Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-83-440-1537: Papillion Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant; Omaha, Nebraska

Details

• Personal Author:
  Carson, George A. ; Lichty, Peter D.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Environmental and breathing zone samples were analyzed for hydrogen- sulfide (7783064) at Papillion Creek Wastewater Treatment Facility (SIC-4952), Omaha, Nebraska in October, 1983. The survey was requested by the City of Omaha to evaluate working conditions at the facility. The request was prompted by the death of a worker exposed to sewer gas. Questionnaires were administered to the workforce. Hospital records and the autopsy report of the deceased worker were reviewed. Breathing zone and area air hydrogen-sulfide concentrations ranged up to 2.2 and 133 parts per million (ppm), respectively. The NIOSH standard for hydrogen-sulfide is 10ppm. Forty one of 54 workers responding to the questionnaire reported that they had experienced at least three symptoms associated with hydrogen-sulfide exposure. The pattern of illness and death of the deceased worker was consistent with hydrogen-sulfide poisoning. The authors conclude that the worker died of hydrogen-sulfide exposure. Conditions inside the facility are such that life threatening hydrogen-sulfide concentrations can develop. Recommendations include studying the physical and chemical characteristics of the sewage to determine a means of preventing the growth of bacteria that produce hydrogen-sulfide, exerting a maximum effort to reduce hydrogen-sulfide exposures, and installing a hydrogen-sulfide alarm system.
• Subjects:
  Confined Spaces Construction Industry Dust Hydrogen Sulfide Occupational Health Safety Solvents Waste Management Water Purification
• Keywords:
  Ash Confined Space Construction Hazards-Confirmed Heavy Construction, Water, Sewer, Pipe Line, Communication And Power Line Construction) HETA-83-440-1537 Hydrogen Sulfide Incinerators NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report OSHA Region 7 Sanitary Services Sewage Sewage Treatment Plant Sewage Workers Vapors Waste-treatment Wastewater Water-analysis Water-industry

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA834401537
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Nebraska ; OSHA Region 7
• 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:
  38 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  King, Michael V.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00144839
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB85-208270
• 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 83-440-1537, 1984 Nov ; :1-34
• CAS Registry Number:
  Hydrogen sulfide (CAS RN 7783-06-4)
• Editor(s):
  Kelso, Mary
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1985
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  4952 - Sewerage systems - (SIC) ; 1623 - Water, sewer, and utility lines - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9611043ab5a84b2fc5677bd2c075d140a7dfb093714a058a9b97a071b92e029ff2c73bf0402f36b34e60e43b5e57949fcef0fb4396e263412fd4e37f47b0f47b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172756/cdc_172756_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 8.48 MB ]