Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-90-030-2183: Rust Engineering, Champion International; Quinnesec, Michigan

Details

• Personal Author:
  Knutti, Elizabeth B.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from the Building and Construction Trades Department, an evaluation was conducted of possible health effects due to chlorine-dioxide (10049044) emissions from the Champion International Corporation (CIC) pulp mill in Quinnesec, Michigan on workers employed by Rust Engineering (SIC-1541) at an adjacent construction site. Rust Engineering was contracted by CIC to construct a paper mill addition to the pulp mill, and had about 1,600 workers at the site. Questionnaires were completed by 252 workers and pulmonary function tests were performed. Acute symptoms were reported more frequently among workers who felt they had been exposed to chemical fumes. Workers with reported perceived exposures experienced shortness of breath more often. No difference was noted in the occurrence of chronic cough with perceived exposure. Wheeze was reported by more workers who indicated an exposure but only in the smoking group. Obstructive ventilatory function was noted among 37 workers and ten had a restrictive pattern. Toxic gases were released on more than one occasion at this site, but there were no records available which would allow the calculation of the concentration of any gases released or the effect of these on the workers. The author recommends that health and safety procedures be established and enforced. The requirement of the State of Michigan Hazard Communication Program should be implemented.
• Subjects:
  Chlorine Compounds Construction Industry Hydrogen Sulfide Lung Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Sulfur Dioxide
• Keywords:
  Chlorine Chlorine-compounds Chlorine Dioxide Construction Construction-workers Dimethyl Disulfide Dimethyl Sulfide Hazard-Confirmed HETA-90-030-2183 Hydrogen Sulfide Lung-function NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Occupational-exposure Organic Mercaptans OSHA Region 5 Pulp-industry Pulp Mill Respiratory-system-disorders Sulfur Dioxide

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA900302183
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Michigan ; 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:
  19 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Kinsley, Kathleen B.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00218679
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB94-169711
• 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 90-030-2183, 1992 Mar ; :1-25
• CAS Registry Number:
  Chlorine dioxide (CAS RN 10049-04-4)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1992
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  1541 - Industrial buildings and warehouses - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:5c3bd2a77f494cd3f3b0eb5d996b65a286a8596ce0095350901da822984e3e787b42c163676692c0da30f9f6701f9b65855fe47e074a152aec8308b607b0d3f9
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171416/cdc_171416_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 172.07 KB ]