Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-86-461-1920: Ballas Egg Products Corporation; Zanesville, Ohio

Details

• Personal Author:
  Newman, Mary A. ; Smith, Alexander B.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from the president of Ballas Egg Products Corporation (SIC- 2017), Zanesville, Ohio, an investigation was made of possible hazardous working conditions at this location. Raw eggs were processed daily at this site into powdered whole egg, powdered egg yolk, and liquid egg white. Workers had complained of asthma-like symptoms. Earlier studies had indicated several workers were experiencing immunoglobulin-E mediated occupational asthma from egg protein exposure. Total aerosol mass concentrations exceeded recommended limits with levels ranging from 11 to 31mg/m3. Ambient air concentration for total protein ranged from 0.17 to 130mg/m3. Respirable protein concentrations were all less than 0.77mg/m3. Ambient air concentrations of ovalbumin, ovomucoid, and lysozyme were less than 223, 351, and 672 micrograms/cubic meter, respectively. Bulk sample analysis of the egg products indicated a protein concentration of 35 to 81 percent. A sample of used wastewater contained 1 milligram/milliliter of protein. Eight employees demonstrated immunoglobulin-E mediated occupational asthma from egg protein exposure. Six of the eight had lung function tests indicative of bronchial liability. The authors conclude that a health hazard existed from occupational exposure to egg protein. The authors recommend measures to reduce exposures to egg protein and screening for at risk workers.
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution, Indoor Asthma Asthma, Occupational Food-Processing Industry Lung Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety
• Keywords:
  Acid Gases Aeroallergens Air-contamination Bronchial-asthma Chloride Ions Egg Dust Egg Protein Food-processing-industry Hazard-Confirmed HETA-86-461-1920 NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Occupational Asthma OSHA Region 5 Poultry And Egg Processing Pulmonary-system-disorders

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA864611920
• 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:
  39 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  London, Matthew A. ; Gelletly, Susan ; Omella, Gregory A. ; Mathias, C. A. Toby ; Galson, Steven A. ; Collins, Jim ; Coleman, Marian ; Bernstein, David L. ; Gallagher, Joan S. ; Swanson, Mark C. ; Wallingford, Ken ; Stephenson, Richard L. ; Boiano, James A. ; Frey, Toni
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00183540
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB89-140263
• 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 86-461-1920, 1988 Aug ; :1-44
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1988
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  2017 - Poultry and Egg Processing - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:daec0a96430883df372489117c3328591fddb4dce415da640cfe411152a282c644ce87f0ed3639f2816f4763306502bfe80dbb2c969a57bbeb5157c671dbbf0f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171874/cdc_171874_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 376.34 KB ]