Block 4 Unit 2 Substance-Specific Standards & Regulated Areas PDF

Bioenvironmental Engineering Apprentice B3ABY4B031-0A1B Block IV: Chemical Controls Unit 2: Substance-Specific Standards and Regulated Areas BLOCK IV – UNIT 2: SUBSTANCE-SPECIFIC STANDARDS AND REGULATED AREAS Objective 2a: Recall OSHA substance-specific standards and the conditions that are required...

Bioenvironmental Engineering Apprentice B3ABY4B031-0A1B Block IV: Chemical Controls Unit 2: Substance-Specific Standards and Regulated Areas BLOCK IV – UNIT 2: SUBSTANCE-SPECIFIC STANDARDS AND REGULATED AREAS Objective 2a: Recall OSHA substance-specific standards and the conditions that are required for establishing a regulated area. Last block, you learned that many factors come into play in determining if a chemical is considered hazardous. Some of these factors to consider are whether or not the chemical is flammable, corrosive, reactive, or toxic. Other factors to consider include the physical form of the chemical (solid, liquid, gas, or vapor) and how the chemical enters the worker’s body. An important step in determining the potential of a chemical to cause adverse effects to a person is to conduct a health risk assessment, which includes taking air samples to determine the airborne exposure levels of the chemical. In some cases you may be sampling for chemicals where additional protection measures are needed to protect workers. OSHA has established substance-specific standards for these chemicals. Some of these standards require the establishment of what is known as a regulated area. SUBSTANCE-SPECIFIC STANDARDS There are thousands of chemicals that are considered potentially hazardous if they are absorbed or enter a person’s body. For many of these chemicals, OSHA established Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs) that should be adequate to protect most workers. However, for some chemicals, adherence to the PEL might not be enough. For those chemicals, where additional protection measures are needed to protect workers, OSHA has developed substance-specific standards (sometimes referred to as expanded standards). These standards address specific actions that must be taken when workers handle these chemicals. Most of OSHA’s substance-specific standards that you will deal with are found in the OSHA General Industry Standard (1910 series, Subpart Z). OSHA’s Construction Industry Standard (1926 series, Subpart Z) also contains chemicals that have substance standards, but you will rarely deal with them due to the nature of work done in the Air Force. Below is a listing of the current OSHA General Industry substance-specific standards: 1910.1001 - Asbestos 1910.1002 - Coal tar pitch volatiles 1910.1003 - 13 Carcinogens (4Nitrobiphenyl, etc.) 1910.1004 - alpha-Naphthylamine 1910.1006 - Methyl chloromethyl ether 1910.1007 - 3,'-Dichlorobenzidine 1910.1008 - bis-Chloromethyl ether 1910.1009 - beta-Naphthylamine 1910.1010 – Benzidine 1910.1011 - 4-Aminodiphenyl 1910.1012 - Ethyleneimine 1910.1013 - beta-Propiolactone 1910.1014 - 2-Acetylaminofluorene 9 1910.1015 - 4-Dimethylaminoazobenzene 1910.1016 - N-Nitrosodimethylamine 1910.1017 - Vinyl chloride 1910.1018 - Inorganic arsenic 1910.1024 - Beryllium 1910.1025 - Lead 1910.1026 - Chromium (VI) 1910.1027 - Cadmium 1910.1028 - Benzene 1910.1029 - Coke oven emissions 1910.1030 - Bloodborne pathogens 1910.1043 - Cotton dust Bioenvironmental Engineering Apprentice B3ABY4B031-0A1B Block IV: Chemical Controls Unit 2: Substance-Specific Standards and Regulated Areas 1910.1044 - 1,2-dibromo-3chloropropane 1910.1045 - Acrylonitrile 1910.1047 - Ethylene oxide 1910.1048 - Formaldehyde 1910.1050 - Methylenedianiline 1910.1051 - 1,3-Butadiene 1910.1052 - Methylene Chloride 1910.1053 - Respirable Crystalline Silica Below are some examples of workplaces on a base where you can expect to find some of these chemicals: Medical laboratory (formaldehyde) Vehicle maintenance (asbestos) Fuels/Fuels lab/Fuel system repair (benzene) Avionics (methylene chloride) Asbestos abatement teams Shops that spray/remove primers (chromium VI) Shops that use adhesives/epoxies (formaldehyde) Shops that perform welding/brazing (chromium VI/cadmium) Medical hospital/Clinic (blood borne pathogens) CE Horizontal Maintenance (crystalline silica) Depending on the chemical you are researching, OSHA’s substance-specific standards contain all or some of the following information/requirements: Applicable permissible exposure limits Exposure monitoring Establishment of a regulated area Methods of compliance Control methods (engineering, work practice, PPE) Warning signs (verbiage and location) Worker training Worker notification Recordkeeping Documentation Some requirements must only be implemented/adhered to if air sampling results indicate exposure levels greater than the established PEL. REGULATED AREAS OSHA has established substance-specific standards for certain chemicals that require specific protective measures for these specific substances. Some of these standards require the establishment of what is known as a regulated area. A regulated area limits access to a work area where specific hazardous chemicals/materials exceed allowable exposure limits (PEL, TWA, action limit, etc.) as stated in the relevant standard. 