Health Hazard Evaluation Determination Report HE 79-19-740: Radford Army Ammunition Plant, Hercules Incorporated: Radford, Virginia

Details

• Personal Author:
  Chrostek, Walter J. ; Elesh, W. Elva
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Environmental and medical surveys were conducted on February 6 to 23, 1979, and June 18, 1979, to investigate the reported increase in heart disease among workers at Radford Army Ammunition Facility (SIC- 3483) of Hercules Incorporated in Radford, Virginia. The evaluation was requested by an authorized representative from Local 3-495 of the Oil Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union on behalf of an unspecified number of employees. Ethyl-ether (60297) concentrations ranged from 90 to 712 parts per million (ppm), exceeding the OSHA standard of 400 ppm
  
  nitroglycerin (55630) ranged from undetectable to 0.89 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m3), will within the OSHA standard of 2 mg/m3
  
  lead (7439921) ranged from undectable to 0.063 mg/m3, exceeding the OSHA standard of 0.05 mg/m3
  
  and coal tar pitch volatiles ranged from undetectable to 0.1 mg/m3, within the OSHA standard of 0.2 mg/m3. All other samples were below their respective standards. The medical interviews and record review revealed several cases of previously diagnosed asbestosis and heart disease. The author concludes that a potential health hazard existed as a result of employee exposure to ethyl ether, nitroglycerin, lead, and coal tar pitch volatiles. He recommends that an educational program be established, that employees be provided with daily changes of protective clothing, that the respirator program be reviewed, that general work practices be improved, that all exhaust systems be reevaluated and systems be periodically maintained, and that a standard operating procedure be established for all employees who handle asbestos. [Description provided by NIOSH]
  
  
• Subjects:
  Asbestos Carcinogens Cardiovascular Diseases Cardiovascular System Dust Ether Inorganic Chemicals Lead Lung Nitrogen Compounds Nitroglycerin Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Safety Management Surveys And Questionnaires Ventilation Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Ammunition, Except For Small Arms Asbestos-dust Cardiovascular-system-disorders Coal Tar Pitch Volatiles Ethyl Ether Hazard-Unconfirmed Health-surveys HHE-79-19-740 Mineral-pitch NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation Nitro-compounds OSHA Region 3 Pulmonary-system-disorders Safety-measures Workplace-studies

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE7919740
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Virginia ; Radford (VA) ; 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:
  14 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Berling, Leesa
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00103570
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB81-170938
• 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 79-19-740, 1980 Sep ; :1-7
• CAS Registry Number:
  Diethyl ether (CAS RN 60-29-7) ; Nitroglycerin (CAS RN 55-63-0) ; Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1980
• NORA Priority Area:
  Pulmonary-system-disorders
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3483 - Ammunition, except for small arms, not elsewhere classified - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:11859a52e4f77891075369f27436c81203dac60201991cc5f5dfe642b593a3ddb64b6ff9e8b3831ee259ca5ed89d404010570879ebfbb50e17184291ec04642e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/173505/cdc_173505_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 677.42 KB ]