Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-82-264-1232: Olympic Medal Laboratories; Bremerton, Washington

Details

• Personal Author:
  Apol, Arvin G.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Worker exposures to formaldehyde (50000) and xylene (1330207) were investigated on July 13 and 21, 1982 at the histology lab of Olympic Medical Laboratories (SIC-8071) in Bremerton, Washington. The evaluation was requested by an unspecified individual from the company on behalf of three full time lab technicians and three part time pathologists. Breathing zone samples were analyzed, and the employees were interviewed regarding medical complaints. Xylene exposures ranged from 3 to 14 parts per million (ppm) well below the NIOSH time weighted average standard of 100ppm. Formaldehyde exposures ranged from 0.08 to 2.58ppm ; NIOSH recommends that exposures be kept to the lowest feasible limit. Two workers reported eye and nose irritation when working with formaldehyde treated specimens. The author concludes that a formaldehyde exposure hazard exists at the lab. He recommends improved air flow, work practices and personal hygiene habits. Protective respirators should also be used.
• Subjects:
  • Air Movements
  • Formaldehyde
  • Laboratories
  • Occupational Exposure
  • Occupational Health
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Respiratory Protective Devices
  • Safety
  • Ventilation
  • Xylenes
• Keywords:
  • NIOSH-Author
  • NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation
  • Hazards-Confirmed
  • Laboratory-workers
  • Respiratory-protective-equipment
  • Occupational-exposure
  • Air-flow
  • HETA-82-264-1232
  • NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report
  • OSHA Region 10
  More +
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA822641232
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Washington ; OSHA Region 10
• 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:
  10 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00127577
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB84-172899
• 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 82-264-1232, 1982 Nov ; :1-8
• CAS Registry Number:
  • Formaldehyde (CAS RN 50-00-0)
  • Xylene (CAS RN 1330-20-7)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1983
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  8071 - Medical laboratories - (SIC)
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/173076/cdc_173076_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.98 MB]
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:50c04b6cffde0d6a22ae950aee6444a463e9ec3ace82e47349016247bb1c8582b7cdaa871134d9e720779d05d07d137eda02546d6d953abed81d9edd5c64cb70