U.S. flag An official website of the United States government.
Official websites use .gov

A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS

A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

i

Recommendations to Improve Employee Thermal Comfort When Working in 40℉ Refrigerated Cold Rooms

Public Domain


Details

  • Personal Author:
  • Description:
    Objective: In 1974, NIOSH recommended a ban on the use of silica sand abrasives containing more than 1% silica due to the risk of silicosis. This recommendation gave rise to abrasives substitutes such as coal slag. Coal slag is used to produce abrasive granules because it is an inexpensive and effective blasting abrasive. In 2010, an OSHA investigation uncovered a case cluster of suspected cases of pneumoconiosis in four workers at a coal slag processing facility. In 2014, NIOSH conducted an industrial hygiene survey at two coal slag processing facilities to characterize elemental properties of coal slag bulk samples and airborne exposure to dust, silica, and metals. Methods: The industrial hygiene survey consisted of the collection of: a) bulk samples of coal slag and finished granule products for silica and metals; b) full shift area air samples for total and respirable dust, silica, and metals; and c) full shift personal air samples for total and respirable dust, silica, and metals. Results: Bulk samples consisted mainly of iron, manganese, titanium, and vanadium; and trace amounts of arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, and cobalt. Only unprocessed coal slags from Illinois and Kentucky contained up to 0.46% (4,600 mg/ kg) silica. Elevated total dust was identified in the screen and bag house areas (11-36 mg/m3). Area air samples identified trace amounts of beryllium, chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, nickel, vanadium, and manganese in total dust. Respirable airborne silica (≥.005 mg/m3) was identified in the screening areas. Overall, personal dust air samples (0.1- 6.6 mg/m3 total; and 0.1- 0.4 mg/m3 respirable dust) were lower than area air samples. All personal air samples for total and respirable dust, silica, and metals were below their respective OSHA PEL. Conclusions: Silica was less than 1% in all bulk samples, supporting the claim that coal slag is a suitable abrasive substitute for silica sand. All personal air samples for dust and silica were lower than the air sampling results from the 2010 OSHA investigation. Prior to the NIOSH survey, the facility changed procedures to limit time spent in screening and crushing areas and perform maintenance tasks before start up, which may have contributed to lower dust and silica levels. These data are from only two coal slag processing facilities and more air monitoring is needed to better characterize occupational exposures. [Description provided by NIOSH]
  • Subjects:
  • Keywords:
  • Publisher:
    American Industrial Hygiene Association
  • Document Type:
    Text
  • Genre:
    Abstract or Summary
  • Place as Subject:
  • CIO:
    National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
  • Division:
    RHD - Respiratory Health Division
  • Topic:
    Workplace Safety & Health
  • Location:
    North America
  • Pages in Document:
    20-21
  • NIOSHTIC Number:
    nn:20065985
  • Citation:
    AIHce 2016: American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition Pathways to Progress, May 21-26, 2016, Baltimore, Maryland. Falls Church, VA: American Industrial Hygiene Association, 2016 May; :20-21
  • Contact Point Address:
    C. Mugford, Respiratory Health Division, CDC/NIOSH, Morgantown, WV
  • Federal Fiscal Year:
    2016
  • Peer Reviewed:
    False
  • Source Full Name:
    AIHce 2016: American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition Pathways to Progress, May 21-26, 2016, Baltimore, Maryland
  • Collection(s):
  • Main Document Checksum:
    urn:sha-512:c2e33e7326382402f0f91daf50452af617e39ae7b8693ce21003855afbcbd04d6fceaabff1facaa7838864f311183fa98017b2b52f6f9b6622cc62b8e867697b
  • Download URL:
  • File Type:
    Filetype[PDF - 1.42 MB ]
PREVIOUS
ON THIS PAGE
Details
CDC STACKS serves as an archival repository of CDC-published products including scientific findings, journal articles, guidelines, recommendations, or other public health information authored or co-authored by CDC or funded partners.

As a repository, CDC STACKS retains documents in their original published format to ensure public access to scientific information.
BACK TO TOP