Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-80-009-1383: Inland Steel Corporation; East Chicago, Indiana [1983]

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-81-450-1378: Inland Steel Company, East Chicago, Indiana
• Personal Author:
  Daniels, William J. ; McQuilkin, Shawn D. ; Schloemer, Joann R. ; Singal, Mitchell
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Breathing zone samples were analyzed for benzene (71432), toluene (108883), and xylene (1330207) at the number 2 coke factory, Inland Steel Corporation (SIC-3312), East Chicago, Indiana in June and July 1980. Evaluation was requested by an employee representative to evaluate worker exposure to byproducts of the coke making process. Workers were concerned about respiratory disorders and high blood pressure. Medical questionnaires were administered, and blood and urine samples were obtained from 32 coke workers and 9 laboratory employees. Benzene concentrations ranged from 0.35 to 96 parts per million (ppm). The OSHA standard is 10ppm. Toluene and xylene concentrations were below the federal standards. The most common symptoms reported were fatigue, eye irritation, skin burn, nausea, and headache. All 32 coke workers had elevated urinary phenol concentrations, indicative of benzene exposure. Three laboratory workers had increased urine phenol concentrations. Blood tests showed no evidence of occupational liver toxicity. Urinary phenol concentrations were not correlated with symptoms or blood cell abnormalities. The authors conclude that a health hazard from overexposure to benzene exists. Recommendations include periodic industrial and medical monitoring to identify workers and work areas having high benzene concentrations.
• Subjects:
  Benzene Environmental Exposure Environmental Monitoring Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Metal Workers Occupational Health Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Safety Toluene Xylenes
• Keywords:
  Air-sampling Aromatic-hydrocarbons Blast Furnaces [Including Coke Ovens], Steel Works, And Rolling Mills Breathing-zone Clinical-symptoms Coke-oven-emissions Coke Oven By-Products Hazards-Confirmed HETA-80-009-1383 Industrial-exposures Medical-monitoring NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report OSHA Region 5 Steelmaking-industry Time-weighted-average-exposure Toluenes Xylene

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA800091383
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Indiana ; 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:
  26 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00149675
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB85-178747
• 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 80-009-1383, 1983 Oct ; :1-22
• CAS Registry Number:
  Benzene (CAS RN 71-43-2) ; Toluene (CAS RN 108-88-3) ; Xylene (CAS RN 1330-20-7)
• Editor(s):
  Frey, Toni ; Burgoyne, Patricia
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1984
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3312 - Blast furnaces and steel mills - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7dc847c09aedf140bc731323e8446b4703641ae07d6ad9e7b7238120dab30b8f7dcaa9b938d34d035f87873a0fe7fec262d5d13dcaf290925445e82b6de3b57d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172682/cdc_172682_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 168.02 KB ]