Health Hazard Evaluation Determination Report No. 78-136-643: Kennecott Smelter: Garfield, Utah

Details

• Personal Author:
  Elesh, W. Elva ; Gunter, Bobby J.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Breathing zone and general room air samples were collected and analyzed for arsenic (7440382), copper (7440508), lead (7439921), molybdenum (7439987) and selenium (7782492) content at the Kennecott Smelter (SIC-3331) in Garfield, Utah, on October 25 and 26 and December 13 and 14, 1978
  
  and January 8 to 11, 1979 at the request of a representative from Local 4347, U.S. Steelworkers, on behalf of approximately 150 affected workers. Medical evaluations were conducted for 40 workers. Air samples were analyzed by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Concentrations of lead, arsenic, and copper exceeded the OSHA standards of 0.05, 0.01, and 1.0 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m3), respectively. No overexposures to molybdenum or selenium were found. Medical evaluations confirmed respiratory system complaints, including nasal and lung irritation with or without breathing difficulties. Ten men had unacceptably high blood-lead levels. The authors conclude that approximately 20 percent of the workers were overexposed to arsenic, lead, and copper, and a health hazard did exist in the reactor areas. The most serious health hazard was an inadequate respirator program. Recommendations resulting from the evaluation included environmental and engineering control improvements, use of personal protective equipment, housekeeping improvements, and careful medical surveillance. [Description provided by NIOSH]
  
  
• Subjects:
  Arsenic Blood Copper Dermatitis Dust Environmental Exposure Hematologic Tests Hypersensitivity Inorganic Chemicals Labor Unions Lead Metals Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Skin Skin Diseases Sulfur Dioxide Ventilation

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• Keywords:
  Arsenic Biological-monitoring Blood Lead Level Chemical-exposure Copper Copper-smelters Exposure-limits Eye Irritation Hazard-Confirmed Headaches HHE-78-136-643 Lead Molybdenum Mucosal Inflammation NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation OSHA Region 8 Physiological-effects Primary-nonferrous-metals Respiratory-system-disorders Selenium Skin-disorders Sulfur Dioxide Unions Urine Arsenic

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE78136643
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Utah ; Garfield (UT) ; OSHA Region 8
• 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:
  16 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Flesch, Jerome P. ; Donahue, Michael ; Schulenberg, Marilyn K.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00092892
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB80-163231
• 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 78-136-643, 1979 Dec ; :1-16
• CAS Registry Number:
  Arsenic (CAS RN 7440-38-2) ; Copper (CAS RN 7440-50-8) ; Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1) ; Molybdenum (CAS RN 7439-98-7) ; Selenium (CAS RN 7782-49-2)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1980
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3331 - Primary copper - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:60e50dee355d4bb42138898b6c4b141e754c7ccb88a5b3dbda32e724f2ec7cda1293ca65b09b3aa071575c1321767052257398cebc264921a3f5d41e77c894cf
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/173719/cdc_173719_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.55 MB ]