Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-88-320-2176: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service; Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Details

• Personal Author:
  Deitchman, Scott D. ; Reh, Christopher M.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from the National Park Service, an evaluation was begun into worker exposure to forest fire smoke at Yellowstone National Park (SIC-0851), Wyoming. The National Park Service requested assistance in identifying and quantifying exposures to chemicals in smoke and in determining the impact of exposure to this smoke on the forest fire fighter. Investigations were conducted during mop up and fire break construction at three forest fires in 1988. Personal breathing zone air monitoring was conducted for carbon-monoxide (630080) (CO), carbon-dioxide (124389), sulfur-dioxide (7446095), and nitrogen-dioxide (10102440). Sampling was also conducted for aldehydes, volatile organic compounds, total particulates, and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons. Preshift and postshift concentrations of carboxyhemoglobin were determined from blood samples. The CO levels were below the NIOSH recommended exposure limit of 35 parts per million. However, when adjustments were made for the length of the work shift, level of work activity, and altitude, results suggested that a potential health hazard may have existed. Medical reports indicated the fire fighters experienced a high degree of eye and upper respiratory tract irritation. The authors conclude that a potential health hazard may exist from exposure to carbon-monoxide. The authors recommend that the use of bandannas as respirators be eliminated. Further exposure assessment and medical research into exposures encountered during firefighting operations should be conducted.
• Subjects:
  Environmental Monitoring Firefighters Fires Forestry Hazardous Substances Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety Sulfur Dioxide
• Keywords:
  Air-quality-monitoring Altitude Carbon Monoxide Carboxyhemoglobin Coburn, Foster, Kane Equation Combustion-products Extended Workshifts Fire-fighting Fire-hazards Fire Break Construction Forest Fire Fighting Forestry-workers Forestry Services Hazard-Confirmed HETA-88-320-2176 Mop-up NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Occupational-exposure OSHA Region 8 Particulate Matter Sulfur Dioxide Toxic-gases

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA883202176
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Wyoming ; OSHA Region 8
• 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:
  43 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Crandall, Michael S. ; Fleeger, Alan K. ; Hammel, Richard R. ; King, Michael V. ; Kinnes, Gregory K. ; Pippenger, Dick ; Poncin, Dave ; Sullivan, Dan
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00218677
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB94-162088
• 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 88-320-2176, 1992 Feb ; :1-41
• CAS Registry Number:
  Carbon monoxide (CAS RN 630-08-0) ; Carbon dioxide (CAS RN 124-38-9) ; Sulfur dioxide (CAS RN 7446-09-5) ; Nitrogen dioxide (CAS RN 10102-44-0)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1992
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  0851 - Forestry services - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:357533e97cc19d3099ad97c2d25c515702390cc192b4f03fd08ce20af92e3e93c5274850585b418592ac3b0b7f712b8a3bd94a7d41154a7406b370bcd5e9aa44
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171418/cdc_171418_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 356.26 KB ]