Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-94-0151-2475: General Electric Aircraft Engines; Madisonville, Kentucky

Details

• Personal Author:
  Decker, John A. ; Kiefer, Max ; Salisbury, Stanley A. ; Trout, Douglas B.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a confidential employee request, an investigation was begun into possible exposure to contaminants generated during turbine blade and vane manufacture at the General Electric Aircraft Engines (SIC-3724), Madisonville, Kentucky. The company employed about 800 workers in the manufacture of blade and vane components of turbine engines. All solvent concentrations detected during the monitoring period were well below the established limits. With the exception of one sample for nickel (7440020) all personal exposures to metal dust or fume were below the limits. The overexposure to nickel, 20 micrograms per cubic meter (microg/m3), occurred in a 426-minute sample from the Co-Dep operator. The NIOSH Recommended Exposure Limit was 15microg/m3. The highest cobalt (7440484) concentration was 20microg/m3. A cadmium (7440439) concentration of 1.9 microg/m3 was detected at a grinding station. Other substances detected were at levels below the respective allowable limits. Most of the ten employees who reported health problems during medical interviews had upper respiratory irritation and skin rashes. No common cause could be identified. The authors conclude that a potential health hazard from nickel exposure existed at the Co-Dep operation. The authors recommend that smoking be eliminated, housekeeping and ventilation be improved, and alternatives be found to compressed air for cleaning purposes.
• Subjects:
  Aircraft Air Pollutants, Occupational Butanones Dust Ethanolamine Metals Metal Workers Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Particulate Matter Safety Ventilation

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• Keywords:
  Acetone Airborne-particles Aircraft-parts-and-auxiliary-equipment Aircraft Engines And Engine Parts Chromium Cobalt Grinding Hazard-Confirmed HETA-94-0151-2475 Local Exhaust Ventilation MEK Metal-dusts Metalworking-industry MIBK Monoethanolamine Nickel NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Occupational-exposure OSHA Region 4 Surface Sampling Toluene Triethanolamine Ventilation-systems Welding Fume Xylene

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA9401512475
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Kentucky ; OSHA Region 4
• 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:
  29 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00224645
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB95-189635
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, Ohio: 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 94-0151-2475, 1994 Nov ; :1-29
• CAS Registry Number:
  Nickel (CAS RN 7440-02-0) ; Cobalt (CAS RN 7440-48-4) ; Cadmium (CAS RN 7440-43-9)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1995
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3724 - Aircraft engines and engine parts - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:bec8b5f13172a059f915443301d606b748babf5f7966d7f316c4a0c80dfa003e0a0a04c90005f50365236f856e5d9a8a3c53699136e93769d9e9b1a2915d0653
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171308/cdc_171308_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 245.66 KB ]