Document ybV419R31qr1jpJZo131eBe73

Queen City Valve s , Incorporated Cin cin n a ti, Ohio rn o o Ov O WO* .aON Oy'v Contacts: Ur, William T. McLaughlin Hr, Bud Joseph Date Reported: January 5 1951+ Origin ox '" Inspection: Request of physician, Dr, Albert Ryan, Christ Hospital, _for appraisal of work environment of patientr ....... I, under treatment for lead poisoning. 1, Nature of Inspection: The work area in which the ill man had been employed as a grinder of brass castings xms inspected and samples of room air collected for determination of lead content, A sample of dust from a chipping bench was collected for determination of free silica content. The melting, pour ing and molding areas were also inspected and air samples collected for determination of lead content. 2. Results of Inspection: A situation markedly hazardous to health" from "the aspect of exposure to excessive concentrations of load dust was encountered in the casting cleaning room. Significant contamination of room air In this area by fx^oe silica was obvious. Conditions in melting and pouring areas were generally good with respect to lead contamination of the atmosphere. Molding and sand conditioning was being carried out under at least potentially hazardous conditions with respect to contamination of the air by free silica. 3. Action Taken or Recommended: Repair of existing dust collecting apparatus! installatioxx of additional local exhaust ventilation, principally on the grinding wheels; improved housekeeping; determination of the level of lead absorption of each man in inspected areas; X-ray of chest of each man; -dust counts of air at certain sites. h. Cost of Inspection: Approximately '$80,00 to Kettering Laboratory for services of industrial hygiene engineer and analytical work. KB 9 f * 0 0 1 d'o 3 Da bes oP Inspo fcion Fettering Laboratory College of Medicine December 3 and 15, 1953 iscriotion of the' Plant The plant is a small brass foundry occupying the second and third (top) floors of an old brick building. On the top floor there is carried out sand-conditioning, molding, and shakeout. Castings, chiefly small plumbing fixtures, are chufcod to the clean ing room on the second floor where chipping, abrasive-wheel exit off, grinding and washing are done. Also o n 'this floor is a machine shop and office. Total employment is approximately rj0 persons. The cleaning room is of particular interest because this i3 the work site of the ill employee. Four men are employed here. One receives castings from shakeout and chips off residual sand with a pneumatic tool. Another operates the carborundum cut off wheel, separating individual fixtures from the grouping in which they are cast. Two man operate a stationary double grinder, grinding burrs and surface sand off finished castings with emery wheels. A tumbler type washing machine is operated intermittently. The room measures approximately 25 x 15 feet. There are windows on two hides. There is no local exhaust ventilation effective. VE" 0013091 by suspended dust particles. ??o personal protective respiratory devices are worn by any of the men. Preparation of molds on the third floor is carried out by four or five men. One reconditions aand piled on the floor in the middle of the room, aciding new sand and water to used sand, sifting it through an open mechanically agitated screen pan, and delivering it by wheel barrow to the molding machines at one end of the roora. There is no local exhaust ventilation at the sand reconditinning station. Three or four men operate the molding machines, depending upon the rate of foundry production. folding machine hoopers are loaded with sand by hand shovels. -'arting compound is sprinkled over molds by hand, iehind each -molding JO-*^ machine bnere is a 'window fitted with an exnausfc^of approximately Inch diameter. The face of each fan 'was partially covered with burlap cloth on the day of this inspection, mid this covering is said to be maintained during the winter months. The molting room is separated from the rest of