Evaluation of Employee Exposures at a Plastic Bag Sealing Plant

Details

• Personal Author:
  Li, Jessica F.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  The Health Hazard Evaluation Program received a request from an employer who was concerned about employee exposures to the smoke created when heat-sealing polyethylene plastic bags. Two types of bag-making machines were used, wicketers and flatbed baggers. This plant did not produce the polyethylene film used to manufacture the bags. We collected personal air samples for acetaldehyde, acrolein, formaldehyde, and respirable dust. We collected area air samples for carbon monoxide. We used ventilation smoke tubes to observe airflow patterns near the bag sealing machines and to evaluate the effectiveness of the recently installed local exhaust ventilation systems. Full-shift personal exposures to respirable dust were low, and short-term samples for acetaldehyde and formaldehyde were below occupational exposure limits. There was a slight visible smoke in the wicketer area. We measured carbon monoxide concentrations up to 19 ppm near the operator stations for the two wicketers that were running, and up to 47 ppm at the operator station near the flatbed bagger. We found that although employees reported that smoke in the wicketer area had decreased since the installation of local exhaust ventilation systems, these systems could be improved. We recommended moving the slot hood closer to the wicketer, tightening loose connections between the hood and the exhaust duct, and eliminating the sagging and sharp turns in the flexible duct. We also recommend forming a health and safety committee consisting of employees and managers.
• Subjects:
  Dust Formaldehyde Occupational Health Plastics Safety Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Acetaldehyde Carbon Monoxide Dusts Exhaust Hoods Exhaust Systems Exhaust Ventilation Heat-Sealing Local Exhaust Ventilation OSHA Region 6 Plastic Bags Plastic Films Plastic Products Plastics Bag And Pouch Manufacturing Plastic Seals Polyethylene Bags Respirable Dust Ventilation Hoods Ventilation Systems

  More +
• 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 2016-0145-3292, 2017 Oct ; :1-15
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE201601453292
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Texas ; OSHA Region 6
• 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:
  22 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Booher, Donald E. ; Galloway, Ellen ; Moore, Kevin ; Watts, Shawna
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20050564
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2018-100582
• Citation:
  NIOSH [2017]. Evaluation of employee exposures at a plastic bag sealing plant. By ; Li JF. 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 2016-0145-3292,
• CAS Registry Number:
  Formaldehyde (CAS RN 50-00-0) ; Acetaldehyde (CAS RN 75-07-0) ; Carbon monoxide (CAS RN 630-08-0) ; Acrolein (CAS RN 107-02-8)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2018
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  326111 - Plastics Bag and Pouch Manufacturing - (NAICS)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:785d5cec4fd09bd586a885063452da441cb22bda31a4d73726e7a3401a6a054549777929371bd12915a78b8e61959f6cc8789129034fd4b73c99214490ef768e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172377/cdc_172377_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.85 MB ]