Document 1QNvZ2zx95eJaQOpJ50577Z1q
FILE NAME: Hopeman Brothers (HB)
DATE: 1972 Nov 10
DOC#: HB037
DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Inspection Report - Results of Detailed Study of Asbestos Fiber Concentrations in the Work Environment of Hopeman Bros. Inc. with Cover Memo from Tulane University
TULANE UNIVERSITY
NEW ORLEANS, LA. 70II2
/ a si-
r-= ^
Office ej the Vice Ptctidm l For Health Affaire 1430 Tulonc Avenue
M r. Kenneth Wood, Superintendent Hopeman B ros , Inc. c/o Avondale Shipyards P o st Office Box 50280 New O rle a n s, L.a. , 70150
N o v e m b e r 13, 1972
Dear M r. Wood:
'
.
F irs t, le t m e offer my apology for the ta rd in ess of the final report.
Things have been v ery busy around h ere la tely .
`
T ran sm itted this date under sep arate cover, a re three copies of the
"R esults of D etailed Study of A sbestos F ib e r C oncentration in the W ork E n v iro n
m ent of Hopeman B ro s ., Inc. "
The re su lts of the detailed study are extrem ely im pressive in that the fib e r c o n c e n tr a tio n s '`in th is e n v iro n m e n t n o t only m e t p r e s e n t re q u ire m e n ts of OSHA b u t a ls o th e p ro p o s e d 1976 r e q u ir e m e n ts .
N eedless to say, the success of m aintaining low asbestos fib er levels in this environm ent is contingent upon the, co n tro l equipm ent and any a lte ra tio n s to the controls, u n d er which the data was obtained, could adversely affect the asbestos fib er concentration. T herefore, any changes in the sawing technique o r f ib e r c o lle c tio n m e th o d should b e elv a u a te d fo r e ffic ie n c y . *****
E nclosed is a bill fo r serv ice ren d ered fo r the final study. As you m ay r e c a ll, th e o r ig in a l p ro p o s a l c a lle d fo r se v e n (7) m a n d a y s to p e r f o r m th e w ork for both th e p re lim in a ry and d etaile d stu d ie s. .The a ctu al num ber of m andays required fo r th e to tal p ro ject was approxim ately 6. 4 m andays,
I have certain ly enjoyed working with you on th is p ro ject and if th e re a re any questions p ertain in g to the re p o rts, p lease call m e at 588-5486.
S in c e re ly , jY lo f i .
M ax L.. R ic h a rd , R . S . , R eg istratio n N um ber - 473
RESULTS OF DETAILED STUDY OF ASBESTOS FIBER CONCENTRATIONS
IN T H E WORK ENVIRONMENT OF HOPEMAN B R O S.. INC. NOV EM BER 10. 1972
X .V ;5 /
INTRODUCTION
A p re lim in a ry study of a sb e sto s exposure was conducted in the H opem an B ro th e rs w ork en v iro n m en t during the m onth of July 1972. The re su lts of this study indicated that the average asb esto s fiber concentration was 0.0229 fib ers, g re a te r than five (5) m ic ro n s in len g th p e r cubic c e n tim e te r of a ir . T he study co n sisted of th re e sam p les collected on m illip o re filte rs plus one blank sam ple fo r background d eterm in atio n s. B ased on the findings of the p relim in ary study. ` the recom m endation was made that additional sam ples be collected for a detailed stu d y . T h is w as a c c o m p lis h e d on A u g u st 21 and S ep te m b er 26, 1972.
PURPOSE
The detailed study in this w ork environm ent was conducted fo r the following
reasons:
_
1. To f u r th e r d e te r m in e e m p lo y e e e x p o s u re to a s b e s to s f i b e r s .
2. To fu rth er substantiate th at the fiber concentration rem ained consistently below the level req u ired by the Occupational S afety 8: H e a lth A ct of 1970.
3. To encom pass all phases of the operation.
4. To fu rth er determ ine w hether the vacuum devices used in the
operations w ere sufficient fo r the collection and retention of
a s b e s to s f ib e r s g r e a t e r th a n fiv e (5) m ic ro n s in length.
5. To determ ine w hether em ployees can work in this environm ent
w ithout the u se of re s p ira to ry protection.
.
.
'
6. To fulfill th e sam pling req u irem en ts set by the Occupational
Safety & H ealth Act of 1970.
