Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-92-0117-2388: Rubbermaid, Inc.; Reynolds, Indiana

Details

• Personal Author:
  Barsan, Michael E.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from a management representative of Rubbermaid, Inc. (SIC-3089), a study was begun of possible exposures to airborne formaldehyde (50000), and total and respirable dust at the Reynolds, Indiana facility. The facility employed about 150 persons in the manufacture of thermoset plastic cookware products. In the Compounding Department, melamine/formaldehyde powder was compressed into small pellets which were transported to the Press Department and molded into the desired shape. Pieces were then sent to the Product Process Department where parts were trimmed and packaged. There was no local exhaust system for the presses. Personal breathing zone airborne formaldehyde concentrations ranged from 0.52 to 1.75 parts per million (ppm) for nine press operators. Seven exceeded the Permissible Exposure Level of 0.75ppm. Area samples for formaldehyde ranged from 0.23 to 1.98ppm. Total dust concentrations in the Bipel booth were 2.25 and 2.47mg/m3 and respirable dust concentrations were 0.69 and 0.56mg/m3. The booth effectively contained the dust generated during that operation. Very low quantities of toluene (108883), styrene (100425), isopropanol (67630), and 1,1,1-trichloroethane (71556) were detected. The author concludes that a health hazard for press operators existed from formaldehyde exposures. The author recommends that engineering controls be used to reduce formaldehyde exposure.
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Dust Occupational Health Particulate Matter Plastics Safety
• Keywords:
  Airborne-dusts Dust Dust-control Formaldehyde Hazard-Confirmed HETA-92-0117-2388 Melamine NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Organic-vapors OSHA Region 5 Plastics-industry Plastics Products Polyester Resin Styrene Thermoset Cookware Thermosetting-plastics Ventilation

  More +
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA9201172388
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Indiana ; 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:
  20 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Kinnes, Gregory M.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00219670
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB94-183464
• 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 92-0117-2388, 1994 Feb ; :1-24
• CAS Registry Number:
  Formaldehyde (CAS RN 50-00-0) ; Toluene (CAS RN 108-88-3) ; Styrene (CAS RN 100-42-5) ; Isopropyl alcohol (CAS RN 67-63-0) ; 1,1,1-Trichloroethane (CAS RN 71-55-6)
• Editor(s):
  Blythe, Ellen E.
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1994
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3089 - Plastics products, not elsewhere classified - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:51787c2b6fe13694937e46af7be2df5a3c1b4c2299918de4d0ac6f9154759451492199c0f5de1e2cd691408ebb9af2c9377eeaf82fc5c3f14127afeefe77d3fc
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171384/cdc_171384_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 367.98 KB ]