Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-83-408-1389: U.S. Forest Service, Dillon District; Frisco, Colorado

Details

• Personal Author:
  Gunter, Bobby J. ; Thoburn, Theodore W.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  The cause of a skin rash experienced by 2 US Forest Service (SIC- Colorado. The evaluation was requested by an unspecified Forest Service worker from the Dillon District Office on behalf of two workers who developed a rash after removing a plastic cover from wood piles that had been sprayed with ethylene-dibromide (106934) (EDB) to destroy pine beetles. Condensate, plastic, and wipe samples from the wet under side of the plastic were collected for EDB analysis along with samples of pine bark. The two affected workers were interviewed and examined. EDB concentrations in the condensate ranged from 0.5 to 4.71 micrograms, while those in the plastic ranged from 117.86 to 558 micrograms. No EDB was found in the wipe samples. The OSHA standard for EDB is 20 parts per million (ppm) for an 8-hour time weighted average. Pine bark samples sprayed about 1 month earlier contained up to 16ppm of EDB, and bark sprayed about 1 year earlier contained 0.013 and 0.056ppm of EDB. The first worker reported a rash on the sides of his chest and abdomen that became red from scratching. The second worker developed a purple rash on his arms, back, abdomen, and legs, with blisters also appearing on his legs. Steroid treatment was effective. The authors conclude that the rashes affecting both workers are consistent with EDB exposure. The residual EDB in the condensate, plastic, and bark presents a potential health hazard to heavily exposed and sensitive individuals. The authors recommend that workers use protective clothing and gear, sprayed wood be clearly identified, clear instructions for handling be given to people who purchase the wood, and the plastic covers be removed from the wood and properly disposed of well before the time that the wood is put up for sale.
• Subjects:
  Dermatitis Forestry Insecticides Occupational Health Safety Skin Skin Diseases
• Keywords:
  EDB Ethylene Dibromide Forestry Services/Pest Control Fumigation Hazards-Confirmed HETA-83-408-1389 NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Occupational-dermatitis OSHA Region 8 Pesticide-residues Pine Beetle Skin-irritants

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA834081389
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; OSHA Region 8
• 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:
  13 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00137475
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB85-181253
• 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 83-408-1389, 1983 Nov ; :1-11
• CAS Registry Number:
  1,2-Dibromoethane (CAS RN 106-93-4)
• Editor(s):
  Ramsey, Kristi L.
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1984
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  0851 - Forestry services - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:98a4b0902921f734e1f8d494a8d9dc2bec253d0f9f0d3c5613c2d044a80c82e653cf73c93137461873f9ca27af49ee81aa7e15b1e141401fe5400b0ee2b8dcb3
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172821/cdc_172821_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.32 MB ]