HETA #2006-0006-3039, Environmental Protection Services, Inc, Wheeling, West Virginia

Details

• Personal Author:
  Adebayo, Ayodele ; Rodríguez, Manuel
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) received a confidential employee request for a health hazard evaluation (HHE) at Environmental Protection Services (EPS), Inc. Wheeling, West Virginia. The request asked NIOSH to evaluate exposures to dust, smoke, and fumes generated while recycling transformers, some of which contained polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). During an initial site visit to the EPS facility on February 15-16, 2006, we observed the transformer recycling processes, looked at potential worker exposures, and randomly selected eight persons for confidential interviews to discuss their concerns about work exposures and adverse health outcomes. On July 10-13, 2006, we took personal breathing-zone (PBZ) and area air samples for PCBs and metals, collected surface wipe samples and bulk samples of transformer oil for PCB analysis, and ash from incinerated materials for PCB and metal analysis. We found that a worker sorting and baling metal was exposed to copper and lead over the NIOSH recommended exposure limit-time weighted average (REL-TWA) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) permissible exposure limit (PEL) -TWA of 1 milligram per cubic meter (mg/m3) and 0.05 mg/m3, respectively. One PBZ air sample collected on a worker in the PCBXSM trailer was above the NIOSH REL for PCBs of 0.001 mg/m3. Some workers were wearing respirators inappropriately and had not been fit tested. Some work surfaces were contaminated with PCBs above 100 micrograms per square meter (µg/m2), a guideline used by NIOSH investigators based on the results of previous evaluations. We observed several unsafe work practices including lifting gas cylinders by the valve cap, working beneath an energized overhead shear without lockout/tagout, and storing sodium ingots near a water source. We did not find any health effects suggestive of PCB exposure. At one time all EPS employees were tested for serum PCB but currently only workers in the enclosed decontamination area are tested. EPS management referred one person with an elevated serum PCB level for medical evaluation. Our review of the EPS OSHA 300 Logs of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses did not identify any health effects suggestive of PCB or metals exposure. NIOSH investigators determined that a health hazard exists for some employees from exposure to lead, copper, and PCBs
  
  improper use of respirators
  
  and unsafe work practices. Recommendations are provided for engineering controls and modification of work practices to reduce employee exposures to metals and PCBs. NIOSH investigators also recommended that EPS management review procedures for handling gas cylinders, storing and handling sodium ingots, and working on energized equipment.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Copper Dust Lead Metals Occupational Health Polychlorinated Biphenyls Respiratory Protective Devices Safety Smoke
• Keywords:
  Copper Copper-dust Copper-fumes Dust Fumes Hazard-Confirmed Lead Lead-dust Lead-fumes Materials Recovery Facility Metal-dusts Metal-fumes OSHA Region 3 PCEs Polychlorinated-biphenyls Recycling Respirable-dust Respirators Safety Safety-practices Smoke-inhalation Sodium Sodium-compounds Transformers Work-practices

  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 2006-0006-3039, 2007 Mar ; :1-18
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA200600063039
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  West Virginia ; OSHA Region 3
• 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:
  25 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Brueck, Scott E. ; Galloway, Ellen ; Grote, Ardith ; Markey, Andrea ; Smith, Robin
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20031726
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2007-107662
• CAS Registry Number:
  PCB(s)-Polychlorinated biphenyl(s) (CAS RN 1336-36-3) ; Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1) ; Copper (CAS RN 7440-50-8) ; Sodium (CAS RN 7440-23-5)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2007
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  562920 - Materials Recovery Facilities - (NAICS)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9ac7aab886f5d2361e5c308f8bc4c26b867a20bc43e7b6ebdf41fbfd8815dc19db1d567c47dbebb95317ae3dfc573d4a7f430e5554516a9e829307977eec5a29
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172596/cdc_172596_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.12 MB ]