Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-91-251-2218: New Hampshire Ball Bearing; Laconia, New Hampshire

Details

• Personal Author:
  McManus, Kevin P.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from management and employees at New Hampshire Ball Bearing (SIC-3562), Laconia, New Hampshire, an investigation was made of possible hazardous working conditions at that site. The company employs 490 workers in the manufacture of self-lubricating bearings, primarily for use in the aerospace industry. Personal breathing zone and area air sampling were performed at the site for formaldehyde (50000), phenol (108952), methylene-dianiline (101779), freon-113 (76131), dichloroethane (107062), trichloroethane (71556), ethanol (64175), ethyl-acetate (141786), and other organic solvents. Although the levels of all chemicals sampled were below the OSHA permissible exposure limits, formaldehyde and dichloroethane are considered by NIOSH to be potential human carcinogens. Bulk sample analyses indicated that Vydax (59217424) (tetrafluoroethylene telomer) was present throughout the Teflon Room. This could explain some of the symptoms experienced by the employees including fever, chills, aching, and sometimes nausea and vomiting. Most workers experiencing the symptoms appeared to have been exposed by smoking cigarettes contaminated with polymer, resulting in polymer fume fever. The author concludes that a potential health hazard existed as a result of worker exposure to formaldehyde, dichloroethane, and tetrafluoroethylene telomer decomposition products. The author recommends substituting less toxic materials where possible, and preventing cross contamination of the Teflon Room with Vydax. Workers should avoid contaminating cigarettes with Vydax.
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Polymers Safety
• Keywords:
  Adhesives Bearings Hazard-Confirmed HETA-91-251-2218 Lubrication NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Occupational-exposure OSHA Region 1 Polymer-fumes Polymer Fume Fever Polymerization Teflon Tetrafluoroethylene Telomer Vydax

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA912512218
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  New Hampshire ; OSHA Region 1
• 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
• Contributor:
  Bresler, Faye T. ; Burt, Susan E. ; Kaiser, Edward A.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00210210
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB93-119337
• 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 91-251-2218, 1992 May ; :1-24
• CAS Registry Number:
  Formaldehyde (CAS RN 50-00-0) ; Phenol (CAS RN 108-95-2) ; 4,4'-Methylenedianiline (CAS RN 101-77-9) ; 1,1,2-Trichloro-1,2,2-trifluoroethane (CAS RN 76-13-1) ; 1,2-Dichloroethane (CAS RN 107-06-2) ; 1,1,1-Trichloroethane (CAS RN 71-55-6) ; Ethanol (CAS RN 64-17-5) ; Ethyl acetate (CAS RN 141-78-6) ; Polytetrafluoroethylene (CAS RN 9002-84-0)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1992
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3562 - Ball and roller bearings - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f1861603aa485a0d2c815b2b00048b70c45d96ac85d80419468ed6657518af29e01dc2f4acce94556c038d2dbb994ae672ec81fa67472d9401cce43d69775c7e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171554/cdc_171554_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 222.21 KB ]