Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-83-195-1426: David Mayer Poultry Farm; Hobgood, North Carolina

Details

• Personal Author:
  Boehlecke, Brian A. ; Hickey, John L. S. ; Jones, William G. ; Williams, Ted M.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Area and breathing zone samples were analyzed for ammonia (7664417), carbon-dioxide (124389), airborne dust, endotoxins, and microorganisms at poultry confinement houses of David Mayer Poultry Farm (SIC-0251) and other poultry growers in Hobgood, North Carolina, in March, June, and October 1983. The survey was requested by growers in the area due to an increased incidence of eye and throat irritations, headache, shortness of breath, and chest tightness among the growers. Spirometry tests and a respiratory symptom questionnaire were administered to 25 growers. Ammonia concentrations were 6.0 to 13.1 parts per million (ppm) in June and 15 to 80ppm in March and April when windows and doors were closed. The OSHA standard for ammonia is 50ppm. Carbon-dioxide concentrations were below the Federal standards. Total dust concentrations in four area samples exceeded the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists recommended limit of 10 milligrams per cubic meter. Endotoxin concentrations were 1.6 to 14.0 nanograms per cubic meter. Airborne microorganism concentrations were 2500 to 360000 colony forming units per cubic meter. There were no current standards for endotoxins or microorganisms. No clear association between reported respiratory symptoms, pulmonary function, and exposure was found. The authors conclude that the primary exposure at the poultry farms is to dust and ammonia. Improved ventilation is recommended.
• Subjects:
  Animal Husbandry Animals Dust Endotoxins Eye Foreign Bodies Food Industry Occupational Health Respiratory Function Tests Safety
• Keywords:
  Animal-husbandry-workers Dust-exposure Eye-irritants Hazards-Confirmed HETA-83-195-1426 NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report OSHA Region 4 Poultry-industry Spirometry

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  North Carolina ; 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:
  42 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Mayer, David ; Mayer, Ronda ; Stone, Anne ; Sheline, Jonathan L. ; Tulis, Jerry J. ; Morring, Kathy L. ; Bishop, Carolyn C. ; Olenchock, Stephen A.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00142422
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB85-184299
• 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 83-195-1426, 1984 Feb ; :1-41
• CAS Registry Number:
  Ammonia (CAS RN 7664-41-7 ; Carbon dioxide (CAS RN 124-38-9)
• Editor(s):
  Hooker, Pamela
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1984
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:56ba7a4774884fdbc4df054abd4910b0081ef9490fe763c0dcc29217a04a04a38f62acd644039eec917aa819df2a16048e0946c6a91704c8b0a4d98ae8fd9548
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172779/cdc_172779_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.43 MB ]