Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-90-078-2095: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-90-078-2095: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Regional Office and Insurance Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Personal Author:
  Reh, Christopher M.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from the American Federation of Government Employees, Local 940, an evaluation was undertaken of possible hazardous working conditions at the United States Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office and Insurance Center, (SIC-9451) located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The concern arose following a spill of dielectric fluids known to contain polychlorinated biphenyls (1336363) (PCBs) during the removal and replacement of transformers in the vault area. The facility is a large, two-story office building maintained by the General Services Administration (GSA). Within the confines of the open office area was a transformer vault containing two transformers. GSA contracted with private firms to remove the transformers, to install new transformers, and to provide industrial hygiene support during the removal phases. Improper hookup of a pump resulted in a spill of the PCB containing fluids. Although the work was being performed on the weekend, workers were working in adjacent office areas. The building was evacuated as noxious odors filled the area. After cleanup, the spill areas within the vault were encapsulated with paint. During the investigation the PCB contamination in the area was limited to the floors which averaged 2452 micrograms/square meter (microg/m2), compared to an average wall concentration of 13microg/m2. Surface contamination noted in the office carpet directly outside the vault door was measured at 388microg/m2.
• Subjects:
  Environmental Pollution Hydrocarbons Occupational Health Polychlorinated Biphenyls Safety Workplace
• Keywords:
  Accident And Health Insurance And Medical Service Plans Administration Of Veterans Affairs, Except Health And Insurance Aroclor 1260 Chlorinated-hydrocarbons Environmental-contamination Exposure-levels Hazard-Confirmed HETA-90-078-2095 NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report OSHA Region 3 PCBs Polychlorinated-biphenyls Polychlorinated Biphenyls Spill Cleanup Transformer Vault Workplace-monitoring

  More +
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA900782095
• 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:
  17 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Bryant, Charles J.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00199121
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB91-212563
• 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 90-078-2095, 1991 Feb ; :1-20
• CAS Registry Number:
  Polychlorinated biphenyl(s)-PCB(s) (CAS RN 1336-36-3)
• Editor(s):
  Jenkins, Sharon
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1991
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  9451 - Administration of veterans' affairs - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0c22e1932d1377c2562c95005b68773eb975fbc042f53d6f355767d68889ed8cfe95c74ab9cc055be46b7ab3f388156fc7d89195e267922aaa41ab2e74fb1774
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171680/cdc_171680_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 170.35 KB ]