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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 09:31:03 -0400
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: 8D0A1F915473F75-1BAC-1E65**At_Symbol_Here**webmail-m135.sysops.aol.com
In-Reply-To <673A00C44C25834BA3198AADFC1EB7AE133ADBBE**At_Symbol_Here**PIT-MAIL01.uswa-us.local>
Mike, This is why the PEL that OSHA will finally set policy with must be one which has clear, demonstrable hazards within a period of time that workers are likely to be in the same job. In your industry, Mike, there is a candidate in Manganese whose PEL is a 5 mg/m3 Ceiling limit while the new TVL-TWA is 0.02 mg/m3. This is also what the DFG MAK is for fume.
The worker studies now can pick up early neurological damage consistent with early Parkinson's disease in welders of mild steel. The American Welding Soc Journal carried articles encouraging the industry to switch to the new standards and it showed that without local ventilation, all types of welding except one type of TIG resulted in Mn exposure over the TLV. Even hand held grinding exceeded the TLV. My reports now all recommend flexible duct exhaust at all welding sites.
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: Wright, Mike <mwright**At_Symbol_Here**USW.ORG>
To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Sent: Mon, Oct 28, 2013 9:03 am
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] OSHA provides new information on chemical safety
Correct. OSHA can't cite for exposures lower than an existing PEL. We went through this for exposure to PCBs from a failed transformer. Since there was an old
ACGIH TLV for Aroclors, adopted when they were believed to be fairly harmless, there was little they could do. Fortunately we had some help from TSCA.
Michael J. Wright
Director of Health, Safety and Environment
United Steelworkers
412-562-2580 office
412-370-0105 cell
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."
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
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?
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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 at http://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.
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