Document pmgD8GeDanpwZ0p2GeYDxmN56

Goodyear T i r e and Rubber Co. Cast Film Division St. M:jrys, O h i o SURVEY DATE February 9-10, 1976 SURVEY CONDUCTED BY .Pau1 Johnson Robert Rinsky Peter Infante Mark Jones Ronald Young . REPORT WRITTEN BY Ronald Young Robert Rinsky Paul Johnson DATE OF REPORT January, 1977 Industry-Wide Studies Branch D i v i s i o n of Field S t u d i e s , Hazard E v a l u a t i o n s , and F i e l d Studies National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Cincinnati, Ohio i p: i t r." : i t f 1 L i !' PLACE V I SITED : PERSOXS CCNTACTED : PURPOSE OF VISIT: t Gebru,lrjt 9-10, I 9 76 Paul Johns on R o b e r t ?.insky Petcr Inr'ante Mark J o n e s Ronald Young C l i f f o r d Johnson, M.D. Corporate Medical Director Jack Holiday, Plant Manager Richard B a l l i n g e r , Safety D i r e c t o r Sam Sekel, A s s i s t a n t Personnel Manager Harold Chrismer , General Foreman, Cast F i l m Division William Irons, Chemical E n g i n e e r To deternine i f a suitable population exists f o r an environmental-epiaemiological study of workers exposed to benzene. i' i f" iI L i L ..- ...-.r -.. . . .... . . . .. '.. ... . . . .. ...-- - . . :. . I . , . . . .. ! I f. .. I P i L - -.. .. INTROPUCT ION The Industry- Wide Studies Branch of the National i n s t i t u t e for Occupational S a f e t y a n d H e a l t h h s s i n i t i a t e d an epidemiologic e v n 1 u r ; t i o n of nortalitv p a t t e r n s among employees u t i l i z i n g b e n z e n e . On Februsry 9-10. 1976, a team of i n d u s t r i a l h y g i r n i s cs and e p i d e m i o l o g i s t s zonaucted a walk-rhrough survey of t h e p l i o f i l n l o p e r a c i o n of t h e Goodyear T i r e and R u b b e r Coniyany. The major purpose of t h a t survey w a s t o determine i f a s u i t a b l e population of workers exposed t o benzene e x i s t e d a t t h i s facili:;?. PLtWT DESCRIPTION AND HISTORY The Cast Films Division manufactures clear p l a s t i c f i l m s ( p o l y v i n y l c h l o r i d e and r u b b e r h y d r o c h l o r i d e ) by t h e s o l v e n t c a s t i n g method. O f interest t o t h i s s u r v e y were t h e o p e r a t i o n s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h P l i o f i l m ( r u b b e r h y d r o c h l o r i d e ) . P l i o f i l r n o p e r a t i o n s s t a r t e d i n S t . Marys in 1939 w i t h t w o production u n i t s . I n 1 9 4 1 , t w o more u n i t s were i n s t a l l e d , and i n 1 9 4 7 t w o additional u n i t s were i n s t a l l e d . Two u n i t s were "narrow" (48" r e c o v e r e d w i d t h ) a n a t h e o t h e r f o u r were "wide" ( a p p . 60" r e c o v e r e d w i d t h ) . F u l l o p e r a t i o n n e t t e d a p p r o x i m a t e l y 16,000 l b s . / d a y . T h e s e s i x units r a n u n t i l 1966. I n 1 9 6 7 , p r o d u c t i o n w a s c u t - b a c k t o f o u r units, and in 1970 a f u r t h e r r e d u c t i o n t o t h r e e units w a s made. S u b s e q u e n t l y , in 1 9 7 4 , o p e r a t i o n w a s l i m i t e d t o one u n i t . By 1975, p r o d u c t i o n had increased to t w o u n i t s and at t h e t i m e of o u r v i s i t , t h r e e u n i t s were o p e r a t i n g . The P l i o f i l m Department w o r k s t h r e e s h i f t s (11- 7, 7- 3, 3-11), f i v e or six d a y s p e r week. When t w o u n i t s are o p e r a t i n g , t h e f o l l o w i n g o p e r a t i n g p e r s o n n e l are r e q u i r e d : 0 SI1Il:T 1st S h i f t 2nd S h i f t 3rd S h i f t il OF :JOKKERS 10 IG 3 29 I n n d d i t i o n , t h r e e : z a i z ~ ~ i t i ~ i pi ceer s o n n e l and s i x s u p c r - v ~ i z ; o ras r e ret;n F r e d . The t e n o p e r a t i n g p e r s o n n e l a r e d i v i d e d a s follows: 3 Casting U n i t O p e r a t o r s 2 Casting U n i