Health Hazard Evaluation Report No. HETA 82-368-1308, Appalachian Laboratory for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, West Virginia

摘要

Between June and December 1982, NIOSH evaluated formaldehyde exposures among histology technicians using a surgical biopsy hood in Room 281A. A larger study of laboratory personnel working with formaldehyde was conducted as the result of a meeting held on April 23, 1982. Personal breathing-zone air samples taken June 4, 1982, indicated exposures in excess of the 1976 NIOSH-recommended standard of 1 ppm as a ceiling concentration determined during a 30-minute sampling period. Air sampling results indicated that prior to its modification in July of 1982, histology technicians using the surgical biopsy hood in Room 281A to perform the procedures demonstrated on June 4 were exposed to levels of formaldehyde in excess of the NIOSH-recommended standard. Ventilation measurements and air samples taken after the modification indicate that the modified hood effectively controls exposures to levels consistent with current NIOSH guidelines.