Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA 96-0252-2763, San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department, San Francisco, CA.

摘要

In August 1996, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) received a management request for a health hazard evaluation (HHE) from the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department, San Francisco, California to evaluate the Parks Departments composting operation. Their request indicated that one of the three employees assigned to the composting site had experienced respiratory problems, nausea, shortness of breath, and muscle soreness. In addition, NIOSH was also asked to evaluate the effectiveness of the enclosed cabs on the heavy equipment used at the compost site. On September 4, 1996, two NIOSH Industrial Hygienists conducted a site visit to the composting site and conducted limited air samples during simulated turning operations. The results from this health hazard evaluation indicate that enclosed machinery cabs on the equipment at the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department sites reduce exposures to airborne fungi and bacteria. Microorganisms play such an important role in composting. Acceptable levels of airborne microorganisms have not been established. Lack of standardized exposure assessment techniques, inability to measure non-viable organisms, and inter-individual variability in response have confounded efforts to set such standards. To reduce this potential hazard it is important to minimize worker exposures using either engineering controls or a combination of engineering controls and respiratory protection.