From: Monona Rossol <actsnyc**At_Symbol_Here**cs.com>
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] OSHA provides new information on chemical safety
Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 08:58:20 -0400
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: 8D0A1F483434162-FAC-1773**At_Symbol_Here**webmail-m253.sysops.aol.com
In-Reply-To


Kim.  The OSHA regulations are a little like the Bible.  Whatever position you want to take, you can find back up for it somewhere in there. And letters of interpretation are regularly rewritten, amended and even dropped from the list.   The wording of the 1970 Act that creates OSHA clearly does not include enforcing rules that are not protective.
 
After OSHA's updated 1989 PELs were vacated in 1992, OSHA's announcement of the action included the statement that they "believe that many of the old limits which we will now be enforcing are out of date (they predate 1968) and not sufficiently protective of employee health based on current scientific information and expert recommendations.  In addition, many of the substances for which OSHA has no PELs present serious health hazards to employees."  58 FR 40191, July 27, 1993
 
I think OSHA already cited for the diacetyl exposures and they have no PEL for this stuff.  The General Duty clause allows citations for a "recognized hazard."  So they have already acted on this second sentence above.
 
Now it remains to find a test case for citing for exposures to a substance for which the PEL was clearly not protective and the employer should have known it was a recognized hazard.  I have some PELs in mind as guesses already for which there is growing industrial evidence and for which the PEL is 10 or more times higher.
 
If this battle was about OSHA PELs  vs. ACGIH TLVs,  the PELs would win.   But OSHA will not defend their PELs..  This battle is actually is OSHA vs their own PELs.  The Annotated Z-tables are another strategy in that battle.  This table is OSHA's tacit endorsement of the validity of the TLVs, the RELs and the California standards which are based on and started out as the vacated OSHA PELs!  So OSHA is not giving up on trying to update the PELs.
 
 
Enforcing standards that most of the world and OSHA knows are not protective sooner or later will fall as policy--especially because the enforcing agency wants it to fail.  It's only the "how" we wait to see.   
 
 
Monona Rossol, M.S., M.F.A., Industrial Hygienist
President:  Arts, Crafts & Theater Safety, Inc.
Safety Officer: Local USA829, IATSE
181 Thompson St., #23
New York, NY 10012     212-777-0062
actsnyc**At_Symbol_Here**cs.com   www.artscraftstheatersafety.org

 
-----Original Message-----
From: Kim Gates <kim.gates**At_Symbol_Here**STONYBROOK.EDU>
To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Sent: Mon, Oct 28, 2013 7:17 am
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] OSHA provides new information on chemical safety

I believe OSHA will only continue to cite for exceeding the PEL and not the annotated OELs for chemicals on the OSHA list. The press release says:

"OSHA also created another new web resource: the Annotated Permissible Exposure Limits, or annotated PEL tables, which will enable employers to voluntarily adopt newer, more protective workplace exposure limits. OSHA's PELs set mandatory limits on the amount or concentration of a substance in the air to protect workers against the health effects of certain hazardous chemicals; and OSHA will continue to enforce those mandatory PELs. Since OSHA's adoption of the majority of its PELs more than 40 years ago, new scientific data, industrial experience and developments in technology clearly indicate that in many instances these mandatory limits are not sufficiently protective of workers' health."

The letter explains that 5a1 will be cited only if there was no PEL and a hazardous exposure exists. OSHA can not cite for a more restrictive standard (either PELs or some other issue that is covered by a consensus standard that is more restrictive than an OSHA reg). https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=INTERPRETATIONS&p_id=24749


Kim Gates
Laboratory Safety Specialist
Environmental Health & Safety
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook, NY 11794-6200
Kim.Gates**At_Symbol_Here**stonybrook.edu
631-632-3032
FAX: 631-632-9683
EH&S Web site: http://www.stonybrook.edu/ehs/lab/


On Sun, Oct 27, 2013 at 4:24 PM, Monona Rossol <actsnyc**At_Symbol_Here**cs.com> wrote:
It doesn't make it inevitable, but it helps.  If workers have injuries documented to be from a particular chemical, and if the employer has documentation that exposures were below the PEL, and if that PEL is significantly less protective than the other two workplace standards, it makes using the General Duty Clause easier.  OSHA can make the case that the employer should have been aware that this level of exposure is a recognized hazard by NIOSH, the State of California, and ACGIH (and probably by the DFG in the EU and on and on).  That coupled with the statements OSHA published in the Federal Register in 1992 after the courts vacated their new PELs which clearly said that workers would not be protected by the old standards, I think employers should be using the more protective standards.  It is now common practice for many Industrial Hygienists, myself included, to ignore the PELs in favor of better standards.
 
