Abstract
Worker exposure to estrogens were studied at the Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation (SIC-2834) in Raritan, New Jersey, on June 20, 1978. The company was under consideration for inclusion in a NIOSH study of the health effects of occupational estrogen exposure. Approximately 40 of the employees at the facility were assigned to the estrogen processing area. The company maintained a safety and industrial hygiene program, and a medical program. Personnel records provided demographic data, department assignments, and absence reports. Symptoms of estrogen exposure have not been reported among processing technicians since 1976. Work categories with the greatest potential for estrogen exposure were processing technicians, packaging area operators, quality assurance inspectors or laboratory technicians, and maintenance workers. The authors conclude that this workforce should not be included in the epidemiological study since all personnel records are destroyed 7 years after employee termination. In addition, only a relatively small number of employees are exposed to the estrogens, women are excluded from the production area, and the exposure period is relatively short.
Source Name
NIOSH, Industry-wide Studies Branch, Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations and Field Studies, Cincinnati, Ohio, 13 pages
