Health Hazard Evaluation Report HHE 80-195-811: ELCO Corporation, Connector Division: Huntingdon, Pennsylvania

Details

• Personal Author:
  Chrostek, Walter J. ; Conover, David L.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Personal air samples were analyzed, radiofrequency (RF) radiation was measured and employees were given medical questionnaires at Elco Corporation (SIC-3678) in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania on September 5 and November 5 and 6, 1980. Employees of Elco Corporation requested the evaluation due to their concern that RF or ultraviolet radiation was causing eye and skin irritation, nausea and scalp lumps. Of the 450 employees at the facility only 5 were exposed to RF radiation. Measurements of electric and magnetic field strengths were made for the eyes, neck, chest, waist, gonads, knees, ankles and hands. None of the RF measurements exceeded the OSHA standards of 40,000 square volts per square meter and 0.25 square amperes per square meter. Air samples contained concentrations of hydrogen-chloride (7647010) below the limit of detection and ozone (10028156) concentrations to 60 micrograms per cubic meter, below the OSHA standard of 200 micrograms per cubic meter. Medical questionnaires of five employees revealed one with eye irritation, two with skin irritation, one with sore throat and one with a heart problem. The authors conclude that a hazard does not exist due to RF radiation exposure. Problems due to infrared, ultraviolet and visible light may have caused skin and eye complaints
  
  these problems were rectified by installation of a darkened plastic shield. Recommendations include shielding and tuning of machines, use of proper procedures during maintenance, and an increase in distance between worker and RF source. [Description provided by NIOSH]
  
  
• Subjects:
  Carcinogens Environmental Monitoring Infrared Rays Occupational Health Radiation Radio Waves Safety Skin Ultraviolet Rays
• Keywords:
  Air-sampling Connectors, For Electronic Applications Eye Irritation Hazards-Unconfirmed Heart Problem HHE-80-195-811 Hydrogen Chloride IR NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation OSHA Region 3 Ozone Radiation-exposure Radiation-hazards Radiation-measurement Radio-waves RF Skin Reddening And Irritation Sore Throat UV Visible Light

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE80195811
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Pennsylvania ; Huntingdon (PA) ; OSHA Region 3
• 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
• Contributor:
  Turner, Elaine M.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00114043
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB82-184573
• 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 80-195-811, 1981 Feb ; :1-10
• CAS Registry Number:
  Hydrogen chloride (CAS RN 7647-01-0) ; Ozone (CAS RN 10028-15-6)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1981
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3678 - Electronic connectors - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a99e294aae63d3bd40ee3617299249456d8b740611cd66941bc38f4705889b366ecdf3c60c735a343a6fa00cbaed3680e5ec376274b7140479639256714cb26b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/173421/cdc_173421_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.11 MB ]