t Helpcrs 1 Reactor Operator 2 Neutralizer Opcratcrs 1 1st Xan O p e r a t o r -1 3 a n b u r y Qucncher O p e r a t o r M i- f.. I t L D e p a r t m e n t code number 146A refers t o pliofilm p r o d u c t i o n and 146B r e f e r s t o t h e s l e d i n g d e p a r t m e n t w h e r e pliofilm is c u t , wrapped a n d s h i p p e d . PROCESS D ESCR IP T ION A s c h e m a t i c diagram of t h e p r o c e s s is shown i n F i g u r e 1. N a t u r a l r u b b e r r ! i s m e r a t e d and dumped i n a Banbury m i x e r f o r approximate1.y. 22 m i n u t e s . The r u b b e r from t h e Banbury p a s s e s through a m i l l and i s conveyed t o agitated mixing t a n k s w h e r e b e n z e n e is a d d e d , D u r i n g this t h r e e h o u r m i x i n g process, t h e r u b b e r is d e s s o l v e d i n t h e b e n z e n e . This liquid is t h e n p i p e d t o b l e n d i n g tanks where further mixing t a k e s p l a c e . These tanks also serve as a h o l d L t a n k f o r t h e r e a c t o r . As t h e p r o c e s s c o n t i n u e s , t h e s o l u t i o n is i n t r o d u c e d t o the r e a c t o r , where h y d r o c h l o r i c gas (IICL) i s a d d e d . A l s o , measured amounts of b e n z e n e a r e added t o r e d u c e the p e r c e n t solids from 20% t o 9% or less. From t h e r e a c t o r t a n k s t h e r u b b e r h y d r o c h l o r i d e is d r o p p e d into n e u t r a l i z i n g t a n k s . Film s c r a p s , soda ash, p l a s t i c i z e r s a n d additional b e n z e n e a r e added. The mixing i s a 6 t o 7 hour p r o c e s s , and i s a d j u s t e d t o 10%r u b b e r h y d r o c h l o r i d e . Next t h e mixture is passed t h r o u g h a p l a t e and frame filter press. The -2- b e n z e n e i n t h e f i l t e r cake is tjcparcltccl h y a Quencllcr U n i t . kcsidue from itic s e p 3 r a t i . c n i s descardcii, :-hilt t h c b e n z e n e is pumped t o a still f o r Ccr:'.*r After f i l c r a t i c n , t h e r u b b e r 5 y d r o c h l o r i d c is p i p e d to a c e n t r a l s t o r a g e a r e 3 until needed. From storage t h e rubber hydrochloride solution passes t h r o u g h s i n a i l p l a t e and f r m c f i l t e r p r e s s a n d t h e n t3 t h e c s s t i n g units. Here t h e s o l u t i o n is s p r e a d on a c o n v e y o r , t h e s o l v e n t e v a p o r a t c d , and t h e f i n i s h e d f i l m taKen up on r o l l s . T m p c r a t u r c s d u r i n g t h e drying process r e a c h and nanv times exceed 170F. This u n i t i s e n c l o s e d a n d e n t e r e d o n l y for m a i n t e n a n c e or t o r e t h r e a d t h e f i l m take- up s y s t e m . A h i n g e d door i s l o c a t e d i n f r o n t o f t h e dam. The door is opened p e r i o d i c a l l y t o make n e c e s s a r y a d j u s t m e n t s fcr f i l m t h i c k n e s s . The f i n a l r o l l s of film from these u n i t s a r e stocked i n bulk r o l l s and o r car for size and packed f o r shipping. The casting u n i t is swept w i t h air t o maintain benzene c m c e n t r a t i o n s below t h e lcwer e x p l o s i v e l i n i t . The exhaust air from t h e casting u n i t is p a s s e d t h r o u g h a wet scrubber b e f o r e b e i n g c h a n n e l e d i n t o o n e of 2 a b s o r h e r u n i t s . The a b s o r b e r u n i t s c o n t a i n a c t i v a t e d charcoal which a b s o r b s t h e benzene. When t h e c h a r c c a l b e d i s s a t u r a t e d the c o n t a m i n a t e d a i r scream is diverted t o a s e c o n d a b s o r b e r unit w h i l e t h e f i r s t u n i t is b e i n g desorbed b y t h e use of a steam sparger. The b e n z e n e v a p o r and stream is t h e n c o n d e n s e d and p i p e d t o t h e d e c a n t e r , where t h e b e n z e n e is drawn off and s e n t t o a r e c