The Furniture Refinishing Company in this module has several potential hazards that his/her employees may be exposed to. Just upon initial observation, there are major issues concerning the Company’s three designated working areas: (1) “Paint Stripping,” (2) “Sanding,” (3) “Staining and Varnishing.” The one common area of concern faced by the above described work areas (1-3) revolve around inhalation. There is also a high possibility of chemical ingestion within all three aforementioned areas. Finally, dermal exposer is significant in Paint Stripping, Staining and Varnishing. It is important to note that all employees work an 8-hour work day, which means that they are exposed to toxic fumes, chemicals and/or other noxious substances, during
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The risk for MC seems to out-way all the other hazards outlined in module 3.3. Case in point, one of the chemicals that the employees are exposed to by working at Furniture Refinishing company is Methylene chloride (MC), which has a chemical designation of (CH2Cl2). The furniture striper contains Methylene Chloride, which is known to cause cancer in animals. Also, Methylene chloride is converted into carbon monoxide when inhaled into the lungs. This product should be used outdoors, or in well ventilated areas indoors. When dealing with MC, permissible exposure to this particular chemical may not exceed “25 parts MC per million parts of air (25 ppm).” (cite) The exposure rate is calculated via “. . . an eight-hour time-weighted average (8-hour TWA PEL) or 125 parts of MC per million parts of air (125 ppm) averaged over a 15-minute period (STEL).” (OSHA) When using Methylene chloride (MC), all employees are required to use and/or must be provided: impermeable clothing, gloves, face shields, and any appropriate protective clothing necessary to prevent repeated skin contact with liquid MC or contact with containers with liquid MC. …show more content…
By testing the work areas where there is known MC exposure, it can be ascertained whether the employee’s breathing work environment is within designated OSHA safe limits.
The approved testing of MC, according to OSHA is done in the following ways: “Samples are collected by drawing air through glass sampling tubes containing Carbosieve S-III (carbon based molecular sieve) adsorbent. Samples are desorbed with a mixture of 99:1 (v/v) carbon disulfide (CS2)/dimethyl-formamide (DMF) in the presence of anhydrous sodium sulfate and are analyzed by GC using a flame ionization detector.” (Burright, 1990).
Once MC has been detected and/or identified, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), will direct the Furniture Refinishing Company to minimize future MC exposure to the least feasible amount (as set by OSHA and NIOSH
The risk for MC seems to out-way all the other hazards outlined in module 3.3. Case in point, one of the chemicals that the employees are exposed to by working at Furniture Refinishing company is Methylene chloride (MC), which has a chemical designation of (CH2Cl2). The furniture striper contains Methylene Chloride, which is known to cause cancer in animals. Also, Methylene chloride is converted into carbon monoxide when inhaled into the lungs. This product should be used outdoors, or in well ventilated areas indoors. When dealing with MC, permissible exposure to this particular chemical may not exceed “25 parts MC per million parts of air (25 ppm).” (cite) The exposure rate is calculated via “. . . an eight-hour time-weighted average (8-hour TWA PEL) or 125 parts of MC per million parts of air (125 ppm) averaged over a 15-minute period (STEL).” (OSHA) When using Methylene chloride (MC), all employees are required to use and/or must be provided: impermeable clothing, gloves, face shields, and any appropriate protective clothing necessary to prevent repeated skin contact with liquid MC or contact with containers with liquid MC. …show more content…
By testing the work areas where there is known MC exposure, it can be ascertained whether the employee’s breathing work environment is within designated OSHA safe limits.
The approved testing of MC, according to OSHA is done in the following ways: “Samples are collected by drawing air through glass sampling tubes containing Carbosieve S-III (carbon based molecular sieve) adsorbent. Samples are desorbed with a mixture of 99:1 (v/v) carbon disulfide (CS2)/dimethyl-formamide (DMF) in the presence of anhydrous sodium sulfate and are analyzed by GC using a flame ionization detector.” (Burright, 1990).
Once MC has been detected and/or identified, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), will direct the Furniture Refinishing Company to minimize future MC exposure to the least feasible amount (as set by OSHA and NIOSH