Evaluation of Potential Exposures during Composite Grinding at an Aircraft Manufacturing Plant

Details

• Personal Author:
  De Perio, Marie A. ; Durgam, Srinivas
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  NIOSH received a confidential request from employees for an HHE at the Prospect facility of Cessna Aircraft Company (Cessna) in Wichita, Kansas. The requestors were concerned about adverse health effects from exposure to paint and sealants, CO, and dust generated during grinding of composite and metal parts in D039 and D133. Health effects noted in the request were headaches, dizziness, fatigue, and abdominal pain. We evaluated the facility on January 23-24, 2008, to learn more about the manufacturing process. We observed work practices
  
  evaluated employee exposure to total dust, respirable dust, and CO
  
  and interviewed employees in D039 and D133 about their health. We also interviewed Cessna's Health Services manager. We reviewed the OSHA Form 300 Log of Work-related Injuries and Illnesses from the years 2005-2007 and company air sampling reports for D039 and D133 from 2002-2007. We also looked at MSDSs and the maintenance chart for the downdraft table in D039. Three of four employees in D039 and D133 with pre-existing asthma reported worsening of their asthma at work. One employee reported being diagnosed with asthma since beginning work at Cessna. Three employees reported skin rashes, and two employees reported headaches. None of the interviewed employees reported dizziness, fatigue, or abdominal pain. Our air sampling results indicated that employees' exposures to total dust, respirable dust, and metals were below the NIOSH RELs, OSHA PELs, and ACGIH TLVs. Air sampling results for CO indicated that the air concentrations were below all applicable OELs. However, dust generated from grinding composite materials can contain reactive components that can cause health effects at levels far below the applicable OELs. Despite low levels of total and respirable dust and metals, it is possible that the reported respiratory symptoms are work related. To further reduce exposure to dust, we recommend that employees use downdraft tables when grinding on composite materials. Engineering controls such as shrouded grinding tools should also be provided to employees. Employees should wear respirators correctly, including being clean shaven to have a good seal. We also encourage employees to report all work-related health concerns to the onsite medical clinic.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Aircraft Asthma Asthma, Occupational Dust Engineering Irritants Lung Metals Occupational Health Paint Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Ventilation

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• Keywords:
  Aircraft Manufacturing Asthma BADGE Carbon Monoxide Composite Material Control-technology Dusts Engineering-controls Epoxy Grinding Metal-dusts Metallic-dusts Paint-shops Paints Pulmonary-system-disorders Respirable-dust Respirators Respiratory-irritants Respiratory-protective-equipment Respiratory-system-disorders Ventilation-systems

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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 2007-0344-3104, 2010 Mar ; :1-17
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA200703443104
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Kansas ; OSHA Region 7
• 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:
  24 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Adebayo, Ayodele ; Evans, Stefanie M. ; Galloway, Ellen ; Smith, Robin
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20036532
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2010-107383
• Citation:
  NIOSH [2009]. Health hazard evaluation report: evaluation of potential exposures ; during composite grinding at an aircraft manufacturing plant, Wichita, KS. By ; Durgam S, de Perio MA. Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human ; Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for ; Occupational Safety and Health, NIOSH HETA No. 2007-0344-3104,
• CAS Registry Number:
  Carbon monoxide (CAS RN 630-08-0)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2010
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  336411 - Aircraft Manufacturing - (NAICS)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9d35d3041138df97f52c7ecda0ec61ae1012effb893d290d9da91393229f09ee367f2c0742496d05d5ec807dd64bd70d27301d21e368599a5e312e730ae2533a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172534/cdc_172534_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.65 MB ]