Document 0qaQmYywq1BMXXyeX9rrxOLyR

FILE NAME: Abex (ABX) DATE: 1968 Jan DOC#: ABX125 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Internal Inspection Report - Hygiene Survey for Lead and Asbestos with Apr 18 Cover Letter from Liberty Mutual Listing Corrections that have Taken Place lecrgs huckebra . Industrial Hygienist Loss Prevention I>apart.T.ent ' Liberty Mutual Insurance Company 3- Host Csa-.pbsli Aver.us Rear.okc, Virginia 24C05 Hear Mr. Hucksbra: ` lr,` ui_nuary c;f'erV'?s "c 'our hT2iene survey taker, at oar plant on anc January 24, 1936, for airborne lead and asbestos, ns following are corrections and actions that have taken place* jIIEj--CT: ''Air Boirns Dust;,: Ycur samples r.mtiber 5, 7 , sne 3 ^ I.ev rubber gasketing is being replaced on top of all hoppers 'y6 =-re- .-.Iso, dust leaks down the sides near the gates in tr.e .toppers are also being corrected. ^ The operator is being instructed not to open the windows in wte =rea to create a draft, rle is also being instructed to open the clamshell or. the betten of the nit buggy with caution, not to open fully ail at once, to keep fret creating as such dust as possible. Also, when opening the bags of asbestos, he is to keep "n8 ?"= :>eroy ^he intake duct so it will receive as such dust as P ass~,'^e ' h_s cuct is working to its .taiiinura caoaeity. This should be very effective for this area. ~ KAZ 0029 16 ' C-eorge V. iluckabra AD-"-,.'1213, 1SS8 _ The intake craft system in the hcppers (2 ir. each 1) is *it:'-?i:icnir:g properly, Trds will be much nore effective after the gasketing is installed. Ysur sample number 11 This cperation vas observed by plant engineering and myself and -,:e found the intake draft system working at its maximum n i x . capacity. On our first observation of this, they vers dunning our ^xr.ast dusty All dust was being drawn up the intake tchreaftn,i x even th buggy. e oust escaping iron The day the survey between the lower was taken t:e feel boards in the gates on the dust collector could have possibly been partially closed or the collector'not working at its nav-nun capacity. The area r.ow is clear of dust. Your staples number 12 and 13 The dust collector was found to be working at approximately half of its capacity. It has been corrected. V/e have installed in the' rear of each preform a canvas curtain to contain escaping dust from getting away from the ' intake draft ar.c keeping it out of the general room air. This has worked very effectively. On each preform scale we have installed an intake draft tube extending from the main collector to collect dust when the operator is weighing the mix. This again will be very effective tor one operators breathing zone and also the general area air. SUBJECT: "Air Borne Lead" ' Your sample number 4 is answered under samples number 12 anc 13 under Air Borne Bust, paragraph two. Your sample number 11 is answered under samples number-6, 7, and 8 under Air D o m e Dust, paragraphs one-and three. KHALL02917 I I KAZ 002917 George V/. Huckebra April 15, 19SB Page 3 il *e certainly reel that.,thefabove, corrections will be very e_.ee-ive in containing cus'a',iii "the various*bberazors "oreairing 3cr.es arc the general roots air in the effected areas. **' If.I-nay be of any coruaco `urthervassistar.ee, ..please x. i ru- o' o O 'eel free to -> * Robert G<.3rcvr> Personnel Manager cl Porcherding,.Jr."t n p 'Blackwell, Jr. M.D D. K* Rennie C-. Riley Cr*.-E. Mallory c.- TU CUrtis ' , * * * t. } I* . KHALL02918 KAZ 002918 ABEX CORPORATION AMERICAN BRAKEBLOK DIVISION WINCHESTER, VIRGINIA Hygiene Survey for Lead and Asbestos /P On January 23 and 2A, 1968 samples for airborne lead and as bestos dust were collected in the uet and dry compounding areas in the book and the block press preforming areas and in the block and the strip finishing areas. . The lead samples were analyzed.b y our Hopkinton Laboratory and compared to a Threshold Limit Value of 0.2 Mg Pb/c.m. of air. . The dust samples were counted microscopically at 300X and com pared to a Threshold Limit Value of 5 mppcf. CONCLUSIONS: ^ Asbestos in Air: While some of the dust counts are above the recommended level of 5 mppcf for asbestos containing dust, examination of the samples under the microscope indicate that only a few of the particles counted are actually fibers and the other appears to be dust other than asbestos. Based on these observations I am not inclined to consider these levels as hazardous as suggested by the total count, but to temper this judgment in view of the fact that something lesB than 10% of the particles counted were actually fibers. Reference to the data 3beet will show that the grinding operations appear to be well controlled and tbe operations which resulted in the higher dust count were those which a large volume of air was displaced such as in the dumping operation, and in the strip preform area. LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY ----- KHALL02919 . KAZ 002919 2 * lead Concentrations in M r : Reference to the data sheet will show only two were above the recommended Threshold limit Value of 0.2 Mg/c.m. of air. One of these was general room air collected near press #8 in the strip preform area;'in view of the other levels in this area and our observations, this is probably due to contamination of the filter paper somewhere in the sampling and/or packaging technique. All other samples collected in this area were well below this level and those collected in the breathing zone of the operator were well within the suggested Threshold Limit Value. The other high concentration of the airborne lead was collected in the breathing zone of the operator dumping the scale hopper on the wet compound line. Our observation at the time was that a small plume of dust is released into this atmosphere when this operation is conducted. Even considering the fact that this operation takes only a few minutes about 1 0 -1 5 times per shift, this is still high enough to constitute a. significant'exposure and additional controls are warranted. 