Chemical, noise hazards at drum refurbishing plant

Details

• Personal Author:
  Brueck, Scott E. ; Fent, Kenneth W. ; Niemeier, Maureen T. ; Page, Elena H.
• Description:
  The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, received a request for a Health Hazard Evaluation (HHE) at a chemical drum refurbishing plant. The plant had about 50 employees. Some of the employees reported respiratory irritation, chemical burns, and headaches from exposure to chemicals in the drums. They were also concerned about high noise levels at the plant. The plant received 55-gallon drums, most of which had been used to store caustics and acids, and 275- or 330-gallon totes that previously held various chemicals. It only accepted drums and totes that contained drip-dry nonviscous material, or up to one inch of viscous material. Totes were made of plastic surrounded by steel mesh; most of the drums were plastic. The plant also refurbished steel drums, but we did not observe these being cleaned during the HHE. Drums and totes were emptied of residual chemicals, cleaned, and then shipped to customers for reuse. Drums that were worn out or had leaks were shredded and recycled. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Burns Eye Hearing Hearing Loss Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced Hydrocarbons Irritants Noise Noise, Occupational Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Protective Clothing Safety Sense Organs Staff Development

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• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Industrial Supplies Merchant And Wholesalers Chemical-burns Chemicals Drum Refurbishing Eye-protection Eye-shields Hearing-conservation Hearing-disorders Hearing-impairment Hearing-loss Hearing-protection Noise Noise-control Noise-exposure Noise-induced-hearing-loss Noise-levels Noise-shielding Personal-protection Personal-protective-equipment Protective-clothing Protective-equipment Respiratory-irritants Training Trimethyl Benzene Volatiles

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• Publisher:
  Steel Tank Institute / Steel Plate Fabricators Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Newsletter ; Lay Publication
• Place as Subject:
  Illinois ; Indiana ; Ohio ; 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:
  1-2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20041773
• Citation:
  Safety & Health Spotlight, 2012 Apr; :1-2
• CAS Registry Number:
  Sodium hydroxide (CAS RN 1310-73-2)
• Editor(s):
  Zak N
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2012
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  423840 - Industrial Supplies Merchant Wholesalers - (NAICS)
• Source Full Name:
  Safety & Health Spotlight
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:444dc99f80745347df1242f39afa7d96a926ef08d2036bdf0e3f0760ed0860688bd00203e6f3209732f7411053bfe055a6a274007bd1c2f7e8583c42803f2d21
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/194243/cdc_194243_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 166.12 KB ]