Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-78-004-1511: Shell Chemical Company; Axis, Alabama

Details

• Personal Author:
  Moseley, Clifford L. ; Wilcox, Thomas G.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from employees at the Shell Chemical Company (SIC-2879), Axis, Alabama, an investigation was begun into exposures and possible health hazards at that site in 1977. Dibromochloropropane (96128) (DBCP) had been produced from April 1976 to July 1977. About 120 persons worked in areas where potential exposures to pesticides existed. At the time of the study, three pesticides were being manufactured: vapona (62737), dibrom (300765), and aldicarb (116063). Breathing zone air samples and wipe samples were collected for the three chemicals. All exposures to vapona and dibrom were very low. The highest level measured was 0.013mg/m3, 1.3% of the exposure criterion. Thirteen of the 17 aldicarb pesticide residues were below the limits of detection with the highest level being 0.005mg/m3. Because DBCP had been reported to impair sperm production, semen samples from 42 DBCP exposed and 26 unexposed male workers were examined. Only one man exposed to DBCP had a sperm count of 0, but the results of the semen examination suggested an association between DBCP exposure and depression of sperm counts. The authors conclude that the level of pesticide exposure measure at the site was very low, and a health hazard did not exist. Some workers who were exposed to DBCP at the facility prior to July 1977 may have experienced adverse spermatogenic effects.
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Halothane Insecticides Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Propane Safety Spermatogenesis Urogenital Diseases Urogenital System

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• Keywords:
  Agricultural-chemicals Aldicarb Chemical-manufacturing-industry Dibrom Dibromochloropropane Halogenated-hydrocarbons Hazard-Confirmed HETA-78-004-1511 NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Occupational-exposure OSHA Region 4 Pesticides Pesticides And Agricultural Chemicals, Not Elsewhere Classified Reproductive-hazards Reproductive-system-disorders Yapona

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA780041511
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Alabama ; 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:
  22 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00221736
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB95-128930
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, Ohio: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HETA 78-004-1511, 1985 Jan ; :1-18
• CAS Registry Number:
  Dibromochloropropane (CAS RN 96-12-8) ; 2,2-Dichlorovinyl dimethyl phosphate (CAS RN 62-73-7) ; 1,2-Dibromo-2,2-dichloroethyl dimethyl phosphate (CAS RN 300-76-5) ; Aldicarb (CAS RN 116-06-3)
• Editor(s):
  Frey, T.
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1985
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  2879 - Agricultural chemicals, not elsewhere classified - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:849d3debaddfe2b6a811961eb7f19d8191b4222f75efa1c74339dafc3dfee67e06de18679bcd01cab099e27266f11237a21bf1f4b684819e9634508b15dede43
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171354/cdc_171354_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1015.00 KB ]