Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-81-056-854: New Carolina Industries; Weldon, North Carolina

Details

• Personal Author:
  Elliot, Larry J. ; Keenlyside, Richard A. ; Marlow, David A.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Environmental and personal air samples were analyzed for formaldehyde (50000) at New Carolina Industries (SIC-233) in Weldon, North Carolina, on December 8 and 9, 1980. Medical interviewed were conducted with 26 of the employees. A representative of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union requested the evaluation after 2 of 127 employees developed severe respiratory symptoms. Airborne formaldehyde concentrations in environmental and personal samples ranged from 0.16 to 0.63 parts per million (ppm) well below the OSHA recommended standard of 3ppm for an 8 hour time weighed average short term continuous reading sample of formaldehyde. Medical interviews revealed complaints of eye and upper respiratory irritation, especially when pressing garments and handling darker fabrics. The authors conclude that the workers at this facility are experiencing irritant symptoms of the eyes and respiratory tract due to exposure to low concentrations of formaldehyde. They recommend increasing the exchange and circulation of air in the facility.
• Subjects:
  Lung Occupational Health Respiratory System Safety
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA81056854
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  North Carolina ; OSHA Region 4
• 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:
  11 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00116146
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB82-214420
• 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 81-056-854, 1981 April ; 1-11
• CAS Registry Number:
  Formaldehyde (CAS RN 50-00-0)
• Editor(s):
  Harris, Stephanie M.
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1981
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  2231 - Broadwoven fabric mills, wool - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:74f1a62c1437acaa7c1fb33e1d342af783a835194ef18168152ce0dcf6224ba460b5b6db7a2e9cb62b1be18a843c96d3385abaafc367d4af75575525e290bae2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/173348/cdc_173348_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.76 MB ]