Evaluation of Noise and Metal Exposure at a Security Portal Manufacturer

Details

• Personal Author:
  Ahrenholz, Steven H. ; Li, Jessica F.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  The Health Hazard Evaluation Program received a request for an evaluation from a security portal manufacturing company. The employer was concerned about employees' exposure to dust and noise when they sanded and sawed aluminum alloy. We collected samples for respirable aluminum, metals, and noise. We observed the airflow around the sanding downdraft table. Bulk dust samples contained aluminum, chromium, manganese, and nickel. Employees were not overexposed to these metals. We found noise overexposures on sanders and the mill/saw operator over an entire 8-hour work shift. Because they rarely saw and sand for a full work shift, their 8-hour TWA exposures would likely be lower than what we measured. Our noise measurements show the saw operator would exceed the NIOSH REL after 2.8 hours and the sanders after about 4.5 hours. The downdraft table was not effective in collecting dust, but improved once the filters were changed. We observed awkward work postures. Awkward postures are a risk factor for work-related musculoskeletal disorders. We recommended engineering controls to reduce noise exposures. We also recommended redesigning tasks to avoid the need for awkward positions.
• Subjects:
  • Aluminum Compounds
  • Chromium
  • Dust
  • Ear
  • Engineering
  • Environmental Exposure
  • Environmental Monitoring
  • Manganese
  • Manufacturing and Industrial Facilities
  • Metals
  More +
• Keywords:
  • OSHA Region 8
  • Manufacturing
  • Noise
  • Noise exposure
  • Dusts
  • Dust exposure
  • Power tools
  • Respirable dust
  • Metal alloys
  • Metallic dusts
  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 2015-0180-3261 Nov ; :1-19
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE201501803261
• 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:
  26 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Booher, Donald E. ; Galloway, Ellen ; Moore, Kevin ; Watts, Shawna
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20048948
• Citation:
  NIOSH 2016. Evaluation of noise and metal exposure at a security portal ; manufacturer. By Li JF, Ahrenholz S. Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and ; Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for ; Occupational Safety and Health, NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation Report 2015-0180- ; 3261,
• CAS Registry Number:
  • Aluminum (CAS RN 7429-90-5)
  • Chromium (CAS RN 7440-47-3)
  • Manganese (CAS RN 7439-96-5)
  • Nickel (CAS RN 7440-02-0)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  335999 - All Other Miscellaneous Electrical Equipment and Component Manufacturing - (NAICS)
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172403/cdc_172403_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.82 MB]
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:5707930078c7709ad9cf8acd876d1c4a94360808ce3754d592647c84a5ee77be2c39b5a1870e1d1728a739fbbb1b10936a97a5acf862bb553b8dc3ab50ee7294