'
SAMPLING
O n 'A u g u st 21, 1972, e ig h t (8) s a m p le s of two h u n d re d and f o r ty (240) .m in u te s e ac h , p lu s fiv e (5) b la n k s w e re c o lle c te d in th e w ork e n v iro n m e n t. T h e
su rfaces on two of the 240 m inute sam ples w ere ex trem ely loaded w ith p a r tic u la te m a tte r an d could nut In* p r o c e s s e d . F o r th * re a s o n , one (1) a d d i tio n a l sixty (60) m in u te s a m p le an d one (1) b lank w e re c o lle c te d fo r th e b e v e llin g and p re d rillin g o p e ra tio n on S e p te m b e r 26, 1972 as shown in th e follow ing ta b le of resu lts.
FX.V.'S
_
A ll s a m p le s w e r e c o lle c te d a c c o rd in g to th e O ccu p atio n al Safety 4.- H ealth
A ct, "A sb esto s Sam pling Data Sheet # 2". A ppendix I gives in fo rm atio n on the
calib ratio n of sam pling pumps and the sam pling m ethod.
SAM PLE EVALUATION
All sam ples w ere counted according to the O ccupational Safety & Health A ct, "A sb esto s S am pling D ata Sheet 2, " d u rin g th e m onth o f O ctober 1972. A ppendix II gives inform ation on the handling and counting m ethod.
ESUL7'S O F SA M PLES COL LECT ED Ob
Triple
Flow
ahex D e s c r i p t i o n __________ Rate
T im e on
AUGTJST 21, 1972
T o tal Tim e Sampling off Tim e
Total Volume of a ir samoled
Asbestos Fi bers 5 M icrons 3r g r e a t e r F ib e r count F iber* /c c on filter
P ersonal sam ple
M a rin ite 36 saw ing 2
7:43 11:43 240 m i n . ' 480, 000 cc 4,414 ' 0 . o o r . u
1
o p e ra tio n
L/M a. m a .m .
Cabin Deck
G eneral environ
m e n t - M a r in ite 36 2 7:45 11:45 240 m in . 4 8 0 ,0 0 0 cc 5,478
sawing o peration
L/M a. m. a. m.
2
Cabin Deck
0 . 011414
3_
P ersonal sam ple M arine V eneer D rilling operation Cabin Deck
2 7:49 11:49 L /M in* a . m .
240 m in.
4 8 0 ,OOOcc
2,410
0.005021
"t 5 6 7
H^8
P erso n al sam ple M arine V eneer Sawing o p eratio n Cabin Deck
2 7:55 11:55 240 m in . L /M cL171 a. m .
480,000 cc 1,190
0 .0 0 2 4 :C
P erso n al sam ple
M a rin ite 36 saw ing 2 8:06 12:06 240 m in.
o p e ra tio n
L/M a. m . p. m .
M ain k Uooer Deck
480-, 000 cc 7,298
0.01=20:
Sam ple voided afte r
4
7 m inutes. Reasons:
D is c o v e re d a i r le a k 2 8:03 8:10 --
around "o" ring
L/M a. m. a. m.
-
changed to # 8 filter.
P ersonal sam ple
M arine V eneer
B evelling & p r e
2
drilling operation L/M
Shack
G eneral environ
m ental M arine Veneei
sawing operation
2
M ain it U p p e r D eck L /M
7:26 11:26' &*171 a . m .
8:13 12:13 a. m. p. m.
240 m in.
480,000 cc
F ilte r su rface loaded with particulate m atter-unable tc process
240 m in. .480, 000
F i l t e r s u rfa c e lowdec with p articu late m m unable to process'? (*See notes for samplt
7 b 8, T ab le II '
P ersonal sam ple
2 11:50 12:30
40 m in . 60.000 cc 6, 466
9
clean up o p eratio n L /M in p. m .
0.080:1
r
RESULTS OF BLANKS C O LLEC TED ON AUSUT 21, 1972
rtk D escrip tio n
Flow Time Tim e on
T o tal Time? Sam pling
off tim e
Total
Asbesto* F ite rs _5 M icron* o r g re ^ t ^y
volume of Fiber court F ib e rs/c c
a ir sampled on filte r
of a i r
Exposed to E n v iro n
m ent of M a rin ite 36 No 8:55
Sawing o p eratio n
air a.m .
Cabin Deck
Flow
Exposed to P e r s o n a l No
sampling en v iro n a ir
ment of M arine
ilo w
Veneer sawing
o p eratio n , c a b in L e 'Sc
9:03 a.m .
Exposed to p e r s o n a l No
sampling en v iro n air
ment of M arin e - flow
veen er drilling operatic^.
