Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-87-387-2050: Ithaca College; Ithaca, New York

Details

• Personal Author:
  Almaguer, Daniel ; Klein, Matthew K. ; Klincewicz, Stephen L.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from an authorized representative of the employees of Ithaca College (SIC-8221) located in Ithaca, New York, a study was made of possible hazardous conditions at the college stemming from the use of formalin (50000) solutions during the embalming and fixing of primates for study. Samples were collected in the anatomy laboratory, the refrigeration room, and the hallway which separated the two rooms. Analyses of the 22 samples collected ranged from nondetectable to 0.12 parts per million for formaldehyde. Two samples which contained quantifiable levels of formaldehyde were collected in the anatomy laboratory. All tests for phenol and ethylene-glycol showed nondetectable levels. Measurements indicated the ventilation system supplied air to the location in line with requirements but that air distribution and exhaust within the laboratory were not conducive to minimizing occupant exposure to contaminants. Only one set of exhaust conditions was under negative pressure. Ventilation may have been inadequate. The staff reported symptoms of headache, sinus congestion, odors in the office, sore throat, and itching and burning eyes. The authors conclude that exposures to low levels of formaldehyde existed at the time of the survey. Formaldehyde levels measured during this study were not deemed high enough to be causing reported symptoms. The authors recommend measures to improve the ventilation system.
• Subjects:
  Environmental Monitoring Formaldehyde Laboratories Occupational Health Phenol Safety
• Keywords:
  Air-quality-monitoring Anatomy Laboratory Colleges, Universities, And Professional Schools Formaldehyde Formaldehydes Hazard-Unconfirmed HETA-87-387-2050 Laboratory-workers NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report OSHA Region 2 Phenol Teaching Ventilation

  More +
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA873872050
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; 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:
  46 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00194756
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB91-116277
• 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 87-387-2050, 1990 Jun ; :1-23
• CAS Registry Number:
  Formaldehyde (CAS RN 50-00-0)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1990
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  8221 - Colleges and universities - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7ba828e92e9c9fc4932a27c7042dd0e333c053ded36557b4761b323eae72667fba5bde15483eacd17daa18910ce68a9f3b9285b39c15e73061a8836ec141bad5
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171745/cdc_171745_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.52 MB ]