Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-82-310-1475: Hill-Murray High School; Maplewood, Minnesota

Details

• Personal Author:
  Kominsky, John R. ; Orris, Peter
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Exposures to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and chlorinated benzenes were surveyed on June 23 and 24, and July 14 to 20, 1982 at Hill Murray High School (SIC-9224, SIC-4911) in Maplewood, Minnesota. The evaluation was requested by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Minnesota Department of Health on behalf of 61 individuals present when a power transformer overheated and vented 50 gallons of dielectric fluid into the transformer vault. Surface and air samples were collected, and medical questionnaires and blood and urine tests were given to the potentially exposed individuals. Within 40 hours of the incident airborne PCB concentrations ranged from 50 to 90 micrograms per cubic meter (microg/m3) inside the vaults, and measured 20microg/m3 immediately outside the vault. The NIOSH recommended exposure limit is 1microg/m3. Trichlorobenzene (12002481) and tetrachlorobenzene (12408105) concentrations did not exceed available recommended limits. Decontamination procedures effectively reduced surface PCB concentrations. The exposed individuals reported symptoms such as itching, skin irritation, fatigue, and headache during the week after the incident occurred. No increases in blood PCB values were found, and urine chemistry was normal except for a transient, subacute elevation of some hepatic enzymes. The authors conclude that a potential acute exposure hazard occurred at the time of the transformer overheating incident. They recommend institution of five hazard inspection and preventive maintenance programs.
• Subjects:
  Chlorine Compounds Education Environmental Monitoring Fires Occupational Health Polychlorinated Biphenyls Safety
• Keywords:
  Air-samples Chlorinated-benzenes Decontamination Electrical-equipment Electrical Services Fire Fighters Fire Protection Hazards-Confirmed HETA-82-310-1475 NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report OSHA Region 5 PCBs PCDDs PCDFs Polychlorinated-biphenyls Transformer-Incidents

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA823101475
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Minnesota ; OSHA Region 5
• 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:
  27 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Saxena, Kusum ; Hryhorczuk, Daniel ; Anderson, Darrel E.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00139227
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB85-184166
• 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 82-310-1475, 1984 Jun ; :1-26
• CAS Registry Number:
  1,2,3-Trichlorobenzene (CAS RN 12002-48-1) ; 1,2,4,5-Tetrachlorobenzene (CAS RN 12408-10-5)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1984
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  9224 - Fire protection - (SIC) ; 4911 - Electric services - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ea481ed52598a5deff013aa25bf41cbd0b1c4e82e5dba83fa44e41624682054e0d846164a38e8c6849e775063c8aec0ad09b587016d5d2316f45c11f1ae6abf1
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172806/cdc_172806_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 7.94 MB ]