Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-88-377-2120: ARMCO Coke Oven; Ashland, Kentucky

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-88-377-2120: ARMCO Coke Oven, Ashland, Kentucky
• Personal Author:
  Baron, Sherry L. ; Fleeger, Alan K. ; Kinnes, Gregory M.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union, a study was made of possible hazardous working conditions at ARMCO Coke Oven (SIC-3312), Ashland, Kentucky. The facility produces about 1,000,000 tons of coke annually. Of the approximately 400 total employees at the coke oven site, 55 work in the by-products area. Air quality sampling results indicated overexposure to both benzene (71432) and coal tar pitch volatiles (CTPVs). Airborne levels of benzene ranged as high as 117 parts per million (ppm) with three of 17 samples being above the OSHA limit of 1ppm. Airborne concentrations of CTPVs ranged as high as 0.38mg/m3 with two of six readings being above OSHA limit of 0.2mg/m3. Several polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons were also detected. The authors conclude that by products area workers are potentially overexposed to carcinogens, including benzene, CTPVs, and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons. An epidemiologic study is considered unlikely to yield meaningful information at this time, due to the small number of workers and the short follow up period. The authors recommend specific measures for reducing potential employee exposures, including an environmental sampling program, a preventive maintenance program, improved housekeeping procedures, and reducing exposure in operators' booths.
• Subjects:
  Ammonia Carcinogens Coal Coal Tar Neoplasms Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Safety
• Keywords:
  Ammonia Benzene By-product Coke Ovens Cancer Chemical Recovery Coke Ovens Coal-processing Coal Tar Pitch Volatiles Coke-oven-emissions Coke-oven-workers Hazard-Confirmed HETA-88-377-2120 NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Occupational-exposure OSHA Region 4 Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons Steel Works, Blast Furnaces (including Coke Ovens), And Rolling Mills

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA883772120
• 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:
  20 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  DeArmond, Larry
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00200818
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB92-108497
• 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 88-377-2120, 1991 Jun ; :1-19
• CAS Registry Number:
  Benzene (CAS RN 71-43-2)
• Editor(s):
  Conway, Kathleen
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1991
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3312 - Blast furnaces and steel mills - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:64ae0c70bb3f5f570ea5a1806ef64a154994c9bb3c2abb2c284c5bc3484f9aa47f0fecfcb1838e0daf08d1c414bd3ca3f27cc3714b9775a3458d13609337a4fe
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171661/cdc_171661_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 125.67 KB ]