Document QXppDBgZOq8VobGmO6Z8w2JKk

FILE NAME: Z< DATE: DOC#: Z< DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION E/K^,ZZ^/ ,^ZZ AlR SAMPLING & INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE SURVEY GENUINE PARTS COMPANY RAYLOC D IV 151 OH ATLANTA, GEORGIA Suryey Conducted By~ ,JOHN K. OEKENT PATRICK J. SHULER Report' Prepa red By: JOHH H. DEHENT PAl1\ICK J. SHULER " Environmental Inve5ttgatlon~ Branch Division of Field Studies and Clinical Investigations NATIONAL INSTITUTE fOR OCCUPATION~L SAFETY & HtAlTH lOlL! Broadway tincinnati. Ohio 45202 August. 1972 GPOOO4492 INlRODUCT ION DurIng the week of July 17-21. 1972, an industrial hygiene survey and air sampling for asbestos and lead dusts were ~onducted at tne Rayloc Division of the GenuIne Parts Company, Atlanta, Georgia. From the sample results and industrial hygIene 5urvey, several conclusions can be drawn. The following paragraphs dis~us$ plant operations and industrial hygiene practices along with conclusions and recoIIJllendations." DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT The plant Is located west of Atlanta and employs approximately 5~O people operattng on three shifts. of these workers abOut SO cone into contact with brake linings Or clutch fa~ings on a routine basis. This facility was constructed by Genuine Parts Company in 195~ for tne purpose of reb~lldin9 . various automotive parts. The plant l~ e~losed under on~ roof, additions having been ~de over the years to the original .plant site. GPOO04493 PLACE VI SITED DATE OF TI\-I P PERSONS ~KING TRIP PERSONS CONTACTED PURPOSE OF'TRIP Rayloc 4200 ~ordon Road Atlanta. Georgia Phone I: ~o~691-3780 July 17-19, 1972 John I'l. Dement PQtri~k J. Shuler Hr. Edward Kipl iog. Plant Manager Hr. Th~a$ Damiel. Production Manager To conduct an industrial hygiene survey and take asbestos and lead dust samples In the pl ant. , .. GP0004494 2 i, i" Genuine Parts Company provides consultation to assist Reylo~ and their other divisions with any safety and in~ustrial hygiene problems. 'These servIces are al~o provlded by Sentry, RaYloe's insurance company. The production manger is responsible for safety in the plant and" Is chairman of a five member safety committee which meets each month. The union, Teamsters local 528, Is also actively involved In the safety program in the plant. The medical program consists of loeal physician retained . as a partptime consultant, and workers trained in first aid who arc e1ways in the plant. A pre-cmployment physIcal is given whIch Includes a ~hest X-ray, and blood and urine analysis. No pulmonary function tests or further physIcal e~amlnations are given. Products of the plant present'r include rebuilt starters. generators, alternators, water pumps, fuel pumps, ,clutch pressure plates. a~d relined clutch discs and broke shoes. Clutch disc and brake shoe rellni~g has been done here since the plont opened in 1359 , DESCRIPTION OF THE PROCESSES ' The processes sampled were the relining of riveted"and bonded brake shoes and clutch discs. A. Brake Shoe Relining The used brake assembl ies are first sorted according to size. The old worn linings are removed next. Riveted 1 inings . are sheared off and bonded linings are burned off. Next the shoes are degreased by heat if necessary. then cleaned In a ''\fleel abrator" which uses high velocity steel shot to abrade the surfaces. The shoes are the~ dipped in a corrosion inhibitor and stralght~ned if nceded. ~ext. the new lInings are either riveted or are bonded to the shoe. All relined assemblies are then surface ground to provide the correct radius of curvature. The finished products are given a final Inspection and packed for shipment. B. Clutch DI5c ~ellnin9 lhe used clutch discs are first "wheelabrated" with the old friction pad stil' on to insure that the thin metal torque members are not damaged. Next. the old friction surface ]s removed by deriveting the clutch disc with either ~ drIll or punch press. A new pad 15 riveted on the disc; the whole assembly is inspected and boxed for Shipment. , i SURVEY PROCEDURES The actual sampling for asbestos fibers and lead dust was confined to the brake and clutch rebuilding areas Since these GP0004496 were the only areas using the5e materials. No other potential exposures '~re noticed in the rest of the plant with exception to toluene in the starter rebun ding area. Personal samples Were collected on workers at each of the steps In the process of relining brukes and clutches In order to detennine which Jobs, If ~ny. pose potential health problems. Samples were collected on a HJllipore Type AA cellulose ester membrane filt~r at a calibrated flow of 1.7 Ilters/minute. The type of pump used was a KS~ permlsstble personal air sampler. Analysis for asbestos fibers was done by counting flbers greater than 5 urn in length under a phase contrast microscope at a magnification of ~30x. The a~unt of lead was determined bV chemical analysi52 on the same filters as the asbestos concentration waS evaluated. An industrial hygiene ~urvey of ,the plant was I also conducted to try to evaluate general housekeeping and ventilation systems. INSPECTION OF T~E ~LANT Potential Health Hazards The potential health hazards which were noticed during the survey are a$ follows: GPO004497 \. Exposure to asbestos dust during brake and clutch re Hn ing. 2. Lead exposure from lining materials during brake and clutch relintng. 