If she is spraying flammable liquids (which is normally the case in composite layup and sprayup), she will then fall under 29 CFR 1910.107 Spray Finishing Using Flammable and Combustible Materials and 29 CFR 1910.94(c) Ventilation: Spray Finishing Operations, not to mention NFPA 33 and whatever the local fire marshal may require. She needs a booth specially designed for spraying flammable materials. I am sensitized to isocyanates because of a researcher who thought a lab hood was acceptable for the same thing. If you want a quick read on some of the other standards that may apply to such operations, we have a booklet on our Web site that we put out several years ago during a special emphasis program covering layup/sprayup. (We have a lot of shops of varying sizes here in Minnesota.) It's based on an old NIOSH booklet that staff updated and Minnesota-ized. It can be found at http://www.doli.state.mn.us/pdf/fiberglass.pdf. - Diane Amell, MNOSHA >>> Debbie Decker8/29/2007 11:18 AM >>> Greetings: As ever, please excuse the cross-postings. I have a new researcher whose topic of interest is composites. She does lay-up and manufacture of composites using various epoxies and resins. She also tests composites with various liquids with which the composites might come in contact - jet fuel, de-icing liquids, etc. We are renovating lab space for her and she needs a place to "lay-up" various composite materials and vacuum bag the pieces to cure. She has plans to do work on a full-scale car bumper and an unmanned vehicle of some sort. Currently, they work with small pieces in a (very small) fume hood and wear respirators when working outside of the hood. I'm philosophically uncomfortable with folks routinely wearing respirators. We can engineer out this hazard! A traditional fume hood probably won't work. Backdraft won't allow for access all the way around the work piece. We use down draft tables in anatomy teaching but will traditional down draft work in this situation with such a large surface area? Lemme know what ya'll think. Thanks, Debbie ----------------- Debbie M. Decker, Campus Chemical Safety Officer Environmental Health and Safety University of California, Davis 1 Shields Ave. Davis, CA 95616 (530)754-7964/(530)752-4527 (FAX) dmdecker**At_Symbol_Here**ucdavis.edu Co-Conspirator to Make the World A Better Place -- Visit www.HeroicStories.com and join the conspiracy
Previous post | Top of Page | Next post