the work area by a partial partition of concrete block. `There are three melting furnaces in the room. Two of these were in operation at the time of this visit. Over the largest and most used furnace, a T.eda forcod-air typo, is erected a canopy hood and stack. In the central portion of the melting room roof there is an open bay KE 0013892 melter and his helper into the main floor area where molds are filled. Both men stand in or near smoke and fume arising from the ladle, although a hand-cover is placed over the ladle in the furnace room. A melt ia poured about throe times each hour. The melter also occasionally operates a small pot in which scrap lead is melted, and pours ingots for use In the brass furnaces. The lead content of the brass la said to average 5 per cent. It is stated by the foreman that !fbrass cnills*1 sometimes occurs in che men, but is not common, being reported only about a half dozen times each winter. Collection of Samples and Results In the cleaning room samples of air varied in lead con centration from 0.15 milligrams of lead par cubic meter of air at a central location between the cut off wheel and the grinding 'wheels, to 1}..]+ milligrams per cubic meter at the breathing zone of the cut off wheel operator, with a concentration of 3.9 milligrams per cubic meter at the breathing zone of a grinder working on the grinding wheel on the left side of the grinding stand (Table I). A sample of dust collected from fenj chipper*s table contained 90 per cent free crystalline silica >.nd 0,17 per cent lead. K F 0013833 which nay be pernitted in workrooms for repeated eight hour exposures is 0.15 milligrams per cubic meter of air. The generally accepted maximum allowable concentration of dust containing over $0 par cent free silica in workrooms where persons are regularly exposed is f> million particles per cubic foot of air. It has been demonstrated repeatedly that this concentration is exceeded In atmospheres which are visibly dusty, as is the case in this riant* In oorpre tation In the cleaning room all of the men are exposed at their work stations to concentrations of lead in excess of.maximum per missible levels. The cut off wheel operator and. the grinders are working under particularly hazardous conditions of exposure to load dust. The magnitude of this exposure can best be measured by a determination of the concentration of lead in their blood and urine. In audition, there is a source of significant contamination of the room, atmosphere by silica. On the melting and molding floor, the sand conditioner and the xaolders appear to bo exposed to dangerous amounts of silica dust. The meIter and his helper are exposed to high concentrations of lead fume during pouring find casting, but these operations are Kf 0013894 under the conditions observed, cases of both load poison ing and of silicosis may occur in the men exposed to the respective contaminants over long periods of7time, . Recommendations on i*1iO C-uit off wheel Sho 3Ici bo to the i~.achino, and sho aid reon. fhc bag shouId be v ved accumulation of dust in it, J9 aopond ing upon the "ra to of 2. aid bo in atailed the nciiny wheels. 3 sho aid bo carried out in a t fdill ns grind inga and do bris shouid be removed from the tables and floor of tho cleaning room. Floor, work surfaces and rafters should be gone over with a vacaura cleaner now and at regular intervals, since accumulatod dust is being stirred up continuously and contributes significantly to contamina tion of the room atmosphere, f>. Dust counts and da termination of silica contant should be made in the sand reconditioning and the molding areas now, and in the cleaning room after improvements in dust collection and general housekeeping have boon made, by the Bureau of Industrial Health as an adjunct to the present study. 