Ms in
-
9:07 a. rr
Exposed to p ersonal sairolrg environm ent No 7:30 of M arine v een e r A ir a. m, ' 4 p re d rillin g 8c B e v e ll Flow ine operation Shack-
Exposed to p e r s o n a l No 9:55 sampling of M arinite Air a.m . 36 saw ing o p e ra tio n Flow Cabin Deck
Note: Sample 8 7 w as re p e a te d on Septem ber 26, 1972 (See T a b lem fo jr re su lts)
Note: Sample 8 8 w as not repeated as resu lts of previous sam ples indicate that additional
`
sam pling was not necessary
i <a:r-
leaulf
m ple nber |
of ample and D escription
B la n k c o l le c t e d on S ep te. m b er W V . * 2M 6W,,
Flow R ate
Total T im e Tim e Sampling
on off ' Time
l<nz i J t i -
Total Volume of a ir sarrplec
Asbesto s 5 M icrons i ib e r court on filter
F ib e rs or greater
tibers/cc of a ir
Personal sam ple
Bevelling I t P r e 2
10:00 11:00 60 m in. 120,000 cc 48
1
drilling operation L/M a. m a. m.
Shack
0 . 0 0 0 4 *.
ank
Exposed to BevelErg No
10:3 ) - - -
0
St P r e d r illin g
A ir a. m
O peration
Flow
Shack
*
V
\J `
E th .z
r
SUMMARY
The re s u lts oi the p re lim in a ry and detailed studies in the work e n v iro n
m ent of H opem an B ro th e rs, Inc. a b o a rd a LASH vessel, Avondale Shipyard,
indicates that the average asb esto s fib e r concentration of fibers g re a te r than
fiv e (5) m ic ro n s in length p e r cubic c e n tim e te r of a ir w as c o n siste n tly b elo w
th e TLV re q u ire d by the O ccupational Safety & Health A ct of 1970.
'
A. P re lim in a ry Study - 0.02290 - A verage fib e rs/c c g re a te r than 5 m icro n s
B. D etailed Study -
0.07791 - A verage fib e rs/c c g re a te r than 5 m icrons
C. T otal, both studies 0.05040 - A verage fib e rs/c c g re a te r than 5 m icro n s
.
A to ta l of 13 s a m p le s ( a p p r o x im a te ly 37 hours sam p lin g tim e ) an d se v e n
(7) blank s a m p le s w e re c o lle c te d d u rin g th is p ro je c t and no one in d iv id u al sa m p le
was above the TLV.
CONCLUSIONS
B ased on the re su lts of th e stu d ie s and the work perform ed on the p ro jec t,
the following conclusions w ere draw n:
1. A sb e sto s e x p o s u re to e m p lo y e e s in th is w ork en v iro n m en t w as w ell w ith in the c r ite r ia se t by OSHA, 1970.
2. A ll p h ases of .the saw ing, c le a n up .and drilling operations evaluated during the studies that w ere re la te d to asb esto s fiber dispersion in the w ork atm osphere w ere w ithin the re q u ire d TLV.
3. The vacuum system u sed on the saw ing and drilling equipm ent for the '
c o lle c tio n an d re te n tio n of a s b e s to s f ib e r s g re a te r than five (5) m ic ro n s
in length was sufficient for reducing the asbestos fiber concentration
below the TLV .
`
4. E m ployees m ay w ork u n d er th e s e environm ental conditions at m in im al risk
w ithout re sp ira to ry p ro tectio n .
.
5. A ll sam pling req u irem en ts by OSKA has been fulfilled.
.
6. T he a s b e s to s le v e ls d e te rm in e d b y th is study w ere ir. co m p lian ce w ith the pro p o sed 1976 sta n d a rd of tw o f ib e r s p e r cc, g re a te r than 5 m ic ro n s in
length.
R EC O M M EN D A TIO N S
It is recom m ended that this w ork environm ent be re-evaluated at one y e a r in te r v a ls to in s u r e co n tin u in g c o m p lia n c e w ith OSHA s ta n d a rd s . -
The foregoing re p o rt is b a s e d in its e n tire ty on work p erfo rm e d by
M ax L . R ichard as an independent consultant and no official endorsem ent by
Tulane U niversity is im plied.
APPENDIX I
EQ U IPM EN T
1. M ine S afety A pp lian ce, M odel G G ra v im e tric P e r s o n a l P u m p s ,
B ureau of M ines Approval No. 2G -2239-Occupational Safety h
H ea lth A ct A p p ro v al No. 1A-101,
'
2. M ine Safety A ppliance filte r h o ld ers and sam pling assem b lies.
3. M illip o re f ilte r s - C at. No. MAW P0037AO - 37 m m D ia m e te r . 8 m icro n
pore size
CALIBRATION OP PUMPS
The p e rso n a l pum ps w ere c a lib ra te d to obtain a flow r a te of 2 1/m with sam pling line, filte r and filte r assem b ly attached using a P re c isio n Wet T est M eter. Flow ra te s w ere checked th re e tim es on each pump and a reference m a rk was estab lish ed on the flow ra te indicator lo cated on th e sid e of the pump.
