Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-85-308-1829: Kardon Industries; St. Paris, Ohio

Details

• Personal Author:
  Todd, William F. ; Zey, John N.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request by the factory manager and United Paperworkers Union local 1467 to investigate employee complaints of headaches and eye and throat irritation associated with operation of hand and automatic wax lines, an evaluation was made at Kardon Industries Composite Can and Tube Division (SIC-2655), St. Paris, Ohio. The study focused on an amorphous polypropylene wax used on wax lines along with air samples for organic vapors, aldehydes, ketones, carbon-monoxide (630080), and carbon-dioxide (124389). Relatively low levels of several hydrocarbons were found, with n- hexane (110543) present in highest concentrations relative to occupational hygiene criteria, being measured at 28.7mg/m3. While no furfural was detected, all samples contained formaldehyde (50000) and acetaldehyde (75070). Both aldehydes were also detected as decomposition products of the wax. The supplier of the wax stated that it gave off ketones, aldehydes, and eventually carboxylic acids when it was heated. Employees reported symptoms of headache, burning eyes, throat and nose irritation, dizziness, and an altered sense of taste and nausea. Aldehydes were considered to be the causative agents of these conditions. Recommendations included improvements in the ventilation system with periodic evaluations to be made, modification in the method of manually adding wax to melt tanks, and reduction in airborne concentration of wax decomposition products.
• Subjects:
  Environmental Monitoring Headache Inhalation Exposure Occupational Health Paper Polymers Safety Solvents Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Air-sampling Aldehydes Altered Taste Sensation Amorphous Polypropylene Wax Caulking Tubes Coatings Composite Cans Eye, Nose And Throat Irritation Fiber Cans, Tubes, Drums, And Similar Products Hazard-Confirmed Headache HETA-85-308-1829 Inhalants Ketones NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Organic-solvents OSHA Region 5 Paper-manufacturing-industry Respiratory Symptoms Ventilation-systems

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA853081829
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; 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:
  19 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Smith, Tim ; Grote, Ardith A. ; Williamson, George ; Williams, Karen J. ; Bruch, Daniel J. ; Paoli, August J. ; Morris, Linda J.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00175437
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB88-162656
• 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 85-308-1829, 1987 Sep ; :1-17
• CAS Registry Number:
  Carbon monoxide (CAS RN 630-08-0) ; Carbon dioxide (CAS RN 124-38-9) ; n-Hexane (CAS RN 110-54-3) ; Formaldehyde (CAS RN 50-00-0) ; Acetaldehyde (CAS RN 75-07-0)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1987
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  2655 - Fiber cans, drums & similar products - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b79f461fd7a6e36a165f695d21e5cbe71c070d5a74c8300b7ec0236d05a0901510f4ca2207a32002f3c77f54831c40cbdc884111c384d42a5b3502486e64b4a5
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172049/cdc_172049_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.93 MB ]