Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-80-251-252-1099: General Motors; McCook, Illinois

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cone, James E. ; Lucas, Andrew D.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from the United Auto Workers, Local 719, an evaluation was made of working conditions at the General Motors facility (SIC-3743), McCook, Illinois which produced diesel engines and railroad locomotives. Particular attention was given to varnish vapors near the impregnating tanks and baking ovens, and to problems in the battery charging station. Employees were suffering from headaches, nausea and eye irritation. Personal air samples for a mixture of solvents indicated n-butyl-acetate (123864), toluene (108883), xylene (1330207), ethyl-benzene (100414), methyl-ethyl- ketone (78933), and isobutanol (78831) concentrations ranging from 1 to 17 percent of the permissible levels for mixtures. Workers stationed less than 30 feet from the impregnating tanks were more likely to experience symptoms of solvent exposure. Sulfuric-acid (7664939) concentrations in the battery charging area ranged from below the detectable limit to 0.027 milligrams per cubic meter. Stibine (7803523) was detected up to 0.0011 parts per million. Inorganic arsenic (7440382) ranged from 0.069 to 0.211 micrograms/cubic meter. The authors conclude that hazards existed from solvent intoxication within 30 feet of the inpregnating tanks, and mucous membrane or respiratory irritation near the battery charging station. The authors recommend measures to control these exposures, including specific improvements in ventilation, preventing overcharging of batteries and eliminating damaged batteries.
• Subjects:
  Arsenic Automobiles Eye Foreign Bodies Inorganic Chemicals Irritants Occupational Health Paint Safety Solvents
• Keywords:
  Arsine Automotive-industry Battery Charging Stations Chronic Mucous Membrane Irritation Eye-irritants Hazards-Confirmed HETA-80-251-252-1099 Inorganic Arsenic Mixed Solvent Exposures NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report OSHA Region 5 Paint-spraying Railroad Equipment Respiratory-irritants Respiratory Irritation Solvent-vapors Solvent Intoxication Stibine Sulfuric Acid Varnish Impregnating

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA802512521099
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Illinois ; 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:
  24 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Burroughs, G. Edward ; Widener, Betty
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00178938
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB83-199158
• 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 80-251-252-1099, 1982 Apr ; :1-21
• CAS Registry Number:
  n-Butyl acetate (CAS RN 123-86-4) ; Toluene (CAS RN 108-88-3) ; Xylene (CAS RN 1330-20-7) ; Ethylbenzene (CAS RN 100-41-4) ; Methyl ethyl ketone (CAS RN 78-93-3) ; Isobutanol (CAS RN 78-83-1) ; Sulfuric acid (CAS RN 7664-93-9) ; Stibine (CAS RN 7803-52-3) ; Arsenic (CAS RN 7440-38-2)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1982
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3743 - Railroad equipment - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:205c872ad3943a2bf00469126a6cd19bae76e56b04def9c91718215f5e2fba3a27f2acde27f01f6d938e333c10d747adbbba8c120eaff0075225319c6635623f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172000/cdc_172000_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.48 MB ]