Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-89-199-2033: Enseco, Inc., Rocky Mountain Analytical Laboratory; Arvada, Colorado

Details

• Personal Author:
  McCammon, Charles S.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from the management of Enseco, Inc., concerning the Rocky Mountain Analytical Laboratory (SIC-7391) located in Arvada, Colorado, a health hazard evaluation was made regarding possible worker exposures to solvents, including methylene- chloride (75092), hexane (110543), ethyl-ether (60297), acetone (67641), and diazomethane (334883). These chemicals were used in the preparation of soil and water samples for analysis. The Organic Preparation Lab was 6500 square feet in size and consisted of various areas including soils, water, sample storage, standards preparation, and extract handling. The primary operation at the site was the extraction and preparation of soil and water samples for chemical analysis. The time weighted average personal breathing zone samples for methylene-chloride ranged from 0.8 to 8.5 parts per million (ppm). The short-term personal samples averaged 33ppm for a ten-minute task to 286ppm for a 24-minute job. All hoods were operating within guidelines when the sashes were kept closed to the halfway level. The exhaust vent on the flammable solvent cabinet was plugged by lint and dust. The author concludes that a potential health hazard existed from employee exposure to methylene-chloride in excess of 1.0ppm. The author recommends specific measures to lower the methylene-chloride levels and improve overall ventilation in the lab.
• Subjects:
  Hydrocarbons Laboratories Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety Solvents
• Keywords:
  Acetone Chemical Laboratories Chlorinated-hydrocarbons Diazomethane Ethyl Ether Hazard-Confirmed HETA-89-199-2033 Hexane Laboratories Laboratory-workers Methylene Chloride NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Occupational-exposure Organic-solvents OSHA Region 8 Solvent-vapors

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA891992033
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; OSHA Region 8
• 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:
  16 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Daniels, William J.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00194768
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB91-117226
• 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 89-199-2033, 1990 Apr ; :1-17
• CAS Registry Number:
  Methylene chloride (CAS RN 75-09-2) ; n-Hexane (CAS RN 110-54-3) ; Ethyl ether (CAS RN 60-29-7) ; Acetone (CAS RN 67-64-1) ; Diazomethane (CAS RN 334-88-3)
• Editor(s):
  DiGiacomo, Marile F.
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1990
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  7391 - Research and Development Laboratories - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:424a12450aed36e11a8999743fc9b0b0a8b2865d9ec29c48f79755e8a7b2d67d4cf3bee799d1096cc53b61846b690ec82b685a1da90159ccdd8558c9c6edda99
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171734/cdc_171734_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 225.23 KB ]