Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-84-392-1597: Syntex Dental Products, Inc.; Audubon, Pennsylvania

Details

• Personal Author:
  Chrostek, Walter J.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Environmental and breathing zone samples were analyzed for carbon- dioxide (124389), formaldehyde (50000), mercury (7439976), bacteria, and fungi at Syntex Dental Products, Incorporated (SIC-5086), Audubon, Pennsylvania in July and August 1984, and January 1985. A confidential evaluation was requested because of prolonged employee complaints of eye and respiratory irritation. Ventilation rates and relative humidity of the indoor air were measured. All chemical exposures were below their relevant standards or non-detectable. Carpet and air filter samples contained up to 11,000 bacteria per gram and 960 fungi per gram. There are no federal standards for microorganism aerosols. The amount of outside air supplied by air handling units that were tested ranged from 8 to 63 percent. Indoor relative humidities ranged from 63 to 90 percent. The author concludes that chemical exposures at the facility are not exceeding the OSHA standards. There is a possibility that certain susceptible individuals may be affected by the high relative humidity, lack of outside air, and microorganisms. The author recommends increasing the supply of outside air to the ventilation system, maintaining relative humidity at about 50 percent, and treating microorganism infested materials with proprietary biocides.
• Subjects:
  Dental Equipment Dental Offices Occupational Health Safety Ventilation
• Keywords:
  %RH Analytical-models Bioaerosol Biological-effects Coughing Dental-health Dental-materials Dentistry Hazards-Unconfirmed HETA-84-392-1597 Itching And Burning Of The Eyes NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report OSHA Region 3 Profession Equipment Suppliers Sneezing Tightness In Chest

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA843921597
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Pennsylvania ; 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:
  19 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Lewis, Frank ; Tomassini, Mary
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00153676
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB86-133048
• 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 84-392-1597, 1985 Jun ; :1-17
• CAS Registry Number:
  Carbon dioxide (CAS RN 124-38-9) ; Formaldehyde (CAS RN 50-00-0) ; Mercury (CAS RN 7439-97-6)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1985
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  5086 - Professional Equipment and Supplies - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b8de5b53dcfc1956259b1d111034e3f3c24ff7c051d49bd8eddb10a9e825f97307ab39d8a7dcff8ef46ab43a29b42aa02a9fbae6c11f1d88d462f0ae75d21f70
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172267/cdc_172267_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.46 MB ]