Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-91-034-2114: Berry Building; Birmingham, Alabama

Details

• Personal Author:
  Hanley, Kevin W.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from union and management personnel, a health hazard evaluation was conducted at the Berry Building, Birmingham, Alabama. Workers have reported recurring respiratory illnesses and eye irritation. The four-story building was made of bricks. A furniture store and warehouse had occupied the building which then remained empty for some time before it was occupied by the Department of Labor (SIC-9199) in 1985. The carbon-dioxide (124389) concentrations measured during the survey were below 1000 parts per million. All areas studied, except one, were within guidelines for both temperature and relative humidity. Concentrations of respirable matter ranged from 3 to 48 micrograms per cubic meter. Leaking or standing water was not apparent, nor were there any visible signs of microbial contamination. Monitoring for airborne bioaerosols was not done. The author concludes that, although no health hazards were specifically identified, most workers had experienced symptoms consistent with sick building syndrome. Recommendations are made for proper balancing of the ventilation system and changes in the smoking policy.
• Subjects:
  Air Pollution, Indoor Environmental Health Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Bioaerosols Carbon Dioxide Closed-building-syndrome General Government Hazard-Unconfirmed HETA-91-034-2114 Indoor-air-pollution Indoor-environmental-quality Indoor Air Quality NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Office-workers OSHA Region 4 Particulates Relative Humidity Temperature Ventilation

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA910342114
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Alabama ; 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:
  12 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Burr, Gregory A.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00200316
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB91-238147
• 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 91-034-2114, 1991 May ; :1-20
• CAS Registry Number:
  Carbon dioxide (CAS RN 124-38-9)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1991
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  9199 - General government, not elsewhere classified - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:13ef5bbe2d6e1d2c6d1a42c24ac40c233de0179bb7f189d432a2e8405984d2b21f7e156f96a64ab2298eeb266294794763d404cfb9fa78d676dd91c3bd1f2b49
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171673/cdc_171673_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 158.41 KB ]