Protecting Workers from Toxic Fumes Generated by Explosives

Details

• Personal Author:
  Mainiero, Richard J.
• Description:
  In any construction project involving explosives, care must be taken to protect workers from carbon monoxide (CO) generated by blasting operations. CO is an odorless, colorless gas that can cause illness and death by asphyxiation. In general, the first symptoms include headache, fatigue and lightheadedness. At higher exposures to CO, skin flushing, rapid heart rate, and lowered blood pressure occur. At even higher exposure levels, decreased attention span is followed by nausea, vomiting, impaired coordination, fainting, coma, convulsions and, finally, death. The detonation of explosives in blasting operations generates a range of toxic fumes, but CO is the most insidious because it is colorless, odorless, and is long lasting, since it is not readily removed by reaction with ground water, soil or rock. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Coal Coal Mining Explosions Explosive Agents Hazardous Substances Mining Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Coal-mining Explosive-hazards Explosives Mining-industry Toxic-gases Toxic-vapors
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• ISSN:
  1553-2917
• Publisher:
  Tunnel Business Magazine
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  PRL - Pittsburgh Research Laboratory
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  15
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20024958
• Citation:
  Tunnel Bus Mag 1999 Dec; :15
• CAS Registry Number:
  Carbon monoxide (CAS RN 630-08-0)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2000
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f0f9362e0fba5c222b873f86847fd4a6f37648a50d3f717db523b893aa2f6a174baea248f5fc91b096832e58ae61d2c834237acdbe250823ebb43da017f0033a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/220885/cdc_220885_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 98.06 KB ]