Evaluation of Carbon Monoxide Exposure Among Airport Cargo Material Handlers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Dowell, Chad H.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In February 2007, NIOSH received a request from TSA management at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport to conduct an HHE at the Delta Air Logistics warehouse in Hebron, Kentucky. The request concerned potential exposure to emissions from forklifts used in the warehouse. The request indicated that some employees had experienced health problems, including headaches and nausea, possibly related to the work environment. Although the request was received from TSA, the workspace was shared by employees from TSA, Delta Air Logistics, and Airport Terminal Services (under the supervision of Delta Air Logistics). Employees from all three companies were evaluated. On March 1, 2007, we held an opening conference with TSA and Delta Air Logistics management and a TSA employee representative. The meeting included an overview of the NIOSH HHE program, a review of the issues that prompted the HHE request, and a discussion of the scope of the evaluation. After the meeting, a walk-through of the warehouse was conducted to learn about exposures and observe work practices. On March 8, 2007, PBZ air measurements were taken for CO, and biological measurements were taken for COHb. We found that all Airport Terminal Services employees' CO levels exceeded the ACGIH TLV, and one exceeded the NIOSH REL. None of the TSA or Delta Air Logistics employees exceeded any OELs for CO. None of the employees participating in this evaluation had COHb levels that exceeded the ACGIH BEI or were above normal reference ranges. Recommendations are provided to eliminate or reduce CO exposure in the warehouse. The preferred recommendation is to replace all fuel-driven forklifts with electric forklifts because this will remove the CO hazard. If this is not feasible, engineering and administrative controls are recommended. These include adjusting the ventilation in the warehouse, offices, and planned TSA addition
  
  installing catalytic convertors on the fuel-driven forklifts and tugs
  
  improving preventive maintenance, including periodic emission testing of the forklifts and tugs
  
  turning off vehicles while at the loading docks
  
  installing CO alarms
  
  developing a hazard communication program
  
  and monitoring CO periodically.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Aircraft Engineering Occupational Health Safety Vehicle Emissions Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Airport-personnel Airports Carbon Monoxide Control-technology Engineering-controls Exhaust-gases Exhaust-systems Forklift National Security Ventilation-systems Warehouse Warehousing

  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, HETA 2007-0144-3087, 2009 Aug ; :1-13
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA200701443087
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Kentucky ; OSHA Region 4
• 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:
  20 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Evans, Stefanie M. ; Galloway, Ellen ; Markey, Andrea ; Smith, Robin
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20035769
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2009-113738
• Citation:
  NIOSH [2007]. Health hazard evaluation report: evaluation of carbon monoxide ; exposures among airport cargo material handlers. By Dowell CH. 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. 2007-0144-3087,
• CAS Registry Number:
  Carbon monoxide (CAS RN 630-08-0)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2009
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  928110 - National Security - (NAICS)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4666bd0dd9debdb69cd9eb1bfa7fa1dfd5e04bea7c46ad76937bf86899e754b4af2ef6f978b140edaf6ef32196be2a0640c988fa3d31f42d506a827ef587558e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172551/cdc_172551_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.55 MB ]