Occupational Health Control Technology for the Primary Aluminum Industry

Details

• Personal Author:
  Sheehy, John W.
• Description:
  The results of a survey of 12 United States and 2 Japanese primary aluminum (7429905) facilities (SIC-3334) were examined. The U.S. facilities included seven center work and two side work prebake units, and two horizontal and one vertical Soderberg facility. The Japanese sites included one vertical stud Soderberg and one center work prebake facility. The control technology currently used for prebake and Soderberg primary aluminum smelting facilities was described, focusing on effective control technologies found in ore handling and storage, green carbon unit, carbon bake unit, anode rodding, and pot lines. Specific chemical agents included fluorides in the potrooms, hydrocarbon vapors in the green carbon facility, sulfur-dioxide (7446095), and hydrocarbons in the carbon bake unit, airborne particulates in ore handling, and metal dust and fumes in the rodding room. All sites provided formal health and safety programs, and personal protective equipment. Personal and area air samples revealed that total fluoride (16984488) concentrations were controlled below 2.5 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m3), but concentrations of coal-tar (8007452) pitch volatiles commonly exceeded 0.20mg/m3. The author concludes that the use of solid pitch may reduce exposure to pitch volatiles. The cleaning of conveyor belts for hot pitch and hot anode mix should reduce hydrocarbon fume generation. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aluminum Compounds Coal Coal Tar Metals Metal Workers Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Aluminum-compounds Coal-tar-pitch Electrochemical-reactions Materials-transport Metal-industry-workers Metalworking-industry NIOSH-Author Worker-health
• Series:
  NIOSH Numbered Publications
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DPSE - Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-59
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00130228
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB84-148113
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 83-115, 1983 Jun; :1-59
• CAS Registry Number:
  Aluminum (CAS RN 7429-90-5) ; Coal tar (CAS RN 8007-45-2) ; Fluoride (CAS RN 16984-48-8) ; Sulfur dioxide (CAS RN 7446-09-5)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1983
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3334 - Primary aluminum - (SIC)
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6c9363af93e3ecf20cf95469182c5893500f73661224adfcac86c7d237e95ce7d2ad32bddd73c1603e11d00f9db3c9aa26b317019acec45de616b5feb06f601d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/209446/cdc_209446_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 6.16 MB ]