Health-hazard evaluation report HETA 86-380-1957, York International Corporation, Madisonville, Kentucky
An investigation was made of possible hazardous working conditions at a facility of the York International Corporation in Madisonville, Kentucky. Workers were apparently exposed to trichloroethylene (TCE) used to degrease parts which are assembled into tube and fin heat-exchange units for commercial and residential heat pumps. The coil department used 40 workers per shift, with three shifts working each day. Solvent degreasing was the commonly used cleaning method at this site. TCE concentrations in the breathing zones of workers in the coil department ranged from 31 to 38 parts per million (ppm) and averaged 34 ppm during the first day of the survey. The workers monitored included brazers, pushers, and coil handlers. One short-term potential exposure to greater than 100 ppm TCE was noted. All of the full shift exposures measured, except one, exceeded the NIOSH recommended exposure limit of 25 ppm. Workers experienced headache, dizziness, nausea, sleepiness, and irritation of the eye, nose, and throat. During the evaluation, two of the workers were escorted from the site by the NIOSH medical officer because of severe, acute symptoms. The report recommends measures to bring the operation into agreement with the published guidelines for worker exposure to TCE.
- Research Organization:
- National Inst. for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, OH (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 5256333
- Report Number(s):
- PB-90-103532/XAB; HETA-86-380-1957
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Health-hazard evaluation report HETA 91-158-2161, Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Cincinnati, Ohio
Health-hazard evaluation report HETA 86-206-1744, Rotorex, Walkersville, Maryland. [Trichloroethylene]
Related Subjects
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS//MATHEMATICS, COMPUTING, AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
CHLORINATED ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBONS
OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
SOLVENTS
HEAT EXCHANGERS
INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE
INSPECTION
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY
RECOMMENDATIONS
TOXIC MATERIALS
TOXICITY
VINYL CHLORIDE
HALOGENATED ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBONS
MATERIALS
MEDICINE
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
SAFETY
560300* - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
552000 - Public Health