e i v i n g t a n k . F i n a l l y , t h e b e n z e n e is p u r i f i e d and returned t o u n d e r g r o u n d s t o r a g e . -3- X D J.C>.L The Coodycar T i r e and Z u b b d r Co. h a s a corpdrdte medic.il d i r e c t o r , Dr. J o i i ~ 1 ~ ~ xi-s1 , located in ALron, J 6 1 i o . A l o c z l bc!:?r :i ? r d r C ~ t l c . i c : , D r . Harbard, is r e t a i n e d a s a consultant t o t h e p l ~ i i rand p e r f n m s a l l p h y s i c a l e s a m i n a t i o n s . Also present d u r i n g ea-h s h i f t is a r e q i s t e r c d nurse. P r e - e m p l o p c n t p h p i c ~ l sa r e r e q u i r c d o f a l l p e r s o n s whic!i i n c l u d e cticst x - r a y s , blood c e l l cour.cs, h e m o g l o b i n , p l n t c l c t , arid r o i l t i n e urinaiysis. M e d i c a l c o n t r o l s consist of n o n t h l y w h i t e blood c o u n t and h e m o g l o b i n determination of. a l l employees with benzene exposure. These records a r e k e p t i n d e f i n i t e l y . Over t h e y e a r s , occasional decreases i n w h i t e b l o o d c e l l counts (<4,C3@) h a v e been observed. I n these cases, t h e employee is removed from b e n z e n e e x p o s u r e . POTEXTIAL, HAZARDS The major h e a l t h hazards o b s e r v e d d u r i n g this survey were as follows: 1. R e s p i r a t o r y e x p o s u r e t o b e n z e n e v a p o r s . 2. Potential noise exposure. INDUSTRTAL HYGIENE AND SMETY PROCRhMS I n d u s t r i a l Health and S a f e t y programs are s u p e r v i s e d by Mr. B a l l i n g e r . Also u n d e r h i s s u p e r v i s i o n is a p r e v e n t i v e m a i n t e n a n c e program to replace leaky v a l v e s , p i p e s , seals, and packings a s leaks are d e t e c t e d . I n d u s t r i a l h y g i e n e surveys and m o n i t o r i n g are conducted on a r e g u l a r b a s i s . P e r s o n a l protection programs presently i n force include s a f e t y glasses i n selected areas, and r e s p i r a t o r s w h e r e b e n z e n e e x p o s u r e s may occur. -4- J I ? i ! t F- t t F. i i i L Ir= : LD VENT1IAT I O N SYSTEXS Durii:g E?--. ? l . i c f i i z o p e r a t i o n , - e x i i a u s t v e n c i l a t l o ~d~u c t s < i r e ;.ro\'irit.c: z t each unit. T h e system c o n s i s t s of hoods and ,vents K i t h t!12 a i r C 1 ~ w provided L:I centrifugal f a n s . Improved v c n t i l a t Len s y s t e m s w n l c h d i s c h a r c e i n t o l a r g e roof c o l l e c t o r s have b e e n i n s t a l l e d i l l poccririal ; k i t ; h c x p a s u r e are3s. ENVIRONXENTAL MONXTORIXC Sampling Cind a n a l y t i c a l methods for analysis of b e n z e n e in a i r e z p l o y s absorpticn on c h a r c o a l , f o l l o w e d by d e s o r p t i o n and gas c k , r o n a t o g r a p h i c w a s u r e z i e n t . To obtain t h i s d a t a 2 0 breathing zone s a m p l e s were c o l l e c t e d on charcoal tubes by a Dupont pump using a flow rate of 100 c c / m i n u t e . Samples were c o l l e c t e d f o r approximately 4 hours. After c o l l e c t i o n t h e charcoal curies were s e n t t o Salt Lake City, Utah for a n a l y s i s . The results obtzined can be found in Table X. It should b e cotcd t h a t appropriate respiratory p r o t e c t i o n was worn, a t least parc tize, by the Neutralizer Operator and 1st man Operator. RECONMENDATIONS Exposure to benzene should be c o n t r o l l e d s o t h a t no worker will be exposed to benzene in excess of 1 ppm as determined by an air sample c o l l e c t e d a t one liter/minute for two hours. CONCLUSION A suitable population exists at t h i s f a c i l i t y to conduct an epidemiologic e v a l u a t i o n of mortality patterns. -5- . ... . .&. . .. .b . . . . - .; . . .- -I _,, , .I .. .-- k t ! L i I Lmt ii .- ! 6j6ap 1.:.< i i i [ y-- t i t 1 tE t L I t -- I