Document zoJRqz5NXqdNO8Lpxp1Qqde5n

FILE NAME: PPG (PPG) DATE: 1963 Jul & Aug DOC#: PPG013 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Unpublished IHF Report - Evaluation of the Asbestos Dust Hazard in Tyler, TX Plants 55 S?. - *;. . -* -- C : >? -* .-l . - i * . f r v - ^ ,. T-v- T-.-r^k- * -?'* ; ; - . ....>- _. * -v\ .* ; - . .'*- ^Sk ' ' ;i \5^`^ ''i.V1* - `r ~ 7' " V*< ' >'' ^ . V ' : h : ` - ^ ^ ^ ' ' .1 f ` . "i * ^ ^ *. * 4 * * ,v,^* 4 (.' Ti * v * ` ; ^ r p r t o n : . E V A L U A T IO N O F TH E A SBESTO S OUST ,, ' " ' ' ' * ` v w' J` ; " % \ ' ' . V V. H A Z A R D IN T Y L E R , TEX A S P L A N E * * ' .. ` i . * '' "~ - ' - ' l ; ' * ' _ " . . . `. - * , " .V> r tx-*1' V ' .v v v - ^ Foe: * . v_^"** - N . ' V ' v. ' ' ^ ' ' . PITTSB U R G H ' CORNING C O R PO R A TICN ; . .\ ** . > ~ - r . f V '.D ate: . ^ * _ * * 4* T ..-'.. V - *. . *^-v 5 -* .JULY 8 , AUGUST 6 , '7 > 1 ^ 6 3 V**"` j *'X. *- * ** . - 1 . ' * . * * . . 4. *I ^ . * * : . 4*. - W * , ; - m` r >.>. >.. >$ v - ^ f *-* v . . ` * '. - * **m m IN D U S TR IA L H Y G IE N E FO U N D A TIO N OF AM ERICA .INC . M e l l o n In s t i t u t e , 4 4 0 0 F i f t h Av e n u e - --------- P it t s b u r g h 13. Pa . R eport on EVALUATION OF THE ASBESTOS DUST HAZARD IN T Y L E R , TEXAS PL A N T of the PITTSBU R G H CORNING CORPORATION July 8, A ugust 6, 7, 1963 F ield Investigation By: Jacob C holak Law rence J. Schafer W illiam J. Schreibeis Sam ples A nalyzed By: The K ettering L aboratory C in cin n ati, Ohio W illiam J. S ch reib eis, P .E . In d u strial Hygiene E ngineer AN Robert T. P . deT reville, M. D. M anaging D ire c to r 1. IN T R O D U C T IO N On July 8, the plant of the P ittsb u rg h C orning C o rp o ratio n , T y le r, T exas w as visited by M e ssrs. Jacob Cholak and W illiam J . S chreibeis in o rd e r to review the p o tential h ealth h a za rd s of handling a sb e sto s during m an u factu re of asb esto s pipe in su latio n . On A ugust 6 and 7, 1963, sam pling was conducted at the plant by M r. L aw rence J. Schafer and an evaluation m ade of the airb o rn e dust co n cen tratio n s. . DISCUSSION OF RESULTS In T able 1, the co n cen tratio n s of p a rtic u la te m a tte r, when p o ssib le , a re ex p ressed both on a w eight b asis and a s the num ber of p a rtic le s p re se n t in one cubic foot of a ir. S am ples collected w ith the high volum e sam p ler and the elec tro sta tic p recip itato r w ere suitable for g rav im etric and other analysis w hile sam p les co llected on m em b ran e filte rs w ere suitable fo r dust counting only. The num ber of p a rtic le s p re se n t in the a ir as to tal p articu late m a tte r and as asb esto s fib ers w ere determ ined. Any rod like p a rtic le w ith length definitely g re a te r than width w as consid ered as asb esto s fib e r. It m ay be seen th at the p e r cen t of fib e rs in the d u st v a rie d fro m a low of 29% to a high of 56% . The dust in the sawing a re a contained a slightly h ig h er content of asb esto s fib e rs th an did the a irb o rn e dust in the production a re a . It w ill a lso be noted th at m o re p a r ti c le s of dust and fib e rs of asb e sto s w ere p re s e n t in the a ir n e a r the sc ra p c r u s h e r s 2. than, su rp risin g ly , was the case fo r a ir in the saw ing a re a . The values