HETA Report No. TA-77-79, Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington, D.C.

Price-J

NIOSH 1978 Feb:6-6

00115522

Worker exposures to carbon-monoxide (630080) (CO) were surveyed at the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) parking garage (SIC-7525) on October 25 to 27, 1977. The evaluation was requested by HUD on behalf of three parking attendants and about 1,000 carpool members. CO concentrations ranged from 20 to 56 parts per million (ppm). The recommended OSHA limit is 50ppm. Attendants were exposed to sufficient CO to produce carboxyhemoglobin concentrations as high as 7.3 percent as compared with NIOSH recommended criteria of 5 percent. The authors conclude that a hazard exists due to CO on 1 day of exposure. They recommend an evaluation of the ventilation system, staggered departure times, increased capacity for the ventilation system, avoidance of needless idling of engines during periods of traffic congestion, employment of a traffic patrolman to direct traffic out of the garage, and the continued operation of the ventilation system until the garage is closed in the evening.

NIOSH-Author; NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report; TA-77-79; Region-3; Hazards-Confirmed; Toxic-gases; Health-surveys; Air-sampling;

630-08-0;

19780201

Hazard Evaluation and Technical Assistance; Field Studies

1978

PB82-157769

A01

TA-77-79

DSHEFS;

7525;

Hazard Evaluations and Technical Assistance Branch, Cincinnati, Ohio, 17 pages 6 references

OH;