Health Hazard Evaluation Report No. TA-80-104-1158: PVC Container Corporation: Eatontown, New Jersey

Details

• Journal Article:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Personal Author:
  Lucas, Andrew D. ; Schloemer, Joann R.
• Description:
  In response to a request from an employee representative, an evaluation was made of possible hazardous working conditions at the PVC Container Corporation (SIC-3079), Eatontown, New Jersey. Concerns included skin contact with polyvinyl-chloride (9002862) (PVC) pellets, dust and coloring agents; inhalation of gases during heating, manual pulling, and blow molding of PVC; and inhalation of PVC dust. PVC bottles were produced at this facility through a blow molding process. Personal samples for respirable dusts indicated levels ranging from not detectable to 0.14 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m3). Benzene (71432) was detected at the extruder head at concentrations of 0.02 parts per million. Organotin levels of 0.13, 6, and 10, respectively. Noise exposures ranged from 88 to 102 decibels-A (dBA) at the face of the blow molding units. Noise levels ranged from 85 to 92dBA at inspection stations for packers. Headaches, nausea and dry skin were noted among employees, probably as a result of exposure to volatilized organotins and other decomposition products such as coloring agents and hydrochloric-acid (7647010). Symptoms were most common when workers were pulling parison from extruder heads during minor maintenance activities when automatic hot melt grinders were inoperative. The authors conclude that headaches, nausea and dry skin may have been caused by exposures to volatilized organotins and other decomposition products while pulling parison. Some workers were also overexposed to noise. The authors recommend that a preventive maintenance program for hot melt grinders be used, to eliminate the need to manually pull the plastic parison from the extruder head. Noise reduction schemes should be continued until the noise levels are reduced to acceptable levels. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Acids Dermatitis Metals Noise Occupational Health Plastics Safety Skin
• Keywords:
  NIOSH-Author; NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report; TA-80-104-1158; Region-2; Hazard-Confirmed; Plastics-industry; Organo-metallic-compounds; Acid-mists; Skin-exposure; Dermatitis; Volatiles; Noise-exposure
• Source:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, TA 80-104-1158, 1982 Aug; :1-19
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Technical Assistance Field Studies
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Technical Report
• Place as Subject:
  New Jersey ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 2 ; 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:
  22 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00179171
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB84-150614
• 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, TA 80-104-1158, 1982 Aug; :1-19
• CAS Registry Number:
  Benzene (CAS RN 71-43-2) ; Hydrochloric acid (CAS RN 7647-01-0) ; Poly(vinyl chloride) (CAS RN 9002-86-2)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1982
• NORA Priority Area:
  Disease and Injury: Allergic and Irritant Dermatitis
• 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-512:9fe0cb7f504dbebfe844d24077f32b4c96e6707ea11a19e654465f6ccb91bdf5ed5bd5e5294e10017091eab96c961b2b8e8c64e886a1c8901b5daeadc903c188
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171976/cdc_171976_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.07 MB ]