In-Depth Study: A Re-Evaluation of Styrene and Noise Exposures in the Fiberglass-Reinforced Plastic Boat Manufacturing Industry at Island Packet Yachts (IPY), Largo, Florida

Details

• Personal Author:
  Blade, Leo M. ; Carlo, Rebecca V. ; Feng, H. Amy ; Garcia, Alberto ; Hammond, Duane R.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Division of Applied Research and Technology
• Description:
  On February 26 through March 1, 2007, researchers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducted an in-depth survey to evaluate occupational exposures to styrene vapors at Island Packet Yacht (IPY) in Largo, Florida. This evaluation was conducted as a follow up to the August 2006 evaluation at IPY which suggested that the open overhead doors may have contributed to low styrene concentrations. A second evaluation was conducted to quantify the exposures occurring during open and closed mold processes during the winter when large overhead doors were more likely to be closed and to determine if results are different from the previous assessment. The effectiveness of the styrene controls examined in both studies was evaluated by measuring styrene concentrations in personal breathing-zone and general-area air samples during typical work shifts. The personal breathing-zone samples for the workers in the closed-mold area resulted in a geometric mean styrene concentration of 7.04 to 7.34 parts per million (ppm) during the first evaluation and 6.81 ppm during the second evaluation. During the first evaluation, the geometric mean of the personal-breathing zone styrene samples of workers in the open-molding process was 11.6 ppm for the small parts laminators and approximately 13 ppm for the hull laminator, large part laminator, and the gelcoater. During the second evaluation, the geometric means of the personal breathing-zone samples of workers in the open-molding process were approximately 10 ppm for the gelcoater and between 15 ppm and 18 ppm for the laminators. The general-area air sample results were higher for the second study. All general-area air sample results were below 10 ppm during the first study and between 11 ppm and 15 ppm during the second study. Although several of the measurements collected during the second evaluation were higher than those of the first evaluation, all measurements were below the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) of 100 ppm and the NIOSH Recommended Exposure Limit of 50 ppm for worker exposure to styrene vapor. Results from both studies indicate that the evaluated controls were effective in controlling styrene vapor under the evaluated conditions.
• Subjects:
  Engineering Environmental Monitoring Glass Noise Occupational Health Plastics Safety Ships Solvents Styrene
• Keywords:
  Air-sampling Boat-manufacturing-industry Breathing-zone Control-technology Engineering-controls Exposure-assessment Exposure-limits Fibrous-glass OSHA Region 4 Styrenes Vapors

  More +
• Series:
  Engineering and Physical Hazards Survey Reports
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHEPHB30618a
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Name as Subject:
  Island Packet Yachts
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Florida ; Largo (FL) ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology ; EPHB - Engineering and Physical Hazards Branch
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-33
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20032964
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2008-105068
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, EPHB 306-18a, 2007 Oct ; :1-33
• CAS Registry Number:
  Styrene (CAS RN 100-42-5)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2008
• NORA Priority Area:
  Manufacturing
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3732 - Boat building and repairing - (SIC) ; 336612 - Boat Building - (NAICS)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:86969220c431bd3fb6134f228a4090d43c76e0e00ebed002cfa86cd36cef34203cbe1cf8b65d3b7618a72c44737c719009780f59808bcddf8440287ab2d5bf00
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/174964/cdc_174964_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 686.81 KB ]