3- Exhaust Ventilation; With the exception of the strip pre forming and the dumping .from the upper level to the lower ' level, the exhaust ventilation equipment appears to be pro viding adequate controls. These two exceptions are probably due to the operation itself creating turbulent velocities , in excess of the control velocities designed for these installations, and as a result dust is bloun out of the influence of the exhausted environment. Even though the dust concentrations in these areas are not considered severely hazardous, they are high enough to warrant investi gation into the feasibility-of either providing better en closures and/or increased velocities for these operations. March 8, 1948 GWH/hm cc: Dr. C. C . Blackwell, Jr. Mr. Charles Borcherding A j O. George wAHuckeba xf>v Industrial Hygienist Loss Prevention Department Liberty Mutual Insurance Company LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY ------- KHALL02920 KAZ 002920 INDUSTRIAL HIGEENE CORRECTIONS REQUIRED Wet Compound Line - Mixer Exhaust: It is recommended that all the mixers on the wet compound line be provided with an inward draft sufficient to control the puffs of dust which are released when dumping the weighing hopper. Strip Pres3 Preforming and Dumping Locations on First Floor: ^ is recommended that the exhaust ventilation on these locations be improved either by increased velocity or im proved enclosure to a. degree sufficient to control the puffs of duet emitted when operating the presses and dumping the material from the upper level to the lower level. KHALL02921 KAZ 002921 DISCUSSION: TM ? ? i dayV r th ^ operations appear to be operating most part * exhaust ventilating equipment appeared to be doing the job for which it was intended. As was mentioned earlier some of the duBt concentrations are cS I m Thrshld Ll^t; Value of 5 nppcf suggested for dust containing asbestos. However, since something lesa than 101 of the particleB counted were fibers, it is felt that the severity of the situation is not quite as serious as would be tbe case if all the particles were fibers. ' ^AJjASEMENT INTEREST: The interest of management and supervision in providing a healthful environment seems to be carrying over well o the individual employees. During our survey we noted no evidence of ventilation equipment abuse or lack of respect on the part of the individual employees. Since the exhausting of air contaminants for this plant is such an important part of the operation, it is urged that continued emphasis be placed on quality maintenance and proper utilization of equipment provided. KHALL02922 KAZ 002922 Data: (continued) 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. Dry line weighing general room air before weighing asbestos. No dust apparent in the area. Operator's breathing zone weighing asbestos for dry line only, no other operations included in this sample. ' General room air on the ground level where the mills are dumped into the cart. Some dust noted to be escaping from the enclosure during the filling of the cart. Operator's breathing zone in the strip preform area.- Some dust seemed to be coming out of the mole when the plate ' is placed on top of the filling. Most of the dust appears to be the tap which is dusted on the moles. General room in the strip preform area. o.2 .8 12.9 10.6 KHALL2924 KAZ 002924 DATA AIR BORNE T.EAi) Method of. Collection; Collected on filter paper using vacuum . pump. . Method of Analysis: Dithizone method read on Beckman spectro photometer. . Threshold Limit Value for air borne lead: 0.2 Mg./c. m. ^ ffLE # 1. 2. . 3. A. 5. 6. 7. . 8. 9. . 10. 11. LOCATION RESULTS MgPh/c.m. Operator's breathing zone strip pre form area mix #353. .01 Strip preform area press #5 operator's breathing zone mix #1 5 4 . .01 General room air in back of press #6 in the atrip preform area. .14 General room air back of press #8 in the strip preform area. . .21 General room air wet line compounding. .12 Operator's breathing zone block grind ing automatic bur and chamfer grinder. .u General room air near dust collector room in block grinding area. .02 Operator's breathing zone in dry mix dump area on ground level - dumping mix at the time of sample. .10 General room air in dry mix dump area during dumping. .09 Operator's breathing zone with wet line compound weighing operation. .04 Operator's breathing zone during the dumping of the weighing hopper on the wet line - Note: There i6 no screen on this mixer and a small puff of dust is noted to be generated when first starting to empty the weighing hopper. 4.02 KHALL02925 KAZ 002925