Notices to Readers
NIOSH Alerts on Workplace Hazards:
Falls Through Skylights and Roof Openings, Deaths of Farm
Workers in Manure Pits, and Exposure to Dimethylformamide
CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health (NIOSH) periodically issues alerts on workplace
hazards that have caused injury, illness, or death to
workers. Three alerts are now available about the serious
hazards posed by skylights and roof openings, manure pits,
and the organic solvent dimethylformamide (DMF).* Each alert
is summarized briefly below.
NIOSH Alert: Request for Assistance in Preventing Worker
Deaths and Injuries from Falls Through Skylights and Roof
Openings (1). Fatal falls frequently result from inadequate
guarding and fall protection for work around skylights,
skylight openings, and other roof openings. More frequent
use of skylights in new construction has increased the risk
to workers for such falls. This alert describes eight
incidents in which workers died from falls through skylights
or roof openings. NIOSH recommends four steps to prevent
fatal falls through skylights and roof openings: 1) strict
adherence to applicable Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) regulations, 2) adequate worker
training to recognize fall hazards, 3) placement of decals
on skylights to warn workers against sitting or stepping on
them, and 4) design of skylights to support the weight of a
worker who steps, sits, or falls on one.
NIOSH Alert: Request for Assistance in Preventing Deaths
of Farm Workers in Manure Pits (2). Farm workers who enter
manure pits risk death from exposure to oxygen-deficient,
toxic, or explosive atmospheres resulting from fermentation
of the animal wastes in these confined spaces. Gases
commonly encountered in manure pits include methane,
hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, and ammonia. The hazards
of manure pits have been known for several years, but recent
NIOSH investigations suggest that many farm workers are
unaware of the danger, and deaths continue to occur after
entry into these pits. This alert describes two incidents
(3) that resulted in seven deaths from asphyxiation in
manure pits. Victims in both incidents included rescuers who
were members of the same family. Deaths in manure pits occur
most frequently from April through September, when warm
weather may result in increased gas accumulation. Manure
pits should be treated as confined spaces, with proper
ventilation, testing of the atmosphere before entry,
presence of a standby person outside the manure pit, and use
of a safety belt or harness with a lifeline attached to
mechanical lifting equipment. A positive-pressure,
self-contained breathing apparatus should be used if an
oxygen-deficient or toxic atmosphere is detected. No one
should enter a manure pit unless it is absolutely necessary
and proper precautions have been taken.
NIOSH Alert: Request for Assistance in Preventing
Adverse Health Effects from Exposure to Dimethylformamide
(DMF) (4). NIOSH estimates that greater than 100,000 U.S.
workers may be exposed to DMF, an organic solvent that is
readily absorbed through the skin. This chemical is toxic to
the liver and can cause skin problems and alcohol
intolerance. Some reports also suggest an increase in cancer
among workers exposed to DMF, but the evidence is not
conclusive. DMF is used in acrylic fiber spinning, chemical
manufacturing, and pharmaceutical production; it is also
present in textile dyes and pigments, paint stripping
solvents, and coating, printing, and adhesive formulations.
Workers exposed to DMF should be informed about its adverse
health effects and trained to avoid skin contact and to use
appropriate protective equipment and work practices.
Employers should institute engineering controls to ensure
that DMF exposures do not exceed the NIOSH recommended
exposure limit/OSHA permissible exposure limit of 10 ppm as
an 8-hour time-weighted average (5). Environmental and
biological monitoring should be instituted if skin contact
with liquid DMF is possible, and medical screening should be
performed under certain circumstances, as outlined in the
alert.
Reported by: Div of Standards Development and Technology
Transfer, National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health, CDC.
References
NIOSH. NIOSH alert: request for assistance in preventing
worker deaths and injuries from falls through skylights and
roof openings. Cincinnati, Ohio: US Department of Health and
Human Services, Public Health Service, CDC, 1990; DHHS
publication no. (NIOSH)90-100.
NIOSH. NIOSH alert: request for assistance in preventing
deaths of farm workers in manure pits. Cincinnati, Ohio: US
Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health
Service, CDC, 1990; DHHS publication no. (NIOSH)90-103.
CDC. Fatalities attributed to methane asphyxia in manure
waste pits--Ohio, Michigan, 1989. MMWR 1989;38:583-6.
NIOSH. NIOSH alert: request for assistance in preventing
adverse health effects from exposure to dimethylformamide
(DMF). Cincinnati, Ohio: US Department of Health and Human
Services, Public Health Service, CDC, 1990; DHHS publication
no. (NIOSH)90-105.
Office of the Federal Register. Code of federal
regulations: occupational safety and health standards.
Subpart Z: Air contaminants--permissible exposure limits.
Table Z-1-A. Washington, DC: Office of the Federal Register,
National Archives and Records Administration, 1989. (29 CFR
*** 1910.1000).
*Single copies are available without charge from the
Publications Dissemination Section, Division of Standards
Development and Technology Transfer, NIOSH, CDC, 4676
Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45226; telephone (513)
533-8287.
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