Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-82-167-1460: Upper School; Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

Details

• Personal Author:
  Gann, Peter ; Schirmer, Joseph
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Environmental and breathing zone samples were analyzed for nitrogen- dioxide (10102440), sulfur-dioxide (7446095), formaldehyde (50000), carbon-monoxide (630080), and volatile organic solvents at the Upper School (SIC-8211), Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, in March and May 1982. The request for evaluation was made by the school superintendent due to complaints of fatigue, lightheadedness, headache, and ear disturbances among eight teachers in a particular wing of the school. Six of the teachers were interviewed and all eight were examined by a specialist. The boiler and ventilation system were inspected in the spring of 1982 and inspected again in 1983 after renovation of the ventilation system. All eight teachers examined were diagnosed as having middle ear disturbances attributed to eustachian tube dysfunction. No measurable concentrations of nitrogen-dioxide, sulfur-dioxide, formaldehyde, or carbon-monoxide were found. Traces of n-hexane (110543) were detected near the heat ducts in two classrooms. After renovation, the air supply in the ventilation system was increased 3.5 to 8.0 times compared to 1982. The authors conclude that low concentrations of fuel exhaust contaminants in forced hot air can cause ear disturbances and fatigue. Renovation has eliminated any health hazard. They recommend maintaining the proportion of outside air in the ventilation system at 10 percent.
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution, Indoor Alkanes Education Occupational Health Petroleum Safety Schools Vehicle Emissions Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Air-contamination Elementary And Secondary Schools Exhaust-gases Fuel Oil Exhaust Hazards-Confirmed HETA-82-167-1460 Indoor Air Pollution Middle Ear Disturbance NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report OSHA Region 2 Petroleum-oils Room Ventilation Stuffy Building Syndrome Ventilation-systems

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA821671460
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  New Jersey ; OSHA Region 2
• 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:
  23 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Rizzo, Joseph
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00142415
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB85-184240
• 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 82-167-1460, 1984 Apr ; :1-21
• CAS Registry Number:
  Nitrogen dioxide (CAS RN 10102-44-0) ; Sulfur dioxide (CAS RN 7446-09-5) ; Formaldehyde (CAS RN 50-00-0) ; Carbon monoxide (CAS RN 630-08-0) ; n-Hexane (CAS RN 110-54-3)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1984
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  8211 - Elementary and secondary schools - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:5cc7771b76a13a5872f777d6609da8cc23d879aa1c1f600f487c1ac60d96ff889174fb88411efb6033146c4b2fc686364c92652b98070efe32b396c2f96ae6cb
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172786/cdc_172786_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.28 MB ]