"NIOSH recommends in this document that employee exposure to toxicants and hazardous conditions in coal gasification facilities be controlled by adherence to several guidelines, presented separately for each of the three major processes: high British Thermal Unit (BTU) product coal gasification, low or medium BTU product using bituminous coal or lower ranked feedstocks, and low or medium BTU product using anthracite feedstock or very high temperatures. Specific requirements were listed for safety procedures, engineering control objectives, work practices, workplace monitoring, medical surveillance, personal protective clothing and equipment, sanitation, labeling and posting, informing employees of hazards, recordkeeping, coal storage and preparation, coal feeding and gasification operations, ash removal, quenching, carbon-monoxide shift conversion, gas cooling, gas purification, methanation, gas/liquor separation, sulfur removal process, phenol and ammonia recovery, byproduct storage, and cleanup. Mortality studies among coal gasification workers have indicated an increased risk for skin cancer. Health effects of the various agents potentially present at coal gasification facilities included airway irritation, dermatitis, lung and lymphatic cancer, leukemia, kidney disorders, skin ulcers, eye irritation, nervous system disorders, depression, and nasal cancer." - NIOSHTIC-2

Stephen B. Thacker CDC Library collection
Guidelines and Recommendations