Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-81-057-905: Jefferson County Mental Health Center; Wheat Ridge, Colorado

Details

• Personal Author:
  Gunter, Bobby J.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Worker exposures to petroleum distillate (8002059), toluene (108883), and xylene (1330207) were surveyed on March 31, 1981, at the Jefferson County Mental Health Center (SIC-2732) in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. The evaluation was requested by an employee of the center who worked in the printing room to evaluate hazards related to the use of print chemicals. The worker was interviewed concerning health symptoms, and general and personal air samples were collected. Exposures to petroleum distillate, toluene, and xylene were below OSHA limits of 2,000, 375, and 435 milligrams per cubic meter, respectively. The worker complained of drowsiness, burning and tearing of the eyes, respiratory irritation, and loss of hair. The author concludes that the worker's symptoms were caused by exposures to the test chemicals, even though exposures were within acceptable limits. It is possible that the worker had developed a sensitivity to the chemicals during previous high-level exposure. Recommendations include installation of local exhaust ventilation and environmental monitoring.
• Subjects:
  Occupational Health Safety
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA81057905
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; 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:
  8 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00118869
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB82-258302
• 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 81-057-905, 1981 June ; 1-8
• CAS Registry Number:
  Petroleum (CAS RN 8002-05-9) ; Toluene (CAS RN 108-88-3) ; Xylene (CAS RN 1330-20-7)
• Editor(s):
  Schulenberg, Marilyn K.
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1981
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  2732 - Book printing - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:88dad765ba098b65f2ff64b97bbd2e5c551106c4c620c02ba187c812dd42cfdb0a7480f5b5c1b6a16e3033739ca6eb3e0e0a40c6534ed1cd5ed9330be2f77203
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/173313/cdc_173313_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 628.72 KB ]