Health Hazard Evaluation Determination Report No. 77-38-504: Western Electric Company: Mesquite, Texas

Details

• Personal Author:
  Donohue, Michael T. ; Markel, Harry L. Jr. ; Thoburn, Theodore W.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Environmental and medical surveys were conducted on April 12 and 13, and June 6, 8 and 15, 1977, to determine worker exposures to perchloroethylene (127184) in the circuit pack manufacturing, miniaturized trunks and backplane connector areas of Western Electric Company (SIC-3643) in Mesquite, Texas. A representative of the Communication Workers of America, Local 12260, requested the evaluation on behalf of the approximately 141 affected employees. All samples analyzed for perchloroethylene, toluene (108883), 1,1,1- trichloroethane (71556), n-butylacetate (123864), isopropanol (67630), acetone (67641) and methylene-chloride (75092) were well below OSHA standards. Exhaust ventilation was in accordance with accepted design criteria. Urinary total trichloro compounds (TTC) indicated that both high and low exposure groups were exposed to substances which resulted in TTC excretion. Past illness evaluations indicated that perchloroethylene had presented health problems. The authors conclude that workers in the high exposure group may be experiencing toxic effects from their exposure, and that overtime working may contribute to the accumulation of TTCs. The authors recommend that emphasis be directed toward preventing prolonged skin contact with perchloroethylene, that medical surveillance and record retention be instituted, and that the amount of overtime be reduced. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Acetone Air Pollutants, Occupational Biochemistry Environmental Exposure Labor Unions Methylene Chloride Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety Solvents Tetrachloroethylene Toluene Trichloroethanes

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• Keywords:
  1,1,1-Trichloroethane Air-contaminants Biochemical-effects Central Office Switching Equipment Chemical-exposure Electric-wiring-devices Hazards-Unconfirmed HHE-77-38-504 Humans Isopropanol N-Butyl Acetate NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation OSHA Region 6 Perchloroethylene Physiological-effects Region 6 Unions

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE7738504
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Texas ; Mesquite (TX) ; OSHA Region 6
• 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:
  40 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Flesch, Jerome P. ; White, Jo Ann ; Hulla, John A. ; Pettigrew, George L. ; Keith, William D.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00099480
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB81-143752
• 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 77-38-504, 1978 Jul ; :1-40
• CAS Registry Number:
  Perchloroethylene (CAS RN 127-18-4) ; Toluene (CAS RN 108-88-3) ; 1,1,1-Trichloroethane (CAS RN 71-55-6) ; n-Butyl acetate (CAS RN 123-86-4) ; Isopropyl alcohol (CAS RN 67-63-0) ; Acetone (CAS RN 67-64-1) ; Methylene chloride (CAS RN 75-09-2)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1978
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3643 - Current-carrying wiring devices - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:265820db6a324a1abc11bda1561b8663e4c7b0cc19b95f461688d2484f89fbb2b6baeaa62e5f54b37245d5730b8bf9dab52e531d5b30db5b4039362c620d272a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/173618/cdc_173618_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.89 MB ]