Health Hazard Evaluation Report HETA 96-0130-2619, The Sim J. Harris Company, SanDiego, California

摘要

As part of a study under an Interagency Agreement with the Federal HighwayAdministration, a workplace exposure and health assessment were performed during four paving days while the Sim J. Harris Company (SIC-1611) applied approximately 3,474 metric tons of crumb rubber modified (CRM) asphalt and conventional asphalt along several San Diego County, California roads. The evaluation included the collection of area air samples to characterize the asphalt fume emission, personal breathing zone air samples to evaluate worker exposures, and a medical component that included symptom questionnaires and lung function tests. Over 50 volatile organic compounds were detected in the asphalt emissions. All the monitored ones were below the respective occupational exposure limits. There were short term carbon-monoxide (630080) concentrations as high as about 40 parts per million (ppm) monitored on the paver deck. The symptom survey conducted among seven papers revealed a higher rate of symptom occurrences per completed questionnaire during the CRM asphalt paving period as compared to the conventional asphalt paving period. The authors state that any conclusions drawn from this single site evaluation would be premature and suggest further study be completed.