Document KGznYX6pQ9kEMwVGpVO9anMZX

Heahl D&iqrv 54^AJkONo Safely Congress A. ExM*. April 24.25.2& 1984 Richard F. Celeste, Governor *-<>'*t.'- ;;~j - Legal Section The Industrial Comission of Ohio 246 North High Street Columbus, Ohio 43215 rtf?-'tfe SAv . >- . : RB*?,?<OD 20608-22 ../. Anthony .Pikos General Motors *' <Corporation ~> I Attentions Ms* Judy Spencer Dear Ms. Spencers ~.-,rr<r,f1l -1'i' !&* v " As per your requestr>;this. reportThas^beem prepared, based ;on^ the inforsat ion obtained from- the. facsisile|file^ which^ you: have, provided. Also# on November 10, 1983; and January/1.0,V1984,/visits,were made to the offices of the GMC - Pishr Body Division|- Lordstown, Ohio,; Plant for the purpose of determining ^e?employment/historyand working conditions of the above named;claimnt;vMr;,^Anthony; Pikos. Mr. Pikos believes that his condition,whichhasbeendiagnosedascheical bronchitis, has resulted from;alleged/exposures^to chemical irritants such as lead, copper, zinc,'-cadmium, and fluorides while employed as a maintenance welder at the GMC-Pisher Body. Division, Lordstown, Ohio, Plant. ::` /V # -//..y. *' ' \ "r \1>? S \ '*<' ' > r-'-- W"7 ' ;V'v -; ' -4> > Interviewed at the GMC-Pisher Body Division, Lordstown, Ohio," . Plant were Mr. Ray HickmanSafety Directory Mr. Stan Root, Union Health and Safety Committee; Representative! and-Mr. Bob Kopanlc,. .. General Supervisor. *-v V ;* * ` --V-iV *"* *. r %- ' According to company records, the claimant's work history prior to his employment with the GMC-Pisher Body Division, Lordstown,..Ohio, Plant is listed as follows* : .v> January, 1952, To May, ; t OD 20608-22 - Anthony Fikos Page 2 March, 1959, TO June, 1968 - McKay Machine, fabrication assembly. June, 1968 to January, 1980 - GMC-Fisher Body Division, Kalamazoo, Michigan, Plant - maintenance welder. The claimant was hired January 5, 1970, to work at the GMC-Pisher Body Division, Lordstown, Ohio, Plant as a gas and arc maintenance welder. As a maintenance welder, the claimant was responsible for a specific geographical area of the plant} in particular, the Metal Assembly Department where body panels are automatically welded together by resistance spot welding. The claimant does not perform resistance spot welding but does service (repair and spot welding type functions) the automated machines that do the resistance spot welding. In essence, the claimant is primarily a maintenance welder who performs sporadic repair welding when breakdowns occur on the assembly line. According to Messrs. Hickman, Root, and Kopanic, the claimant was also involved with installing new assembly lines (i.e., for model changes). This work could occur several times in a period of one year and generally amounted to several days of continuous eight hours of welding. In performing this type of work, the claimant is responsible for new construction welding, such as welding details to shuttle rails and brackets to posts. On a work-overtime, basis, the claimant could work on the construction of the tools that do the resistance spot welding. It was indicated that the claimant did no grinding and was not a tool grinder or sharpener. It was also mentioned that the claimant's silver soldering work load was "light" since Mr; Pikos had expressed to Mr. Kopanic that because of breathing problems he did not want to do silver soldering. Pluoride fluxes are used only with silver soldering. Pre-employment physical exams, which include chest x-rays, are given by the company. If an employee returns from lay-off or sick leave, a physical exam (excluding chest x-ray) is required. Voluntary lung function tests are available if an employee elects to have them. However, the company doctor will question as to the reason such lung function tests are being requested. It was also mentioned that respirators are made available to employees by the company upon request. The 3M Company disposable type and 3M Company cannister type respirators are provided by the company. It is believed that the claimant did not wear respiratory protection. In addition, ceiling exhaust ventilation exists in the assembly area where the claimant is employed. It.is believed that the exhaust ventilation is to provide ten air changes per hour in the assembly area. Following the original visit on November 10, 1983, several attempts were made to monitor