Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-92-350-2292: Otis Elevator Company; Alexandria, Virginia

Details

• Personal Author:
  Kiefer, Max ; Trout, Douglas B.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from management an investigation was begun into employee health problems and their suspected relationship to the work environment at Otis Elevator Company (SIC-3534), Alexandria, Virginia. The facility was occupied by 35 to 40 marketing and field employees. The facility was inspected, and the heating, ventilating and air conditioning system was reviewed. A questionnaire dealing with health symptoms and working conditions was completed by 25 employees. All of the air handling units appeared to be in good condition, were draining property, and had clean filters. In the office areas the housekeeping was generally good. In the warehouse areas, many uncovered oil and solvent cans and uncovered containers filled with oil-soaked rags were noted. The most common complaints among the workers were tired or strained eyes, and stuffy or runny nose or sinus congestion. Several noted headache and unusual tiredness, fatigue or drowsiness occurring at least once a week. The lack of air movement, dry air, and the presence of tobacco and chemical odors were also reported. The authors conclude that no environmental contamination or conditions was found which would account for the experienced symptoms. The authors provide recommendations for improving indoor air quality at this site, including eliminating smoking in the basement, improving housekeeping, informing building occupants regarding the proper operation of the air ventilation system, and establishing a proactive air quality management program.
• Subjects:
  Air Pollution, Indoor Environmental Health Occupational Health Safety Smoke Tobacco Products Ventilation Workplace
• Keywords:
  Carbon Dioxide Hazard-Unconfirmed HETA-92-350-2292 Indoor-air-pollution Indoor-environmental-quality Indoor Air Quality Indoor Environmental Quality NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Office-workers OSHA Region 3 Relative Humidity Temperature Tobacco-smoke Ventilation Ventilation-systems Volatile Organic Compounds Work-environment

  More +
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA923502292
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Virginia ; OSHA Region 3
• 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
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00218675
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB94-162914
• 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 92-350-2292, 1993 Feb ; :1-19
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1993
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  8211 - Elementary and secondary schools - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0e6ccbcdb7c348d43587ed1635c0c80c568e4f51dff7cd2b27439c667d2970acd556a53aa472f1fb805182b9e21fb8f44b4260f4a9dcbb76c2b75e0d0e8084be
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171420/cdc_171420_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 215.15 KB ]