Walk-through survey report: control technology for mine assay laboratories at Pinson Mine, Winnemucca, Nevada.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Hall, Ronald M. ; Sheehy JW
• Description:
  A study was made to evaluate control measures used in the mine assay laboratory at the Pinson Mine (SIC-8734), Winnemucca, Nevada. Pinson Mine was a gold and silver mining operation employing 110 persons. Ten of these work in the assay laboratory operation covering two shifts. The assay laboratory performed about 10,000 determinations each month, of which 2,500 to 3,000 were fire assay analyses. Workers were potentially exposed to lead (7439921), crystalline silica (14808607), respirable dust, mercury (7439976), and arsenic (7440382). Engineering methods used to control exposures consisted of material substitution, process and equipment modification, isolation and automation, and local and general ventilation. The Mine employed local exhaust ventilation and partial enclosures in the sample preparation area, flux mixing and fire assay areas. HEPA filtered half mask respirators were also worn during hazardous tasks. The greatest potential for exposure was in the sample preparation area, during litharge mixing, and in the fire assay room. Because of the apparent effectiveness of the control methods used at this site, the authors recommend the inclusion of this site for an in depth evaluation.
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Dust Hydrocarbons Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Occupational Health Plastics Preceptorship Safety Stearates
• Keywords:
  Control-technology Dust-exposure Field-Study Fire-assays Lead-poisoning Mineral-dusts Mining-industry NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Survey Occupational-exposure Region-9 Respiratory-protection Ventilation-systems

  More +
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHECTB19811a
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Studies ; Control Technology
• Place as Subject:
  Nevada ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 9
• 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:
  1-11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00215333
• 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, ECTB 198-11a, 1993 Jul; :1-11
• CAS Registry Number:
  Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1) ; Quartz (SiO2) (CAS RN 14808-60-7) ; Mercury (CAS RN 7439-97-6) ; Arsenic (CAS RN 7440-38-2)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1993
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  8734 - Testing laboratories - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b966ddf2c950de9ed049eabc4b27dae79e3ad168f19e083c1f5eb8c0f948f460c32be3d413dd92e7129afb0cfe145c86ce73156de7e45867a29dce7d01aadfe5
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/180840/cdc_180840_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 452.22 KB ]