Author : Melvin Alexis Torres
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 127 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (898 download)
Book Synopsis Characterizing Lead Exposure at a U.S. Coast Guard Indoor Firing Range by : Melvin Alexis Torres
Download or read book Characterizing Lead Exposure at a U.S. Coast Guard Indoor Firing Range written by Melvin Alexis Torres and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 127 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Exposure to airborne and settled dust at firing ranges is a well-known hazard that puts employees at risk for lead poisoning. Nine firearms instructors (FAIs) were studied over a 4-week period while working at a U. S. Coast Guard indoor firing range to determine if their work placed them at risk of overexposure to lead. Blood was collected at the beginning and end of the study to determine if a change in blood lead levels (BLLs) had occurred throughout the study. Questionnaires were also issued to obtain demographic, occupational, & extracurricular activity information to determine any other potential sources of lead exposure. Personal air lead exposures were measured for the instructors during weaponry qualification. To determine the effectiveness of range cleaning, surface wipes of lead dust before and after cleaning were collected from the floor. Mean BLLs from FAIs at baseline was 2.4 μg/dL compared to 2.3 μg/dL at the end of the study, more than 20 times below OSHA's standard of 40 μg/dL. Furthermore, the mean airborne lead was 2.7 μg/m3, also more than 20 times below OSHA's standard of 50 μg/m3. One of our hypotheses was to find a relationship between changes in BLL and mean airborne lead; however, no correlation was found. We also found no relationship between changes in BLL, mean airborne lead, the number of hours per month spent inside the range and the number of lead and jacketed rounds fired at the range. When evaluating the cleaning methods, paired t-tests were used to measure the post- to pre-cleaning differences for weekly and monthly cleaning practices. Statistically significant differences were found (p