Health Hazard Evaluation Report HHE 80-032-814: Magma Copper Company: San Manuel, Arizona

Details

• Personal Author:
  Apol, Arvin G. ; Coye, Molly J.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Personal breathing zone samples and medical evaluations of workers were performed at Magma Copper Company Smelter (SIC-3331) in San Manuel, Arizona on March 6, 1980 and from April 22 to April 23, 1980. The surveys were requested by a representative of the United Steel Workers, Local 937, to determine potential hazards to workers in the reverberatory furnace and converter departments of the smelter. Personal air samples contained cadmium (7440439), copper (7440508), and lead (7439921) concentrations below the OSHA standards of 100, 200, and 50 micrograms per cubic meter, respectively. Of the 75 samples collected for sulfur-dioxide (7446095), 14 exceeded the OSHA standard of 5 parts per million. All 92 workers examined had blood lead concentrations below 40 micrograms per 100 milliliters. Four arsenic (7440382) blood concentrations were above 100 micrograms per liter, but because of overall low arsenic concentrations in the work force these elevated values were not considered significant. Sulfur-dioxide exposure was responsible for complaints of respiratory irritation, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma and skin irritation. The authors conclude that a hazard exists at the company from exposure to sulfur-dioxide. The use of respirators during high exposures reduces hazards but does not eliminate the effects of repeated short term exposures. Recommendations include updating of the ventilation system, initiation of a respirator program, use of engineering controls to reduce airborne contamination, and worker hygiene improvements. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Arsenic Environmental Monitoring Inorganic Chemicals Lung Metals Metal Workers Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Skin Sulfur Dioxide Ventilation

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• Keywords:
  3331 Air-sampling Arsenic Cadmium Copper Hazards-Confirmed HHE-80-032-814 Industrial-hygiene Lead Metal-workers NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation OSHA Region 9 Primary Copper Smelters Pulmonary-system-disorders Respiratory Symptoms Smelters Sulfur Dioxide

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE80032814
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Arizona ; San Manuel (AZ) ; OSHA Region 9
• 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:
  21 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Gunter, Bobby J. ; Belanger, Pierre L.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00114040
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB82-184615
• 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 80-032-814, 1981 Feb ; :1-15
• CAS Registry Number:
  Cadmium (CAS RN 7440-43-9) ; Copper (CAS RN 7440-50-8) ; Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1) ; Sulfur dioxide (CAS RN 7446-09-5) ; Arsenic (CAS RN 7440-38-2)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1981
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3331 - Primary copper - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:1f7af67e50142d28355c58857fd2e4018c0a1f2f4496c922b98a00e737ab94afaaf1a4616ff9be7cb361af3aba145650038630aef223c031720733de81422b3a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/173424/cdc_173424_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 4.30 MB ]