Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-92-216-2239: Kenton County Department for Social Insurance; Covington, Kentucky

Details

• Personal Author:
  Burr, Gregory A. ; Deitchman, Scott D. ; Jewel, Gregory A. ; Klein, Matthew K.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from three workers at the Kenton County Department for Social Insurance (DSI) (SIC-9441), Covington, Kentucky, an investigation was begun into possible hazardous working conditions at that site. The workers complained of headaches, nausea, sinus infections, bronchial problems, breathing problems, unpleasant odors, dust, and other items thought to be related to the quality of the indoor air they were breathing. In 1990, the third floor of the seven-story building was completely renovated with new carpeting, windows, painting of walls and some asbestos removal. The DSI office was responsible for processing social benefits for the area. Carbon-dioxide (124389) levels were increased slightly on the third floor during the workday but remained below the established limits. Temperature and relative humidity levels were within the comfort zone. An effective smoking policy was not in effect. The authors conclude that a health hazard existed at the site. The symptoms experienced by these workers may have been the result of indoor air pollution caused by cigarette smoking. The ventilation systems servicing the area were unbalanced, which may have contributed to these symptoms as well. The authors recommend the development and implementation of an effective smoking policy and balancing the ventilation system.
• Subjects:
  Air Pollution, Indoor Environmental Health Occupational Health Safety Smokers Tobacco Products
• Keywords:
  Administration Of Social, Human Resource And Income Maintenance Programs Carbon Dioxide Cigarette-smoking Hazard-Confirmed HETA-92-216-2239 Indoor-air-pollution Indoor-environmental-quality Indoor Air Quality NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Office-workers OSHA Region 4 Relative Humidity Temperature Ventilation

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA922162239
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Kentucky ; OSHA Region 4
• 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:
  21 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00210218
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB93-119311
• 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 92-216-2239, 1992 Jul ; :1-29
• CAS Registry Number:
  Carbon dioxide (CAS RN 124-38-9)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1992
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  9441 - Administration of social & manpower programs - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9e5771649d96f5756bf3eb880aad9899b1fbc4d91f600a5d80a39b5f510c8c1a944e3f869f9506b031ce8e23aed2f88cfda6acb497230209f64b72198ec37b09
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171546/cdc_171546_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 196.04 KB ]