SAMPLING PROCEDURE
1. Im m e d ia te ly p r io r to s a m p lin g , eac h pum p was o p e ra te d fo r a p p ro x im a te ly two m inutes without the filte r assem b ly to in su re p ro p e r operating te m p e ra tu re
' of the pump.
2. The sam pling line was attached and the pumps w ere operated again for approxi
m ately one m inute to clear the sam pling line of any m a te ria l that was foreign to
the sam pling environm ent.
_
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3. The sam pling p o rt caps of the .filter w ere rem oved and th e filte r"was mounted on the filte r h older assem b ly and aligned for p ro p e r fitting around the O ring in the filte r holder.
4. The pum p w as turned on, the intake p o rt of the filte r w as seale d off and the sam pling assem bly was checked fo r leaks. This was accom plished by ob serv ing the position of the flow ra te indicator.
5. The face cap of th e filte r was rem oved, the pump turned on, tim e on was
logged and the sam pling p erio d begun.
6 . F lo w r a te s w ere checked d u rin g th e sam pling p e rio d a t fiv e (5) m in u te in te rv a ls by observing the flow ra te in d ic a to r. Flow ra te ad ju stm en ts w ere m ade as n ec e ssa ry during the sam pling period as the filte r su rface a re a becam e loaded with p articu late m a teria l.
c
7. At the end o f e a c h sam pling p e rio d th e tim e off -was logged, th e face cap s and port caps w ere replaced and the filte r was packed for transportation. The collection side of the filter was placed in an up right position to prevent m igration of fib ers acro ss the filte r surface.
C
LA H O ATOKY COUNTING P R O C ED U R E
A sbestos fiber counting was done using a Daush and Lomb P R . 7 equipped with phase contrast accessories. The m icroscope contained a porton reticle which projects a constant counting area and has provisions for m easuring fibers of g re a te r than five microns in length. All counting was done at 430 m ag n ifica tion u sin g a lOx eyepiece and 43x o b jectiv e.
Following is the laboratory procedure used in fiber counting:
1. T h e field m o n i to r s w ere .unpacked taking c a r e th a t the c o lle c tio n s u r f a c e remained in an upright position.
2. T h e mounting solution w as p r e p a r e d . A one to one so lu tio n by. vo lu m e of dimethyl phthalatc and diethyl oxalate was prepared'and placed in a b a ls a m b o ttle . T o this 0. 05 g r a m s of Xiltor m a t e r i a l w as added fo r each m illiliter of solution. The added filter m aterial in creases the viscosity of the mounting solution and prevents migration of the fibers from one counting field to another. The solution was allowed to disso lv e for several hours and then refrig erated to extend shelf life.
3. The sam ples were counted in the sam e o rd e r as collected and each sam ple
was p rep ared and m ounted ju s t p r i o r to counting as follows;
'
A. The face cap and retaining ring was rem oved from the field m onitor and the filter sam ple rem oved with tw eezers.
11. T h e f i l t e r sa m p le was s e c t io n e d into t h r e e c i r c u l a r p i e c e s .
T h e s e p ie c e s r e p r e s e n t e d 61. 98% of the to tal f i lt e r sa m p le -
surface area of 855. 3006 s q u a r e m illim e te rs .
C. Using a medicine dropper, sm all drops of mounting m edia w e re placed on a 25 x 75 m m s l id e f o r e a c h s e c t o r o f'th e sam ple. The se c to rs w ere then placed ov er the mounting m e d ia , sa m p le s i d e up, and c o v e r e d with a 1 . 1-j" c o v e r s lip . Each slide was identified by sam ple num ber and date.
D. T h e m o unted s l id e s w e r e allo w ed to-dry f o r a p p ro x i m a t e ly 45
.
minutes to obtain complete clarity,
4. The sectors were counted and a count of all fibers greater than 5 m icro n s in lengths w ere rec o rd e d .
5. The following formula w as used to calculate fiber concentration:
.-2 \
(Av F i b e r Cnt) ( F i l t e r Area)________ CONCENTRATION = (f ie ld A rea) (sam p le Volume) (1000)
Avcrage Fiber Count: Average fiber count p e r sire range
F ilte r A rea: 855. 3006 m m ^ for 37mm D iam eter m em b ran e filte rs
Counting A rea: Reticle calibrated in mra^
Sample Volume: T otal time x flow rate, e x p ressed in lite rs
1G0Q: C o n v e r ts l i t e r s to m i l l i l i t e r s
1 M illiliter = 1 cubic centimeter
t