Evaluation of Occupational Exposures at an Electronic Scrap Recycling Facility

Details

• Personal Author:
  Ceballos, Diana M. ; Chen, Lilia ; Echt, Alan S. ; Oza, Aalok Y. ; Page, Elena H. ; Ramsey, Jessica G.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  The Health Hazard Evaluation Program received a request from a health and safety manager at an electronic scrap recycling facility. The employer was concerned about workplace exposures, including lead and cadmium. Computers, monitors, hard drives, televisions, printers, light bulbs, and other e-scrap were recycled and processed at this facility. The recycling operations included cathode ray tube (CRT) processing (demanufacturing and glass breaking operations, and electronic sorting, demanufacturing, shredding, and bailing operations for all other electronics. We made multiple visits between 2012 and 2013 to evaluate employee exposures to workplace contaminants. We collected air samples for metals, dust, and crystalline silica
  
  surface wipe samples for metals
  
  and blood and urine samples for metals. We also did employee medical interviews
  
  reviewed the facility's health and safety monitoring plans
  
  and evaluated noise, engineering controls, and ergonomics in the work areas. We measured an overexposure to lead during shredder sorting and overexposures to cadmium on two employees during CRT buffing and grinding. We measured overexposures to noise on employees during CRT buffing and grinding, shredder sorting, forklift driving, and baling. We found metal contamination on surfaces throughout the facility
  
  potentially contaminated air was recirculated back into the production area. We found lead on the clothing and skin of employees and on work surfaces. Blood lead levels ranged up to 13.7 micrograms per deciliter of blood. Two employees were above 10
  
  a level of 10 or above is considered elevated. We noted the potential for taking lead and other contaminants outside of the workplace. Employees were exposed to ergonomic risk factors including extreme working postures, forceful exertions, and repetitive motions. Our recommendations to the employer included (1) following the OSHA lead and cadmium standards, (2) starting a medical monitoring program for all employees exposed to lead, (3) starting a hearing conservation program, (4) requiring respirator use in CRT buffing and grinding and shredder operations, (5) using wet methods or a vacuum with a high efficiency air filter instead of sweeping, and (6) designing work tasks and workstations to reduce bending, lifting, and other postures that do not allow employees to work efficiently and comfortably. We recommended the employees (1) provide and discuss this report with their doctor and discuss blood lead tests for their children and other family members, (2) wear required personal protective equipment, and (3) take a shower at the end of the shift and avoid wearing work clothing or shoes home.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Cumulative Trauma Disorders Ear Electrical Equipment And Supplies Engineering Ergonomics Hearing Metals Metals, Heavy Noise Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Poisoning Race Factors Safety Sense Organs Silicon Dioxide Ventilation

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• Keywords:
  Cadmium Control-technology Cumulative-trauma Dust Electronic-components Electronic-devices Electronic-equipment Electronic Scrap Recycling Engineering-controls Engineering Controls French Speaking Workforce Hearing-conservation Hearing-protection Heavy-metals Hispanic Workforce Lead Medical-examinations Medical-screening Mercury Metal-poisoning Personal-protection Personal-protective-equipment Protective-equipment Racial-factors Recyclable Material Merchant Wholesalers Repetitive-work Silica

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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, HETA 2012-0100-3217, 2014 Jul ; :1-47
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA201201003217
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies ; DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  54 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Barrett, Anna ; Beaucham, Catherine C. ; Booher, Donald E. ; Burr, Gregory A. ; Burton, Nancy ; Curwin, Brian ; Dowell, Chad ; Dunn, Kevin H. ; Feldmann, Karl D. ; Galloway, Ellen ; Gong, Wei ; MacKenzie, Barbara ; Meza, Francisco ; Sammons, Deborah ; Toennis, Chrissie ; Watts, Shawna
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20044839
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2014-108832
• Citation:
  NIOSH [2014]. Health hazard evaluation report: evaluation of occupational exposures at an ; electronic scrap recycling facility. By Ceballos D, Chen L, Page E, Echt A, Oza A, Ramsey J. ; Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control ; and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, NIOSH HHE Report ; No. 2012-0100-3217,
• CAS Registry Number:
  Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1) ; Cadmium (CAS RN 7440-43-9) ; Mercury (CAS RN 7439-97-6) ; Crystalline silica, quartz (CAS RN 14808-60-7)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  423930 - Recyclable Material Merchant Wholesalers - (NAICS)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7f5b2a4179ed25921bda02215559e6bf0094708add4038589d3359e341d6d0dfbf1d1191b864fb3e634820b038d5c4fc96c7a689c91c813314bfc9daac126460
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172438/cdc_172438_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.43 MB ]