Lead Hazard Surveillance Using an Environmental Reporting Database

Details

• Personal Author:
  Rab S ; Stanbury MJ ; Valiante, David J.
• Description:
  The application of an environmental reporting database to lead (7439921) hazard surveillance was examined. Information concerning lead use was obtained from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Right to Know (DEP/RTK) survey completed in 1990 and 1992. A total of 655 companies reporting the use of lead which were not previously identified by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (NJDHSS) Lead Registry, completed the NJDHSS lead use survey. For various reasons, occupational exposure to lead was no longer an issue in 326 companies. Insignificant lead use was determined in an additional 258 companies. These exclusions resulted in 71 companies with potential lead exposure. Of these 71 companies, 89% indicated that they were cognizant of the OSHA Lead Standard provisions. Information concerning airborne lead levels was provided to the NJDHSS by 70% of the companies. In all, 63% of the companies supplied actual air sampling data. Of the 50 companies providing air monitoring results, 4% had lead levels in excess of the OSHA permissible exposure limit of 50 micrograms per cubic meter. Air monitoring for lead was not conducted by 30% of the 71 companies. An on site evaluation by an NJDHSS industrial hygienist was conducted in eight of these companies. A potential lead exposure problem was identified in only one of the eight companies. A total of 31% of the 71 companies performed biological monitoring. In all 22 companies, blood lead levels were below 25 micrograms per deciliter. The authors conclude that lead hazard surveillance using data obtained directly from companies does not enhance the existing capabilities of laboratory based surveillance. The underreporting of elevated blood lead levels in workers does not appear to be a problem. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Environmental Monitoring Hematologic Tests Metals, Heavy Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety Staff Development
• Keywords:
  Air-quality-monitoring Biological-monitoring Blood-analysis Exposure-levels Exposure-limits Heavy-metals Information-systems NIOSH-Cooperative-Agreement NIOSH-Publication Occupational-exposure Occupational-health-programs Surveillance-programs

  More +
• ISSN:
  1047-322X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New Jersey ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  12
• Issue:
  11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00239996
• Citation:
  Appl Occup Environ Hyg 1997 Nov; 12(11):769-772
• CAS Registry Number:
  Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1998
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• End Date:
  20000929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9d1001d379033289db8c64fc92c3e5c96e792c20edac7f233f4055744e725aff16a3e694c1f644d9c5e713ef4ebcdca542fb01aafe59442d9d8faf50e1981490
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/198014/cdc_198014_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 653.67 KB ]