Worker exposure potential at coal conversion facilities
Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been involved in evaluation of exposure potential at several coal conversion plants. Major evaluation efforts were sponsored by the Department of Energy at a coal gasification plant and at a coal liquefaction pilot plant. The gasifier was located in Duluth, Minnesota. The coal liquefaction pilot plant was located in Catlettsburg, Kentucky. Numerous samples were collected and analyzed at both facilities. Direct measurements were taken at both facilities using developmental and standard measurement techniques. New instrumentation and sampling devices developed at ORNL were among the techniques used at the facilities. Four developmental techniques were utilized - a Derivative Ultraviolet Absorption Spectrometer (DUVAS), a spill spotter, a lightpipe luminoscope, and PNA badges. Survey data taken at both coal conversion facilities indicate that employee protection programs are effective in limiting exposure to hazardous compounds in the workplace. The monitoring also indicates that there are indeed potential hazards to workers which must be effectively dealt with to provide a safe work environment. The use of traditional methods for evaluating exposures to the employee falls short of what is desired. Many samples that can be collected on the employee are incapable of providing sufficient material for quantitative detection of PNA's. The crude measures of exposure (e.g. CTPV) used today do not provide an adequate estimate of the hazard posed by the widely varying composition of the products. The developmental instruments used at the two plants indicate the potential of improved detection and quantification of compounds of interest from a health risk viewpoint. The promise of more sensitive, specific, and cost-effective instrumentation to assess the work environment should spur further development. 10 references, 1 figure, 7 tables.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-84OR21400
- OSTI ID:
- 6095440
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-841210-16; ON: DE85006822
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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