10 Bioenvironmental Engineering Apprentice B3ABY4B031-0A1B Block IV: Chemical Controls Unit 2: Substance-Specific Standards and Regulated Areas Some examples of substance-specific standards requiring a regulated area when exposures exceed a certain level are: 1910.1001 - Asbestos 1910.1017 - Vinyl Chloride 1910.1024 - Beryllium 1910.1026 - Chromium (VI) 1910.1027 - Cadmium 1910.1028 - Benzene 1910.1048 - Formaldehyde 1910.1052 - Methylene Chloride 1910.1053 - Respirable Crystalline Silica Some general requirements for a regulated area include: The area must be clearly identified (warning signs posted) at all entrances and made known to all workers who work in or adjacent to the area. The area must be delineated and segregated from the rest of the work area in a manner that minimizes/limits the number of workers who will be exposed to the specific chemical. The area must have access controlled by either administrative or physical means. The supervisor must ensure that workers do not eat, drink, smoke, chew tobacco or gum, or apply cosmetics in regulated areas. The regulated area must be established and maintained according to the criteria of the OSHA substance-specific standard. Workers potentially exposed to a substance with a specific standard must be monitored and protected IAW that specific standard. It is important to remember that each substance-specific standard must be reviewed to determine the criteria that must be followed if a regulated area must be established—although some standards might list similar criteria, you must thoroughly read through the OSHA standard for specific criteria relevant to the chemical(s) of concern. For example, some of the standards listed above include specific wording that must be included on regulated area warning signs. To help you get a better idea of the requirements of a regulated area, consider the following scenario involving one of the OSHA substance-specific standards, formaldehyde. 11 Bioenvironmental Engineering Apprentice B3ABY4B031-0A1B Block IV: Chemical Controls Unit 2: Substance-Specific Standards and Regulated Areas Scenario: The medical group where you are assigned has a medical laboratory where workers are occupationally exposed to formaldehyde when performing a variety of specimen collection, analysis, and preservation tasks. You conducted air sampling during several activities when a maximum risk worker was using formaldehyde throughout the workday. The sample results indicate the worker was exposed to airborne formaldehyde levels exceeding the short-term exposure limit (STEL) but not the 8-hr Time-Weighted Average (TWA) Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL). While researching OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1048, you read the following information concerning regulated areas: 1910.1048(e)(1)(i) The employer shall establish regulated areas where the concentration of airborne formaldehyde exceeds either the TWA or the STEL and post all entrances and access ways with signs bearing the following legend: DANGER FORMALDEHYDE MAY CAUSE CANCER CAUSES SKIN, EYE, AND RESPIRATORY IRRITATION AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY 1910.1048(e)(2) The employer shall limit access to regulated areas to authorized persons who have been trained to recognize the hazards of formaldehyde. 1910.1048(e)(3) An employer at a multiemployer worksite who establishes a regulated area shall communicate the access restrictions and locations of these areas to other employers with work operations at that worksite. In this scenario, you were told that the STEL had been exceeded. According to 1910.1048, Formaldehyde, a regulated area must be established when concentrations exceed the STEL. The formaldehyde standard also states that the regulated area signs must have specific wording, the area must be limited to only authorized personnel with training, and access restrictions must be communicated to others who work in the area. 12