Exposure assessment of 3,3'-dichlorobenzidine (DCB) at two chemical plants

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bolano JM ; Lee, Stephen A. ; London MA ; Bolano JM ; Lee, Stephen A. ; London MA
• Description:
  Investigations were conducted at two chemical facilities that used 3,3'-dichlorobenzidine (91941) (DCB) in the production of organic pigments. Requests had been issued for a Health Hazard Evaluation at this site. At each facility the DCB was purchased from suppliers as the dihydrochloride salt in sealed fiber drums. Facility-A performed the DCB charging operation once every other shift in a dedicated enclosed room. The operation lasted 30 to 45 minutes and used about 1600 pounds of DCB. Two workers performed the task wearing full protective clothing and an air supplied hood. Detectable levels of urinary DCB (10.5 micrograms/liter) were found in four of five workers after charging had occurred. At facility-B the charging operation was performed once per shift in an open area, lasting 5 to 15 minutes and using about 250 pounds of DCB. One worker performed the operation wearing a half facepiece respirator with a high efficiency particulate filter, protective gloves, and foot covers, but no protective coveralls. No urinary DCB was detected in the workers at this facility. The authors recommend that the charging room at each site be under negative pressure. Separate shower and locker room facilities should be used for workers at the second facility. Both sites are encouraged to improve decontamination procedures and to more fully educate their workers as to the hazards associated with working with DCB. Periodic monitoring for urinary DCB should be carried out. Cytology screening for retired employees should be offered as it is currently offered to regular employees. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Benzidines Carcinogens Environmental Monitoring Hydrocarbons Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety
• Keywords:
  Air-quality-measurement Biological-monitoring Chemical-industry-workers Chemical-manufacturing-industry Chlorinated-hydrocarbons NIOSH-Author Personal-protective-equipment
• ISSN:
  0882-8032
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article ; Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies ; DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health ; Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America ; North America
• Pages in Document:
  101-104
• Volume:
  4
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00187635
• Citation:
  Appl Ind Hyg 1989 Apr; 4(4):101-104
• CAS Registry Number:
  3,3'-Dichlorobenzidine (CAS RN 91-94-1) ; 3,3'-Dichlorobenzidine (CAS RN 91-94-1)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1989
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Applied Industrial Hygiene
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:940c633ffd0bdfc6dd1628c7c5c3fa04db308524ea9ed19de2beb4b7a427e8c7443c7c8be2eb4321856fe9d63c58b4559b84737e160e057426d562347399e588
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/204727/cdc_204727_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 541.81 KB ]