Community exposure to toluene diisocyanate from a polyurethane foam manufacturing plant--North Carolina, 1997. 1998


In August 1996, residents of a community in Randolph County, North Carolina, contacted the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) because of health concerns about possible exposure to chemical emissions from a polyurethane manufacturing plant. ATSDR and the North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources (NCDEHNR) conducted ambient air monitoring to characterize air contamination near the plant. ATSDR and Randolph County health officials also conducted biologic monitoring to determine whether residents were being exposed to toluene diisocyanate (TDI) emitted from the plant. This report summarizes the results of these investigations, which indicate that residents were being exposed to TDI in ambient air surrounding the plant.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007221 Industry Any enterprise centered on the processing, assembly, production, or marketing of a line of products, services, commodities, or merchandise, in a particular field often named after its principal product. Examples include the automobile, fishing, music, publishing, insurance, and textile industries. Tertiary Sector,Industries,Sector, Tertiary,Sectors, Tertiary,Tertiary Sectors
D009657 North Carolina State bounded on the north by Virginia, on the east and Southeast by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Georgia and South Carolina, and on the west by Tennessee.
D011140 Polyurethanes A group of thermoplastic or thermosetting polymers containing polyisocyanate. They are used as ELASTOMERS, as coatings, as fibers and as foams. Polyisocyanates,Ostamer,Pellethane,Spandex,Ostamers,Pellethanes,Polyisocyanate,Polyurethane,Spandices
D004781 Environmental Exposure The exposure to potentially harmful chemical, physical, or biological agents in the environment or to environmental factors that may include ionizing radiation, pathogenic organisms, or toxic chemicals. Exposure, Environmental,Environmental Exposures,Exposures, Environmental
D004784 Environmental Monitoring The monitoring of the level of toxins, chemical pollutants, microbial contaminants, or other harmful substances in the environment (soil, air, and water), workplace, or in the bodies of people and animals present in that environment. Monitoring, Environmental,Environmental Surveillance,Surveillance, Environmental
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000393 Air Pollutants Any substance in the air which could, if present in high enough concentration, harm humans, animals, vegetation or materials. Substances include GASES; PARTICULATE MATTER; and volatile ORGANIC CHEMICALS. Air Pollutant,Air Pollutants, Environmental,Environmental Air Pollutants,Environmental Pollutants, Air,Air Environmental Pollutants,Pollutant, Air,Pollutants, Air,Pollutants, Air Environmental,Pollutants, Environmental Air
D000906 Antibodies Immunoglobulin molecules having a specific amino acid sequence by virtue of which they interact only with the ANTIGEN (or a very similar shape) that induced their synthesis in cells of the lymphoid series (especially PLASMA CELLS).
D014051 Toluene 2,4-Diisocyanate Skin irritant and allergen used in the manufacture of polyurethane foams and other elastomers. Diisocyanatotoluene,Tolylene Diisocyanate,2,4-Toluenediisocyanate,Toluene Diisocyanate,2,4 Toluenediisocyanate,2,4-Diisocyanate, Toluene,Diisocyanate, Toluene,Diisocyanate, Tolylene,Toluene 2,4 Diisocyanate

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