Health Hazard Evaluation Determination Report No. 78-104-565: Universal Printing Company: St. Louis, Missouri 63110

Details

• Personal Author:
  Donohue, Michael T. ; Hervin, Raymond L. ; Ruhe, Raymond L.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  The workplace was inspected, employees participated in medical interviews and limited physical examinations and personal air samples were taken to determine exposure concentrations at a facility (No. 2) of the Universal Printing Company (SIC-2751) in St. Louis, Missouri on July 18 to 20, 1978. Samples were analyzed by gas chromatography for total naphtha (8030306), toluene (108883), ethyl-benzene (100414), m-xylene (108383), cumene (98828), 1,3,5- trimethyl-benzene (108678), and 1,2,4-trimethyl-benzene (95636). The evaluation was requested by an authorized representative of the Graphic Arts International Union Local No. 505 to determine potential toxicity affecting approximately 30 employees. Forty percent of these employees complained of hand and arm irritation and approximately one third of all employees reported seldom wearing or having impervious gloves available. Two cases of eye irritation were found with two other reports of previous eye irritation. Splash goggles were not available in the shop. Approximately 40 percent complained of occasional dizziness during blanket washing. The investigators conclude that, although employee exposure to airborne contaminants was not found to be toxic at the time of testing, exposure could be potentially toxic if employees worked overtime or did more cleanup or changeover operations than they did at the time of testing. The investigators recommend that ventilation in and around presses be improved, gloves be worn to avoid direct chemical contact, waterless handcleaners be used as much as possible, granular cleansers be used only for exceptionally heavy cleaning, hand cream be available after cleaning up, and proper hygienic procedures be observed after hand contact with colored inks. Use of chemical goggles, availability of water stream eye wash basin and first aid station kit, employee education on hygiene and contamination control, and sealing of chemicals when not in use were also recommended. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Movements Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution, Indoor Dermatitis Eye Foreign Bodies Hazardous Substances Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety Skin Solvents Ventilation

  More +
• Keywords:
  Air-contamination Air-flow Employee-exposure Eye Irritation Hazard-Unconfirmed Mineral Spirits NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation Organic-solvents Organic Solvents OSHA Region 6 Protective-equipment Sanitation Skin-exposure Toxic-effects Toxins Vapors

  More +
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE78104565
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Missouri ; St. Louis (MO) ; OSHA Region 7
• 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:
  20 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Flesch, Jerome P. ; Billets, Stephen ; Holtz, John ; Kupel, Richard E.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00101042
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB89-143242
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HHE 78-104-565, 1979 Feb ; :1-20
• CAS Registry Number:
  Petroleum ether (CAS RN 8030-30-6) ; Toluene (CAS RN 108-88-3) ; Ethylbenzene (CAS RN 100-41-4) ; m-Xylene (CAS RN 108-38-3) ; (1-Methylethyl) benzene (CAS RN 98-82-8) ; 1,3,5-Trimethylbenzene (CAS RN 108-67-8)1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene (CAS RN 95-63-6)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1979
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  2751 - Commercial Printing, Letterpress - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:80825ee2c0d67d55573d83bdcc3e9b9f77a3dfec251e836f0d16f0886f9805ef47422836e86ebac5f3cf49697e121e8370e595ccd37dc9384ba22531774b9a1d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/173557/cdc_173557_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 5.21 MB ]