Health Hazard Evaluation Determination Report No. 76-102-374: Domore Office Furniture, Inc.: Elkhart, Indiana

Details

• Personal Author:
  Gilles, Dawn M. ; Meyer, Channing R.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Acting on a request from an authorized representative of local 15206 of the United Steelworkers of America regarding employees exposure to rust-lick, a water soluble chemical and rust inhibitor which reportedly produced headache, dizziness, loss of coordination and nausea, a health hazard evaluation survey was conducted by NIOSH at Domore Office Furniture (SIC-2522), Inc., Elkhart, Indiana, on September 22 and December 14, 1976. The company is engaged in manufacturing various types of office furniture. Based on environmental air samplings, confidential interviews of 12 affected workers, evaluation of ventilation systems and work practices, and available toxicity information, it was concluded that employee exposures to welding fumes, rust-lick, a proprietary acid, a proprietary base, nuisance dust and organic vapor did not pose a health hazard at the concentrations measured. Measurement revealed an inadequate ventilation system, together with a general lack of knowledge by both employer and employees of the types of materials used, the toxicological properties of these materials and safe handling procedures. All employees reported one or more work related symptoms
  
  simple removal of the affected employee from the plant resulted in complete resolution of most symptoms. No biomedical abnormalities were recorded. The findings suggest that the cause of the problems at Domore is a multifactorial one. Recommendations are made for improved ventilation and better identification and handling of chemical materials. [Description provided by NIOSH]
  
  
• Subjects:
  Diagnosis Dust Environmental Monitoring Occupational Health Safety Toxicology Ventilation Welding Workplace
• Keywords:
  Air-quality-measurement Control-methods Diagnostic-techniques Dust-control Hazard-Unconfirmed HHE-76-102-374 NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation Nuisance Dust Organic Vapors OSHA Region 5 Rust-Lick Rust Inhibitor Water Soluble Coolant Welding Fumes Workplace-studies

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE76102374
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Indiana ; Elkhart (IN) ; 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:
  15 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Flesch, Jerome P. ; Burroughs, G. Edward
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00069420
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB-270873
• 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 76-102-374, 1977 Mar ; :1-15
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1977
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  2522 - Office furniture, except wood - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:32619a05cd56957721a493cc294dec8da8eba6266755fec2a503e975f778793ed7d6fef6880a7cc910b1052fda220c37a3f9a2de9a719d96e2a353a00122522a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/173953/cdc_173953_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.55 MB ]