Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-91-287-2228: Ohio Department of Agriculture, Reynoldsburg Laboratory; Reynoldsburg, Ohio

Details

• Personal Author:
  Echt, Alan S. ; Rubin, Carol H. ; Tubbs, Randy L.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a confidential request from an employee at the Ohio Department of Agriculture (SIC-8734) laboratory in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, an evaluation was undertaken of microbiological safety in the laboratory. Management subsequently requested an evaluation of noise exposures. The results of air sampling for sulfates did not reveal concentrations above the limit of detection. A major source of noise was identified as a Wellsaw and Stryker saw which are used to remove the spinal column, bisect skulls, or open the cranium of animals during necropsy. Both veterinarians wore ear muffs while sawing. Noise levels ranged from 93 to 98 decibels-A, but the sawing activities were of short duration. Noise from the ventilation system and noise in several other areas exceeded the recommended levels for laboratories where communication is necessary. During necropsy, total particulates were not above the limit of detection of the method. Questionnaires and interviews indicated that there was a great deal of variability in the use of personal protective equipment, food and personal item storage, use of lab coats and home laundering of work clothes. The authors conclude that a potential hazard existed in the laboratory for the transmission of infectious organisms due to the lack of a comprehensive biological safety program. Improvements in laboratory ventilation were suggested for Building 3.
• Subjects:
  Communicable Diseases Ear Laboratories Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Protective Clothing Safety Sense Organs
• Keywords:
  Agricultural Biosafety Hazard-Confirmed HETA-91-287-2228 Infection-control Infectious-diseases Laboratory-workers Microbiological And Biomedical Laboratories NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Noise OSHA Region 5 Personal-protective-equipment Testing Laboratories Veterinary-medicine Work-clothing

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA912872228
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; 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:
  32 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Kelly, John E. ; Behrens, Virginia ; Connon, Catherine L.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00210215
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB93-119287
• 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 91-287-2228, 1992 Jun ; :1-34
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1992
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  8734 - Testing laboratories - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ccd99b2ce564c74a058d42a55917dceab47d441449afa2b1703421761dc584345816bb7b3a77560527aa954b4728d7aedb13782cdedbe654b870d4f1b6c39903
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171549/cdc_171549_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 436.32 KB ]