Two episodes of acute illness in a machine shop

Journal Article · Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1989 · Am. J. Public Health; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.79.8.1024· OSTI ID:5814887

Sinks, T; Kerndt, P R; Wallingford, K M

Following an explosion in a machine shop and temporary plant closure, on the day the plant returned to full operations a degreaser malfunctioned. Workers in the assembly room were exposed to trichloroethylene levels later estimated to have exceeded 220 ppm (OSHA PEL 100 ppm). The plant was evacuated and the degreaser taken out of operation. Blood testing for carbon monoxide (CO) on five employees found carboxyhemoglobin levels in excess of normal. The plant reopened the following morning. Over the next two weeks, 15 employees were seen by the plant nurses for similar complaints; although all returned to work, their carboxyhemoglobin levels, later found to be inaccurate, were reported by a local medical clinic to range from 13.7 to 20.0 percent. At the end of the second week, another outbreak of illness occurred, but carboxyhemoglobin, trichloroethylene, fluorocarbons, and methylene chloride were not elevated in all 17 persons tested; plant-wide monitoring for CO found no elevated levels. During the first outbreak of illness, cases were 2.26 times as likely to have entered the assembly room as noncases. During the second outbreak, cases were no more likely than noncases to have entered the assembly room. We believe the explosion, earlier toxic exposures and illness, and the misleading blood test results led to plant-wide anxiety which culminated in a collective stress reaction and the second outbreak. An open meeting with all employees, informing them of our findings, provided reassurance and no further episodes of illness occurred in this workforce.

• Research Organization: Hazards Evaluations and Technical Assistance Branch, NIOSH, Cincinnati, OH (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5814887
• Journal Information: Am. J. Public Health; (United States), Vol. 79:8
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
CARBON MONOXIDE
TOXICITY
CHLORINATED ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBONS
METHYLENE CHLORIDE
ORGANIC FLUORINE COMPOUNDS
AIR POLLUTION MONITORING
BEHAVIOR
BIOLOGICAL STRESS
CARBOXYHEMOGLOBIN
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES
OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE
PERSONNEL
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CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON OXIDES
CHALCOGENIDES
HALOGENATED ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBONS
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION
560300* - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
500200 - Environment
Atmospheric- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (-1989)