Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-83-329-1498: Southern Bell; Atlanta, Georgia

Details

• Personal Author:
  Morawetz, John S.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Area samples were analyzed for methyl-ethyl-ketone (78933), benzene (71432), and petroleum distillates at the Southern Bell (SIC-3661) Central Computer Facility, Atlanta, Georgia in September and November, 1983. The survey was requested by OSHA to investigate the occurrence of spontaneous abortions at the facility. A total of 139 female employees in two control data and one data processing center were interviewed. The incidence of abortions occurring when the employees worked at the facility was determined and compared with the incidence when they worked elsewhere. The ventilation system was inspected. All solvent concentrations were below relevant standards. About 43 percent of the pregnancies at the facility resulted in miscarriage, whereas the normal incidence is 15 to 20 percent. Employees experiencing miscarriages tended to clean tape drives and smoke more than females with normal births. Maternal age and video display terminal use could not be correlated with abortion incidence. The ventilation system required 93 minutes for every air change. The author concludes that a statistically significant increase in spontaneous abortions has occurred. No etiological agent could be identified. The excess abortions could be due to chance. Recommendations include increasing ventilation system air flow and using protective gloves when working with solvents.
• Subjects:
  Computers Occupational Health Pregnancy Radiation Radiation Injuries Safety Solvents Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Hazards-Unconfirmed Miscarriages NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report OSHA Region 4 Radiation-injury Solvent-extraction Telephone And Telegraph Apparatus Video Display Terminals
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA833291498
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Georgia ; OSHA Region 4
• 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:
  22 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00144844
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB85-208379
• 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 83-329-1498, 1984 Aug ; :1-19
• CAS Registry Number:
  Methyl ethyl ketone (CAS RN 78-93-3) ; Benzene (CAS RN 71-43-2)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1984
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3661 - Telephone and telegraph apparatus - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:489457ebf9b7bf316e917a9299ff1a0cef6722b4a23871a2428441e9449d554fb8c47c5e3712efb001af18a168135b0c4bff702b4ef8f7abc59bd30a8fb64ca7
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172751/cdc_172751_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.73 MB ]