Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA 94-0309-2514: Homecrest Industries Incorporated, Wadena, Minnesota

Details

• Personal Author:
  Marlow, David A.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from Teamsters Union Local 346, an investigation was begun into exposures at Homecrest Industries Inc. (SIC-2514), Wadena, Minnesota. The request centered on the Soft Goods Departments where employees cut and sewed fabrics and polyvinyl chloride coated (PVC) polyester yarn backing to make cushions and coverings for casual/outdoor furniture. Employees had reported respiratory problems, eye irritation, nose irritation, headaches, skin irritation, and rashes. Personal breathing zone and area air samples were collected for aldehydes. Formaldehyde (50000) appeared on most samples above blank levels. The highest formaldehyde levels were on samples collected from the fabric storage room. Other compounds detected included methylene-chloride (75092), vinylidene-chloride (75354), toluene (108883), acetone (67641) and phenol (108952). Levels of formaldehyde (0.12 parts per million, (ppm)), acetaldehyde (75070) (0.03ppm), acrolein (107028) (trace), valeraldehyde (110623) (0.03ppm), and hexanal (66251) (0.08ppm) were found in the area air sample collected in the fabric storage room. The health complaints of the workers were consistent with emissions coming from the fabrics. Although the concentrations of these contaminants were well below occupational exposure limits, the authors suggest that the irritative symptoms of the workers were related to exposures, as people vary widely in their subjective responses and health complaints.
• Subjects:
  Eye Foreign Bodies Interior Design And Furnishings Irritants Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety Skin
• Keywords:
  Acetaldehyde Acrolein Butyraldehyde Casual/Outdoor Furniture Eye-irritants Fabric Formaldehyde Furniture-industry Hazard-Confirmed Heptanal HETA-94-0309-2514 Hexanal Iso-valeraldehyde Metal Furniture Manufacture Methylene Chloride NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Occupational-exposure Organic-compounds OSHA Region 5 Respiratory-irritants Sewing Skin-exposure Valeraldehyde Vinylidene Chloride

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA9403092514
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Minnesota ; 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:
  24 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  DeArmond, Larry ; Grote, Ardith A. ; Johnson, Carol ; Johnson, Pamela ; King, Michael V. ; Rajali, Fred ; Williamson, George
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00229494
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB96-115480
• 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 94-0309-2514, 1995 Jul ; :1-22
• CAS Registry Number:
  Formaldehyde (CAS RN 50-00-0) ; Methylene chloride (CAS RN 75-09-2) ; Vinylidene chloride (CAS RN 75-35-4) ; Toluene (CAS RN 108-88-3) ; Acetone (CAS RN 67-64-1) ; Phenol (CAS RN 108-95-2) ; Acetaldehyde (CAS RN 75-07-0) ; Acrolein (CAS RN 107-02-8) ; Pentanal (CAS RN 110-62-3) ; (n-)Hexanal (CAS RN 66-25-1)
• Editor(s):
  Day, Caren B.
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1995
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  2514 - Metal household furniture - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:da011970e0a0d36bc830dfb958bf39155fe9ab767c4981a336f1770a332e63a18e5c946c2e6ba5156db4ad4284c596491841a5212de15c9741d0185c64461928
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171255/cdc_171255_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 250.23 KB ]