Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-92-389-2332: Oakland Sports Therapy and Work Hardening; Exton, Pennsylvania

Details

• Personal Author:
  Buchta, Teresa M. ; Burton, Nancy C. ; Mattorano, Dino A.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from employees, an investigation was made of possible hazardous working conditions at Oakland Sports Therapy and Work Hardening (SIC-8049), Exton, Pennsylvania. Various health complaints such as headaches, dizziness, eye irritation, sinus infections, and respiratory problems resulted in the request. The facility was located on the first floor of a two-story brick structure. Most of the facility was dedicated to an open area for physical therapy rehabilitation services. There were 14 employees and typically six to seven clients using the facility at any one time. The temperature and relative humidity measurements were slightly below comfort guidelines. Carbon-dioxide (124389) levels consistently exceeded the 1,000 parts per million levels. The center apparently was not receiving sufficient amounts of outside air during maximum occupancy. Bromine (7726956) traces were found in two of three samples collected but not at concentrations which would be expected to cause health effects. Bromine was used as a sanitizer in a large whirlpool. The authors conclude that symptoms reported by workers were consistent with building related symptoms. The amount of outside air supplied by the ventilation system was below ventilation guidelines. The authors recommend that the amount of outside air be increased. The air intake should be relocated, the ventilation system should be balanced, and more efficient filter media should be used.
• Subjects:
  Air Pollution, Indoor Environmental Health Environmental Monitoring Health Personnel Occupational Health Safety Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Air-quality-monitoring Bromine Carbon Dioxide Hazard-Confirmed Health-care-personnel HETA-92-389-2332 IAQ IEQ Indoor-air-pollution Indoor-environmental-quality Indoor Environmental Quality NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Offices And Clinics Of Health Practitioners, Not Otherwise Classified OSHA Region 3 Relative Humidity Temperature Ventilation Ventilation-equipment Whirlpool

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA923892332
• 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:
  16 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00215675
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB94-110442
• 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 92-389-2332, 1993 Jun ; :1-24
• CAS Registry Number:
  Carbon dioxide (CAS RN 124-38-9) ; Bromine (CAS RN 7726-95-6)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1993
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  8049 - Offices of health practitioners, not elsewhere classified - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d559231e214f21beb0ff444e89f3105fec79419e6aee6f67d028dd0fb72db3bfd3f81ce51f2524235e8f77bfe1de21cb1ec20eff1722729002559bef22b474fc
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171485/cdc_171485_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 200.81 KB ]