Ototoxic Occupational Exposures for a Stock Car Racing Team: II. Chemical Surveys

Details

• Personal Author:
  Alvarez FJ ; Dallaire J ; Gwin, Kristin K. ; Morata, Thais C. ; Van Campen, Luann E. ; Wallingford, Kenneth M.
• Description:
  The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducted a series of surveys to evaluate occupational exposure to noise and potentially ototoxic chemical agents among members of a professional stock car racing team. Exposure assessments included site visits to the team's race shop and a worst-case scenario racetrack. During site visits to the race team's shop, area samples were collected to measure exposures to potentially ototoxic chemicals, including, organic compounds (typical of solvents), metals, and carbon monoxide (CO). Exposures to these chemicals were all below their corresponding Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) permissible exposure limits (PELs), NIOSH recommended exposure limits (RELs), and American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) threshold limit values (TLVs). During site visits to the racetrack, area and personal samples were collected for organic compounds, lead, and CO in and around the "pit" area where the cars undergo race preparation and service during the race. Exposures to organic compounds and lead were either nondetectable or too low to quantify. Twenty-five percent of the CO time-weighted average concentrations exceeded the OSHA PEL, NIOSH REL, and ACGIH TLV after being adjusted for a 10-hour workday. Peak CO measurements exceeded the NIOSH recommended ceiling limit of 200 ppm. Based on these data, exposures to potentially ototoxic chemicals are probably not high enough to produce an adverse effect greater than that produced by the high sound pressure levels alone. However, carbon monoxide levels occasionally exceeded all evaluation criteria at the racetrack. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Carbon Monoxide Chemistry Environmental Monitoring Lead Metals Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety Solvents
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Automobile Racing Carbon Monoxide Chemical-agent-detectors Chemical-analysis CO Exposure-assessment Exposure-limits Lead Lead-compounds Occupational-exposure Organic-compounds Organic Compounds Ototoxicity Professional Stock Car Racing Race Shop Racetrack Sampling

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• ISSN:
  1545-9624
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Indiana ; North Carolina ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies ; DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  406-413
• Volume:
  2
• Issue:
  8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20028192
• Citation:
  J Occup Environ Hyg 2005 Aug; 2(8):406-413
• Email:
  kristin.gwin@fsis.usda.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2005
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:24f0005819347e4bf78a6d0218f74f599a73235d66c3d7a59840b48438c1848eeab6fa2b2ec0731b9a910f12b3d00c583f5118b7521d2bfb299c43034c1431f2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/189809/cdc_189809_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 252.27 KB ]