In-depth survey report: design of improved workstations for handling dry chemical powders at B.F. Goodrich Company, Industrial Plastics Division, Marietta, Ohio.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Fischbach TJ ; Gressel MG
• Description:
  A study was conducted at the B.F. Goodrich Company (SIC-3079) as part of an effort to redesign a ventilated work station to achieve better control over dust during the weighing out and transferring of powdered materials. The control methods evaluated were booth flows of full, two thirds, and one third (of full flow), the presence of an air shower above the worker, and the presence of local ventilation in the form of a slot hood behind the bulk material drum. Twelve possible combinations of these controls were evaluated. The average face velocity of the ventilated booth currently in place at the site was approximately 0.32 meters/second. All of the control testing situations described involved the worker scooping powdered materials from half height drums. It had been determined that half height drums cut the dust generated by about 66 percent. The study indicated that it is possible to design a better ventilated booth by installing additional types of controls. The addition of an air shower allowed the volume of air drawn into the booth to be cut to as low as 0.11 meters/second, cutting costs for heating make up air and air cleaning. Use of the air shower in conjunction with the ventilated booth not only saved money, but also reduced dust levels significantly. The best option found was a modified work table with air shower, local exhaust ventilation, and one third booth flow.
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Amines Antioxidants Environmental Monitoring Hazardous Substances Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Dust-control Dust-exposure Dust-inhalation Field-Study NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Survey Plastics-industry Region-5 Ventilation-systems Workplace-studies
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHECTB16911
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Studies ; Control Technology
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DPSE - Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-37
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00180410
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, ECTB 169-11, 1988 Mar; :1-37
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1988
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3079 - Miscellaneous Plastics Products - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c96cffe52a63330975aaf8c65e597818efd51bcf6adf43b875ccdd54a1ee64e8c4c0c7866b6101eb1602a4e7cf6a63fe187404aa3556f3ebb328b031f39da18c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/180063/cdc_180063_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 983.65 KB ]