Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-86-519-1874: ENSCO; El Dorado, Arkansas

Details

• Personal Author:
  Roper, C. Paul ; Singal, Mitchell
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from the Arkansas Department of Health, an evaluation was made of possible hazardous working conditions at ENSCO (SIC-4953), El Dorado, Arkansas, where a hazardous waste incinerator began burning polychlorinated-biphenyls (1336363) (PCBs) in March of 1981. About 275 persons were employed at the facility, including 14 located some distance from the site and 50 outside truck drivers. Quantifiable amounts of PCBs were detected in all 41 air samples at concentrations from 0.85 to 40 micrograms per cubic meter (microg/m3), with highest levels in the kiln dock area. All 56 surface wipe samples contained quantifiable amounts of PCBs. Polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDF) and polychlorinated dibenzo-p- dioxins (PCDD) were found in five of five surface wipe samples. Serum PCB levels ranged from 2 to 385 parts per billion (ppb), with 18ppb being the median. No correlation could be determined between serum PCB level and time employed at the facility or on the current job. Chloracne was found in nine workers whose median serum PCB level was 48ppb. The authors conclude that environmental and medical data document excessive exposure to PCB, and environmental data document the presence of PCDF and PCDD. The authors recommend that engineering controls, work practices, personal protective equipment and exposure monitoring be used to limit exposures.
• Subjects:
  Environmental Pollution Hydrocarbons Occupational Health Polychlorinated Biphenyls Safety Waste Management
• Keywords:
  Chlorinated-hydrocarbons Dibenzofurans Dioxins Environmental-contamination Hazard-Confirmed Hazardous Waste HETA-86-519-1874 Incineration Incinerator NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report OSHA Region 6 Polychlorinated Biphenyls Refuse Systems Waste-disposal-systems

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA865191874
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Arkansas ; OSHA Region 6
• 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:
  32 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Coleman, Mary Ann ; Bryant, Charles J. ; Markel, Harry L. ; Lewis, Brenda G. ; Brassell, Jenise
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00179857
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB88-221247
• 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 86-519-1874, 1988 Feb ; :1-42
• CAS Registry Number:
  Polychlorinated biphenyl(s)-PCB(s) (CAS RN 1336-36-3)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1988
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  4953 - Refuse systems - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ad158db57385783c49b7bd8b6462c1f07bf07516c9200ae5712ef8eba009284a66b6b3313198b86fd69a8d7703969d2b25907ec98648a876c8b2a1f54d7c6777
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171938/cdc_171938_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 199.37 KB ]