Occupational health evaluation of the Bridgeville, Pennsylvania plant of Koppers Company, Inc. Organic Material Group (final report)
HERO ID
9641335
Reference Type
Technical Report
Subtype
TSCA Submission
Year
1982
Language
English
| HERO ID | 9641335 |
|---|---|
| Material Type | TSCA Submission |
| Year | 1982 |
| Title | Occupational health evaluation of the Bridgeville, Pennsylvania plant of Koppers Company, Inc. Organic Material Group (final report) |
| Authoring Organization | Tabershaw Occupational Medicine Associates |
| Publisher Text | Koppers Company, Inc |
| City | Pittsburgh, PA |
| Abstract | Tabershaw Occupational Medicine Associates, PA (TOMA) performed medical examinations and evaluations of the workers at Koppers' Bridgeville, Pennsylvania plant in May and June 1981. Of the 246 eligible workers, 139 (56.5%) were examined. While this is not a large proportion of workers, there is fairly good representation across all age groups. The medical examinations, tests, and evaluations were geared specifically for the potential occupational exposures at the plant. Special tests were therefore used to detect abnormalities in physiology and health that might be caused by work exposures. There were no diseases or abnormalities found that can be definitely related to effects of work exposures. There was one case of lung cancer detected in a 64-year-old cigarette smoker. It is not possible to say definitely if there is any relationship between work exposures and the development of lung cancer in this man, but the long history of cigarette smoking would implicate this as a causative factor. There were nine cases of possible minimal pneumoconiosis by chest x-ray. In addition, four of these individuals also had pleural thickening. Three others had pleural thickening without other complications. We do not have any information to indicate there were work exposures at this plant that would cause these abnormalities detected in the x-ray. There were no other abnormalities detected in the workers in greater proportion than in the general population of the same age groups. Specifically, there were fewer than expected skin lesions and no skin cancers found. There was no evidence of thyroid or immunological abnormalities. There also was no excess number of abnormalities in the hematological system. In the 1978 study, 13 cases of eosinophilia were observed, a higher than expected prevalence. Only seven of these 13 were retested in 1981. The results were all normal except for one case and his results were only slightly elevated. Five other workers also had elevated eosinophils, but the levels were not severe and there was no evidence of associated disease. There were several workers who bad abnormalities, generally minor, not related to work. Each worker was counseled about the findings and advised to see his/her personal physician as appropriate. |
| Report Number | 87-8210482 |
| Ntis Number | OTS0206278 |
| Tscats Number | TSCATS/018662 |
| Is Certified Translation | No |
| Dupe Override | No |
| Number Of Pages | 80 |
| Is Public | Yes |
| Language Text | English |
| Relationship(s) |
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