Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-91-395-2244: Veterans Administration Medical Center; Los Angeles, California

Details

• Personal Author:
  Kelly, John E. ; Miller, Aubrey K.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from an employee of the Veterans Administration Medical Center (SIC-8062), Los Angeles, California, an investigation was undertaken of exposures to chemicals in the laboratory department, excessive heat, and humidity in the kitchen area of the dietetics department, and carbon-monoxide (630080) exposures inside the building. In three of five personal breathing zone samples taken in the histopathology laboratory, formaldehyde (50000) was detected at concentrations up to 0.17 part per million (ppm) and it was also present in all four of the area air samples at concentrations up to 1.1ppm. The predominant symptoms associated with work in the laboratory included occasional headaches and nose/throat irritation. Mild episodes of dermal irritation and rash were also reported. All carbon-monoxide levels were less than 5ppm. In the kitchens, relative humidity levels were below the recommended range. Temperatures were above the range of temperatures recommended for a medium level of work. The authors conclude that a potential carcinogenic risk existed for workers in laboratories which use formaldehyde. The authors recommend specific measures to lower the risk of formaldehyde exposures in this laboratory.
• Subjects:
  Air Pollution, Indoor Carbon Monoxide Environmental Health Food Handling Food Industry Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Hospitals Laboratories Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety

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• Keywords:
  Air-quality-control Carbon Monoxide CO Food-handlers Formaldehyde General Medical And Surgical Hospitals Hazard-Confirmed HCHO Health-care-facilities HETA-91-395-2244 Indoor-air-pollution Indoor-environmental-quality Indoor Air Quality Kitchens Laboratories Laboratory-workers NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Occupational-exposure OSHA Region 9

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA913952244
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• 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:
  23 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00210231
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB93-118693
• 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 91-395-2244, 1992 Aug ; :1-22
• CAS Registry Number:
  Carbon monoxide (CAS RN 630-08-0) ; Formaldehyde (CAS RN 50-00-0)
• Editor(s):
  O'Banion, Kate L.
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1992
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  8062 - General medical & surgical hospitals - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a7d7af38bc979f9dbc1f9e826e1aa4619c7372f7b04c9ff30bbbafc7c09396457b499f9baac4fc294eef8fdf02007899a67ad7e0d4244bac41d0cfd4badf87c4
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171538/cdc_171538_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 260.50 KB ]