Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-88-354-1955: Lakewood Radiator Shop; Denver, Colorado

Details

• Personal Author:
  Gunter, Bobby J. ; Hammel, Richard R.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from the owners of three radiator repair shops (SIC-3714) located in Lakewood, Arvada, and Aurora, Colorado, an investigation was made of lead (7439921) exposures and worker blood lead levels. All types of radiators were repaired and cleaned, most being from automobiles. Lead exposure occurred when an oxygen acetylene torch was used to melt the lead based solder used to attach the top and bottom to the core. Other contact with lead resulted from the brushing, producing skin contact with the oxidized lead. Environmental samples for inorganic lead indicated concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 0.29mg/m3 with the average for all ten samples being 0.16mg/m3. Of the eight breathing zone samples taken, six exceeded the recommended criterion of 0.05mg/m3. Of ten workers tested for blood lead levels, three had levels exceeding 40 micrograms/deciliter and four had elevated zinc- protoporphyrin (ZPP) levels. No significant statistical association was noted between breathing zone levels of lead and blood levels of lead. The author concludes that a health hazard existed from overexposure to lead during cleaning and repair of radiators. The author recommends that the following measures be taken: install local exhaust ventilation at the source of lead fume generation
  
  blood lead analysis every 6 months for all workers
  
  no eating or smoking in the repair area
  
  workers removed for health reasons from lead exposure areas should be covered with protection for wage, benefits, and seniority
  
  and workers should shower and change from work to street clothes after their shift.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Automobiles Blood Hematologic Tests Lead Lead Poisoning Metals Metals, Heavy Occupational Health Poisoning Safety
• Keywords:
  Automobile-repair-shops Blood-analysis Blood Lead Hazard-Confirmed Heavy-metals HETA-88-354-1955 Inorganic Lead Lead Lead-poisoning Metal-fumes Motor Vehicle Parts And Accessories NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report OSHA Region 8 Radiator Shops Zinc Protoporphyrin

  More +
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA883541955
• 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:
  7 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  DiGiacomo, Marile
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00188708
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB89-230536
• 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 88-354-1955, 1989 Mar ; :1-9
• CAS Registry Number:
  Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1989
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3714 - Motor vehicle parts and accessories - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0a95163d09207eb0430fa4a6753cb2542c813204426434e32855bf12ac3bcef7e1f6f19dbeee0a432298fdd02c021139267507c5024ca95d0bf7d8c47b506053
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171836/cdc_171836_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 141.61 KB ]