Employee Illness from Underground Gas and Oil Contamination – Idaho

Details

• Journal Article:
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recently completed an evaluation of an office building in Boise, Idaho, in which workers were experiencing symptoms of headache and nausea related to intermittent noxious odors. The cause of the problem was gasoline vapors entering the building from an underground aquifer contaminated with petroleum products leaking from a nearby oil storage tank. ... Based on recommendations by the NIOSH investigator, immediate steps were taken to correct the hazards. All accessible cracks and joints have been sealed, and the building ventilation system has been adjusted to pressurize the building relative to the outside air. Since these corrections were made, petroleum-product vapors are no longer detectable, and the employees' symptoms have ceased. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution, Indoor Environmental Exposure Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Petroleum Respiratory System Safety Solvents Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Region 10; Exposure assessment; Inhalation; Ventilation; Office environments; Office workers; Oil vapors; Building ventilation; Gases; Vapors; Fumes; Employee exposure; Odors; Odor control; Petroleum; Petroleum oils; Indoor air pollution; Indoor environmental quality; IEQ; Storage containers; Gasoline; Emission sources; Leak prevention; Exposure levels; Explosive hazards; Floors; Structural failure; Water analysis; Sampling; Air pressure
• Source:
  MMWR 1982 Aug; 31(33):451-452
• Series:
  Weekly Report: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• ISSN:
  0149-2195
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Idaho ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 10 ; 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:
  3 pdf pages
• Volume:
  31
• Issue:
  33
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20056083
• Citation:
  MMWR 1982 Aug; 31(33):451-452
• CAS Registry Number:
  Petroleum (CAS RN 8002-05-9)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1982
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Collection(s):
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:5fabd4c9e05394f9b2a38ac2abb0c30ee1482efa9e9b6e0ce6c28ca19d57001c80112dba751ea8de65eaaa11722049d93154a56812992ca0a29380a3872f9de5
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/183075/cdc_183075_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 324.14 KB ]