Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-90-376-2106: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Hato Rey, Puerto Rico

Details

• Personal Author:
  Boudreau, Yvonne A. ; Seitz, Teresa A.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) management and the American Federation of Government Employees, an evaluation was undertaken of possible hazardous working conditions at the HUD Caribbean Area Office in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. The request concerned respiratory problems, pneumonia, allergies, and fungal growth on office walls thought to be related to poor indoor air quality. Interviews with 16 employees revealed the major complaints to be irritation from tobacco smoke and cold temperatures. Reviews of medical records for cases of asthma and pneumonia did not support a work-related cause for these illnesses but did suggest that these conditions could be exacerbated by cold temperatures and exposure to tobacco smoke at work. Measurements indicated temperature and humidity combinations falling outside of the ranges deemed comfortable for work sites. High relative humidity, 63 to 71%, was measured on the second and third floors and ventilation deficiencies were noted which could promote microbial growth. The authors conclude that the medical histories for the more serious health complaints were not consistent with a work-related cause. Tobacco smoke, low temperatures, high relative humidity, and problems with the air distribution system are noted. The authors recommend measures to prevent moisture incursion into the occupied space and within the air conditioning system. It is also suggested that smoking be restricted in occupied areas.
• Subjects:
  Air Pollution Air Pollution, Indoor Environmental Health Occupational Health Safety Smokers Tobacco Products
• Keywords:
  Air-quality Air-temperature Carbon Dioxide Cigarette-smoking Closed-building-syndrome Government Office Hazards-Unconfirmed HETA-90-376-2106 Indoor-air-pollution Indoor-environmental-quality Indoor Air Quality NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Office-workers OSHA Region 2 Relative Humidity Smoking Temperature

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA903762106
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Puerto Rico ; OSHA Region 2
• 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:
  24 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00200324
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB91-238113
• 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 90-376-2106, 1991 Apr ; :1-19
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1991
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d3a4e36018ad00bc87a0374d55af577fb9f902d7b6879d1bbf2d6293ab7077269171074c805ff7f5412bcc793d69bef3ee96c3dac0c35ded482b9a6ee2e4925a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171665/cdc_171665_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 957.92 KB ]