Document 1e40nk0VLv60pvezvaJvdzvo

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY A HEALTH REPORT Volume 21 March 7, 1972 NIOSH - OSHA'S GIANT PARTNER Importance of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (Wllllams-Stelger Act) to Industry has been well publicised. The role of OSHA under DOL In setting safety and health standards, the Inspection provisions, citations and fines are well known. Not quite so evident has been the Job of OSHA's powerful partner, NIOSH, In support of the Act. NIOSH (National Institute of Safety and Health), Is specifically set up unoer the Williams Steiger Act, and is created under the jurisdiction of HEW. f T NIOSH Is consultant in: .1 Determining health priorities. .2 Setting health and safety standards. .3. Hazard evaluations of toxicity determinations. 4 Development of manpower to Implement the Act. 5. Operating a national occupational and illness . recording and reporting system. 6 Providing etqployer/employee education. .7. Approving state plans. 8 Awarding grants to states. In addition to such support activities, the agency has Important responsibilities of Its own under the Act: 1. Health and Safety Research. 2. Industry wide studies. 3. Hazard evaluations of toxicity determinations. 4. Annual compilation of a list of toxic substances. 3. Development of manpower for Implementing the Act. NIOSH is one of the 17 programs in the Heelth Services and Mental Health Administration (HSHMA) (See Fig. 1). HSHMA, in turn, Is one of 6 operating agencies of HEW. NIOSH, under Marcus M. Key, M.D. as director, is organised as shown In Fig. 2. 1 5982 Organisation la functional; an operating division it Identified for each major actlvltyi eg: Health end Safety Research Division of Laboratories and Criteria Development Industry-wide studies Division of Field Studies and Chemical Investigations Technical and Clinical Services Including back-up resources for hazard evaluation - Division of Technical Services Short Term Training Division of Training Promotion of New Occupational Health Programs-at state and local levels and In industry and Agriculture - Division of Occupational Health Programs Implementation of HEH's Responsibilities Appalachian Laboratory for Occupational and Respiratory Diseases | NIOSH's Regional Program Directors make Initial response to requests fo4 hazard evaluations and work closely with OSHA Regional Administrators and tKe State. NIOSH will soon have an Assistant Director for Safety, with staff res ponsibilities for coordination of safety research and training and with line responsibilities for operating the Institute's own health and safety program, which will put into practice some of the things to be learned from research activities. In the Division of Laboratories and Criteria Development, a new branch has been created--the Behavioral and Motivational Factors Branch, which will plan and conduct laboratory and worksite research on the psycho logical, behavioral, and motivational factors which reflect and which are influenced by stress situations posed by job desiands and by exposures to chemical and physical agents. Other aspects of safety research will be carried out by Physiology and Ergonomics Branch and the Engineering Branch. Reliance will also be made on the contract and research grant mechanisms in conducting our safety research. Another new activity of NIOSH in the safety field Is the testing and certification of respirators, detector tubes, and industrial hygiene instruments,;and eventually testing and certification stay be extended to personal protective equipment when these are specified In standards. Pre sent respirator testing programs conducted by the Bureau of Mines in Pitts burgh will be transferred to NIOSH's new Appalachian Center for Occupational Safety and Health In Morgantown, Vest Virginia, where it will be expanded. Performance specifications for respirators have already been Jointly developed by the Bureau of Mines and NIOSH under the Coal Act and will be extended to respirators used under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. New performance specifications will have to be developed for industrial 1 5983 hygiene detector tubes end Instruments, but many Items of personal protective equipment already have applicable national consensus standards. The present modus operandl of the Joint BOM-NIOSH respirator testing and certification program--performance testing and vendor survey for quality control--will be used wherever appli cable. In standards setting research NIOSH will complete work this fiscal year on criteria for certain priority standards. These will be recomnendatlons for complete standards, In that sampling methods and analytic procedures, monitoring locations and Intervals, protective equipment and control procedures, labelling precautions, and first aid