Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-92-0244-2373: Kaiser Northlake Atrium; Atlanta, Georgia

Details

• Personal Author:
  Deitchman, Scott D. ; Martinez, Kenneth F. ; Upham, Susan
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from employees of Kaiser Permanente (SIC- 8011), an investigation was begun into possible hazardous working conditions at the Northlake Atrium, located in Atlanta, Georgia. Concerns were focused on Stachybotrys fungus. The facility housed medical clinics, offices, a pharmacy, and a medical records storage facility. The building had a history of water leakage. Employees noted symptoms consisting of cough, sneezing, urticaria, and shortness of breath along with otitis, sinusitis, asthma, viral meningitis, and pseudotumor cerebri. They blamed the mycotoxins associated with Stachybotrys mold which had been detected during sampling by an outside consultant. In response, extensive remediation efforts had been conducted at the site. By the time of the NIOSH visit, much of the remediation had been completed. A review of medical records did not show evidence of mucosal or blood abnormalities which would be associated with stachybotry toxicosis. A sample of fungal contamination was collected for culture and the following were identified: Penicillium, Aspergillus, Alternaria, and unidentified yeasts. The authors conclude that results of this survey do not support the association of symptoms experienced with exposure to Stachybotrys. Symptoms may be related to allergic reactions to other molds. The authors recommend that efforts to eliminate mold exposures be continued.
• Subjects:
  Fungi Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Health Personnel Mycoses Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Bioaerosols Hazard-Unconfirmed Health-care-facilities Health-care-personnel HETA-92-0244-2373 Indoor Environmental Quality Mycotoxins NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Occupational-exposure Offices And Clinics Of Doctors Of Medicine OSHA Region 4 Stachybotris

  More +
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA9202442373
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Georgia ; 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:
  23 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00219210
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB94-175163
• 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 92-0244-2373, 1994 Jan ; :1-24
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1994
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  8011 - Offices & clinics of medical doctors - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9735e160d8b14a9318a57fd1dc78f5b95c623c3bd9edaf3f112349634fc66b5e4c7ebaaee7dc772eddf07ba3c5a8751e3fd9284fd588b826e3e73972153f4976
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171399/cdc_171399_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 831.40 KB ]