Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-83-465-1674: Staco, Inc.; Poultney, Vermont

Details

• Personal Author:
  Ehrenberg, Richard L. ; Smith, Alexander B.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Possible exposures to elemental mercury (7439976) were investigated at Staco, Inc. (SIC-3829), Poultney, Vermont at the request of the Vermont Department of Health. A medical survey was conducted of 84 of about 120 Staco employees and a comparison group of 79 employees from an electronics facility who were not exposed to mercury. Personal monitoring samples for mercury vapor air levels at Staco ranged from 25.6 to 270.6 micrograms per cubic meter (microg/m3). Urine mercury levels among the 84 employees studied ranged from 1.3 to 344.5 micrograms per gram creatinine. Indications of positive neurological findings among the Staco workers also tended to be higher, particularly for static tremor (19 percent versus 10 percent in a control group) and difficulty with heel to toe walk (15 percent versus 3 percent). However, these findings could not be unequivocally associated with mercury exposures as measured by urine mercury level or a calculated chronic exposure index. No reproductive problems were found nor were there any problems with the thyroid function or renal function except for a significantly higher mean specific gravity among the Staco workers. No recommendations to control exposures or improve medical monitoring were made. A study on the behavioral testing of Staco/Chase and comparison group workers in Vermont is included in an addendum.
• Subjects:
  Mercury Nervous System Occupational Health Safety Solvents Urogenital System
• Keywords:
  Hazard-Unconfirmed HETA-83-465-1674 Kidney Disease Measuring And Controlling Devices. Not Elsewhere Classified Mercury Mercury-vapors Nervous-system-function Neurological Symptoms NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report OSHA Region 1 Renal-toxicity Reproductive-effects Thyroid Thyroid-gland Vapors

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA834651674
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Vermont ; OSHA Region 1
• 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:
  81 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  McManus, Kevin P. ; Hannon, W. Harry ; Lowry, Larry K. ; Anger, W. Kent ; Brightwell, W. Stephen ; Vogt, Richard L. ; Brondum, Jack ; Hudson, Paul J. ; Robinson, Nola
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00163145
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB86-221678
• 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 83-465-1674, 1986 Feb ; :1-79
• CAS Registry Number:
  Mercury (CAS RN 7439-97-6)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1986
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3829 - Measuring & controlling devices, not elsewhere classified - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:384046a889bd47e6ed2cb9e1aca464e84361e2847ca0d3ed775485261eb4b0af4c6bbaf36540d76e5cfcb2e2d36e4e1709c2d23862ba53ac49740926dc173e3a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172212/cdc_172212_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.73 MB ]