instructions will also be specified where applicable. NIOSH has a long way to go In developing criteria for standards. There are about 10,000 chemical substances In cornnon or widespread industrial use; there are standards for only 400-500. New chemicals are being developed at the rate of several thousand each year, but only a dozen or two criteria packages are being turned out a year. In addition, the national consensus-standards setting organizations will make contributions, and additional standards will result from NIOSH's hazard evaluations and toxicity determinations. NIOSH's first list of toxic substances was published at the end of June and contained over 8,000 substances. The list gives the concentration at which each substance is known to be toxic, so It is most certainly not a list of standards, rather it Is a shopping list for research on standards. The next annual list of toxic substances will contain many more entries, especially pesticides and carcinogenic chemicals, and will provide more Information about each substance. In addition to supporting training of the traditional disci plines In the field of occupational safety and health, l.e., the safety engineer, the Industrial hygienist, the occupational health nurse, the occupational health physician, the toxicologist, and the analytical chemist, NIOSH has taken off In a new direction and is promoting the development of a new professional type which will be called the occupational safety and health professional. This will be accomplished through a 4-year baccalaureate degree course which could be linked with an associate degree and/or a masters program. This occupational safety and health professional could not design a ventilation system or devise elaborate machine guards but he could recognise ami evaluate occupational safety and health hazards and he wo$d know where to go to get further help In controlling the hazard*. This is the type of compliance officer which the Department of Labor is looking for. Then there is the Office of Health Surveillance and Biometrics, which Is called the National Health Hazards Survey. It answers the need to know more about the magnitude and extent of the exposure to occupational health hazards in the United States. The National Occupational Injury and Illness Reporting System will eventually accumulate data'on the effects of exposure to the hazards, but for a long time occupational illnesses will be under-reported | t f 1 5984 because of non-recognition, non-specificity of symptoms and medico legal problems. The first National Health Hazards Survey will be conducted by specially trained health hazards surveyors working out of the Regional Offices, using exacting surveying techniques and controls. They will be surveying a representative sample of about 9,000 manufacturing and service industries selected with the help of the Burea of Labor Statistics. Actual survey will begin in January 1972 and should take about two years to complete. Information gained will be especially useful in assessing NIOSH priorities for research. Basic technique of surveying for health hazards was tried out in the Chicago Metropolitan Area in 1967. It is Interesting to note that in 3 out of 4 plants surveyed, management did not recognize any health hazards in their plants, while in the surveyor's judgment only one out of four plants did not have any employees at risk to an occupational health hazard. Recent teamwork between OSHA and NIOSH has appeared in Target Health Hazards Program announced January 4, 1972. Five toxic substances--asbestos, cotton dust, silica, lead, and carbon monoxide-will be the focus of an accelerating thrust by OSHA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health into the health aspects of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The campaign was described by Assistant Labor Secretary " -rge C. Guenther as the health parallel to OSHA's safety-oriented Targ ' Indus tries Program that is seeking to reduce injury frequency rates in five high-rate industries. The Target Health Hazards program is in part a response to the finding that "60 percent of the employee complaints we have received since the Act became effective April 28, 1971, have Involved health hazards", Guenther said. OSHA inspection priorities are being altered, Guenther said. The new priorities are as follows: 1. Investigation of deaths or serious injuries (as at present); 2. Investigation of complaints (as now); 3. Special programs: Target Industry Program (as now); Target Health Hazards Program (new); 4. Random cross-section of establishments of all sizes across the nation (as now). The Target Health Hazards program will focus on Industrial hygiene inspections in several thousand establishments of varying size and type of operation. Together, these establishments employ more than 4 million