Health Hazard Evaluation Determination Report No. 77-55-583: Brubaker Tool Company: Millersburg, Pennsylvania

Details

• Personal Author:
  Straub, Wesley E.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Medical interviews and skin examinations were conducted, and the pH and total alkalinity of cutting and grinding fluids were evaluated on April 10 and 11, 1978, at the Brubaker Tool Company (SIC-3545) in Millersburg, Pennsylvania. The evaluations were in response to an employee representative request concerning skin rashes and irritation among workers in the wet grinding department. Thirty employees were considered to be affected. Skin irritation tests of the fluids were performed in the laboratory on 5 white albino rabbits. The dermatitis was attributed to the pH of cutting and grinding fluids (pH range 9 to 11), which were particularly irritating in neat concentrations, the presence of excessive particulate matter from tools and grinding wheels, the use of abrasive soap as a routine hand cleaner in washrooms, and contact with solvents in the thread grinding department. Potential hazards existed from possible benzene (71432) exposure, and from excessive noise in the thread department. For alleviation of the dermatitis hazard, the investigator recommends that barrier cream and waterless, non-abrasive hand cleaner be made generally available and be scrupulously utilized, fluids with less alkalinity be substituted for current ones, fluid concentrations be kept to minimum effective levels, fluids be frequently changed to remove abrasive waste particles, and workers be educated about factors which cause dermatitis. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Benzene Dermatitis Environmental Exposure Laboratories Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety Skin Skin Diseases Solvents

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• Keywords:
  Chemical-exposure Clinical-tests Coolants Cutting-fluids Grinding Fluids Hazards-Confirmed HHE-77-55-583 Irritation Laboratory-animals Machine-tools NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation OSHA Region 3 Protective-measures Skin-disorders Skin-irritants Skin-protection Skin Rashes

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE7755583
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Pennsylvania ; Millersburg (PA) ; OSHA Region 3
• 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:
  30 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Damm, Susan M. ; Bickers, David ; Flesch, Jerome P. ; Kim, Soo Wang
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00092146
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB80-199250
• 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 77-55-583, 1979 Apr ; :1-30
• CAS Registry Number:
  Benzene (CAS RN 71-43-2)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1979
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3545 - Machine tool accessories - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3233534713a494cc60140b3e1cc3b1202e52eae155333016c25bc71b4d0d23d7b339d3655034de3da0e58a913b5b45a260d456a3f8dc043eb640e4b3f7c977ac
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/173747/cdc_173747_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 461.49 KB ]