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Walk-through survey of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Inc., Louisville, Kentucky.

Jones JH; Young RJ; Selevan S

Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, IWS 87-10, 1975 Dec; :1-9

https://ntrl.ntis.gov/NTRL/dashboard/searchResults/titleDetail/PB89129845.xhtml

00182735

A walk through survey was conducted at the E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Inc., Louisville, Kentucky to observe the manufacture of neoprene and discuss environmental monitoring programs for the safety of employees. Unrefined, refrigerated chloroprene (126998) monomer was brought to the facility where it was distilled as needed. Chloroprene monomer, resin, and modifier were mixed and added with a water solution in a large glass lined reactor vessel for polymerization. Modification of the remaining steps allowed production of either full conversion latex or a solid material. The company provided complete preemployment physicals, and one every 3 years for employees less than 40 years old and once every 1.5 years for those over 40. Three cases of asbestosis have been reported in pipe insulation workers. Some cases of skin cancer were documented and hair loss due to chloroprene exposure was also noted. A chloroprene monitoring program was begun in the early 1970s; corrective actions were taken to lower chloroprene concentrations. Asbestos (1332214) was no longer used on process piping but potential exposure still exists. Acrylonitrile (107131) was used as a copolymer in chloroprene production. Exposure to talc (14807966) was also possible. Freon-22 (75456) was manufactured at this location. The authors recommend that exposure to chloroprene be kept as low as possible.

NIOSH-Author; NIOSH-Survey; Field-Study; Region-4; Chemical-manufacturing-industry; Safety-monitoring; Synthetic-rubber-manufacturing; Insulation-materials

126-99-8; 1332-21-4; 107-13-1; 14807-96-6; 75-45-6

19751201

Field Studies; Industry Wide

1976

PB89-129845

A02

IWS-87-10

DFSCI

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

KY; OH