persons. The criteria for selection of the five toxic substances Included the following: Broad employee exposure to these substances and to the resultant severity of their hazards; 1 5985 Standard* for workplace exposure level* of all five are valid, with asbestos having been updated only last month; The high priority accorded all five by NIOSH In Its research efforts; The feasibility for swift compliance action, especially in assessing environmental effects against established workplace limits. Asbestos can produce a severe lung disease called asbestosls, Guenther said. In addition, asbestos fibers In the lung may lead to cancer. Employees facing risks from asbestos total more than 200,000 In the fields of Insulation, manufacturing of products using asbestos, shipbuilding, construction, and others, he said. Cotton dust can produce byssinols, a disabling lung disease. At risk are more than 800,000 employees In cotton processing operations of all types. Silica can produce silicosis, another disabling lung disease. At risk are more than 1.1 million employees In abrasives, manufacturing. Iron and mineral processing, sandblasting, and other operations. Lead can produce severe gastrointestinal, blood, and central nervous system disabilities. At risk are more than 1.6 million employees engaged In the manufacturing of asmunltion, paint, storage batteries, autos, and other products. Carbon monoxide can produce brain damage or death. At risk are uncountable thousands in metal processing operations and users of gasoline-powered equipment. Guenther emphasized that the new program involves close cooperation between OSHA and N10SH. He noted that NIOSH has initiated e hazards evaluation program to permit employers and employees to request evaluation of hazard exposure conditions for which standards are non-existent or appear Inadequate. Two aspect* of NIOSH program are of special current Interest to us. The priority list for Toxic Substances and Physical Agents will Indicate order of standard-setting, (see attached priority list) The hazard evaluation activity can mean facility Inspections In addition to those by OSHA. Such inspections are generated when a health hazard citation of OSHA is contested. NIOSH Is then requested to conduct such tests and determinations to establish the facts. Briefly, this means careful, scientific, pains-taking INSPECTION. 15986 REFERENCES The Real Significance of Occupational Health Marcus Key, M.D. Director of NIOSH Presented at National Safety Congress, Chicago 10/25/71 BNA - OSHR . No. 36 1/6/72 page 719 1 5987 SAFETY CONTACTS ADAMS AGRICULTURE BAKER LABS BARRETTS BROOKLYN BURLINGAME D. C. CANAAN CHAMBLEE D. C. CHICAGO D. C. CLIFTON D. C. COTY DALLAS D. C. EASTON EAST ST. LOUIS EIGHTY-FOUR EMERYVILLE GIBSONBURG GREENSBORO GROTON G. C. Carson H&N J. R. Plans GROTON RES. V. R. Rutalnskl INTERNATIONAL D. C. Chandler LUCERNE VALLEY D. R. Hoffman MAYWOOD VIRO. H. W. White MILWAUKEE J. F. Pozzi NEW YORK OFFICE F. G. Ziegler OLD BRIDGE R. A. O'Leary FARSIPPAHY C. Currin PFIZER DIAG.GROTON D. C. Walker/T. Skoog PFIZER DLAG.MAYWOOD C. Campbell PFIZER DIAG. R. Y. J. H. James D. C. Squires PORTLAND D. C. POTOSI W. Camp SANTA ANA D. C. M. S. Herzog R. J. Russell SHOSHONE SLATINGTON J. R. Taylor TERRE HAUTE C. F. Archer/C. J, Roche VICTORVILLE WALLINGFORD F. Emley E. Whitcomb C. T. Kagel R. J. Mirdock/C. J. D. Johnson V. Zlbas T. Dayhuff C. T. Rowan J. F. Major W. P. Schaeffer R. Boremskl V. Alsberge M. Seldeen E. L. Strld T. A. Corcoran B. G. Brown V. A. Rasmussen J. A. Malasplna C. B. Everly W. E. Collins . Geffro COPY F. Adams R. C. Allan H. R. Bailey J. P. Bartels R. Booth P. A. Bennlng O. E. Brooks E. F. Bouchard F. Cavedi L. A. Chase R. W. Clark J.- H. Compton T. W. Cundiff J. L. deCillis R. J. DuBois R. E. Duflocq S. U. Ensmlnger D. A. Flynn H. W. Flandreau C. 0. Freeman W. E. Gamblll A. F. Grelg P. A. Guerclo CORPORATE SAFETY OFFICE H. F. Banner E. F. Harger W. R. Hawk S. Hays C. S. Huber E. H. Hughes C. A. Hitz J. V. Kehoe P. T. Karins S. Kohlenberg C. S. Lekowskl S. C. Lidsky B. G. Long M. R. Lowe D. C. Lum F. L. MacDonald A. C. Machln R. T. Masters T. J. McBride W. G. McCreary W. E. McCoy T. W. McGuire K. P. Munnelly J. F. Murphy R. E. Nelson R. W. Norton J. J. Oleson R. J. Pekel J. Penlcnak R* G. Paige W. L. Pettit G. J. Rabbett J. V. Richards A. J. Schmitz R. L. Schmitz B. B. Scott C. W. Smith H. Sosman C. R. Tevebaugh D. R. Thacker J. A. Travis G. Van Halses F. S. Velth D. V. Vines W. Wilkinson MARCH 1972 1 5988 V 1 5989 OFFICE OF THE ADMINISTRATOR HEALTH SERVICES AND MENTAL HEALTH ADMINISTRATION FIGURE # 1 1 5990 FIGURE # 2 DRAFT OF PRIORITY LIST AND SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL PRESENTED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITOTE FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH (Subject to raviston