in Table 1 follow ed by an a ste ris k a re estim ated counts taken from the stra ig h t lin es in F ig u re 1, fitte d to the d ata by the m ethod of le a s t s q u a re s . It m ay be se e n , that the dust counts and the m a ss concentrations a re clo sely re la ted . F ig u re 1 offers the plant a ra th e r sim ple m ethod fo r estim atin g the num bers of to tal p a rtic le s and of the fib ers of asb esto s p re sen t p e r cubic foot of a ir from the m a ss w eight data and volum es of a ir sam pled. H ighest dust counts, at the thresh o ld lim it, w ere obtained in the case of sam p les collected at the scrap c ru sh e r. The h ig h est con cen tratio n of d u st o c c u rre d fo r the five-m inute perio d that the th re e -u n it dust co llecto r in the saw a re a w as being cleaned. The a ir at the tak e-o ff a re a s of the building m ach in es w as th le a s t contam inated w ith dust. It sh o u ld be n o te d th a t th e th r e s h o ld l im it f o r a s b e s t o s , (5 m p p c f) is assu m ed to apply only to a sb e sto s fib e rs w hile dust in the a ir of the p lan t w ill contain other p a rtic u la te s, including fille r m a te ria ls u sed in the p ro c e ss . Since th e re is som e evidence that the m ost active p a rtic le s a re those fib ers betw een 20 and 50 m ic ro n s in len g th , the n u m b e rs of fib e rs p re s e n t in v a rio u s siz e c a te g o rie s w ere also d eterm in ed . T hese data a re given in Table 2. D ata in Table 2 and the a sb e sto s fib e r counts in Table 1 w ere used to d e riv e the data in T able 3. A s m ay be seen from T able 2, the fib e rs in the a ir of the saw ing a re a w ere g e n erally sh o rte r than w ere those in the p ro c e ss a re a . In T able 4 a re tabulated the p e r cent of the n u m b ers of the fib e rs of a sb e sto s o r, m o re p ro p e rly , bundles of fib e rs varying fro m 5 m ic ro n s to le s s 3. than 1 m icro n in d ia m e te r. The fib e rs in the a ir of the sawing a re a ap p ear to have slightly sm aller d iam eters than w as the case fo r fib ers in the a ir of the p ro cess area. The resu lts of other analytical w ork perform ed on these sam ples are given in T able 5. A s m ay be seen dusts o r fib e rs rem oved from the a ir in the production and sawing a re a s did not contain any fre e c ry sta llin e silic a . Two d if feren t sam ples of D acolite contained v ariab le sm all am ounts of quartz and c risto b a lite . In view of th e w arning p rin te d on each b ag , the low c o n c e n tra tio n s of fr e e silic a in th is m a te ria l w ere ra th e r su rp risin g . It would ap p ear from the an aly sis of the sam p les th at w ere co llected intentionally only at those p ro c e ss e s th at ap p eared to be the p rin c ip a l p ro d u c e rs of dust, th at the n um ber of a sb e sto s fib e rs p re s e n t in the a ir, w ith few ex cep tio n s, w ere w ell below the th resh o ld lim it of 5 m ppcf. One sig n ifican t exception w as the b rie f p erio d of tim e during w hich a c o llecto r sy stem w as being clean ed . D u r ing th is p e rio d , e x c e ssiv e q u an titie s of dust and fib e r w ere being d is p e rse d into the a ir fo r a p erio d of about 5 m in u te s. It would a p p ea r, fro m an ex am ination of the total n um bers of p a rtic le s and of