Asbestos Exposure and Control at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard

摘要

A two and one-half year comparison of chest X-ray findings in the total work force of Puget Sound Naval Shipyard shows that 21% of the Pipe Coverers and Insulators handling asbestos have pulmonary abnormalities compared to 3.5% of the Boilermakers who have some exposure to asbestos and silica, and less than 1% of the Clerical workers with no known exposure to industrial dusts. Pulmonary abnormalities have remained high although evaluation of the asbestos dust exposure of Pipe Coverers and Insulators shows their time weighted exposures are below the current Threshold Limit Value of 5 million particles per cubic foot of air. The Threshold Limit Value may be too high and intermittent peak exposures may play a greater role than suspected. A number of engineering control methods and changes in work practices are suggested to reduce asbestos exposure. (Author)