Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-88-267-2276: Miles, Inc.; Elkhart, Indiana

Details

• Personal Author:
  Burr, Gregory A. ; Wilcox, Thomas G.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from the Director of Health Services for the United Steel Workers of America, an investigation was undertaken of employee’s complaints of irritated eyes, skin and respiratory tract when working with certain enzymes at Miles, Inc. (SIC-2869), Elkhart, Indiana. The Miles Enzyme Facility produced industrial/commercial grade enzymes. A medical evaluation and an industrial hygiene evaluation were conducted. The medical part of the study involved 36 of the workers (65% of the total work force). Fifteen people had two or more symptoms associated with an allergic reaction. Nine persons had two or more symptoms associated with a flu like condition. At the time of the environmental survey, most of the samples taken did not detect the presence of the enzymes in production. Process operators were four times more likely than other workers to be immunologically sensitized to one or more of the materials tested. They were ten times more likely to have a mild obstruction and/or mild restriction. Eight workers were found to be immunologically sensitized to one or more tested antigen. Three workers with significant allergic symptoms while at work were advised that continued exposure could result in increasing severity of symptoms. The authors conclude that employees with positive immunoglobulin-E or skin tests may be at increased risk of becoming symptomatic over time. The authors recommend that workplace exposure to allergenic substances be reduced, and medical monitoring instituted.
• Subjects:
  Hypersensitivity Lung Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Skin
• Keywords:
  AlkalineProtease Allergic-reactions Allergy Alpha-Amylase Alpha-Amylase 1,4- Alpha-D-Glucan Glucanohydrolase Amyloglucosidase 1,4-alpha-D-Glucan Glucohydrolase Chemical-industry-workers Detergents Diazyme ELISA Enzyme Linked Lmmuno-sorbency Assay Enzymes Hazard-Confirmed HETA-88-267-2276 Immunological-tests Industrial Organic Chemicals, Not Elsewhere Classified LgE Milezyme NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Occupational-exposure OSHA Region 5 Peak Expiratory Flow Pulmonary Function Tests Radioimmunosorbent Analysis Respiratory-system-disorders RIST Skin-prick Tests Taka-Therm Takatel Tenase

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA882672276
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Indiana ; 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:
  30 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  McCammon, Jane B. ; Biagini, Raymond E. ; Reh, Christopher M. ; Scinto, John D. ; Fleeger, Alan ; Schutte, G. Robert ; Hartle, Lynette ; McKinzie, Patty ; Boyd, James ; Hammel, Richard ; Collins, James ; King, Mike
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00213723
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB93-215036
• 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 88-267-2276, 1992 Dec ; :1-28
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1993
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  2869 - Industrial organic chemicals, not elsewhere classified - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:5ed0ef6bfc8c077386ff8d147cb567ee2235056aa2c7f538715751d972bd75d0e86345311b56f946f5b8a52aeb60913e0af60a915c8df44822b75b781f00d2d8
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171510/cdc_171510_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.13 MB ]