HETA 92-314-2308 NIOSH INVESTIGATORS:

performed a health hazard evaluation (HHE) at Ohio University in response to a request from the University's Health and Safety Department. The request was to evaluate construction workers ' exposures to organic solvent vapors during the removal of asbestos-containing tile mastic. On August 3-4, 1992, NIOSH investigators visited the University. During this visit, investigators spoke with representatives of the University's Health and Safety Department, the environmental firm supervising the abatement, and the contractor performing the abatement, and performed air monitoring to determine the workers ' exposures to solvent vapors. Seven personal breathing zone air samples (PBZ) and one area air sample were collected over a portion of one shift (3.5 to 5 hours). The area sample and a bulk sample of the solvent were analyzed qualitatively by gas chromatography with mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). Based on the results from qualitative analysis, the PBZ samples were analyzed quantitatively by GC for ethylene glycol monobutyl ether (EGBE), and total refined petroleum solvent (RPS). Exposures ranged from 8 to 107 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m3) for EGBE, and from 42 to 410 mg/m3 for RPS. During the partial shifts that were monitored, six of the workers were exposed to EGBE at levels above the NIOSH Recommended Exposure Limit (REL) of 24 mg/m3. Three workers were exposed to RPS at levels that were above the REL of 350 mg/m3. Exposures to EGBE were below the OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) of 240 mg/m3 for the construction industry. The results indicate that workers were potentially overexposed to ethylene glycol monobutyl ether and refined petroleum solvent. This indicates a need for routine exposure monitoring for organic vapors during the use of solvents to remove tile mastic. Recommendations provided include changes in work practices, and improved use of personal protective equipment