Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HHE-80-167-1078: Stephenson and Lawyer, Inc.; Grand Rapids, Michigan

Details

• Personal Author:
  Anderson, Kern E. ; Johnson, Paul L.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from employees at Stephenson and Lawyer, Inc. (SIC-3079), Grand Rapids, Michigan, an evaluation was made of possible health hazards in the hot wire cutting areas. Workers in the hot wire cutting areas reported breathing difficulties, nausea, headaches, coughing, sinus problems, and chest tightness. At this facility, sheets of polyurethane and polyethylene foam were cut, sized, corrugated, and bonded to form gaskets, filters, cushions, and surgical products. The hot wire process was used to cut, bore, flange, and engrave foam parts. Exposures were found to the following substances: 1,1,1-trichloroethane (71556), 0.7 to 15.2 parts per million (ppm)
  
  methylene-chloride (75092), 0.2 to 18.6ppm
  
  ethyl-acetate (141786), 0.1 to 0.5ppm
  
  benzene (71432), 0.05ppm
  
  trichloroethylene (79016), 0.1 to 0.5ppm
  
  toluene (108883), 0.1 to formaldehyde (50000) and other aldehydes were not detectable
  
  chloroethane (75003), 0.01 to 0.08ppm
  
  and toluene-diisocyanate (584849) (TDI), 0.0002 to 1.03ppm. The authors conclude that a health hazard probably did not exist in the hot wire cutting area at the time of the survey. The authors recommend the following: a worker training program
  
  reporting of symptoms by workers
  
  cleaning and checking exhaust systems
  
  equipping cutting booth exhaust ducts with easily removed and cleaned filters
  
  and periodic physical examinations for TDI sensitization in workers.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Aldehydes Benzene Formaldehyde Lung Methylene Chloride Occupational Health Plastics Polymers Polyurethanes Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Toluene Trichloroethanes Xylenes

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• Keywords:
  1,1,1-Trichloroethane Chloroethane Ethyl Acetate Foam Plastics Hazard-Unconfirmed HHE-80-167-1078 Hot-Wire Cutting Methyl Chloride Miscellaneous Plastic Products NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report OSHA Region 5 Plastic-products Polymer-fumes Polyurethane-foams Polyurethane And Polyethylene Foam Pulmonary-system-disorders TDI Xylene

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE801671078
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Michigan ; 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:
  18 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Woodruff, Jackie ; Widener, Betty
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00178937
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB83-199976
• 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, HHE 80-167-1078, 1982 Mar ; :1-16
• CAS Registry Number:
  1,1,1-Trichloroethane (CAS RN 71-55-6) ; Methylene chloride (CAS RN 75-09-2) ; Ethyl acetate (CAS RN 141-78-6) ; Benzene (CAS RN 71-43-2) ; Trichloroethylene (CAS RN 79-01-6) ; Toluene (CAS RN 108-88-3) ; Isobutanol (CAS RN 78-83-1) ; Xylene (CAS RN 1330-20-7) ; Formaldehyde (CAS RN 50-00-0) ; 1-Chloroethane (CAS RN 75-00-3) ; 2,4-Toluene diisocyanate (CAS RN 584-84-9)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1982
• NORA Priority Area:
  Pulmonary-system-disorders
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3079 - Miscellaneous Plastics Products - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7b9a5971e989fdadd4664cc246d20a768525239e735149dd100edba7f06761cebf3fc5e61984381ef5253e2f9f2ffa73fb819fccb97ed09888ddaf466bc57470
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172001/cdc_172001_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.61 MB ]