Charles S. McCAMMON

Performance testing of the NIOSH charcoal tube technique for the determination of air concentrations of organic vapors.

The use of the charcoal tube-gas chromatographic method to evaluate workplace air contamination has proliferated greatly in the las 10 years. This report documents early efforts by NIOSH researchers to evaluate several sampling and analytical parameters and their effect on the reliability of the technique. The effects of humidity, sample stability, sample migration and variations in the desorption efficiency are presented. A protocol is suggested for basic testing of the method for new substances.

An evaluation of a passive monitor for mercury vapor

This paper summarizes an evaluation of a passive mercury monitor made by the 3M Company. The monitor was compared to dynamic sampling methods used for the determination of mercury. The monitor was tested for accuracy, precision, interference from chlorine, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and the effects of temperatures and face velocity.

Industrial hygiene characterization of automotive wood model shops

A suspicion of an excess cancer risk in automotive model shops prompted the Industrywide Studies Branch, NIOSH, to conduct a proportionate mortality study and an industrial hygiene characterization of operations in these shops. The mortality study showed a statistically significant excess proportion of deaths due to colon cancer and leukemia (for woodshops only). The materials used in the model shops include various natural woods, laminated woods, plastics, resins, varnishes, putties and paints. Personal breathing zone samples were collected for total and respirable dust, amines, various hydrocarbons (including styrene, and toluene), formaldehyde, and nitrosamines. Particle size distribution studies were conducted on the wood dust and bulk airborne samples of dusts were subjected to various mutagenicity test systems. Work practices, ventilation and general housekeeping were checked. Total wood dust samples ranged from 0.03 to 25 mg/m3 with an average around 1.0 mg/m3. The percent respirable dust ranged from 19 to 38% as measured with Andersen impactors. Solvent exposure samples ranged from non-detectable to about 10% of the OSHA Permissible Exposure Levels. Relevant recommendations for improvement of contaminant control were made.

A solid sorbent personal sampling method for the simultaneous collection of nitrogen dioxide and nitric oxide in air

A sampling method is described for the collection of air samples containing both nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and nitric oxide (NO) in the range of 0.5 to 5 ppm NO2 and 9 to 50 ppm NO. These two gases are trapped on a solid sorbent sampling tube which employs the collection of the NO2 on a triethanol-amine (TEA)-impregnated molecular sieve surface; the oxidation of NO to NO2 by a solid oxidizer; and the collection of the converted NO on another section of TEA sorbent. The trapped NO/NO2 on each TEA section is desorbed and the concentrations are determined spectrophotometrically. At all concentrations tested, the collection efficiency for NO2 averaged approximately 96%. The collection efficiencies for NO were as follows: at 9 ppm, 97%; at 11 ppm, 106%; at 24 ppm, 84%; and at 50 ppm, 67%.

A comparison of four personal sampling methods for the determination of mercury vapor.

Four sampling and analytical methods for mercury vapor were compared to each other in terms of precision and accuracy. The four sampling medias used were the 3M passive Mercury Vapor Monitor, the Los Alamos tandem sampling tube, the hopcalite tube, and the iodine impregnated charcoal tube. Six samples from each method were collected at nominal mercury concentrations of 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2 mg/m3. The hopcalite and 3M monitors gave comparable results at all three concentrations while the Los Alamos method gave similar results at the two highest concentrations. The iodine charcoal tube method was the only one exhibiting poor precision when tube loadings were less than 3 micrograms of mercury.

A Charcoal Sampling Method and a Gas Chromatographic Analytical Procedure for Carbon Disulfide

Research is reported concerning an acceptable method for sampling and analyzing samples for carbon disulfide. Test atmospheres of carbon disulfide were generated dynamically using the syringe injection method, ant the theoretical concetnration verified by a liquid absorbent, colorimetric method. The CS2 was adsorbed on charcoal tubes, eluted with benzene, and quantitated with a gas chromatography equipped with a sulfer flame photometric detector. The results compared with the colorimetris analysis. The sensitivity of this method is 1 mug on a charcoal tube. The charcoal tubes were also tested for breakthrough volumes, holding power vs time, and the effect of air transport and temperature cycles.

Evaluation of Concurrent Personal Measurements of Acrylonitrile Using Different Sampling Techniques

In a retrospective assessment of employee exposure to acrylonitrile (AN) for an epidemiological study, investigators from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) evaluated the feasibility of using historic acrylonitrile air samples without modification. The evaluation discussed here was to determine whether the air sampling results across plants were comparable. During site visits to each plant conducted between 1984 and 1986, study investigators collected personal air samples for four days on approximately ten jobs per day. During these visits, IHs at seven of the eight plants also collected personal samples to compare their sample values to the study-collected sample values. Each plants IH collected these concurrent measurements for their own use and independent of the IHs at the other plants. The plant IHs had no common sampling protocol but, rather, used professional judgment in deciding sampling logistics for their concurrent measurem...

Colon and stomach cancer mortality among automotive wood model makers.

Automotive wood model makers have been reported to be at excess risk for colon and other cancers in recent epidemiologic studies. To further explore these risks, we conducted a retrospective cohort mortality study, with follow-up from 1940 through 1984, of 2294 white male wood model makers employed at any time until 1980 by three US auto makers. Using US mortality rates for comparison, we found elevated standardized mortality ratios of 1.2 (95% CI, 0.8-1.9) for colon cancer and 1.6 (95% CI, 0.9-2.6) for stomach cancer. We also conducted nested case-control studies for 20 colon and 17 stomach cancer cases and 543 age-matched controls. We found no trend of increased risk for colon or stomach cancer mortality with increased exposure to wood dust or to duration employed in wood model making.

Cluster of presumed organic dust toxic syndrome cases among urban landscape workers-Colorado, 2007.

BACKGROUND Organic dust toxic syndrome (ODTS) is an influenza-like illness typically affecting agricultural workers exposed to organic dusts. In July 2007, Tri-County Health Department investigated a cluster of acute respiratory illnesses among urban landscape workers with known mulch exposure. METHODS An epidemiologic study of landscape workers was conducted. Employees were interviewed regarding illness and occupational exposures. Medical records were reviewed. Mulch samples were tested for fungi and endotoxins. RESULTS Five (12%) of 43 employees experienced respiratory illness compatible with ODTS. Illness was associated with prolonged mulch exposure (>or=6 vs. <6 hr/day; relative risk = 24.7; 95% confidence interval = 3.3-184.9). Mulch samples contained high levels of Aspergillus spores and endotoxin. CONCLUSIONS Contaminated mulch was implicated as the source of presumed ODTS among landscape workers, highlighting that ODTS is not limited to rural agricultural settings. Education of employers, safety officers, and clinicians is necessary to improve recognition and prevention of ODTS within urban occupational groups.

A Summary of the NIOSH evaluation program of portable direct-reading meters

The National Institute for Occupation Safety and Health (NIOSH) has developed a program to evaluate portable, direct-reading instruments. The results of these evaluations for CO, SO2, combustible gas, and NO2 instruments are reported. Realistic performance specifications have been developed for each of these types of instruments.