fib e rs as w ell as o b serv atio n of the o p e ra tio n s, th at the c ru s h e r and the sawing o peration m ay a t tim e s produce la rg e q u an tities of dust. H ow ever, the du st, becau se of its p h y sical c h a ra c te ris tic s , a p p e a rs to settle out of the a ir rap id ly . P a rtic le s of p a rtic u la te s in sam p les co llected at breath in g level h eig h ts, w ere w ell below th re sh o ld lim its , even though som e op eratio n s w ere observed to produce what app eared visually to be la rg e clouds of dust. 4 The type of a sb e sto s used in th e p lan t is "axnosite" an iro n -m ag n e siu m silic a te . The specific g ra v ity of th is m a te ria l is 3.45 as com pared to 2 .5 5 fo r ch ry so tile , the m a te ria l m o re w idely used in this country. The fib e rs of ch ry so tile a re also m uch sm aller in d iam eter than a re th o se of am o site, the m inim um d iam eters being 0.5 m icro n and 0.03 m ic ro n re sp ec tiv e ly fo r am o site and ch ry so tile. A nother facto r in favor of the rap id settling of the fib e rs from the a ir of the plant is that the asbestos bundles a re not given the d ra stic shredding as in the tex tile in d u stry . R EC O M M EN D A TIO N S A t no tim e during the su rv ey was the a ir of the plant contam inated w ith dust to the point to affect v isib ility , and one could alw ays see down the e n tire length of the ra th e r long building in w hich the o p eratio n s w ere being conducted. N e v erth ele ss, our observation of the o p erations leads us to m ake the follow ing recom m endations: 1. T h ere w as an obvious need to in stitu te a b e tte r housekeeping p ro g ra m , e sp e c ia lly in the saw ing a re a . F lo o rs , equipm ent and o th er s tru c tu re s should be cleaned re g u la rly and frequently according to a definite su p erv ised schedule. D ry sw eeping should be avoided and only vacuum cleaning equipm ent provided w ith suitable co llecto rs should be u sed . 2. Hoods and ducts should be m aintained in good w orking o rd e r and all b re a k s and leak s in connecting d u cts, e tc. should be rep aired p ro m p tly . 5. 3. The hoods and the exhaust system at the wheel cu tter in the saw ing room should be im p ro v ed . 4. M ore space should be provided betw een the sawing equipm ent to reduce cro ss-co n tam in atio n of the a ir w ith dust. 5. It is suggested that the c ru sh e r be fed by m eans of a sh o rt con v ey o r system in o rd e r to keep the o p e ra to r c le a r of the cloud of dust p ro d u ced when the m achine is in o p eratio n . 6. O p e rato rs should be educated in re sp e c t to working h ab its w hich w ill red u ce the d isp ersio n of d u sts. F o r exam ple (a) c a rts of cru sh ed m a te ria l should be m oved from the c ru sh e r only a fte r the c ru sh e r has been tu rn ed off and a b rie f p erio d h as elap sed to p e rm it dust to s e ttle , (b) W ork should be re m o v e d from the larg e s litte r only a fte r the exhaust sy stem h as c lea re d the d u st fro m the in te rio r of the p iece being cu t. A w ait of only a few seconds would a cc o m p lish th is , (c) Bag c o lle c to rs should be opened only w hen the d isch arg e end of the c o l lecto r is closed. Table I -- C oncentrations of P artic u late M atter in the A tm osphere at V