Health Hazard Evaluation Determination Report No. HHE-79-035-972: Simpson Timber Company: Shelton, Washington

Details

• Personal Author:
  Apol, Arvin G. ; Lybarger, Jeffrey A. ; Wilcox, Thomas G. ; Apol, Arvin G. ; Lybarger, Jeffrey A. ; Wilcox, Thomas G.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Environmental air sampling was conducted along with medical evaluations on February 12 to 15, 1979, at the Simpson Timber Company (SIC-2435), in Shelton, Washington, to determine employee exposures to alpha-pinene (80568), beta-pinene (127913), abietic- acid (514103), and pimaric-acid (127275). A representative of the International Woodworkers of America, Local 3-38 requested the evaluation on behalf of approximately 70 affected employees. Alpha- pinene and beta-pinene concentrations ranged from 0.50 to 5.14 milligrams per cubic meter(mg/cum). Total organic acids ranged from health standards or recommended exposure limits for these chemicals. Medical interviews revealed that production employees experienced mucous membrane irritation with significantly greater frequency than did nonproduction workers. No significant lung function changes over the work shift were detected in either the smoking or nonsmoking production employees. A subgroup of 18 production workers did have a slight but significant decrease in lung function over the workshift. No production workers had lung functions measurements below normal limits, although workers employed longer than 8 years tended to have slightly lower forced expiratory volume in one second than did nonexposed comparison workers. The authors conclude that while no conclusive health hazard could be demonstrated, the survey did indicate increased mucous membrane irritations among production workers when compared with nonproduction workers. They recommend increase ventilation, regular maintenance of existing ventilation systems, workers education, and medical monitoring of exposed workers.
• Subjects:
  Lung Occupational Health Respiratory System Safety
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)   ; Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)  
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE79035972
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study ; Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Washington ; OSHA Region 10
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies ; DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health ; Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America ; North America
• Pages in Document:
  33 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00119694
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB83-161158
• 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, HHE 79-035-972, 1981 October ; 1-33
• CAS Registry Number:
  alpha-pinene (CAS RN 80-56-8) ; beta-pinene (CAS RN 127-91-3) ; Abietic acid (CAS RN 514-10-3) ; Pimaric acid (CAS RN 127-27-5) ; alpha-pinene (CAS RN 80-56-8) ; beta-pinene (CAS RN 127-91-3) ; Abietic acid (CAS RN 514-10-3) ; Pimaric acid (CAS RN 127-27-5)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1982
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  2435 - Hardwood veneer and plywood - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0fc7b4e27c6b4ee19bab4028b32f901f3fd17b78c7587786384aa444ac6b924e89e5f4376d809b962d0bb82fdb9fa1ae7be84653e01e7ed3d011629dacd39e7f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/173266/cdc_173266_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 6.85 MB ]