Health Hazard Evaluation Determination Report No. 77-26-472: Rola Company, Division of Pemcor, Inc.: Punxsutawney, PA

Details

• Personal Author:
  Nelson, Bonita ; Straub, Wesley E.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  An investigation based on a joint employer/employee request concerning the reported illness of employees working with adhesives has been conducted. The company manufactures high fidelity speakers (SIC-3651) utilizing production line techniques. Employees considered to be at greatest risk were monitored for organic vapors using personal and area sampling methods. Samples were subsequently analyzed by gas chromatography for acetone (67641), ethyl-alcohol (64175), methyl-ethyl-ketone (78933), methyl-isobutyl-ketone (108101), toluene (108883), isopropanol (67630), butyl-acetate (12384), isopropyl-acetate (108214), heptane (142825), butyl- cellosolve (111762) and 1,1,1-trifluoroethane (74873). Informed consent was obtained, and a directed medical questionnaire was administered to 88 female workers out of a total of 300 (29 percent). It was determined that exposures to organic vapors were not toxic under the conditions of use noted over several visits. A review of available data has also indicated that a potential health hazard may exist regarding the number of nontherapeutic abortions and menstrual problems experienced by women in this plant. Recommendations for an additional evaluation and for maintaining records to aid in the evaluation are presented. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Acetates Adhesives Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution, Indoor Butanones Environmental Monitoring Esters Occupational Health Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Safety Solvents Thiourea Ventilation Women

  More +
• Keywords:
  Air-contamination Air-sampling Alcohols Aromatic-hydrocarbons Females Fumes Hazard-Unconfirmed HHE-77-26-472 Industrial-hygiene Ketones NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation Occupational-health Organic Vapors OSHA Region 3 Recording-instruments Tetramethyl Thiourea TMTU Vapors

  More +
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE7726472
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Pennsylvania ; Punxsutawney (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:
  18 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Flesch, Jerome P. ; Burroughs, Guy F. ; Palassis, John ; Runkle, Charles B. ; Nelson, James H.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00080315
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB82-172925
• 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 77-26-472, 1978 Mar ; :1-18
• CAS Registry Number:
  Acetone (CAS RN 67-64-1) ; Ethanol (CAS RN 64-17-5) ; Methyl ethyl ketone (CAS RN 78-93-3) ; Methyl isobutyl ketone (CAS RN 108-10-1) ; Toluene (CAS RN 108-88-3) ; Isopropyl alcohol (CAS RN 67-63-0) ; Isopropyl acetate (CAS RN 108-21-4) ; n-Heptane (CAS RN 142-82-5) ; 2-Butoxyethanol (CAS RN 111-76-2) ; Methyl chloride (CAS RN 74-87-3)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1978
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3651 - Household audio and video equipment - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c484fb3890b532e6a8a9f8cbd41a447143a7095d7aa11a94e82729a1c667eccc5da0c58969c907cffe79f355672df7f0ce8395f431031c697d791724bb7d7508
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/173819/cdc_173819_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.80 MB ]