Health Hazard Evaluation Determination Report HE 79-110-700: Globe Metallurgical, a Division of Interlake, Inc.: Beverly, Ohio

Details

• Personal Author:
  Singal, Mitchell ; Tharr, Dawn G.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  An environmental and medical survey was conducted between June and November, 1979 at the Globe Metallurgical Division of Interlake, Incorporated (SIC-2819) in Beverly, Ohio. An authorized representative from the United Steel Workers of America, Local 6856, requested the investigation to evaluate health problems experienced by employees during the production of rare earth silicide. The evaluation consisted of a telephone survey of employees followed by a medical and environmental study of the factory. The telephone survey of 98 workers indicated that the workers at Furnace Number 1 producing rare earth silicide were more likely to report one or more symptoms of various irritative, respiratory, gastrointestinal and constitutional disorders than other workers. Mucous membrane irritation was the most commonly reported symptom. The follow-up medical questionnaire showed no statistically significant difference in reported symptoms between workers exposed to rare earth and those not exposed. Blood tests of exposed workers did not reveal any evidence of hemolytic anemia which is an effect of arsine (7784421) exposure. The authors conclude that although Furnace Number 1 workers had greater exposures to fluoride, iron-oxide (1309371), and lead (7439921) than a comparison group from a furnace not using rare earths, none of the concentrations measured would be expected to produce adverse health effects. They also note that Furnace Number 1 employees are exposed to greater concentrations of rare earths but the health effects of these exposures are not known. Based on reported symptoms, they suggest the possibility that excessive phosphine (7803512) exposures have occurred. The authors recommend that management expand its rare earth training to all personnel, that employees report any symptoms experienced while working with rare earths, and that ventilation be improved for rare earth silicide storage and for ladlemen and helpers at their specific work sites. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Blood Hematologic Tests Irritants Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Particulate Matter Safety Sense Organs Silicon Compounds Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Arsine Blood-chemistry Earth Silicide Employee-health Fluorides Furnace Hazard-Confirmed HHE-79-110-700 Industrial-inorganic-chemicals Iron Irritant-gases Ladlemen Lead Mucous Membrane Irritation NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation Occupational-exposure OSHA Region 5 Phosphine Rare Earth Metals Silicon-compounds Total Particulate

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE79110700
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; Beverly (OH) ; OSHA Region 5
• 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:
  17 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Burroughs, G. Edward ; Donohue, Michael T. ; Schutte, George R. ; Watanabe, Arthur S. ; Whitlock, Monica
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00098075
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB81-113458
• 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 79-110-700, 1980 Jun ; :1-17
• CAS Registry Number:
  Arsine (CAS RN 7784-42-1) ; Iron oxide (CAS RN 1309-37-1) ; Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1) ; Phosphine (CAS RN 7803-51-2)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1980
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  2819 - Industrial inorganic chemicals, not elsewhere classified - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:8dce5d4cbfe9229595b71564df58abfdf9553cb67fa66ffea86cba09e99dd2634aa23e7e5a8d5463521e5784dae6d1e9dc0093973afe922507a832c59c523cde
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/173683/cdc_173683_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.76 MB ]