Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-82-373-1363: Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Company; Atlanta, Georgia

Details

• Personal Author:
  Lambert, Thomas ; Morey, Philip R.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Worker complaints and reports of unpleasant odors were investigated in October 1982 at Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Company (SIC-6311), Atlanta, Georgia. Evaluation was requested on behalf of 30 workers concerned about symptoms of headache, sore throat, dizziness, and nausea. Questionnaires were completed by 27 workers, air samples were collected, building systems were inspected, ventilation rates were measured, insulation samples were analyzed, and residues from air handling units were tested. Employees reported symptom complexes of headache, dizziness, and nausea, diarrhea, stuffy nose, burning eyes, and sore throat. All but two affected workers reported that symptoms were associated with musty, moldy odors coming from air ducts. The environmental/engineering survey failed to identify the source of the odor. Fresh air intake was 8 cubic feet per minute (cfm), less than the 20cfm standard recommended by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers. Fresh air intakes were close to the cooling tower and restroom exhaust. A cooling tower overflow pipe was broken. Asbestos was found in the insulation material. The authors note that the reported symptoms are acute and completely reversible, but the specific source cannot be identified. They recommend improved engineering and repair actions.
• Subjects:
  Environmental Exposure Hazardous Substances Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Air-quality-control Air Supply Ducts Employee-health Environmental-exposure Hazards-Unconfirmed Health-hazards HETA-82-373-1363 Irritating Odor NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Occupational-exposure Office-workers OSHA Region 4 Safety-research 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/NIOSHHETA823731363
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Georgia ; 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:
  11 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Stanley, Ann
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00134217
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB85-158103
• 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 82-373-1363, 1983 Sep ; :1-9
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1983
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  6311 - Life insurance - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:1fcc6c1336f73d60ebdaed57d0184e07df84986f6a0455890e2e7f4445da027616d72cf71680885169aebbc30861e2e73f1197ab9e115346e9b9ab24e69e88bc
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172868/cdc_172868_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.26 MB ]