Walk-through survey report of Vapor Products, Incorporated, Orlando, Florida, May 17, 1982

Technical Report · Fri Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1983

OSTI ID:6661611

Elliott, L; Blade, L

A walk-through survey was conducted on May, 17, 1982, at Vapor Products, Inc., Orlando, Florida, to determine the extent of worker exposure to formaldehyde and to evaluate an experimental procedure for quantification of formic acid in urine. Personal and area air samples were collected and analyzed for formaldehyde. Urine samples were collected from several employees before and after shift work, and formic-acid concentrations were determined. The time weighted average (TWA) exposure concentrations in breathing-zone air samples ranged from less than 0.25 to 1.91 parts per million (ppm) formaldehyde. The formaldehyde concentration in area air samples ranged from 0.28 to 3.40ppm. The procedure used to quantify formic acid in urine had excessively wide variation between replicate analyses, and the results were not reported because they were considered invalid. Personal airborne exposures were well below current OSHA standards of 3ppm for an 8-hour TWA, 5ppm for a ceiling value, and 10ppm for a peak excursion, but some were above the 1ppm concentration formerly recommended by NIOSH to protect workers from the irritant effects of formaldehyde. The authors recommend changes in the ventilation system and modification of work practices in the rework and cleanup area to avoid paraformaldehyde dust exposure.

• Research Organization: National Inst. for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, OH (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6661611
• Report Number(s): PB-89-101174/XAB; IWS-125.20
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

500200* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
552000 -- Public Health
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
AIR POLLUTION
ALDEHYDES
AROMATICS
BIPHENYL
CARBOXYLIC ACIDS
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
FORMALDEHYDE
FORMIC ACID
FUNGICIDES
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
HYDROCARBONS
INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE
INDUSTRY
INSPECTION
MATERIALS
MEDICINE
MONOCARBOXYLIC ACIDS
OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE
ORGANIC ACIDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PESTICIDES
POLLUTION
TOXICITY