Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-85-274-1879: Evaluation of Zinc Chloride Smoke Generating Devices, International Association of Fire Fighters; Washington, D.C.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Richardson, Fred D. ; Zey, John N.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), an assessment was made of hazards to fire fighters (SIC-9224) of using zinc-chloride (7646857) smoke generating devices manufactured by the Superior Signal Company, Inc. (SIC-2899), New Jersey. The devices were used in fire fighter training exercises. Five different smoke generating devices were studied. In addition to zinc compounds, hydrochloric-acid (7647010) and over 50 chlorinated hydrocarbons were detected in smoke clouds. The concentration of hydrochloric acid ranged as high as 420mg/m3. Zinc- chloride concentrations ranged from 11 to 498mg/m3. A telephone survey was conducted of 62 different fire training organizations around the United States to obtain information they might have on use of similar devices. A literature search revealed that there had been severe adverse health effects, including death, resulting from exposure to a dense smoke cloud from a zinc-chloride smoke generating device. Individuals who were adversely affected were not wearing respiratory protective gear or had malfunctioning gear. Symptoms of exposure included sore throat, difficulty breathing, joint pain, chills and fever, headache, and generalized fatigue. The authors conclude that no smoke generating device should be considered safe and nontoxic, and that measures should be taken to reduce exposures to smoke clouds from such devices. The possibility of using alternative methods to distort vision in firefighting training exercises should be considered.
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution, Indoor Firefighters Lung Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Smoke Zinc Compounds

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• Keywords:
  Air-contamination Chlorinated Hydrocarbons Fire Fighters Firemen Hazard-Confirmed HETA-85-274-1879 Hydrochloric Acid Miscellaneous Chemical Preparations NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report OSHA Region 2 Pulmonary-system-disorders Respiratory-protective-equipment Smoke-inhalation Smoke Bomb Smoke Generating Devices Zinc-compounds Zinc Chloride

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA852741879
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  District of Columbia ; OSHA Region 3
• 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:
  44 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Burr, Gregory A. ; Grote, Ardith A. ; Millson, Mark ; Williams, Karen J. ; Bolyard, Michele ; Hawkins, Marilyn ; Palassis, John, Ericson, Colleen ; Paoli, August ; Christensen, Norman K. ; Morris, Linda J.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00180447
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB88-236948
• 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 85-274-1879, 1988 Mar ; :1-44
• CAS Registry Number:
  Zinc chloride (CAS RN 7646-85-7) ; Hydrogen chloride (CAS RN 7647-01-0)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1988
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  2899 - Chemical preparations, not elsewhere classified - (SIC) ; 9224 - Fire protection - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d0bba022cabea6c2c610ccbd7addedb2d4529a4bdedc4a6ebff83d7e7e58ff700ec308a0008bcc00eee40ae0097c207ca2186dbd2d4e05409dd0295119fc602b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171915/cdc_171915_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 4.42 MB ]