Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-86-206-1744: Rotorex; Walkersville, Maryland

Details

• Personal Author:
  Kerndt, Peter R. ; Sinks, Thomas H. ; Wallingford, Kenneth M.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a labor/management request, an evaluation was made of sudden illness in workers at the Rotorex (SIC-358 - Refrigeration and Service Machinery - (SIC 1987)) facility in Walkersville, Maryland, employing about 350 workers. The facility had been closed after an explosion on January 29, 1986, due to a malfunctioning boiler regulator valve. After reopening on February 3, and ten employees became ill with headaches, nausea, dizziness, and chest pain. Eight were tested for carbon-monoxide (630080) (CO) blood levels
  
  five had elevated carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) levels. Fifteen workers were seen by the company nurse from February 4 to 18, and 14 returned to work. Five blood samples showed elevated COHb, but results were later considered inaccurate. Another outbreak occurred on February 19, with 18 employees removed by stretcher. Tests for CO, trichloroethylene (79016) (TCE), fluorocarbons, and methylene-chloride (75092) exposure were negative. The authors conclude that illness on February 3 was due to combined CO and TCE exposures
  
  illness on February 19 was an anxiety reaction. It is recommended that a joint management/union health and safety committee be formed that meets regularly, with easy employee access. Development of evacuation procedures, evaluation of ventilation systems, study of welding and brazing operations for hazardous substances, determination of oil mist levels, weekly bacterial check of central coolant, evaluation of Freon-11 use in open cans, study of noise exposure, and replacement of a welding curtain are additional recommendations.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Behavior Dust Hazardous Substances Hydrocarbons Mental Health Occupational Health Refrigeration Safety Stress, Psychological Trichloroethylene
• Keywords:
  Carbon Monoxide Carboxyhemoglobin Chlorinated-hydrocarbons Collective Anxiety Hazard-Unconfirmed HETA-86-206-1744 NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report OSHA Region 3 Psychological-stress Psychology Refrigeration-equipment Refrigeration And Service Industry Machinery Toxic-gases Trichloroethylene

  More +
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA862061744
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; 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:
  32 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Godfrey, Joyce D. ; Jenkins, Sharon
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00177539
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB88-188362
• 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 86-206-1744, 1986 Oct ; :1-41
• CAS Registry Number:
  Carbon monoxide (CAS RN 630-08-0) ; Trichloroethylene (CAS RN 79-01-6) ; Methylene chloride (CAS RN 75-09-2)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1987
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  358 - Refrigeration and Service Machinery - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c8a69c119d27102b3c6a9777b2a5fe334bad6f9c1a144243ad222eeb3b6c5345500521622aecf4910df7bcb93e7c70c1305c63fbba6d31fea563b04546656c3d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172044/cdc_172044_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 787.42 KB ]