Cost-Effective Radiator Repair Ventilation Control

Abstract

Abstract Radiator repair shops in the United States employ an estimated 40,000 workers. The shops are generally small, employing an average of four workers each. Airborne lead levels as high as 500 μg/m3, ten times the OSHA PEL of 50 μg/m3, have been reported in some of these shops, and blood lead levels in workers of over 60 μg/dl are not uncommon. Although numerous publications deal with the exposure problem, few describe methods to reduce lead levels. Typically, engineering controls in these radiator repair shops consist of propeller fans in the building walls or roof for general ventilation or electrostatic precipitators suspended from the ceiling to remove particulate from the air. Both methods are ineffective in reducing worker lead exposures to below the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL). This article describes a cost-effective ventilation enclosure made of a flexible silicone sheet reinforced by fibrous glass that forms a tent-like structure over...