7* Bach of these two groups of men should have an r a y of chest for the purpose of identifying reaction of the lungs, if anj to innalod tiU304 The ireau will assist in arranging for uaaso .,-rays to ;30 XJLU.O at .lo 'Twelfth Ttreat Health Cantor of the i^y.j*.ncinnati lioalti'i if-3ptiX'ome; at a cost of pi.00 per examination, -ex uXons ^'Si'iOil-Lu. eo i ie annually. It is suggested that these bo done by the mobile X-ray unit of the Anti-Tuberculosis League at a cost of dl.pO per film, since vhis unit will visit the plant. Those examinations may be made by a private practitioner if oreferred. From the Bureau of Industrial Health. Cincinnati Health Department "ddmo's 'f'* itUgnos, >,. lr Date of Report: January 19pit KB oouniae i'ABLu! I LSa D COMCKHTRAt IO/ IS- f 'RbjS CK^ ifj'Ah b lN E Analysis Number 3A-928l 53A-9282 53A-9283 53A~928I|. 53A-9285 location acid Inscription lim e A t grinders (breathing level) 9 : 3 1 A, M . At cnt-oiT wheel (breathing level) 9 J>o On band saw table, central location in workroom* General room air (grindingop e ration's in progre sr3), h ,h . Dust from chipping tabla - In foundry, while following ladle from time of furna.cs tapping to completion of casting operation; a period, of approximately 6 minutes XO *ij-,,> $i't 9 L.l O.'H; i '; Op DUCT Cubic i-itara of Air Sanpld 1 #2u 1,00 ua. Loa Mk s /H3 3.9 4**4 For Cent Fraa Cristallina Silica * - 0.15 mm tat 0.17$ 90 2.0 te aorte 12-22-^3 '..SJ CO ro o o b Submitted; Required; Ointtonattf S l o ^ Hyan' Aead Analysis r.rRI! HosPital> .analysis Number Vo 1'line Specific Gravity Ma. Pb/Liter HT. DOT) - 55A-8805 - yO ml. - 1.021 - 0.1*6 analysis LvUmDer - 53A-8806 (-rams Mg. Pb/l00 Grains Spectropraohic Dlthlzone - 21.7 _ - 0.12 21.9 0 .1 2 c o n s id e r^ M ^ rn a gn rn id e ^ a n d 'i^ cons^steiU: f le ad a b orption of i n t o x i c a t i o n . Of c o n s i d e r a b l e s i g n i f i c a n c e i s th e H 6 ? C.U r r e * c e o f s y TMP t o m s o f l e a d tion o f e xp o s u re to le a d on the jo b and the c o l l e i i n f elapsed between term ina w e e k o r two had e la p s e d , it i s p ro b a b le th at t h e h \ l T V S p e c i m e n s - If m o r e th an a oe e xpe cte d to continue fo r so m e tim e . 6 *g r a t e f u r i n a r y l e a d e x c r e t i o n m a y Results Phoned Signed: 0013 688 ^J a m e s J- H u g h e s , M . D . Samples Collected; 11-20-S3 samples Received; 11-21-53 Samples Reported; 11-23-53 Required: Lead Analyses URINE Analysis Number Volume Specific Gravity Mg. Pb/Liter Coproporphyrin - 5 3 A-9 I1.77 - II4.ml. - 1.025 - 0.10 - 1.00 Mg./Liter BLOOD ........... Analysis Number - Spectrographio Grams - l8.1p Mg. Pb/l00 Grams - 0.17 Dithizone 20.8 0.19 The co n ce n tratio n of le ad in the blo o d is at a h igh e r le v e l than it w as found to b e in l a t e N o v e m b e r o f 195 3, a n d th e i n c r e a s e d l e v e l i s s u f f i c i e n t to in dicate that so m e fu rth e r expo su re to abn o rm al quan tities of le ad has occurred. Th is fa c t d e s pite the re la tive ly lo w and e s s e n tia lly n o rm al le v e l of le ad co n ce n tratio n in the u rin e , m a y w e ll be a s s o cia te d w ith an in cre a s e in sym pto m ato lo gy, although this is by no m eans in evitable. Signed: Robert A. 0013699 K" Samples Collected: 12-29-53 Samples Received: 12-30-53 Samples Reported: 1-5-5^ An a1y3 is Hunb er Volume Specific Gravity li;,. `fb/Liter 0oot o vovnr1vrin J. X' V - SoA-OO^Q s // - 15 5 ml. - 1.00Q - 0 .0 8 - 0.275 Mg./Liter jOOD j.na1ys :is Numb er /CV2-; jjlthlzone _Ditiiizone Grams 17 . 0 I9 .O M g . ?b/lOO Grams 0 .0 9 0 .11 The co n ce n tra tio n of le ad in the blo o d is in the ran ge in d ica tive o f re ce n t h azard o u s abs o rp tio n of le ad . The co n ce n tratio n in the u rin e is d is p ro p o r tio n ate ly lo w , in ke e pin g w ith the lo w s p e c ific g ra vity (dilute s am ple ) of the u rin e . Th e re s u lts a re c o m p a tib le w ith the o c c u r r e n c e of s ym p to m s o f lead intoxication. S i g n e d : _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ^_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Ro be rt A. Kehoe, M. D. K E 0013700 Samples Collected: 1 2 - 1 - 5 5 Samples Received: Samples Reported: 12- 3-55 12 -11-5 3