Industrywide Studies Report of Indepth Survey of Nalco Chemical Company, Garyville, Louisiana, April 23-25, 1984

摘要

Environmental and breathing zone samples were analyzed for acrylamide at Nalco Chemical Company (SIC-2869, SIC-2899). Breathing zone time weighted average (TWA) acrylamide concentrations ranged from 0.003 to 0.012 mg/cu m, arithmetic mean, 0.005mg/cu m. The OSHA TWA standard for acrylamide is 0.3mg/cu m. Environmental (wipe) samples contained 3.6 to 5.5 micrograms acrylamide per sample (microg/sample), barely above the limit of detection, 1.76 microg/sample. During the survey, dried acrylamide powder was not evident on the equipment or floor. Forty employees, including maintenance workers, worked in the acrylamide areas. Since 1974, as many as 80 employees have worked in the acrylamide and polyacrylmide production areas. The author notes that based on a previous walk-through survey, the company practices good housekeeping. The author concludes that exposures to airborne acrylamide at the facility are very low. The number of employees exposed to acrylamide is too small to conduct an epidemiological survey.