Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-83-222-1631: Metz Metallurgical; South Plainfield, New Jersey

Details

• Personal Author:
  Rosenman, Kenneth D. ; Seixas, Noah S.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Field visits and medical examinations were conducted in response to requests by workers at Metz Metallurgical (SIC-3341), South Plainfield, New Jersey concerned about exposure primarily to silver (7440224) powders. Airborne silver levels were above the OSHA standard of 0.01 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m3) in 10 of 13 samples. Urine silver levels were elevated in 96 percent of 27 workers tested
  
  92% had elevated blood silver levels
  
  19 percent had elevated cadmium (7440439) levels. Symptoms of respiratory irritation were reported in a majority of workers and nose bleeds in 8 of 27. Deposition of silver in the cornea of the eye was detected in 5 of 8 long term workers and was associated with complaints of decreased night vision. N-acetyl-B-D-glucosaminidase was significantly elevated in 4 individuals and correlated with blood silver levels. Estimated creatinine clearance was significantly lower. Kidney function may have been adversely affected. The authors conclude that a health hazard exists, and that exposure to silver and cadmium dust and fumes are causing respiratory, eye and kidney problems among exposed workers. Exposure is to be reduced to follow-up medical surveillance program initiated.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Cadmium Eye Hazardous Substances Kidney Diseases Lung Metals Metal Workers Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Sense Organs Sense Organs / Injuries Urogenital Diseases Urogenital System

  More +
• Keywords:
  Eye-damage Hazard-Confirmed Health-hazards HETA-83-222-1631 NAG Nephrotoxicity NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Ocular Toxicity OSHA Region 2 Pulmonary-system-disorders Refineries Silver Smelting

  More +
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA832221631
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  New Jersey ; OSHA Region 2
• 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:
  27 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Jacobs, Ivan H. ; Igliewicz, Raja
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00163137
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB86-222270
• 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 83-222-1631, 1985 Nov ; :1-24
• CAS Registry Number:
  Silver (CAS RN 7440-22-4) ; Cadmium (CAS RN 7440-43-9)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1986
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3341 - Secondary nonferrous metals - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ddaab32aad60f1fc35968cf98aa37da7fcfefa379ef0d93c934017475f9f3ae8ad304cf7fbb03be0448732a1483d09f057302852f56a6d3be77d1b41bf5b4d5a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172216/cdc_172216_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 5.88 MB ]