Health hazard evaluation report: HHE-80-22, Tetley, Inc., Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Castellan, Robert M.
• Description:
  Employee exposure to tea dust was evaluated at Tetley, Inc. (SIC- 2099), Williamsport, Pennsylvania, for possible respiratory health effects, following a local union request in November, 1979. Personal and area airborne dust samples taken along with area samples quantifying airborne fungi, and a noise survey comprised the tests run at the facility. The facility employs about 200 workers when in full production. Only one dust sample exceeded the OSHA nuisance standard and that was from a cleaner who was performing an exceptionally dusty, nonroutine task. The particle size distribution of the dust was such that much would be deposited in the nose and throat. This might explain the frequent upper respiratory problems experienced by Tetley workers. Airborne fungi concentrations were not directly related to gravimetric dust concentrations. According to the author, results suggest that health problems related to occupational exposure to tea dust, and possibly also to noise, exist among workers at the facility. Results also demonstrated the effectiveness of engineering controls for reducing potential work place exposures in that the lowest fungal count was obtained nearby the tea bag reclaiming process, which at the time was being conducted under a specially designed ventilation hood. Noise survey results indicated that recommended NIOSH levels were being exceeded in many instances. Description provided by NIOSH
• Content Notes:
  in NTRL, no pdf
• Subjects:
  • Dust
  • Food-Processing Industry
  • Occupational Health
  • Respiratory Tract Diseases
  • Safety
• Keywords:
  • NIOSH-Author; NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation; HHE-80-22; Region-3; Dust-analysis; Dust-exposure; Dust-inhalation; Food-processing-industry; Pulmonary-system-disorders; Hazard-Confirmed
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study ; Case Report
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-28
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00163599
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB87117602
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, Health Services and Mental Health Administration, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HHE-80-22, :1-28
• NORA Priority Area:
  Pulmonary System Disorders
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  2099 - Food preparations, not elsewhere classified - (SIC)
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/232636/cdc_232636_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 168.02 KB]
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7dc847c09aedf140bc731323e8446b4703641ae07d6ad9e7b7238120dab30b8f7dcaa9b938d34d035f87873a0fe7fec262d5d13dcaf290925445e82b6de3b57d