Lead poisoning in telephone cable strippers: a new setting for an old problem

Details

• Personal Author:
  Henneberger, Paul K. ; Jeffery N ; Joyce J ; Keogh, James P. ; Klitzman S ; Lax MB ; Simon DG
• Description:
  The occurrence of lead (7439921) poisoning in telephone cable strippers was examined. Lead poisoning among the workers who processed lead sheathed telephone cable was identified at five distinct worksites; the sites were dispersed geographically and were evaluated by separate clinicians and government agencies. High blood lead levels were detected during scheduled medical evaluation of symptomatic workers; some workers had blood lead levels of over 100 micrograms per deciliter. Subsequent workplace evaluation revealed significant overexposure to lead among certain workers; air levels up to 200 times the standard were measured at some sites. Four of the workplaces decided to stop lead cable processing after intervention by government agencies. However, due to ongoing replacement of lead sheathed telephone cable with fiber optics, more clusters are likely to occur. The authors recommend measures to prevent overexposure to lead. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Communications Media Hazardous Substances Lead Lead Poisoning Metals, Heavy Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Cables Communication-workers Electrical-equipment Hazardous-materials Heavy-metals Lead-poisoning NIOSH-Author Occupational-exposure
• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; New York ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  351-354
• Volume:
  30
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00234016
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 1996 Sep; 30(3):351-354
• CAS Registry Number:
  Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1996
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:2d7acb1e1595387cf070a8822215e75b8378be78b61c1d8f4d1c7d1330ef64fc3eb6901e9bead3ecc8920de509feed121bee07169bcf4087ab1347219b978062
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/205013/cdc_205013_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 312.23 KB ]