Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-83-261-1448: Rolling Hill Hospital; Elkins Park, Pennsylvania

Details

• Personal Author:
  Chrostek, Walter J.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request by the Assistant Administrator of Rolling Hill Hospital (SIC-8062), Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, a study was undertaken of exposures to formaldehyde (50000) and xylene (1330207). The areas of concern were the Gross Pathology Laboratory where tissue was preserved in a 10% formalin solution with a phosphate prior to visual examination, and the Cytology and Histology laboratories where organic solvents were used to prepare slides for microscopic evaluation. Five air samples were collected along with personal sampling for formaldehyde determinations and three breathing zone and one general air sample were collected for xylene determination. Limonene (138863) and ethyl-benzene (100414) were also present in the air. The author concludes that a health hazard did not exist from exposure to organic solvent vapors. The author recommends that measures be taken to further control exposure to formaldehyde gas in the laboratory, including establishment of a regular maintenance program for the charcoal filter, wiping up all spills promptly, and establishing a program of prompt disposal of the wipe towels.
• Subjects:
  Environmental Monitoring Hazardous Substances Health Personnel Laboratories Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Air-sampling Ethyl Benzene Formaldehyde General And Medical Hospitals Hazard-Unconfirmed HETA-83-261-1448 Laboratory-workers Limonene Medical-personnel NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Occupational-exposure OSHA Region 3 Toxic-gases Xylene

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA832611448
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Pennsylvania ; OSHA Region 3
• 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:
  12 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00203280
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB92-137900
• 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 83-261-1448, 1984 Apr ; :1-10
• CAS Registry Number:
  Formaldehyde (CAS RN 50-00-0) ; Xylene (CAS RN 1330-20-7) ; Limonene (CAS RN 138-86-3) ; Ethylbenzene (CAS RN 100-41-4)
• Editor(s):
  Tomassini, Mary
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1984
• 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:a699ddff9febf207fa7530e760723607ae5986ca4439d44c8805af742d73c4dd3993ae28076621a2bbb46dbf1ca2dd63142677124bceb45824ad4e75da0fd54b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171633/cdc_171633_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.80 MB ]