Evaluation of Exposures to Metals and a Perceived Excess of Cancer Cases in a Train Maintenance Facility

Details

• Personal Author:
  Echt, Hannah ; Grant, Michael P. ; Reynolds, Laura E.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  The Health Hazard Evaluation Program received a request from a union at a train maintenance facility concerning employee exposure to metals and a perceived excess of cancer. We visited the facility twice and focused our evaluation on first shift employees working in six shops (truck, wheel, motor, electronics, contactor, and tin) that worked on different maintenance and repair tasks. We observed work processes, work practices, and conditions
  
  spoke informally to employees in each shop about health and safety concerns
  
  measured employee exposures to metals in air
  
  administered medical surveys
  
  and measured blood lead levels of employees in the electronics shop. Our air sampling showed that there were no exposures to metals above relevant occupational exposure limits
  
  however, employees remained concerned about potential exposures to metals and dust. Blood lead levels were all below the CDC reference level of 5 micrograms per deciliter. We found that training and hazard communication could be improved. For example, employees expressed concern about potential exposures to varnish chemicals and cadmium. However, management ceased the vacuum pressure impregnation process for applying varnish and enclosed the cadmium-containing contactors. Employees were also concerned about their health, specifically their respiratory health and a perceived excess risk of cancer. The results from our evaluation were not consistent with the reported cancers being caused by a work-related exposure. We recommended providing periodic training and communication around concerns about chemical exposures, visible dust in the facility, cadmium in the contactor shop, personal protective equipment requirements, and the perceived excess of cancer cases. We recommended reinforcing the importance of daily and weekly cleaning of commonly used areas of all workstations and break areas. We also recommended using wet methods or high efficiency particulate air filter vacuums to clean metal dust
  
  ways to improve the spray-painting process
  
  removing latex gloves from the facility
  
  and consuming food and beverages away from production areas.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Blood Cadmium Dust Hazardous Substances Lead Maintenance Metals Neoplasms Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Paint Personal Protective Equipment Railroads Respiratory System Safety Staff Development Transportation

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• Keywords:
  Blood Lead Levels Cancer Chemical Safety Dust Control Equipment Dust Exposure Hazard Communication Maintenance Workers Metal Dusts Occupational Exposure OSHA Region 2 Personal Protective Equipment PPE Railroad Railroad Industry Respiratory Health Spray Painting Support Activities For Rail Transportation Train Training Transportation Industry

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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 2019-0106-3378, 2021 Mar ; :1-56
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE201901063378
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2
• 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:
  56 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Armes, Shawn ; Beaucham, Catherine ; Booher, Donald E. ; Glassford, Eric ; Grimes, Reed ; Hamilton, Cheryl ; Lang, David ; Moor, Kevin ; Sammons, Debbie ; Watts, Shawna
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20062245
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2022-100457
• Citation:
  NIOSH [2021]. Evaluation of exposures to metals and a perceived excess of cancer cases in a train ; maintenance facility. By Grant MP, Reynolds L, Echt H. 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 2019-0106-3378,
• CAS Registry Number:
  Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1) ; Cadmium (CAS RN 7440-43-9)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  488210 - Support Activities for Rail Transportation - (NAICS)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d87a11e1855e17e51c2a984e5a40a2ec1c8292c4450fab278103b74b1e841ec357df026191b917509d0a83b414f0cba7bd97c8e927f21811f263c0fc05371af8
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172321/cdc_172321_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 637.75 KB ]