Occupational exposures in seismic retrofitting operations

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bayne G ; Delaney, Lisa J. ; McKernan, John ; Piacitelli, Gregory M. ; Roegnerr K
• Description:
  Seismic retrofitting is the process of re-engineering existing structures to limit the extent of damage caused by earthquakes. Workers employed as general and special trade contractors as well as laborers and helpers are engaged in retrofitting operations. This industry is positioned to increase in size due to governmental funding available for natural hazard mitigation in states with frequent seismic activity, such as Alaska and California. This research project quantitatively characterized full-shift personal exposures to diesel exhaust (measured as elemental carbon), lead, respirable dusts, respirable quartz and noise hazards associated with retrofitting operations. Chemical assessments were performed using NIOSH sampling and analytical methods, and noise assessments utilized commercially available noise dosimeters calibrated in accordance with NIOSH REL sampling criteria. A total of 57 personal samples were collected for 11 occupations and 20 tasks observed over three days on a single work site. Participating occupations included: excavators, bricklayers, carpenters, concrete chippers, construction yard workers, core-drillers, demolition laborers, foremen, iron workers, rebar installers, and welders. Personal sampling results indicate that respirable dust (N=23) exposures ranged up to 9.17 mg/m3, with demolition laborers having the highest exposures. Respirable quartz results (N=23) ranged up to 0.53 mg/m3, with demolition laborers and concrete chippers having the greatest exposures. Noise dosimetry results (N=19) ranged from 76-112 dBA, with excessive exposures (> 1 00 dBA) being attributed to tasks performed by concrete chippers, demolition laborers, and iron workers. Lead exposures (N=15) ranged from 0.002 to 0.069 mg/m3, with concrete chippers having the highest exposures. Exposure to diesel exhaust (N=7) ranged up to 0.04 mg/m3 with highest results being attributed to excavation tasks. Fifty-three percent of the results were equivalent to, or exceeded applicable occupational exposure criteria. Sampling results show that particulate and noise abatement controls are necessary for the occupations indicated as having the highest exposures within this unique industry. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Construction Industry Construction Materials Dust Engineering Lead Noise Occupational Health Quartz Radiation Dosimeters Safety Silicon Dioxide Vehicle Emissions

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• Keywords:
  Carbonates Construction-industry Construction-materials Construction-workers Demolition-industry Diesel-emissions Diesel-exhausts Dosimetry Exhaust-gases Exposure-levels Hazards Lead-compounds Lead-dust Noise-exposure Noise-levels Quartz-dust Respirable-dust Sampling Silica-dusts Statistical-analysis Workers

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• Publisher:
  American Industrial Hygiene Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  California ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 9
• 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:
  55
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20041415
• Citation:
  American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, June 2-7, 2001, New Orleans, Louisiana. Fairfax, VA: American Industrial Hygiene Association, 2001 Jun; :55
• CAS Registry Number:
  Carbon (CAS RN 7440-44-0) ; Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1) ; Quartz (SiO2) (CAS RN 14808-60-7)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2001
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, June 2-7, 2001, New Orleans, Louisiana
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a8d42449f1e9c29215e36ce06b5c2a55f13e7d02f92a4ed1776ac7b0efaf55f22b37b740277cd6814cc68e7b2c543524e063170f5d743cf9b6d8d781daf63ec4
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/193989/cdc_193989_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 186.85 KB ]