Evaluation of Potential Hazards During Harvesting and Trimming Cannabis at an Indoor Cultivation Facility

Details

• Personal Author:
  Grant, Michael P. ; Green, Brett J. ; Lemons, Angela R. ; Wiegand, Douglas M.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Management at an indoor cultivation facility requested a health hazard evaluation of potential hazards during harvesting and trimming of cannabis crops. During our two visits to the facility, we observed the work processes, personal protective equipment use, and workplace conditions of employees as they performed cultivating, harvesting, drying, and trimming tasks. We sampled for endotoxins, fungi, and particulates in air, sampled surfaces for cannabinoids, and measured sound levels. We also conducted confidential medical interviews with employees. We found that employees were concerned about potential exposures to ozone, bright lights, and pesticides, among others. Employees reported allergic, irritant, and musculoskeletal symptoms they believed were associated with their work. Employees were exposed to endotoxins in the air during harvesting and repotting activities where soil and plant matter was disturbed. These exposures were greater than the Dutch Expert Committee on Occupational Safety occupational exposure limit. Measured sound levels were below NIOSH and OSHA exposure limits. Trimming employees had exposures to highly repetitive work that increased their risk of musculoskeletal disorders, most notably during hand trimming activities. We provided recommendations to reduce exposures to endotoxins, cannabinoids, ozone, light, and noise. Some of these recommendations included cleaning using wet methods or high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter vacuums, using hand tools to move and mix soil, training employees about the importance of removing gloves and washing hands before using the bathroom, eating, drinking, or smoking, adjusting the current ozone generation practices to reduce the chance of accidental ozone generation with employees present. We also recommended that they reduce the risk of musculoskeletal disorders, such as improving the workstations for trimming employees, and obtaining regular input from employees about workplace safety, health, and well-being issues.
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Air Pollution, Indoor Cannabis Ear Endotoxins Ergonomics Fungi Musculoskeletal Diseases Noise Noise, Occupational Occupational Health Ozone Particulate Matter Safety Sense Organs Ventilation Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Agricultural Industry Cannabidiol Cannabinoids Cannabinol CBD CBN Cultivation Delta-9 Tetrahydrocannabinol Delta-9 Tetrahydrocannabinol Acid Endotoxin Fungus IAQ IEQ Indoor Air Quality Indoor Environmental Quality MSD Musculoskeletal Musculoskeletal Disorders Noise Exposure OSHA Region 8 Other Food Crops Grown Under Cover Particles Psychosocial Psychosocial Factors Repetitive Work THC THCA Work Environment

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• Source:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HHE 2019-0152-3381, 2022 Feb ; :1-50
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE201901523381
• 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:
  DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  50 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Booher, Donald E. ; Ehlers, Josie ; Hamilton, Cheryl ; King, Bradley ; Moore, Kevin ; Ramsey, Jessica G. ; Watts, Shawna
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20064797
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2022-100402
• Citation:
  NIOSH [2022]. Evaluation of potential hazards during harvesting and trimming cannabis at an ; indoor cultivation facility. By Grant MP, Wiegand DM, Green BJ, Lemons AR. Cincinnati, OH: ; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Health Hazard Evaluation Report 2019-0152-3381,
• CAS Registry Number:
  Cannabis (CAS RN 8063-14-7) ; Cannabidiol (CAS RN 13956-29-1) ; Cannabinol (CAS RN 521-35-7) ; delta 9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (CAS RN 1972-08-3) ; Ozone (CAS RN 10028-15-6)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2022
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  111419 - Other Food Crops Grown Under Cover - (NAICS)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4f6f09011cf387923991fab9456945663a28e31739ce57054583fd71ddfa28ca271480606ed4cb2c53f1be00ad1d1471ee36bc10cf2e2f1f4e0d1de24da39694
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172314/cdc_172314_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1007.39 KB ]