arious Locations in the Plant of the P ittsb u rg h Corning C orporation at T y ler, T eaas S am ple No. Date 1961 P rocess Areas 7 8/6 14 8/6 20 8/7 9 8/6 10 8/6 17 8/7 16 8/7 T im e of Day 11:10 am 12:20 pm 1:40 pm - 1:50 pm 12:00 N - 12:04 pm 1:19 pm - 1:45 pm 12:25 pm - 1:46 pm 10:18 am - 10:55 am 10:15 am - 10:15 am D escription and Location of Sample Method of Sample C o llec tio n W eight of Dust M g./M l G eneral a ir n ear the scrap c ru sh e r. B reathing sone at the scrap c ru sh e r while scrap was being crushed. B reathing sone at the sc rap c ru sh e r while scrap w as being crushed. B reathing sone in the scrap and asb esto s feed are a. G eneral a ir in the scrap and asb esto s feed are a. B reathing sone in the sc ra p and asb esto s feed area. B reathing sone in the building and tak e off a re a. High volum e sa m p le r E lectrostatic precipitator 24.8 21.2 M illipore filter E lectrostatic precipitator 4 .0 High volum e sam p ler 16.9 M illipore filter M illipore filter AVERAGE: Num ber of P a rtic le (mppcf) % F ib e rs in Total F ib ers Total Dust 8 .6 * 7.5 4 .8 * 4 .2 1 56 56 1.9 1.0 26 1.9 0.6 12 6.2* 1.2* 0.9 0 .) 52 1 11 1 0.7 0.2 4.2 2.0 Li l . 40.5 Sawing A rea ~ i-- r/6 2 8/6 J 8/6 4 8/6 6 8/6 8:18 am - 10:25 am 8:54 am to 9:02 am 9:18 am - 9:29 am 9:57 am - 10:07 am 11:17 am - 11:52 am G eneral a ir between the large edging aaw and the large slitting saw. B reathing sone at the larg e slitting saw while pieces 1 1/2" thick w ere being cut. B reathing sone at the large edging saw while p ieces 1 1/2" thick w ere being cut. B reathing sone at the feed end of the larg e edging saw while pieces 1 l/2 " thick w ere being cut. B reathing sone at the la rg e edging aaw while heavy w alled pieces w ere being cut. High volum e sam p ler E lectrostatic precipitator E lectrostatic precipitator E lectrostatic precipitator E lectrostatic precipitator 7 .8 1.0* 1.2* 7 .4 1.6 0. 4.1 1.2 0 .5 7 .9 1.2 1.7 5.5 2.6 1.2 (Table continued) 40 50 42 l 5S 46 O' Tabi)! I - - (Continued)* S am ple Date 1 OA1 Tim e of Dav Sawing A rea (continued) H B/6 12:00 N - 12:10 pm 5 B/6 10:10 am - 10:20 am II B/6 2:16 pm - 2:30 pm 12 8 /6 2:32 pm - 2:45 pm 13 8 /6 3:15 pm - 3:20 pm 19 B/7 11:40 am - 12:04 pm D escription and Location of Sample . Method of Sample C o llectio n W eight of Dust Mg. /M 3 B reathing zone at the large slitting saw E lectrostatic precipitator 10.6 while heavy walled pieces w ere being cut. B reathing cone at the block saw. E lectrostatic precipitator 9. 1 B reathing zone at the wheel c u tte rs while E lectro static p rec ip ita to r 18.8 blocks w ere being cut. B reathing zone at the wheel c u tte rs while M illipore filte r * - blocks w ere being cut. Breathing zone while cleaning the 3-unit dust co llec to r in the saw a re a (downstream of dust cloud). E lectro static p recip itato r 195.0 G eneral a ir n ear the 3-unit dust collector E lectro static p rec ip ita to r 3.5 in the saw a re a . AVERAGE FOR SAM PLES LESS NO. 13: Num ber ot P artlc le J (mppcf) % F ib e rs in Total F ib ers Total Dust 1 4 .6 I.B 39 1 5.6 2. 1 38 5.9 3.3 56 3.8 1.4 37 66.0 29.6 45 1.5 0.7 47 3. 3 1.47 45 M iscellaneous 15 s/e 10:05 am - 10:55 am G en eral a ir in the a s b e sto s sto rag e a re a . E le c tro sta tic p re c ip ita to r 2 .9 0.9 0 .3 33 IB 8 /6 11:10 am - 11:55 am G en eral a ir in c e n te r of the p ro d u ct sto r- M illipore filte r age area. -- <0.1 < 0 . 