Health Hazard Evaluation Determination Report 77-36-540: Asarco, Incorporated, Tacoma Plant: Ruston, Washington

Details

• Personal Author:
  Apol, Arvin G. ; Singal, Mitchell
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Samples of lead (7439921) (Pb), copper (7440508) (Cu), cadmium (7440439) (CA), arsenic (7440382) (As), sulfur-dioxide (7446095) (SO2), dimethylaniline (127195) (DMA), selenium (7782492) (Se), nickel (7440020) (Ni), and silver (7440224) (Ag) were analyzed and blood samples were tested for lead and free erythrocyte protoporphyrin (FEP) at the copper smelter and refinery of ASARCO, Inc. (SIC-3325) in Tacoma, Washington in November 1977. An employee representative of the United Steel Workers Local 25, Tacoma, Washington requested toxicity determination on behalf of approximately 135 affected workers. Hematocrits ranged from 42 to 51 percent. Blood lead concentrations ranged from 16 to 41 micrograms per deciliter. Only one worker had an abnormally high FEP value of 197. In the roaster area, 37 of 44 time weighted average (TWA) As samples exceeded the OSHA criterion of 0.01 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m3) and 3 of 36 TWA Cu samples exceeded the OSHA criterion of 1mg/m3. Seventeen of 21 As samples from the reverberatory furnace, 20 of 20 from the convertor area, and 3 of 7 from the slimes house also exceeded the OSHA standard. Six of 36 Pb samples from the convertor area and 1 of 2 from the slimes house also exceeded the OSHA criterion of 0.2mg/m3. In the sulfur dioxide area, 2 of 2 As samples and 1 of 2 Pb samples exceeded the respective OSHA standard. The authors recommend that worker exposures to toxic substance be reduced below the OSHa criteria, and that appropriate NIOSH approved respirators be used. The action level for blood lead concentrations should be reduced from 80 to 40 micrograms per deciliter. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Arsenic Carcinogens Copper Dermatitis Environmental Monitoring Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Health Surveys Inorganic Chemicals Lead Metals Metal Workers Neoplasms Occupational Health Safety Skin Surveys And Questionnaires

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• Keywords:
  Air-sampling Copper-refining Copper Smelter Hazard-Unconfirmed Health-survey Lung Cancer Medical-monitoring Medical-screening Metal-workers NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation OSHA Region 10 Peripheral Neuropathies Primary-smelting Refinery Smelters

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE7736540
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Washington ; Ruston (WA) ; OSHA Region 10
• 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:
  24 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Flesch, Jerome P.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00101016
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB81-150518
• 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 77-36-540, 1978 Nov ; :1-25
• CAS Registry Number:
  Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1) ; Copper (CAS RN 7440-50-8) ; Cadmium (CAS RN 7440-43-9) ; Arsenic (CAS RN 7440-38-2) ; Sulfur dioxide (CAS RN 7446-09-5) ; Dimethylacetamide (CAS RN 127-19-5) ; Selenium (CAS RN 7782-49-2) ; Nickel (CAS RN 7440-02-0) ; Silver (CAS RN 7440-22-4)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1979
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3325 - Steel foundries, not elsewhere classified - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:70e0f595381d0c116eabb840572523ebd6e6eca09c1ab57d93d0f2c0adf043339a4416c766854729fcc627c3ed1b3be4f33aa4177a1bf0465aa46d90b6d7c175
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/173582/cdc_173582_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 5.08 MB ]