Health Hazard Evaluation Determination Report HE 79-74-653: Star Dust Hotel: Las Vegas, Nevada

Details

• Personal Author:
  Belanger, Pierre L. ; Keenlyside, Richard A.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Area air sampling and medical surveys were conducted at the Star Dust Hotel (SIC-7011) in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 26 and July 17, 1979 to investigate complaints of sewer odors associated with nausea, headaches, and upper respiratory symptoms among hotel telephone operators. The evaluation request came from an authorized representative of the Teamster's Union, Local 995 on behalf of 28 telephone operators. Air sampling analysis revealed 0.01 to 0.03 parts per million (ppm) of toluene (108883), 0.02 to 0.05ppm of tetrachloroethylene (127184), and 0.31 to 0.97 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m3) of total hydrocarbons. The current OSHA standards for toluene and tetrachloroethylene are 20 and 100ppm for an 8 hour time weighted average, respectively. No hydrogen sulfide was detected, however odors were evident at several locations. Ventilation for the air conditioning unit was inadequate. The employees commonly reported eye and throat irritations, an unpleasant metallic taste in the mouth, and irritations of the skin and lips. The authors conclude that no hazardous exposures existed at the time of the survey, but the poor ventilation system was allowing hydrogen sulfide gas to enter the air conditioning unit. The vapors from the sewer sump tank should be vented to the outside air, and the tank effluent should be regularly treated with chemical enzymes. The air conditioning system should be redesigned, and the unit should be relocated. The room housing the sump tank should be kept under negative pressure. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution, Indoor Environmental Monitoring Hydrogen Sulfide Labor Unions Occupational Health Safety Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Air-contamination Air-sampling Data-collection H2S Hazards-Unconfirmed HHE-79-74-653 Hotels-motels Hydrogen Sulfide Irritation NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation Odor-control Odors OSHA Region 9 Physiological-effects Sanitation Tetrachloroethylene Toluene Unions Ventilation-systems Volatile Hydrocarbon

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE7974653
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Nevada ; Las Vegas (NV) ; OSHA Region 9
• 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:
  12 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Flesch, Jerome P. ; Evans, William A. ; Peak, Joanne M.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00093764
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB80-163173
• 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 79-74-653, 1980 Jan ; :1-11
• CAS Registry Number:
  Toluene (CAS RN 108-88-3) ; Perchloroethylene (CAS RN 127-18-4)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1980
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  7011 - Hotels and motels - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:435503dc290cc2f6b87f3e387395ae3b424c701c4d3f56a4d3fedfd8509eef39929233ab2f89b91b317d51d927f54442680e2f3f04a86f67082045eef8c3e2a6
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/173700/cdc_173700_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.68 MB ]