Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-85-335-1629: Lahey Printing Press and Office Building; Littleton, Colorado

Details

• Personal Author:
  Gunter, Bobby J. ; Thoburn, Theodore W.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Environmental and breathing zone samples were analyzed for toluene (108883), perchloroethylene (127184), chloroform (67663), methylene- chloride (75092) and mineral spirits at the Lahey Printing Press and Office Building (SIC-2751, 6162, 8911), Littleton, Colorado in June 1985. The evaluation was requested by the County District Health Department to assess solvent exposure in the building, a two-story structure that housed the print shop on the first floor. Twelve office workers were interviewed. All individual solvent exposures were below their relevant standards. The ratio of concentration to threshold limit value for mixed solvent exposure ranged from 0.22 to 1.03. The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienist criterion for mixed solvent exposure is 1.0. Five workers felt that exposures in the building affected their health and reported symptoms of headache, fatigue, drowsiness, or disorientation. These symptoms tended to worsen as the week wore on. All workers reported solvent odors when first entering the building. The authors conclude that a potential health hazard exists from solvent vapors on the top floor. Recommendations include improving the seal on the ventilation duct from the first floor, installing local exhausting ventilation in the print shop, and educating print shop employees on the current handling of solvents.
• Subjects:
  Environmental Monitoring Occupational Health Printing Safety
• Keywords:
  Air-monitoring Breathing-atmospheres Chloroform Exposure-limits Hazards-Confirmed HETA-85-335-1629 Indoor Air Pollution Methylene Chloride Mineral Spirits NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report OSHA Region 8 Perchloroethylene Printing-industry Toluene

  More +
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA853351629
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; OSHA Region 8
• 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:
  10 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00157102
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB86-202884
• 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 85-335-1629, 1985 Oct ; :1-8
• CAS Registry Number:
  Toluene (CAS RN 108-88-3) ; Perchloroethylene (CAS RN 127-18-4) ; Chloroform (CAS RN 67-66-3) ; Methylene chloride (CAS RN 75-09-2)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1986
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  2751 - Commercial Printing, Letterpress - (SIC) ; 6162 - Mortgage bankers and correspondents - (SIC) ; 8911 - Engineering & Architectural Services - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b8a051cee8b055ce9d08df5c2dc9fdb0c63b5bc54f3cfbafe695cb16b7df059fdfeef99c373982368099fa9ef11614f657ba83c2f9e7611e41da6cce49158b32
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172257/cdc_172257_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.19 MB ]