HHE Report No. HETA-84-013-1504, Sea-Land Service, Seattle, Washington.

Apol-AG; Parrish-RG

NIOSH 1984 Sep:11 pages

00146655

A medical survey at Sea Land Service, Incorporated (SIC-4463), Seattle, Washington was conducted in December, 1983. The survey was requested by company management due to employee complaints of irritation, headache, and sleepiness. These symptoms were believed to be connected to nearby road construction activities involving contaminated soil. The facility's health and safety officer was interviewed and a tabulation of employee health complaints filed by the officer was reviewed. Sixteen employees were interviewed. A report from an occupational medicine clinic that had examined 22 employees was reviewed. Sampling data on the construction site obtained by the Port of Seattle was examined. Major reported symptoms included headache, skin rash, eye and throat irritation, nausea, and dizziness. The clinic could not conclusively associate the employee symptoms with exposure to the construction site. The soil sampling data showed total hydrocarbon concentrations of 0.2 to note that the ventilation system in the office was poorly maintained. They conclude that a health hazard due to excavated dirt does not exist at the facility. Recommendations include maintaining the ventilation system properly and keeping a log of all employee health complaints and construction site activity.

NIOSH-Author; NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation; NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report; Hazards-Unconfirmed; Materials-transport; Region-10; Office-workers; Ventilation-systems; Emission-sources; Trace-substances; HETA-84-013-1504;

19840901

Hazard Evaluation and Technical Assistance;

1984

PB85-220838

A03

HETA-84-013-1504

DSHEFS;

4463;

Hazard Evaluations and Technical Assistance Branch, NIOSH, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Cincinnati, Ohio, Report No. HETA-84-013-1504, 11 pages

WA; OH;