Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-88-279-2026: Kardon Industries; St. Paris, Ohio

Details

• Personal Author:
  Kinnes, Gregory M.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from a production manager, an evaluation was conducted of the effectiveness of ventilation system modifications made to reduce worker exposures at the waxing unit at Kardon Industries (SIC-2655), St. Paris, Ohio. NIOSH investigators had visited the site previously and collected personal and area air samples for acetaldehyde (75070) and formaldehyde (50000) determinations. This particular facility produced cardboard caulking tubes, employing a workforce of 100 hourly employees with some departments operating three shifts per day. Some of the tubes were manufactured with an inner wax coating, sprayed on by the auto wax unit. Environmental sampling did not detect any aldehydes initially, but a more sensitive test did reveal the presence of formaldehyde in concentrations ranging from 0.024 to 0.029 parts per million. During the first visit, problems in the ventilation system had been identified. Modifications made subsequent to this initial visit had improved the working conditions. Even though reported symptoms of headache, burning eyes, throat and nose irritation, dizziness and an altered taste sensation and nausea, were not readily explained by the documented exposure levels, the symptoms might possibly have come from a combined effect of the low levels of airborne substances measured. The author concludes that improvements made to the local exhaust ventilation system and the auto wax unit have reduced the potential for work related exposures. The author recommends further improvements.
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Aldehydes Formaldehyde Headache Irritants Mineral Oil Occupational Health Safety Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Amorphous Polypropylene Wax Caulking Tubes Composite Cans Eye, Nose And Throat Irritation Fiber Cans, Tubes, Drums, And Similar Products Formaldehyde Hazard-Confirmed Headache HETA-88-279-2026 Industrial-equipment Mineral Oil Naphthas NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Organic-vapors OSHA Region 5 Respiratory-irritants Respiratory Symptoms Ventilation-systems

  More +
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA882792026
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• 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:
  14 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Almaguer, Daniel ; Crandall, Michael S. ; Grote, Ardith A. ; Williams, Karen J. ; Cheklin, Tanya ; Scott, Jeff
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00194430
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB91-104612
• 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 88-279-2026, 1990 Mar ; :1-17
• CAS Registry Number:
  Acetaldehyde (CAS RN 75-07-0) ; Formaldehyde (CAS RN 50-00-0)
• Editor(s):
  Conway, Kathy
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1990
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  2655 - Fiber cans, drums & similar products - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:afffb6a4861254e7f44a63679d51f7e8acb62e05e4885b2ef33a25e6f2c42989d684633c7107a61ff8b357b85dd8ec755ee20b91b96471dabfa15257ff13edc2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171764/cdc_171764_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 164.25 KB ]