Health Hazard Evaluation Report HHE 78-132-818: Copper Division, Southwire Company, Inc.: Carrollton, Georgia

Details

• Personal Author:
  Kominsky, John R. ; Kreiss, Kathleen
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  A health hazard evaluation was conducted at the Copper Division of Southwire Company, Incorporated (SIC-3340) in Carrollton, Georgia on October 2 to 11, 1978. The evaluation was requested by an authorized employee representative to determine if employees were being exposed to toxic concentrations of chemicals. Personal and area air samples were monitored. Medical evaluations of 293 of the 300 employees included interviews, questionnaires, blood tests and neurological examinations. Lead (7439921) concentrations in 10 of 47 personal air samples exceeded the previous OSHA standard of 200 micrograms per cubic meter
  
  37 exceeded the new OSHA standard of 50 micrograms per cubic meter. Copper (7440508) dusts in all 13 samples tested exceeded the OSHA standard of 1000 micrograms per cubic meter. Arsenic (7440382) concentrations in 2 of 10 samples tested exceeded the NIOSH recommended standard of 2 micrograms per cubic meter. Nickel (7440020) in 5 of 47 samples tested exceeded the NIOSH recommended standard of 15 micrograms per cubic meter. Cadmium (7440439) concentrations in 1 of 47 samples tested exceeded the NIOSH recommended standard of 40 micrograms per cubic meter. Medical evaluations revealed an increased prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms, weakness, fatigue, hand tremor, joint pain, throat pain and respiratory symptoms in employees working in dusty areas. The observed increases in blood pressure, Achilles tendon reflex and blood lead, copper, or zinc were not associated with metal dust exposure. The authors conclude that a serious hazard exists due to exposure to airborne metallic dust. They recommend engineering methods for metallic dust control, use of fume respirators when necessary, use of special clothing, and improved work practices. [Description provided by NIOSH]
  
  
• Subjects:
  Arsenic Blood Copper Dust Environmental Monitoring Inorganic Chemicals Lead Metals Metal Workers Nickel Occupational Health Safety Surveys And Questionnaires Ventilation

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• Keywords:
  Air-samples Dust-exposure Hazards-Confirmed Health-surveys HHE-78-132-818 Metal-dusts Metal-workers NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation OSHA Region 4 Secondary Smelting And Refining Of Nonerrous Metals And Alloys Toxic Worker-health

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE78132818
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Georgia ; Carrollton (GA) ; 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:
  56 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Hollett, Bruce A. ; Evans, William A. ; Nelson, Mark ; Kramer, Dorine ; Wilson, Richard ; Crowley, Stephen ; McKinley, Thomas W. ; Malone, Pat ; Davis, Ralph C. ; Chawla, Naresh K. ; Brown, Odessa
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00114046
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB82-188632
• 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, HHE 78-132-818, 1981 Feb ; :1-53
• CAS Registry Number:
  Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1) ; Copper (CAS RN 7440-50-8) ; Arsenic (CAS RN 7440-38-2) ; Nickel (CAS RN 7440-02-0) ; Cadmium (CAS RN 7440-43-9)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1981
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  334 - Secondary Nonferrous Metals - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:95ec8af479d8ceae4eeb05a82a72c3157a42c609d8207067e317ef5529f11845272a625a632afc07e9f21af5c98d3ec0b703d3395b8db6e213411813f0b73985
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/173418/cdc_173418_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 9.94 MB ]