Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-83-003-1539: Hamilton Technology, Incorporated; Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Details

• Personal Author:
  Boiano, James M. ; Boxer, Peter A. ; Chrostek, Walter J.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Environmental and breathing zone samples were analyzed for oil mist, paint solvents, and acetic-acid (64197) vapors at Hamilton Technology Incorporated (SIC-3489), Lancaster, Pennsylvania, November/December 1982. The survey was requested by company management because of employee complaints of respiratory infections, sore throats, and eye irritation. The complaints began shortly after the company relocated to a windowless, energy efficient building. Medical questionnaires were administered to 220 production workers in six departments and to 31 office workers. Psychrometric measurements were made, and the ventilation system was inspected. All environmental and breathing zone exposures were below their standards. Symptoms most commonly reported included nose, eye, and throat irritation, headache, drowsiness, and tiredness. Symptom prevalence among production and office workers was similar. Ten cases of dermatitis were reported among workers using cutting oils. Ventilation and psychrometric parameters were within the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers recommendations. The authors note that improvements had been made to the ventilation system prior to the survey. They conclude that inadequate air circulation was the probable cause of the reported symptoms. Recommendations include providing protective clothing to minimize skin contact with cutting oils and prohibiting eating and drinking at workstations.
• Subjects:
  Dermatitis Explosions Explosive Agents Hazardous Substances Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety Skin Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Explosives-industry Hazards-Unconfirmed HETA-83-003-1539 Indoor Air Quality Industrial-ventilation NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Oil Mist Ordinance And Accessories OSHA Region 3 Protective-measures Throat Irritation Toxic-vapors Ventilation-equipment

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA830031539
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Pennsylvania ; 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:
  26 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Ahrenholz, Steven H.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00148155
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB85-234177
• 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 83-003-1539, 1984 Dec ; :1-23
• CAS Registry Number:
  Acetic acid (CAS RN 64-19-7)
• Editor(s):
  Kidd, Connie L.
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1985
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3489 - Ordnance and accessories, not elsewhere classified - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:840c4a979558a1d8310102a8a46160ddaaec69bd8d86a61346db151a012ec722c47c94aabc3d072f91b02ffe04414031109d1bf9be8359b2fe91aea51caf9a6b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172700/cdc_172700_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.82 MB ]