the claimant's exposure to air contaminants during a typical work day. Because of scheduling OD 20608-22 - Anthony Pikos Page 3 problems and other difficulties, finally on January 10, 1984, air monitoring of the claimant's work environment was conducted. Representative time-weighted overage (TWA) breathing zone air samples for metal fumes and also welding fumes-total particulate were obtained on the claimant while he was perforrlng his job as a maintenance welder. In addition, a representative time-weighted average work area sample for fluorides was obtained while the claimant was performing silver soldering using fluoride flux. The air sample for metal fumes was collected on a mixed cellulose ester filter contained in a cassette which' was attached to the employee's collar. The cassette was connected by Tygon tubing to an MSA Model G personal sampling pump which was worn on the worker's belt. The pump was calibrated to pull air at 1.5 liters per minute. The pump was inspected periodically during sampling to ensure that the flow rate of 1.5 liters per minute was maintained. The sample for metal fumes was submitted to an American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) accredited laboratory where it was analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The results of this sampling, as reported by the laboratory, can be found in Table I located at the back of this report. The sample for welding fume-total particulate was collected on a pre-welghed poly vinyl chloride filter contained in a cassette which was attached to the employee's collar. The cassette was connected by Tygon tubing to an MSA Model G personal sampling pump which was worn on the worker's belt. The pump was calibrated to pull at a flow rate of 1.5 liters per minute. The pump was inspected periodically during sampling to ensure that the flow rate of 1.5 liters per minute was maintained. The sample for welding fume-total particulate was submitted to an American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) accredited laboratory where it was analyzed gravimetrically for particulate weight and by x-ray diffraction for crystalline silica. The results of this sampling, as reported by the laboratory, cern be found in Table I located at the back of this report. The sample for fluorides was collected on a mixed cellulose ester filter contained in a cassette and was hand held by this writer to be representative of the employee's breathing zone. The cassette was connected by Tygon tubing to an MSA Model G personal sampling pump. The pump was calibrated to pull at a flow rate of 1.5 liters per minute. The pump was collected in a 20-minute sampling period during the time the claimant was performing silver soldering. The sample for fluorides was submitted to an American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) accredited laboratory where it was analyzed by using the fluoride ion selective electrode method. The results of this sampling, as reported by the laboratory, can be found in Table I located at the back of this report. The claimant's work day during the air sampling conducted on January 10, 1984, can be summarized as follows: OD 20608-22 - Anthony Pikos Pago 4 (1) Burning and welding on Press MP-25 (repair shuttle rail pedestal) (2) Burning scrap metal (3) Changing bottles (4) Welding-changing details (5) Air arcing (stainless steel) (6) Silver soldering (7) Repair welding on a drive litter for the shuttle MP-22 A review of the results from Table I indicates concentrations of metal fumes, welding fumes-total particulate, and fluorides which are below the respective OSHA and ACGIH standards. Also, as provided by the company, attached at the end of this occupational disease claim report is a copy of air sampling data conducted by corporate representatives of the General Motors Corporation. A review of this data indicates concentrations of iron oxide, lead and total particulate which are below the OSHA Permissible Exposure Limits. Metal fume fever is caused by exposures to oxides of several metals including copper, zinc, and manganese. Typically, the syndrome of metal fume fever begins four to twelve hours after sufficient exposure to freshly formed fumes. The worker first notices the presence of a sweet or metallic taste in the mouth, accompanied by dryness and irritation of the