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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Industrial-hygiene report: perchloroethylene at Dubarry Cleaners, Detroit, Michigan

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6741595

An on-site visit was made to Dubarry Cleaners, Detroit, Michigan, as part of an industry-wide mortality and industrial hygiene study of dry cleaning workers exposed to perchloroethylene (PCE). Air samples were taken at the facility and the time weighted average exposure to PCE was calculated to be 23 parts per million (ppm) with 5-minute peak exposures ranging from 33 to 141 ppm. A 15-minute sample collected indicated a 34-ppm peak of PCE. The author recommends that prospective employees receive preemployment physical examinations, that all dry-cleaning machines and recovery units be equipped with a unit blower capable of providing an indraft velocity through the loading door of 100 feet per minute for each square foot of door opening, that respiratory protection be provided for emergency use, that protective clothing to prevent skin exposure be provided, that all employees be informed as to hazards, symptoms and precautions to take, that storage containers, equipment, piping, and valves be checked for leaks, and that recovered solvent be piped directly to the base tank of the dry cleaning machine and residues containing solvent be disposed of in a manner which would not create a health hazard.

Research Organization:
National Inst. for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, OH (USA)
OSTI ID:
6741595
Report Number(s):
PB-88-236591/XAB; IWS-71.34
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English