 SIC 3674 Administrative Personnel, Office Workers Trichlorofluoroethane Ventilation Systems Work Environment

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  California ; 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:
  11 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Okawa, Melvin T.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00231083
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB96-209689
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HHE 80-077-847, 1981 Mar ; :1-8
• CAS Registry Number:
  Trichlorotrifluoroethane (CAS RN 76-13-1) ; Isopropyl alcohol (CAS RN 67-63-0) ; Formaldehyde (CAS RN 50-00-0) ; Carbon monoxide (CAS RN 630-08-0) ; Carbon dioxide (CAS RN 124-38-9)
• Editor(s):
  Gee, Michael A.
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1981
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3674 - Semiconductors and related devices - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7f1ca056727aeae6fdf1be63311c7eface0686fdc341fb8c9806f46565a65c26e2a3835ce99dff1299baea054324f011836e02ec2cf30f5133261a54f4488655
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171219/cdc_171219_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 258.28 KB ]