1 1 * Valuea a re taken front the c u rv e s fitted to data In F ig u re I. Table 2 -- The P e r Cent of the Total Number of Asbestos S am ple No. Date 1963 P rocess Areas 14 8/6 Tim e of Day 3:40 pm - 3:50 pm ZO 8 /7 12:00 N - 12:04 pm 9 8 /6 1:15 pm - 1:45 pm 17 0 /7 10:38 am - 10:55 am 16 0 /7 10:15 am - 10:35 am Sawing A rea Z 0/6 8:54 am - 9:02 am 1 8 /6 9:18 am - 4 8 /6 9:57 am - 10:07 am 6 8 /6 11:37 am - 11:52 am 0 8 /6 12:00 N 5 8/6 10:10 am - 10:20 am II 8/6 2:18 pm - 2:30 pm D escription and Location of Sample B reathing cone at the sc rap c ru sh e r while scrap was being crushed. B reathing cone at the sc ra p c ru sh e r while scrap was being crushed. B reathing cone in the scrap and asb esto s feed are a. B reathing cone in the scrap and asb esto s feed area. B reathing to n e In the building and ta k e-o ff area. B reathing tone at the larg e slitting saw while pieces 1 l/Z " thick w ere being cut. B reathing sone at the larg e edging saw while pieces 1 l/Z " thick w ere being cut. B reathing cone at the feed end of the larg e edging saw while pieces 1 1/2" thick w ere being cut. Breathing sons at the larg e edging saw while heavy walled pieces w ere being cut. B reathing sone at the larg e slitting saw while heavy walled pieces w ere being cut. B reathing sone at the block saw. B reathing sone a t the w heel c u tte rs while blocks w ere being cut. F ib e rs O ccu rrin g in V arious Rangea of Length mppcf A sbestos F ib e rs L e n g t h s of F i b e r s 1n M i c r o n s <100 <50 <40 <30 <20 <10 < 5 < 1 4 .2 100 94.2 94.2 85. 1 74.6 55.1 21.3 0 1.0 100 98.2 96.4 94.6 81.9 51.9 I I . 1 0 0.6 97.7 90.3 87.1 77.5 65.7 44.8 18.4 0 0 .) 100 97.3 97.3 97.3 94.6 75. i' 31.0 0 0 .2 94.1 88.9 86.4 83.9 74.6 53.4, 17.0 0 0 .8 96.9 89.4 83.8 70.1 60.1 40.0 4. 1 0 0 .5 100 9 2 .5 90.5 85.5 78.1 43. S' 6 .4 0 i 1.7 98.5 92.5 89.5 79.5 69.5 27.0 4 .0 0 1.2 98.0 94.0 91.5 89.0 84.5 60.9 19.2 0 1.8 99.5 99.5 98.0 96.0 89.7 79.5 39.1 0 l 2. 1 9 9 .0 94.5 89.1 80.7 7 3 .8 4 3 .7j 4.1 0 3.3 99.0 98.0 97.5 97.5 94.0 77.8 25.3 0 (Table continued) e A Table Z -- (Continued) S am ple No. r>. a. 1963 Tim e of Day Sawing A rea (continued) 12 8 /6 2:32 pm - 2:45 pm 13 8/6 3:15 pm - 3:20 pm 19 8/7 11:40 am - 12:04 pm M iacellaneoue Ts 8/T 18 8/7 10:05 am - 10:55 am 11:10 am - 11:55 am D eacription and Location of Sample B reathing zone at the wheel c u tte rs while blocks w ere being cut. B reathing sone while cleaning the 3-unit dust co llecto r in the saw a re a (down stream of dust cloud). G eneral air n ear the 3-unit dust collector in the saw area G eneral a ir in the asb esto s storage a re a . G eneral a ir in cen ter of the product sto rage area. mppcf A sbestos F ib e rs 1.4 29.6 0.7 0 .3 0.1 L e n g t h s o f F i b e r s in Idle r o n <100 <50 < 40 < 30 <20 < I < 5 <0 100 96.6 96.6 96. 1 91.8 78.0 40.8 0 100 99.0 98.0 96.1 89.9 76.0 29.2 0 100 96. 1 92.2 89.0 71.5 39.7 10.5 0 99.2 90.9 85.3 76.2 67.9 Too Few F i b e r s 4l.5j 8.5 0 sO I T able 3 - - The N um bers of A sb esto s F ib e rs (mppcf) P r e s e n t in th e A ir A c c o rd in g to th e R a n g e ___ of the Lengths of the F ib e rs M illions of F ib e rs P e r Cubic Foot of A ir 5 - 5 0 M icrons 10 - 50 M ic ro n s in Length in Length 2 0.68 0.39 3 0.43 0.25 4 1.50 1.10 5 1.90 1.07 6 0.90 0.40 8 1.09 0.36 9 0.43 0.27 11 2 .4 0 0.67 12 0.78 0 .2 6 13 20.70 6.80 14 3.06 1.64 15 0.25 0. 