In-depth 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 document and evaluate effective technologies for the control of potential health hazards at the assay laboratory of the Pinson Mine (SIC-8734), Winnemucca, Nevada. The mine was a gold and silver operation, employing 110 workers. Ten workers were employed in the assay laboratory on two shifts. The laboratory performed about 10,000 determinations per 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 controls in the mine assay laboratory consist of local exhaust ventilation and enclosures in the sample preparation area, a local exhaust ventilation hood over the flux mixing table, and local exhaust hoods over the furnace doors in the fire assay room. The premixed flux contained a mineral oil to help control lead dust during flux mixing. Half mask respirators were worn in the fire assay area and during flux mixing operations. The assayist's lead exposures were controlled to less than permissible levels. Arsenic (7440382) exposures were all less than one fiftieth of the permissible levels. All mercury levels were less than the permissible levels. Compressed air was used to clean dust off equipment and work surfaces. The authors recommend that the air hose pressure be lowered from 50 to 30 pounds per square inch. Workers in the fire assay area must take showers after work.
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Aerospace Medicine Cardiovascular Diseases Cardiovascular System Men Mental Health Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Control-technology Field-Study Fire-assays Laboratory-workers Lead-compounds Lead-poisoning Mining-industry NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Survey Occupational-exposure Region-9

  More +
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHECTB19811b
• 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:
  1-24
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00221732
• 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 198-11b, 1994 Aug; :1-24
• 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:
  1994
• 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-512:35430b4de03c9a126bd8478b37923e139c4a8be5f8fb8c8ab84ec8b43f7e6ec6a0d7ecf79fde0dfc30f22088fdfbf548668f06612f580f2100a19bb77c1b4bad
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/180892/cdc_180892_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 666.21 KB ]