based on Advisory Committee Comments) The 1972 Priority'List for Toxic Substance* snd Physical Agents was based on the priority system developed by the former Bureau of Occupational Safety and Health in anticipation of increased activities In the occupational health field. The objective of the list is to provide to the' appropriate management functions within NIOSH the necessary data for establishing relative priority in the development of criteria package*. This list will aid research ers in identifying pps in criteria information and in channeling the required resources to fill in those gap*. In this system, five weighted indices were assigned to each substance under consideration. These indices were rated on a scale of 9 to 1 and included the following: 1. Population Index (PI) - a relative evaluation of worker exposure. 2. Relative Toxicity Index (RT) - professional opinion on relative toxicity. 3. Incidence Index (II) - occupational disease records, physicians' first reports, workmens' compensation records -- documented incidence of disease. 4. Quantity Index (QI) - amount produced or used each year. 5. Trend Index (TI) - estimates on increased or de creased usage. The overall rating for each agent wu tabulated according to the following formula: (2PI + 2RT + II QI Tl) divided by 5. The ratinp wars made by the former Bureau of Occupational Safety and Health staff and by field industrial hygienists. The list was updated first by applying the most recent exposure data available from the Office of Health Surveil lance and Biometrics. This revised list was then distributed to experts in the occupational health field for evaluation and review. The expert opinions were reviewed and incorporated in the list. Concurrently, the Priorities Evaluation Branch staff have been seeking out and establishing channelsjsf communica tion with parties which can provide specific data input into' a more sophisticated and objective priority system. Particu lar emphasis has been placed on the working relationship between the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Bureau of Labor Statistica and the Occupa tional Safety and Health Administration of the Department of Labor. At the present time, the areas of health and safety are arbitrarily being developed a* two separate areas of priority development. It wu thought that this approach is best in that the bulk of expertiae in NIOSH is primarily in the health field. A priority system for the relative evaluation of occupational safe!y hazard* is being developed under contract at the peasant time. If feasible, the health and safety priority syatams will be margad into one system when it is felt that a desired level of sophistication is reached in both. PRIORITY LIST FOR CRITERIA FOR TOXIC SUBSTANCES AND PHYSICAL AGENTS 1972 Criteria Developed: Asbestos and Coal Dust. In Progress: Arsenic, Benzene, Beryllium, Cadmium and Compounds, Carbon Monoxide, Chromic Acid Mias, Cotton Dust, Fibrous Glass, Heat Stress, Lead, Mercury, Noise, Parathion, Silica, Trichloroethylene and Ultraviolet. Priorities: 1. Bis(ChloromethyI) Ether, Coal Tar Pitch Volatiles, 2-Naphthylamine, Toluene Diiaocyanate and Radioactive Products of Uranium Mining (Gaseous and Particulate]!. 2. Benzidine and Its Salts, Carbon Tetrachloride, Ozone, Sulfur Dioxide and Tin and Compounds. 3. Chromium Compounds, Dtchlorobenzidine, Oxides of Nitrogen, Sodium Hydroxide and Sulfuric Acid. 4. Carbaryl, Chloroform, 4-Dimethylaminoazobenzene, Nitric Acid snd Toluene. 5. Ammonia, beta-Propiolactone, Epoxy Resins, Meth ylene Chloride and 4-Nitrodiphenyl. 6. Asphalt Fumes, Ethylene Diehloride, Fluoride and HF, Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Tetrachloroethylene. 7. 2-Acetylaminofluorene, Chlorobenzene, Methylene Bisphenyl Isocyanate (MDI), Phosgene and Trichloroethane. 8. Acetone, 4-Aminodiphenyl, Dieldrin, Malathion and N-Nitrosodimethylamine. 9. Aniline, Copper and Compounds, Cyanides, Styrene and Zinc and Compounds. 10. Chlorine, Formaldehyde, Manganese and Com pounds, Phenol and Platinum and Compounds. 11. Acrolein, Aluminum and Compounds, Carbon Di sulfide, Methyl Ethyl Ketone and Vinyl Chloride. 12. Creosote, Methyl Chloride, Nickel and Compounds, Phosphorus and Compounds and Tetrachloroethane. 13. Acrylonitrile, 2, 4-Dinitrophenol, Magnesium and Compounds, Methyl Alcohol and Paraffin. 14. Ammonium Nitrate, Cold Stress, Dioxane, Fluorine and Microwaves. 15. Hydrogen Chloride, Ethyl Benzene, Nitroglycerin, Vibration and Xylene. 16. Methyl Butyl Ketone, Mineral Spirits, Oil Mists, Selenium and Compounds and Turpentine. 17. Arsine, Gasoline, Kerosene, Iron and Compounds and Petroleum Naphtha. 18. Barotrauma, Crstol, Paraquat, Portland Cement and Talc. 19. Carbon Black, Coherent Energy (Laser Radiation), Ethylene Oxide, Impact Noise and Proteolytic Enzymes. 1 5991