Evaluation of Forensic Crime Lab Employees’ Chemical Exposures, Job Stress, and Work-Related Health Concerns

Details

• Personal Author:
  Beaucham, Catherine C. ; Fent, Kenneth W. ; Seaton, Melissa ; Wiegand, Douglas M.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  The health and safety director at a federal crime lab asked us to evaluate lab employees' potential chemical exposures. Approximately 800 employees worked in the lab across 13 case working units. We developed a system to prioritize risks from chemical exposures in these units and check potential health hazards in a forensic lab. We sampled the workplace air for lead, ethyl cyanoacrylate, methanol, methylene chloride, and particles. We asked employees about psychosocial and work organization factors at work. In general, exposures were well controlled. However, some employees could have dermal exposure to methylene chloride. We did not find lead on surfaces outside the firing range, except for those associated with the ventilation system. We determined that the exhaust hood over the wet bullet tank did not capture firearm emissions. Employees expressed moderate job stress and low concern about work-related health. We identified strict deadlines, high workload, and lack of resources as factors that contributed to job stress. We recommended the employer require employees to wear gloves when handling methylene chloride and talk to employees about managing their workload.
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Environmental Monitoring Hazardous Substances Laboratories Lead Methanol Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Particulate Matter Personal Protective Equipment Safety Skin Stress, Psychological Ventilation

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• Keywords:
  Air Sampling Chemical Agents Chemical Hazards Dermal Exposures Exhaust Hoods Exposure Assessment Firing Ranges Forensic Medicine Forensics Formamide Fumes Gloves Job Stress Lab Laboratory Laboratory Testing Laboratory Workers Latent Prints Methylene Chloride Ninhydrin Occupational Exposure OSHA Region 3 Particulates Personal Protective Equipment Printing Inks Psychosocial Factors Sampling Superglue Fuming Testing Laboratories Ventilation Systems Virginia Work Analysis Worker Health Work Organization

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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 2012-0238-3257, 2016 Aug ; :1-43
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE201202383257
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Virginia ; OSHA Region 3
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies ; EID - Education and Information Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  50 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Booher, Donald E. ; Ceballos, Diana ; Galloway, Ellen ; Moore, Kevin ; Watts, Shawna
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20048773
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2017-100428
• Citation:
  NIOSH [2016]. Evaluation of forensic crime lab employees’ chemical exposures, ; job stress, and work-related health concerns. By Beaucham CC, Fent K, Wiegand D, ; Seaton M. 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 2012-0238-3257,
• CAS Registry Number:
  Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1) ; Ethyl-2-cyanoacrylate (CAS RN 7085-85-0) ; Methanol (CAS RN 67-56-1) ; Methylene chloride (CAS RN 75-09-2) ; Carbamaldehyde (CAS RN 75-12-7) ; Ninhydrin (CAS RN 485-47-2)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2016
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  541380 - Testing Laboratories and Services - (NAICS)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:18ea44e52494829b35dc64192973e7f09c26926f4d9b5b12a2c866efe22e3c67d5e47c07aa2df26fd77592cfc793d49291f85f3d2d6b7d98c20b1c9b7cff014f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172404/cdc_172404_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.48 MB ]