Evaluation of Employee Exposuresin a Bus Maintenance Shop

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) received a confidential employee request for an Health Hazard Evaluation (HHE) at the Huntington Coach Corporation bus repair and body shops, Huntington Station, New York, in November 2006. Employees were concerned that exposures to cleaning solvents, paint vapors, diesel exhaust, and asbestos-containing brake dust were causing skin rashes and respiratory irritation. The request also mentioned possible safety hazards including ignition sources near flammable liquids and use of unsafe vehicle jack stands. On March 15, 2007, we conducted an evaluation that included an opening meeting with management and union representatives, a walk-through survey of the facility's 4th Avenue body shop and 5th Avenue maintenance shop, observations of work practices and PPE use, employee exposure and health assessments, an assessment of building ventilation and potential solvent exposure, and confidential employee interviews. We also collected bulk samples of brake pad pieces and dust samples from the brake rotor lathe and the brake drums and wheels of buses being serviced. We found fiberglass and cellulose in the bulk samples of dust and brake shoes and pads, but no asbestos. In the 5th Avenue maintenance shop, connections between vehicle exhaust pipes and flexible exhaust hoses were loose, and the flexible hoses often did not extend to the outdoors. In the 4th Avenue body shop, a poorly ventilated flammable liquid storage cabinet was overfilled. Two brake cleaners used by the maintenance shop contained tetrachloroethylene, a potential carcinogen.