Health Hazard Evaluation Report No. HETA 81-383-1151, Main Post Office, Chicago, Illinois

摘要

In August 1981, an environmental survey was conducted during which personal breathing-zone and area air samples were collected for benzene, toluene, mineral spirits, and coal tar naphtha. Confidential interviews were conducted with seven employees in the area. Two of four short-term personal samples for toluene collected during silk screening cleanup operations revealed concentrations above the NIOSH-recommended standard of 200 parts of contaminant per million parts of air (ppm) for a 10-minute ceiling period. On the basis of the data obtained in this investigation, NIOSH investigators determined that a hazard from exposures to toluene above the recommended ceiling concentration did exist at the time of this survey. In addition, a potential hazard from combined exposure to toluene, mineral spirits, and coal tar naphphtha could exist in silk screen operations conducted for the entire 8-hour work shift. In order to alleviate this hazard, as well as to reduce exposures to other substances used in this process, recommendations aree included in the body of the full report.