Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-91-006-2193: M and J Painting Company; Covington, Kentucky

Details

• Personal Author:
  Montopoli, Michael ; Sussell, Aaron L. ; Tubbs, Randy L.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from the Kentucky Cabinet for Health Resources, an evaluation was undertaken of occupational health hazards experienced during repainting of the Brent Spence Bridge, a double level highway bridge over the Ohio River between Covington, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio. M and J Painting Company (SIC-1622) was responsible for removal of the existing lead (7439921) based paint and corrosion with abrasive blasting within containment structures. Six NIOSH visits were made to the site. Ranges for personal exposures to airborne lead were 3,690 to 29,400 micrograms/cubic meter (microg/m3) for abrasive blasters and 5 to 6720microg/m3 for other job categories. Respirators in use were not sufficiently protective. Personal exposure to noise expressed as 8 hour time weighted averages ranged from 89.6 decibels-A to 105.4 decibels-A. The mean blood lead level increased from 29 micrograms/deciliter to 36 micrograms/deciliter among eight workers after approximately 1 month of work on the bridge. The authors conclude that a health hazard existed during paint removal on the bridge due to overexposure to lead and noise. The authors recommend specific measures for reducing the lead and noise exposures including improved engineering controls, work practices, respiratory protection program and personal hygiene facilities.
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Dust Ear Lead Maintenance Metals, Heavy Noise Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Paint Particulate Matter Safety Sense Organs

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• Keywords:
  Abrasive Blasting Airborne-dusts Bridge, Tunnel, And Elevated-highway Construction Bridge Workers Construction Hazard-Confirmed Heavy-metals HETA-91-006-2193 Lead Lead-dust Maintenance-workers NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Noise-exposure Occupational-exposure OSHA Region 4 Painters Type CE Respirators

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA910062193
• 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:
  28 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Rubin, Carol ; Reh, Christopher M. ; Clark, Nancy J. ; Cook, Calvin K. ; Decker, John A. ; Echt, Alan S. ; Kelly, John E.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00207665
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB92-205202
• 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 91-006-2193, 1992 Mar ; :1-45
• CAS Registry Number:
  Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1)
• Editor(s):
  Humphries, Donna M.
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1992
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  1622 - Bridge, tunnel, & elevated highway - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3889469cb307d574a13813e4d67fb01f40f2d52ceb20faefecdbca4c697ed2aa7c60b01e341a20b2ed49f4c8a802bb0ab6716da5b7dfd437a5f5d9bd90b86b31
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171587/cdc_171587_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 212.18 KB ]