Health-hazard evaluation report HETA 86-380-1957, York International Corporation, Madisonville, Kentucky

Technical Report · Sat Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 1989

OSTI ID:5256333

Crandall, M S; Albrecht, W N; Blade, L M

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

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63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
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CHLORINATED ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBONS
OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
SOLVENTS
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ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
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