Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-86-421-1956: Cincinnati Public Schools; Cincinnati, Ohio

Details

• Personal Author:
  Boiano, James M. ; Bryant, Charles J. ; Gorman, Richard W. ; O'Malley, Michael A.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from the Assistant Superintendent of Schools expressing concern over health conditions at the Hughes Vocational School (SIC-8249), Cincinnati, Ohio, an evaluation was made of the working conditions in rooms 430, 431, and adjacent areas. The School is a six story brick building, about 125,000 square feet, attached to the Hughes High School. Each floor has its own heating, ventilating, and air conditioning system. Air samples for ethylene-oxide (75218) (EtO), formaldehyde (50000), hydrocarbons, and bioaerosols were below all relevant criteria. Temperature and relative humidity levels were within accepted comfort ranges. Levels of carbon-dioxide (124389) at 500 to 1000 parts per million (ppm) inside, and 300ppm outside, indicated that inadequate amounts of fresh air were being delivered to classrooms 431 and 432. The symptoms of respiratory problems were reported in eight of nine persons in these classrooms and included eye irritation, irritation or sores in the mouth, unusual odors, headaches and fatigue. These symptoms have been associated with a lack of enough fresh air, rather than being attributed to a specific toxic agent. The authors conclude that inadequate ventilation was the most likely cause for the symptoms. The authors recommend specific improvements in the ventilation system, including correction of deficiencies, and evaluation of the system by a ventilation contractor.
• Subjects:
  Air Pollution Air Pollution, Indoor Environmental Health Occupational Health Safety Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Air-quality Bioaerosols Carbon Dioxide Ethylene Oxide Formaldehyde Hazard-Confirmed HETA-86-421-1956 Hydrocarbons Indoor-air-pollution Indoor-environmental-quality Indoor Air Quality NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report OSHA Region 5 Relative Humidity Temperature Ventilation Ventilation-systems Vocational Schools

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA864211956
• 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:
  19 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Conway, Kathleen
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00189612
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB90-103557
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HETA 86-421-1956, 1989 Apr ; :1-21
• CAS Registry Number:
  Ethylene oxide (CAS RN 75-21-8) ; Formaldehyde (CAS RN 50-00-0) ; Carbon dioxide (CAS RN 124-38-9)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1989
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  8249 - Vocational schools, not elsewhere classified - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:cc188638fc2ef468589878adeab7ecc26665385242ed7f6b60a8a7b4f09df281014ab83f27396a2d9fc87b27b5d1696adc8f64af389c08f814c3c2414fe0675c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171827/cdc_171827_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 310.35 KB ]