Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-81-090-997: Publishers Paper Company; Newberg, Oregon

Details

• Personal Author:
  Apol, Arvin G.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Environmental air was analyzed for sulfuric-acid (7664939), sulfur- dioxide (7446095) and phosphates, and noise level measurements taken, at the Publishers Paper Company (SIC-2621) in Newburg, Oregon, on April 14 to 16, 1981. A representative of the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers requested the evaluation to determine if vocal cord nodules experienced by two of four paper machine tenders were caused by their exposure to a combination of chemicals and high noise. Sulfur-dioxide concentrations ranged from about 0.01 to 0.95 parts per million (ppm) compared with the NIOSH standard of 0.5ppm. Sulfuric-acid concentrations ranged from about 0.01 to 0.06 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/Cum), compared with the NIOSH standard of 1mg/Cum. Concentrations of phosphates ranged from less than 0.01 to potential noise exposure that ranged from 94 to 101 decibels on the A-weighted scale (dBA), compared with the NIOSH recommended criteria of 85dBA. The author concludes that there may be a relationship between the occurrence of vocal cord nodules and exposure to high noise levels and respiratory irritants. He recommends raising the pH level of the pulp liquor, use of air supplied respirators, use of an electric communication system, and medical examination of workers experiencing persistent hoarseness.
• Subjects:
  Ear Occupational Health Safety Sense Organs
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA81090997
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Oregon ; 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:
  12 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00122590
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB82-187386
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, Ohio : U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HETA 81-090-997,1981 November ; 1-12
• CAS Registry Number:
  Sulfuric acid (CAS RN 7664-93-9) ; Sulfur dioxide (CAS RN 7446-09-5)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1982
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  2621 - Paper mills - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:73cd0bf33be36dcbdc3ababb120dea970a09ab1f57675f65b9b17618116845e9ebc20fab379bf52292a3422840ab708ed2cb1c1835576e41b5a0e431137ee230
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/173220/cdc_173220_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.01 MB ]