Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-84-533-1565: Long Island Rail Road; Jamaica, New York

Details

• Personal Author:
  Fannick, Nicholas L.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Environmental samples were analyzed for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at an electrical repair shop (SIC-7629) of the Long Island Railroad, Jamaica, New York in November 1984 and January 1985. The evaluation was requested by the Safety Department of the railroad and the Electrical Union because of concern for possible PCB exposure while energizing capacitors in the inverter/converters. During operation, smoke was released from defective capacitors. Wipe samples collected from surfaces of the inverter/converters and generator contained 12 to 35 micrograms per 100 square centimeters (microg/100cm2) Aroclor-1016 (12674112). Vacuum cleaner dust also contained 87microg/gram Aroclor-1016. The NIOSH recommended standard for PCB contaminated surfaces is 0.5microg/100cm2. After the Safety Department was informed of the evaluation results, the railroad took such actions as identifying the capacitors that contained PCBs, replacing these with other capacitors, and decontaminating the generator. The charging operation was reinspected. The author concludes that there was a potential hazard from skin contact with PCBs in the electrical repair shop. Based on the reinspection, vacuum cleaner replacement and installation of an exhaust ventilated cover for the inverter/converters is recommended.
• Subjects:
  Dust Occupational Health Polychlorinated Biphenyls Railroads Safety Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Electrical Repair Shops Emission-sources Equipment-design Hazards-Confirmed HETA-84-533-1565 NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report OSHA Region 2 PCBs Polychlorinated-biphenyls Railroad-industry

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA845331565
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2
• 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:
  12 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00152207
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB86-117553
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HETA 84-533-1565, 1985 Mar ; :1-10
• CAS Registry Number:
  Aroclor 1016 (CAS RN 12674-11-2)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1985
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  7629 - Electrical repair shops, not elsewhere classified - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b1611d30198f19d12ae6927a8e49887e69096e62af6e88ee816b92e4de28b661259f6d0e00d20c79af5f37aa832ff9a2523072f7cd350617f1fdfcc75069af29
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172642/cdc_172642_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.32 MB ]