From: Diane.Amell**At_Symbol_Here**state.mn.us Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Shorts and Skirts in Labs Date: November 10, 2008 11:01:03 AM EST You are correct. Federal OSHA, NIOSH, and several other groups have all removed restrictions on contact lenses in most settings. Proper eye and face protection is still required. (Apparently, some people believed incorrectly that contact lenses by themselves were adequate eye protection.) The best summary on the subject is the NIOSH Current Intelligence Bulletin 59: Contact Lens Use in a Chemical Environment, which can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2005-139/. Articles on the subject were published in the Volume 2 Number 1 (January/February 1995) and Volume 9 Number 2 (March/April 2002) issues of Chemical Health & Safety. Federal OSHA standards that recommend against the use of contacts in certain chemical environments include: Acrylonitrile Ethylene oxide Dibromochloropropane (DBCP) 4,4'-Methylenedianiline 1,3-Butadiene Methylene chloride Recent federal OSHA documents have recommended that contacts not be worn in dusty environments or around anhydrous ammonia. The recommendations against contacts in the federal lab standard (1910.1450) came from the 1981 version of Prudent Practices in the Laboratory: Handling and Disposal of Chemicals. It would be interesting to ask our colleague working on the latest edition where they are headed. - Diane Amell, MNOSHA
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