Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-81-134-1079: Metropolitan Sewer District; Cincinnati, Ohio

Details

• Personal Author:
  Horan, John M. ; Johnson, Paul L.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Exposures emitted from a building during decant operations at the Metropolitan Sewer District (SIC-4952), Cincinnati, Ohio were investigated. Council 8 of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees requested the study after one of ten employees complained of stomach illness and occasional breathing difficulties while working inside of the decant tank. The study was conducted on March 4, 1981. Work exposures were measured, and employees were interviewed for medical background. Benzene (71432) was found at 2 to 3 parts per million (ppm) compared to an OSHA standard of 10ppm. Carbon-dioxide (124389) was found at 150ppm compared to an OSHA standard of 5000ppm. Employees reported symptoms of nausea and irritation of the eyes and mucous membranes. In several cases symptoms occurred after a brief period in the decant tank. The authors note that the atmospheric quality inside the tank varies from day to day. Therefore, the authors conclude that exposures should be considered potentially hazardous. Recommendations to abate safety hazards are provided including the implementation of an education program and changes in work procedures.
• Subjects:
  Confined Spaces Digestive System Diseases Hazardous Substances Occupational Health Safety Sulfur Dioxide
• Keywords:
  Benzene Confined-spaces Decant Tank Hazards-Confirmed HETA-81-134-1079 Hydrogen Irritation Of The Eyes And Mucous Memebranes Nausea NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report OSHA Region 5 Safety-education Safety-practices Sanitation-engineering Sewage Treatment Plant Sulfide Sulfur Dioxide Toxic-gases

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA811341079
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; 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:
  11 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Kominsky, John
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00130081
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB83-199968
• 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 81-134-1079, 1982 Mar ; :1-9
• CAS Registry Number:
  Benzene (CAS RN 71-43-2) ; Carbon dioxide (CAS RN 124-38-9)
• Editor(s):
  Hoffman, Marlene
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1982
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  4952 - Sewerage systems - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:62531b2ed618e9101eec57873c037b4cb524b0af19e65450f8bbabd0ef071df2e728569d184979394fc25de8b78d1a694324b28a00d19a7a69c608eea461a012
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172956/cdc_172956_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.04 MB ]