3. Toluene exposu~e during InsulatIon coating of var lous armatures. Mea$ure~nt~ were nade of both asbestos dust and lead exposure In each of the friction operation. No measurements of solvent exposure were made. Personal Protection Safety glasses are requlr~d in certain areas of the plant. Approximately ~ot of the plant employees wear safety glasses. Respirators are not required in production operatlonsj however, respirators are r~qulred when cleaning or repairing the bag dust collectors. Safety shoes are not required but the company does have a pnogram to aid in their purchase. A noise study has been conducted in the plant recehtly by Sentrl Insurance. Hr. Ktpllng indicated that the only op~ration near the 90 dba pre,ent standard was grinding. Mo hearing protectIon is required at the present time. \ ;' Vent i1 at ign loool exhaust ventIlation is provided on aI' 3 brake lining grinders and on all 5 "Wheela~ratorl1 cleanlng'lnachines. These machines are vented to 6 "Wheelabrator" bag dust collectors. GPOOO4498 Figure 1 ~hows a layout of the friction products area of the plant along with locations of the dust collectors and theIr respective capacrt(es. Velocity measurements at the entrance to the grinder hoods . showed veJ9cities ranging from 600 fpm to 1100 fpm. No ventilation Is provided at the clutch deriveting operation. Housekeeping In genera'. the plant ~/a5 quite well kept with sufficient room to minimize overcrowding. All floor ~leant~g Is done with vacuum sweepers on a continual basis. Compressed air is used for cleaning but atl outlets have low pressure noz2les. Results and Discussion The results of this survey are presented in Table 1. The . . present standard for asbestos was published in the Feder~l Register on June 7, ~972. In essence the standard is as follows: liThe 8-hour time-weighted aver~ge aIrborne' concentration of asbestos flbers to which any e~ployee maybe exposed shall not exceed \ five fibcrs, longer than five micrOmeters. " per cubic centimeter ef air. as determIned bV the membrane filter method at ~OO-~50x IIIilgni f icatton (~ milli'meter objective) phose c:cntrast illumination. Ho e&qlloyee shalt GPOOO4499 7 , . be exposed at any time to aIrborne asbestos flbers In excess of ten flbers. longer,than five micrometers, per cubi~ centimeter of a I r .11 On July 7. 1976. <J new standard of 2:0 ftbers greater than 5 micrometers in length per cubic centlmeter of air will be effective. None of the ~5 5ample~ exceeded the present, standard for asbestos. the highest value bei.,g 4.8 fibers/ml (flbers' greater than S micrometers In length per mil'lllter). There were only three samples that exceeded the future asbestOS standard of 2.0 flbers/ml. All of thes,e samples were taken Oh person deriveting old clutch faclngs by drilling out the rIvets. A total of four sanplefi were taken at t.hls operation, the mean being 2.6 flber5/1R1~, Surface grindin9 produced the second hlQhest av~rage exposure, Its value being 1.4 ftbers/ml. All other operatio ..ns had an average value at or below 1.0 fibers/ml. load concent rat ions were very low exeept for the et utch de- ~ rivet1ng and brak~ shoe sorting operations. The present standard for lead dust exposure is O. IS mg/m'. Lead resultS ar~ also gIven in Table 1. GPOOO4500 , - 8- i-. . . . : CONCLUStMS -'140 RECOKKENDATIONS i from the sample resuTts and the industrial hygIene survey, the following conclusions and recommendations are made: 1. There was no operation that had aSbestos exposares in excesS of the present standard of 5 fil?ers/ml,. The only operation In excess of the future standard of 2.0 fibers/ml was the removal of old clutch facings by drilling. This operation also had lead exposures in excess of the present standard of 0.15 mg/m3 Particle size estimates of the lead particles has shown that 80t of the particles were less than 3.5p in diameter and would th~refore by respirable. Due to the high lead exposures local exhaust ventilation should be added at these drills Immediately. 1. ~ad con~ntration5 in the old shoe sorting operation were also above the present standard of 0.1.5 nl9/m~. Particle size esti~tes on these samples has shown that BSt of the,c particles were smaller than the 3.5~ respirable diaRQter. The hIgh concentrations appear to be the result ofbrake lining wear 'dust clinging to old brake shoe assemblies. Our past experience has shown that most wear dust ~ontalns appro~imatc\y 6% lead bY,weight. 3 'T~ possible ~o'utions to this probl~ WQuld be to either first wet or vacuum off the brake assemblies before sorting_ GPOO04501 - 9- 3. There was a detectable toluene odor in the area of the armat~re dip tank. Atthou9h this odor was present. it Is highly possfble that toluene concentratfons are well below the present standard of 100 ppm (the odor threshold for toluene is only 2.1 ppm). In any event., toluene eoncefttrat ions should be determined for this area and 10cal exhaust ventilatIon installed If levels are found exce~slve '(>100 ppm). \. Due to the elevated lead exposures found in the brake shoe sorting operation and clutch derlveting operation. blood lead levels should be determined for workers In these areas. A pro9ram of periodIc blood lead checks should be established. , t' GP0004502 . R E FER NeE S t. dwilrds, C.M. and J.R. lynch, "The Method Used by the U.S. Public lIealth Service f.or Enumeration of Asbestos Dust on Membrane f i 1tars". A.m. OccuR' Hyg.. 11: 1-6 (l968). 2. Keenan. Robert G.,ata1-, "The 'U.S.P.H.S.' Method for Determining Lead in Air and in Blologlc.. l Materials", Am. lod. Hyp. Assoc. Journal. 2~:4SI-~9J (1963). 3. interoffice Report on Garage Lead Exposures, Harch 16, t~12. " GP0004503 . .. ' . 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