Production facility, occupational exposure

Workers in industrial facilities manufacturing or using hexachloroethane as an intermediate in the manufacture of other products may be exposed to the chemical by inhalation or dermal absorption. In addition, military or civilian personnel working with smoke or pyrotechnic devices may be exposed. Based on information collected for the National Occupational Exposure Survey, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) estimates that 8,515 workers were potentially exposed to hexachloroethane (NOES 1991). 

Occupational exposure to 2,3-benzofuran may occur in several energy-related industries. 2,3-Benzofuran is part of the naphtha fraction of coal distillates and exposure is possible in coke production and coal gasification facilities (see Chapter 4). Exposure may also occur during the polymerization process used to produce coumarone-indene resin. 2,3-Benzofuran was not included in the NIOSH National Occupational Hazard Survey or the National Occupational Exposure Survey. However, the naphtha fraction of coal tar is considered in the NIOSH (1978) evaluation of occupational hazards associated with coal gasification. 

According to the 1990-93 CAREX database for 15 countries of the European Union (Kauppinen et al., 1998) and the 1981-83 National Occupational Exposure Survey (NOES) in the United States (NOES, 1997), approximately 45 000 workers in Europe and as many as 27 000 workers in the United States were potentially exposed to pentachlorophenol (see General Remarks). Recent figures give rough estimates of 500 pentachlorophenol-exposed workers in wood treatment facilities in the United States (Norman, 1998). No current data on numbers of workers exposed to other chlorophenols were available. Occupational exposures to chlorophenols have occurred in their production, in the production and use of some phenoxy acid herbicides, in sawmills and other wood-related industries, the textile industry and tanneries. Occupational exposures to penta-... 

Some of the most comprehensive studies on occupational exposure were conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). They are cross-sectional studies of workers at U.S. chemical facilities involved in the manufacture of 2,3,7,8-TCDD-contaminated products between 1942 and 1984 (Calvert et al. 1991, 1992 Egeland et al. 1994 Fingerhut et al. 1991 Sweeney et al. 1993). Serum... 

V Professional user risks resulting from direct exposure during product use and including occupational exposures not occurring in industrial facilities (e.g., outdoor or underground applications). 

Hexavalent chromium compounds are classified as substances known to be carcinogenic to humans. This is based upon sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in humans exposed in chrome production facilities, chromium-alloy facilities, in the chrome plating industry as well as in chrome pigment industries. This exposure results in an increased incidence of lung cancer among these workers. The incidence of cancers at other sites may be increased in these occupational workers There is not sufficient evidence to show that barium chromate, calcium chromate, chromium trioxide, lead chromate, sodium dichromate and strontium chromate are carcinogenic in humans. 

Many case studies have shown that exposure to piperazine results in allergic contact dermatitis and occupational asthma. A recent study of 93 patients exposed dermally to a 1% piperazine solution showed 3.2% positive reactions. At a piperazine production facility, 10% of the current and former factory workers were diagnosed with occupational asthma. 

Individuals employed in industries that manufacture and process creosote or products containing creosote may be exposed to the highest concentrations of this compound. The National Occupational Exposure Survey (NOES), conducted by NIOSH from 1981 to 1983, estimated that 241 workers employed at 3 facilities were potentially exposed to creosote in the United States (NOES 1990). The NOES database does not contain information on the frequency, concentration, or duration of exposure the survey provides only estimates of workers potentially exposed to chemicals in the workplace. 

While OSHA does not generally consider all maintenance personnel and janitorial staff employed in non-healthcare facilities to have occupational exposure, it is the employer s responsibility to determine which job classifications or specific tasks and procedures involve occupational exposure. For example, OSHA expects products such as discarded sanitary napkins to be discarded into waste containers which are lined in such a way as to prevent contact with the contents. At the same time, the employer must determine if employees can come into contact with blood during the normal handling of such products from initial pick-up through disposal in the outgoing trash. 

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