Health Hazard Evaluation Determination Report HE 78-44-715 (Revised): Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation: Ravenswood, West Virginia 26164

Details

• Personal Author:
  Kronoveter, Kenneth J.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Environmental and medical surveys and technological assessments were conducted on July 18 to 20, 1978, and April 3 to 5 and June 11 to 14, 1979, to update environmental conditions and evaluate the ventilation systems in the potrooms at the Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation facility in Ravenswood, West Virginia (SIC- 3341). The evaluation was requested by a union safety and health committee member of the United Steelworkers of America, Local 5668, on behalf of the potroom employees. Personal and area air samples were obtained for determinations of coal-tar pitch (65996932) volatiles (CTPV), polynuclear-aromatic-hydrocarbons (PNA), total particulates, and fluorides. Indicator tube sampling was done for sulfur-dioxide (7446095), carbon-monoxide (630080), and hydrogen- fluoride (7664393). CTPV concentrations ranged from undetectable to of 0.20mg/m3
  
  PNAs were present in 27 of 46 samples
  
  total particulates ranged from 0.3 to 177.0 mg/m3, exceeding the OSHA standard of 150.0 mg/m3
  
  sulfur-dioxide ranged from undetectable to over 25 parts per million (ppm), exceeding the OSHA standard of 5ppm. Medical questionnaires indicated that dust and off gases from the pots may have caused mucous membrane irritation. Ventilation assessment showed that the pothood system was well designed but that deficiencies in maintenance and housekeeping may have reduced its efficiency. The author concludes that potentially hazardous exposures to CTPV, total particulates, and sulfur dioxide existed for certain potroom workers. He recommends that ventilation maintenance be improved, that workers use respiratory protection when necessary, and that anode setters be studied for pot emission exposures. [Description provided by NIOSH]
  
  
• Subjects:
  Aluminum Compounds Coal Tar Environmental Monitoring Metal Workers Occupational Health Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Sulfur Dioxide Surveys And Questionnaires Ventilation Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Air-sampling Aluminum-industry Benzene Solubles Coal Tar Pitch Volatiles Hazard-Unconfirmed Health-surveys HHE-78-44-715 Industrial-hygiene NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation OSHA Region 3 Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons Potroom Workers Respiratory Irritation Safety-engineering Sulfur Dioxide Total Particulates Ventilation-systems Workplace-studies

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE7844715
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  West Virginia ; Ravenswood (WV) ; 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:
  29 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Thoburn, Theodore W. ; White, Gary L. ; Love, John R. ; Berling, Leesa
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00102815
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB82-150210
• 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 78-44-715, 1980 Jul ; :1-26
• CAS Registry Number:
  Pitch, coal tar, high-temp. (CAS RN 65996-93-2) ; Sulfur dioxide (CAS RN 7446-09-5) ; Carbon monoxide (CAS RN 630-08-0) ; Hydrogen fluoride (CAS RN 7664-39-3)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1980
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3341 - Secondary nonferrous metals - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:577cfbf1230f0936f4728116a64333352e72b0ed3ec7b2de037c5197ab6f41bcc9f61a71c51ca70ab70bbf969e779607b47c2adc56107f25f41176bfd30d3155
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/173547/cdc_173547_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 5.64 MB ]