throat. Cough and shortness of breath may occur, along with general malaise, a feeling of weakness, fatigue, and pains in the muscles and joints. Pever and shaking chills then develop. Pever can range from 102* to 104* P. Profuse sweats develop and the fever subsides. The entire episode runs its course in 24-48 hours.1 Metal fume fever produces rapid development of tolerance or short-lived relative immunity. This may be lost, however, over a weekend or holiday, and the worker may again develop the complete syndrome when he returns to work if fume levels are sufficiently high. There are no sequelae to the attacks.2 The inhalation of iron oxide fumes or dust may cause a benign pneumoconiosis (siderosis). It is probable that the inhalation of pure iron oxide does not cause fibrotic pulmonary changes, whereas the inhalation of iron oxide plus certain other substances may cause injury.3 Cadmium fume causes irritation of the nose and throat. If enough has been inhaled, after a delay of several hours, a person may also develop cough, chest pain, sweating, chills, shortness of breath, and weakness.^ Repeated or prolonged exposure to cadmium fume may cause loss of sense of smell, ulceration of the nose, shortness of breath (emphysema), kidney .damage, and mild anemia.5 .V ' ' jV OD 20608-22 - Anthony Pikos Page 5 Fluoride-containing dust may cause Irritation of the eyes and respiratory tract. Swallowing fluoride may cause a salty or soapy taste, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea,'^shortness of-breath, difficulty in speaking, thirst, weakness of.pulse, disturbed color vision, muscular weakness, convulsions,.: lossrof consciousness, rod death. Kidney injury and bleeding from the "stomach may .occur.6 Repeated exposure to f1uoride-containlngduat/may cause excessive calcif icaiton of the bone and-calcificatlbh?bligaasnt8'of-'the ribs, pelvis, and spinal column. - Stiffness ahd^limitation.of motion may result. Repeated or prolonged exposure:'oftheskin to, fluoride-containing dust may causeVa' akin rash;^.^;,f>^.. .- . In summary, this claimant has been employed as a maintenance welder at the GHC-Piaher Body Division, Lordstown, Ohio, Plant since January 5, 1970. As a maintenance welder,, the.claimant primarily performed sporadic repair welding when breakdowns occurred on the Metal Assembly Department lines.;Occasionally, the claimant was. involved in heavy welding when new-assembly^,lines' were being installed. In addition, the claimantoccasionally performed some silver soldering using fluoride flux*v\Personal;monitoring of the claimant's occupation as a maintenance`vwelder 'indicates exposure to concentrations of metal fumes, welding r.fumes-total particulate, and fluorides which are below the- respective^OSBA and ACGIH Standards. . Respectfully submitted. RZ/klp - yi '-V'! ' *. . ' Richard Zapko - Industrial Hygienist /.>/' -V. "i i - * OD 20608-22 - Anthony Pikos Page 6 > U.l'iW" WWJ . M IM W- .UW * * 'CTiW3WlllWpn>qW JJ NOTES 1 Occupational Diseases: A Guide to their Recognition, Revised Edition, DUBW (NlbStty Publication No I" "77- 1'ff V,\571, p. 409. 2 Ibid, p. 409 3 Ibid, p. 360 . ./ . : v-, i'. , ' * NIOSH/OSHA Occupational Health Guidelines for Cheaical Hazards, Prank MacKisoh,etal., DHHS (NIOSH)PublicationNo. 81-123, January, 1981. )fjf' 5 ibid. 6 Ibid. 7 Ibid. ' ,v y>r-,ji'iTOii.|.'<!'1n i|y | r y - ---M Fisher Body Division Lordstovn, Ohio SAMPLE RESULTS FOR TJTAL PARTICULATE, LEAD, AMD IRON OXIDE Saaple Ho. Date Saapled Saaple tis* (minutes) Contaminant v - _______ - ResultsTEL 83A-525A 08/18/83 105 * Iron oxide*-I' .Lead- r->y&yir Total particulate Vp ' 0.3 (ag/a) ' ' MD _(u*/n*) 1.0 Osg/n*) 10 50 15 BZ of F. Coots (283-36-3803); Dope* 56; maintenance*voider. Eaploye did goo ore cutting ond stick oloctrodo voiding, generally under uncontrolled vorking conditions. . -? 83A-5255 08/18/83 92 * . V**:VKL.;..*, ** v*T V< -.\>~ **'v. Iron oxide Lend'J.'/ Tv otaVl'*`pa ;r* t?i*c*u/<l-ajftCe' > *>. .* \ '? 0.3 HD 1.0 BZ saaple; Repetition of 5256.V.v-'S ;:t&s./;/*- Motes) . '. . ' jf/* < f* T", . ,, *. PEL - OSBA permissible exposure limit,'eight-hour, tiae-velghted average ng/n* - nllllgrass per cubic meter of air ug/n* nlcrograms per cubic neter of air MD indicates a none-detected value based on the sensitivity of the netbod and the specific saaple voluae.:; .,