Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-92-0126-2358: Lakeland Jr-Sr High School; Jermyn, Pennsylvania

Details

• Personal Author:
  Buchta, Teresa M. ; Martinez, Kenneth F. ; Tepper, Allison L.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from the superintendent of the Lakeland School District (SIC-8211), an investigation was begun into the occurrences of bacterial illnesses among employees of the Lakeland Junior Senior High School in Jermyn, Pennsylvania. In 1992 the estimated occupancy was 800 individuals, of whom 10% were adults. Symptoms reported by the teachers and other employees included eye strain, eye irritation, nasal/sinus congestion, and excess fatigue. Nearly all symptoms were reported by a higher percentage of workers during the school year than during the summer when school was not in session. Possible building related symptoms included mucous membrane irritation, respiratory symptoms, or nonspecific symptoms. Bacterial and fungal counts in bulk samples collected from water stained ceiling tiles, interior ventilation system lining, and wall paint did not indicate a significant problem with microbiological contamination. The authors conclude that a consistent pattern of bacterial disease that could be related to environmental conditions was not found. Reported symptoms were related to employee perceptions of unpleasant working conditions, particularly insufficient air movement and unclean work areas. The authors recommend that an adequate supply of outside air be provided and that temperature and humidity levels be maintained in accordance with guidelines currently in place.
• Subjects:
  Air Pollution, Indoor Environmental Health Environmental Monitoring Microbiology Occupational Health Safety Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Air-quality-monitoring Carbon Dioxide Closed-building-syndrome Elementary And Secondary Schools Hazard-Unconfirmed HETA-92-0126-2358 IEQ Indoor-air-pollution Indoor-environmental-quality Indoor Environmental Quality Microbial Contamination Microorganisms NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report OSHA Region 3 Teaching Thermal Comfort Ventilation-systems

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA9201262358
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Pennsylvania ; 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:
  30 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00217274
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB94-139714
• 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 92-0126-2358, 1993 Oct ; :1-30
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1994
• 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-512:37269359272b78b589f83ceddcdeb2037687369bdf188d4b5d05f307f72ef07c9b9ef188841894d529ac7f6bf7d74b90930aa045531885bafca41b47aa578627
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171446/cdc_171446_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 837.00 KB ]