Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-81-043-1207: Refrigeration Workers; Salt Lake City, Utah

Details

• Personal Author:
  Campbell, David D. ; Gunter, Bobby J. ; Petajan, Jack H. ; Rom, William N.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Breathing zone and general room air measurements were taken and analyzed for chloropentafluoroethane (76153) (Freon 115) and chlorodifluoromethane (75456) (Freon 22) at Koldaire, Incorporated (SIC-7623) in Salt Lake City, Utah, on January 20, 1981. Medical evaluations were conducted on 27 workers. The survey was requested by a union member who developed a neurological illness. The 8-hour time weighted average standards established by ACGIH are 3500 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m3) for Freon 22, and 6320mg/m3 for Freon 115. Measurements taken were all far below the ACGIH standard. The medical evaluations showed 71 percent of exposed workers complained of dizziness and lightheadedness, compared with 21 percent of nonexposed workers. Palpitations were reported in 36 percent of exposed and none of the nonexposed workers. No other significant differences were found. The authors conclude that a serious chronic health hazard to refrigeration workers exists.
• Subjects:
  Environmental Monitoring Nervous System Nervous System Diseases Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Refrigeration Safety
• Keywords:
  Air-quality-measurement Air-sampling Employee-exposure Freon Hazards-Unconfirmed HETA-81-43-1207 Medical-examinations Neurophysiological-effects Neurotoxic-effects NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report OSHA Region 8 Peripheral Neuropathy Refrigeration-equipment Refrigeration And Air Conditioning Service And Repair Shops Refrigeration Servicing

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA81431207
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Utah ; 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:
  26 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00127800
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB84-172998
• 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 81-43-1207, 1982 Oct ; :1-23
• CAS Registry Number:
  Fluorocarbon 115 (CAS RN 76-15-3) ; Chlorodifluoromethane (CAS RN 75-45-6)
• Editor(s):
  Schulenberg, Marilyn K.
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1983
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  7623 - Refrigeration service and repair - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:41af4563559587b29fa9f25cfacc05b09ac5bde7548b1d19ff0a627ec8bcb691e48dad3007724902b53e95becbde8e09c5a3f926ebbc077dbb84102755332804
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/173031/cdc_173031_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.55 MB ]