Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-83-338-1399: Palmer Instruments, Incorporated; Cincinnati, Ohio

Details

• Personal Author:
  Lee, Stephen A.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Worker exposures to mercury (7439976) vapor were investigated in August 1983 at Palmer Instruments, Incorporated (SIC-3829), Cincinnati, Ohio. The evaluation was requested by company management on behalf of 20 workers who manufactured thermometers. Personal air samples were collected and company records of urinary mercury tests were reviewed. Mercury vapor concentrations ranged from 24 to 210 micrograms per cubic meter (microg/m3), with an average of 92microg/m3 for pump room/tube room workers and 29microg/m3 for other workers. The OSHA standard is 100microg/m3 as a ceiling concentration. Six workers tested had urinary mercury values ranging from 10 to 250microg/liter with a mean of 100microg/liter. The author concludes that a potential hazard exists due to exposure to mercury vapor at this company. He recommends improved housekeeping practices, enclosure of the pump room/tube room area, improved ventilation, air conditioning of the pump room/tube room area, use of protective clothing and respirators, medical and environmental monitoring for mercury vapor, removal from further exposure of any worker with a urinary mercury concentration greater than 200microg/liter until this value falls to 50microg/liter, and worker education about mercury hazards.
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution, Indoor Dust Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Mercury Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Air-contamination Hazards-Confirmed HETA-83-338-1399 Industrial-factory-workers Inorganic Mercury Measuring Devices Manufacturing Mercury-vapors Mercury Vapor NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report OSHA Region 5 Thermometer Manufacturing

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA833381399
• 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
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  12 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00149695
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB85-179216
• 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 83-338-1399, 1984 Jan ; :1-10
• CAS Registry Number:
  Mercury (CAS RN 7439-97-6)
• Editor(s):
  Grass, Jacqueline G.
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1984
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3829 - Measuring & controlling devices, not elsewhere classified - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:80873107e89fe30542ec9524e744bc6fa5644061cbaa26a8979e58dce58991cf6c4767bb8a883c6752a728cfdf2f003933b2828ebbea67686fb7983f3a0df5f3
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172662/cdc_172662_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.03 MB ]