There also are a number of states that have adopted the vacated OSHA PELs for their state programs.  And California was one.  Since 1992, CalOSHA also lowered some more and added a few.
  
I am so impressed with my friend, David Michaels, for doing this. It's about the only strategy left to OSHA after the 1992 decision.
Monona Rossol, M.S., M.F.A., Industrial Hygienist
President:  Arts, Crafts & Theater Safety, Inc.
Safety Officer: Local USA829, IATSE
181 Thompson St., #23
New York, NY 10012     212-777-0062

 
-----Original Message-----
From: Looney, Bill <bill.looney**At_Symbol_Here**AECOM.COM>
To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Sent: Sun, Oct 27, 2013 3:32 pm
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] OSHA provides new information on chemical safety

Since OSHA is putting these more restrictive values out there and notifying employers, I have to wonder if they can use the General Duty Clause to make them de facto standards and enforce them in egregious circumstances?
 
William C. Looney
Senior Program Manager
Environment
Internal Cisco Extension 2166182
 
AECOM
1555 N RiverCenter Drive
Suite 214
Milwaukee, WI  53212
Phone:  414-944-6080
 
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From: DCHAS-L Discussion List [mailto:dchas-l**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU] On Behalf Of Kim Gates
Sent: Friday, October 25, 2013 7:04 AM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU
Subject: [DCHAS-L] OSHA provides new information on chemical safety
 
 
OSHA Statement: 13-2026-NAT
Date: Oct. 24, 2013
Contact: Jesse Lawder     Adriano Llosa
Phone: 202-693-4659     202-693-4686
Email: lawder.jesse**At_Symbol_Here**dol.gov     llosa.adriano.t**At_Symbol_Here**dol.gov
OSHA releases new resources to better protect workers
from hazardous chemicals
WASHINGTON - Each year in the United States, tens of thousands of workers are made sick or die from occupational exposures to the thousands of hazardous chemicals that are used in workplaces every day. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today launched two new web resources to assist companies with keeping their workers safe.
While many chemicals are suspected of being harmful, OSHA's exposure standards are out-of-date and inadequately protective for the small number of chemicals that are regulated in the workplace. The first resource OSHA has created is a toolkit to identify safer chemicals that can be used in place of more hazardous ones. This toolkit walks employers and workers step-by-step through information, methods, tools and guidance to either eliminate hazardous chemicals or make informed substitution decisions in the workplace by finding a safer chemical, material, product or process. The toolkit is available athttp://www.osha.gov/dsg/safer_chemicals/index.html.
"We know that the most efficient and effective way to protect workers from hazardous chemicals is by eliminating or replacing those chemicals with safer alternatives whenever possible," said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health.
OSHA also created another new web resource: the Annotated Permissible Exposure Limits, or annotated PEL tables, which will enable employers to voluntarily adopt newer, more protective workplace exposure limits. OSHA's PELs set mandatory limits on the amount or concentration of a substance in the air to protect workers against the health effects of certain hazardous chemicals; and OSHA will continue to enforce those mandatory PELs. Since OSHA's adoption of the majority of its PELs more than 40 years ago, new scientific data, industrial experience and developments in technology clearly indicate that in many instances these mandatory limits are not sufficiently protective of workers' health.
"There is no question that many of OSHA's chemical standards are not adequately protective," Michaels said. "I advise employers, who want to ensure that their workplaces are safe, to utilize the occupational exposure limits on these annotated tables, since simply complying with OSHA's antiquated PELs will not guarantee that workers will be safe."
The annotated PEL tables provide a side-by-side comparison of OSHA PELs for general industry to the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health PELs, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health recommended exposure limits, and American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienist threshold limit values. They offer an easily accessible reference source for up-to-date workplace exposure limits, which are available at http://www.osha.gov/dsg/annotated-pels/index.html.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.
###

U.S. Department of Labor releases are accessible on the Internet at http://www.dol.gov. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format (large print, Braille, audiotape or disc) from the COAST office upon request. Please specify which news release when placing your request at 202-693-7828 or TTY 202-693-7755. The Labor Department is committed to providing America's employers and employees with easy access to understandable information on how to comply with its laws and regulations. For more information, please visit http://www.dol.gov/compliance.

Kim Gates
Laboratory Safety Specialist
Environmental Health & Safety
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook, NY 11794-6200
Kim.Gates**At_Symbol_Here**stonybrook.edu
631-632-3032
FAX: 631-632-9683
EH&S Web site: http://www.stonybrook.edu/ehs/lab/

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