Ozone-Induced Respiratory Illness During the Repair of a Portland Cement Kiln

Details

• Personal Author:
  Almaguer, Daniel ; Kirk LH III ; Sanderson, Wayne T.
• Description:
  Workers at a portland cement plant had experienced acute respiratory and eye irritation when performing maintenance inside a kiln. These episodes were associated with a bleach-like odor, which was only reported during maintenance operations. An industrial hygiene investigation was conducted to determine the cause of the illness. While workers replaced refractory brick inside the kiln, air samples were collected for chlorine, sulfur dioxide, inorganic acid, ozone, and dust. After the rebricking was completed and all the workers had exited the kiln, its electrostatic precipitator was reduced to half power and the induced-draft (ID) fan was turned off to recreate conditions present during illness episodes. Chlorine, inorganic acid, and ozone were not detected, and only trace concentrations of sulfur dioxide were detected while workers were inside the kiln. However, when conditions present during previous episodes were recreated, the bleach-like odor was soon evident. Chlorine was not detected, but 0.09 to 0.11 ppm of ozone was measured at the discharge end of the kiln, and 4.5 ppm was measured at the inlet end. Within a half hour after the electrostatic precipitator was turned off and the ID fan was turned on, the ozone concentrations decreased to background levels of 0.02-0.03 ppm. Somewhat lower ozone exposures may have occurred during previous kiln maintenance operations due to more open access portals, but previous episodes of eye and respiratory irritation were probably caused when ozone, generated by the electrostatic precipitator, back-drafted into the kiln after the ID fan was turned off. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Construction Industry Dust Environmental Monitoring Eye Foreign Bodies Irritants Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Particulate Matter Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety

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• Keywords:
  Air-samples Air-sampling Airborne-dusts Airborne-particles Author Keywords: Electrostatic Precipitator Cement-industry Cements Eye-irritants Eye Irritation Kiln Maintenance Occupational-exposure Ozone Portland Cement Manufacturing Respiratory-irritants Respiratory-system-disorders Respiratory Irritation Worker-health Workers

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• ISSN:
  0355-3140
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  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:
  227-232
• Volume:
  25
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20025611
• Citation:
  Scand J Work Environ Health 1999 Jun; 25(3):227-232
• Contact Point Address:
  Dr. Wayne T Sanderson, Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45226, USA
• Email:
  wts1@cdc.gov
• CAS Registry Number:
  Chlorine (CAS RN 7782-50-5) ; Sulfur dioxide (CAS RN 7446-09-5)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1999
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3241 - Cement, hydraulic - (SIC)
• Source Full Name:
  Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b7ad0f60d5554668e9d9b455078cf2d70836966740a70da636e0791b866f05e3b91be107e5a79cb53f92131cd6e24f500da3e6e5473bc2c905334a412f0c0a0e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/196898/cdc_196898_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 600.74 KB ]