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Technical Assistance Report No. TA-79-25, Detroit Canada Tunnel, Detroit, Michigan.

NIOSH

Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, TA 79-25, 1980 Feb; :1-9

00132240

An environmental survey was conducted at the Detroit Canada Tunnel in Detroit, Michigan on August 18 to 20, 1979. Environmental measurements were made to determine employee exposures to carbon- monoxide (630080), lead (7439921), sulfuric-acid (7664939), total particulates, benzene (71432), and noise. Carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) tests were given to employees before and after work shifts. OSHA standards for total particulates were 15 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m3), 0.1mg/m3 for lead, and 1mg/m3 for sulfuric-acid. For benzene, the OSHA limit was 10 parts per million (ppm) and for noise, 90 decibels on the A-weighted sound scale. All exposure limits were based on an 8 hour time weighted average. Sampling indicated no detectable concentrations of sulfuric-acid and very low concentrations of 0.02ppm benzene. Noise was well within the recommended limit. Total particulate was 0.08mg/m3 and lead was the 2 survey days; in survey smokers, COHb increased by 2 and 1.5 percent on the 2 days tested. Carbon-monoxide exceeded the 35ppm standard on one occasion, but the time weighted 8 hour average was always less than 35ppm. The authors conclude that even though carbon-monoxide exposures are not in excess of standards, the increased COHb employees dictates the rotation of inspectors to avoid potentially high exposures.

NIOSH-Author; NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report; Hazards-Unconfirmed; Tunnel-workers; Air-quality-measurement; Air-sampling; Dust-exposure; Airborne-particles; TA-79-25; Region-5

630-08-0; 7439-92-1; 7664-93-9; 71-43-2

19800201

Field Studies; Technical Assistance

1980

PB80-192065

A02

TA-79-25

DSHEFS

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

MI; OH