15 16 0.14 0.07 17 0.20 0.07 19 0.60 0.40 20 0.87 0.46 Table 4 -- The P e r Cent of the Total N um ber of A sbestos F ib ers with D iam eters Leas Than Those Stated S am ple No. Date 1963 P rocess Areas 14 8/6 20 8/7 9 8/6 17 8/7 lb 8/7 Sawing A rea 2 8/6 3 8/6 4 B/6 6 8/6 8 8/6 5 8/6 11 8/6 12 8/6 13 8/6 19 8/7 M iscellaneous --Ts b7 t - Tim e oi Day 3:40 pm - 3:50 pm 12:00 N - 12:04 pm 1:15 pm - 1:45 pm 10:38 am - 10:55 am 10:15 am - 10:35 am 8:54 am - 9:02 am 9:18 am - 9:29 am 9:57 am - 10:07 am 11:37 am - 11:52 am 12:00 N - 12:10 pm 10:10 am - 10:20 am 2:18 pm - 2:30 pm 2:32 pm - 2:45 pm 3:15 pm - 3:20 pm 11:40 am - 12:04 pm 10:05 am - 10:55 am D escription and Location of Sample mppcf A sbestos F ib e rs B reathing zone at the scrap c ru sh e r while scrap 4.2 was being crushed. B reathing zone at the sc rap c ru sh e r while scrap 1.0 w as being crushed. B reathing zone in the sc ra p and a sb e sto s feed a re a . 0 .6 B reathing zone in the sc ra p and asb esto s feed a re a . 0.3 B reathing zone in the building and take-off a re a . 0.2 Breathing zone at the large slitting saw while pieces 0 .8 of 1 l/2 " thick w ere being cut. B reathing zone at the larg e edging saw while pieces 0.5 of 1 l/2 " thick w ere being cut. B reathing zone at the end of the larg e edging saw 1.7 while pieces 1 1/2" thick w ere being cut. B reathing zone at the large edging saw while heavy 1.2 w alled pieces w ere being cut. Breathing zone at the large slitting saw while heavy 1.8 w alled pieces w ere being cut. B reathing zone at the block saw. 2. 1 B reathing zone at the wheel c u tte rs while blocks 3.3 w ere being cut. Breathing zone at the wheel cu tters while blocks 1.4 w ere being cut. B reathing zone while cleaning the 3-unit dust co llec to r in the saw a re a (dow nstream of dust cloud). G eneral a ir n ear the 3-unit dust co llecto r in saw a re a . 29.6 0 .7 G eneral a ir in the asb esto s storage are a. 0. 3 D iam eters of A sbestos F ib ers (M icrons) C 5 <4 < 3 < .2 <. 1 100 99. 1 96.5 65.6 II.3 1 100 100 99.1 8516 13.4 100 99. 1 100 98.5 97.4 97.5 89.8 88. 1 95.8 68.8 71.1 72. 1 7.3 27.9 21.3 100 100 91.3 60.9 .2 1 .9 98.2 94.6 91.8 66.8 28.8 99.0 97.0 88.5 64.0 18.7 98.0 96.0 86. 1 58.4 21.8 100 97.4 92.9 75.5 28.5 100 98.7 96.0 65.1 8 .7 100 98.6 93.0 71.5 22.9 99.1 98.0 100 97.4 95.0 99.1 93.0 87.2 92. 1 70.4 1 j 70.7 66.7 21.8 15.4 14.2 100 99.1 98.2 81.2 10.5 12. Table 5 - - F re e Silica Content of a N um ber of Sam ples C o llected in the P la n t D escription of Sam ple A sam ple of D acolite collected on 7-10-63 A sam ple of D acolite collected on 8 -5 -6 3 G en eral a ir sam ple co llected in the saw ing a re a betw een the larg e slitting saw and the larg e edging saw . G eneral a ir sam ple collected 5 feet from the scrap c ru s h e r. G eneral a ir sam ple collected in the feed a re a . P e r Cent F re e C rystalline Silica Q uartz C ristobalite T ridym ite 3 .0 2 .5 A bsent 1 .2 <2-0 A bsent <2.0 <2.0 < 2.0 A bsent A bsent A bsent A bsent A bsent A bsent M illig ram s P e r Cubic M eter of A ir M to o o Y - Millions of Pioers Per Cubic Meter of Air LO t VJ1 Ov --1 CD o o o O l ft VO o . *