Document Z401aKeDV1zwmDV6xZgQqNNQO

INDUSTRIES To: Messrs. A A INTER-OFFICE CORRESPONDENCE Date: May 6, 1974 From: Location: Zeb G. Bell, Jr 19 East Subject: VCM - OS HA Inspection Guidelines To assist you in anticipating an OSHA inspection for VCM operations, the attached guideline appeared in the BNA. Please note that exposures in excess of 50 ppm may result in imminent danger citations. A citation will be issued for failure to monitor the ambient air and/or the employees. There are other points that should be read carefully and appropriate action taken. Zeb G. Bell, Jr. ZGB:mal Attachment cc: W. R. Harris R. E. widing F. C. Dehn F. T. Dewoody D. Duncan L. B. Grant, M.D. L. F. Sargert R. E. Sourwine R. E. Stack F. J. Trunzo FORM 503-A RV Q . 1-70 SL 092363 1516 with the standard would be difficult is no defense to the charge, Van Namee said. The appropriate relief in such a situation is to seek a variance or an amendment to the standard. In a concurring opinion, Commissioner Timothy F. Cleary expanded upon Van Namee's discussion of the Wsjsh-Healy Act, concluding that that statute did cover certain workplaces of the type in question. Cleary also raised\he matter of "reasonable promptness" in issuing the citation on which review also was directed (see Chicago Emin & Iron Company, 1 OSHC 1485 (1974), Current RcpoR, January 31, p- 1103). Since the issue was not raised by tn*. parlies, Cleary said, citing Advance Air Conditioning, !nci\\ OSHC 1626 (1974), it cannot be considered at this lat\stage in the proceedings. Chairman Robert D^Moran dissented in total from the commission's decision. Moran would vacate the citation because it was issued 83 days after the inspection, hence not with "reasonable promptness" as required by Section 9 (a) of the Act. This issue, Moan contended, is a matter of jurisdiction which can be raNed at any stage of the proceedings. Moran also discussed ai length the history of the Walsh-Hcaly standards, noting\hat they were of limited applicability and were neithcN well-known nor vigorously enforced. He questioned whether the standards could be regarded as "operative" or "in eflct" so as to qualify as "established federal standards" undeKSection 3 (10) of the Act. Moran also disagreed with thc^commission's decision on the merits of the violation, argujhg that the employer's claim of difficulty of compliance had merit, and that there was insufficient evidence of employ ee exposure to the hazard. This decision will appear in a future Decisions supple ment. General Policy OSHA STUDIES POSSIBLE PROCEDURES FOR VOLUNTARY ABATEMENT AGREEMENTS Additional voluntary compliance agreements and the procedures to be followed in establishing them are being studied by the Occupational Safety and Health Adminis tration. The first such agreement was negotiated as a stipulated settlement to an enforcement action pending before the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. That agreement involved Continental Can Company's plans to provide feasible controls for noise at 83 plants (Current Report, April 11, p. 1411). Members of the National Advisory Committee for Occupational Safety and Health have endorsed the abate ment agreement concept and are studying possible pro cedures for the future (Current Report, March 21, p. The agreements are addressed to industry's difficulties in developing and applying engineering controls to comply with noise, air contaminants, and other health and safely standards requiring engineering controls. In many cases more time is needed by companies to research and develop feasible engineering controls to comply with federal standards more effectively. OCCUPATION, SAFETY & HEALTH REPORTER OSHA has determined that voluntary abatement agree ments with one or more employers may be desirable where feasible engineering controls must be developed to comply witlNg standard and where personal protective equipment can be used during the development period. The agreementsxwould allow industry more time to redesign new equipment or modify old equipment under a specified abatement periHd outlined in the agreements. As the controls are developed, they would be applied to abate health or sa[cty\stan<hrds specified in the abatement compliance agreements. In turn, this type of agreement would provide OSHa. with available informa tion on the feasibility of engineering controls for various federal standards which could be shared with other em ployers and which could help OSHA standards develop ment. It is anticipated that the agreements will cover work places only under federal enforcement jurisdiction. Health Hazards OSHA ISSUES INSPECTOR GUIDELINES -FOR ENFORCEMENT .QF VINYL CHLORIDE RULE Guidelines for compliance officers to follow when inspecting for vinyl chloride hazards under the emergency temporary standard were issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in Program Directive 200-29 on April 23. The emergency temporary standard for vinyl chloride was issued by OSHA on April 5 (Current Report, Apnl 11, p.1411). The "area of operation" refers, but is not limited to, activities or processes such as: (1) manufacturing or processing of vinyl chloride (VC) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC), (2) loading and unloading of VC and PVC (pow der in bulk) relative to shipments, (3) sampling and analysis of VC and PVC for quality control during manufacturing processes, (4) compounding PVC into pow der or resin, (5) pouring PVC powder or resin from bags or containers, (6) packaging PVC resin powder, (7) main tenance and repair of vessels and/or reactors containing VC or PVC, (8) maintenance and repair of storage silos for PVC, and (9) leakage of VC in any area, particularly in processing areas. "Permissible exposure" refers to a ceiling value of 50 parts per million (ppm) of VC. It does not mean a time-weighted average (TWA) exposure of 50 ppm of VC with results which fluctuate above and below 50 ppm. "Monitoring of a sufficient number of employees so that a representative sample may be determined" means that the employer shall monitor at least 75 percent of the production, maintenance, sampling, laboratory, and strip ping employees on cacli shift. The employees monitored must be representative of each operation pcrfomicd where exposure is likely to occur. Initially, representative em ployees from every operation should be monitored. After wards, where it ts established that there is no likelihood of exposure for employees in certain operations such as those in offices, these employees may be exempted from monitoring requirements. Occupational Safety & Health Reporter SL 092364 CURRENT REPORT "Personnel monitoring" refers to measurements made by the employer of employee exposures. Samples should be taken at the breathing zone of the employee at the times when the highest exposures of VC arc likely to occur. The standard (or this directive) does not specify the method or analyses that the employer must use, only that the procedure be sensitive to 50 ppm of VC in air with an accuracy of 1 20 percent for a 10-minute air sample. Issuance of Citations In evaluating violations of the VC rule, the guidelines of the OS1IA Compliance Operations Manual will be followed regarding serious and nonserious citations and grouping. Worker exposures to levels of VC higher than 50 ppm may be considered for imminent danger citations, depend ing on the facts and circumstances in each case. Circum stances permitting imminent danger citations would be where employees arc exposed to more than 50 ppm of VC and are not wearing the required respiratory protec tion. Supplied air respirators, either in continuous flow or pressure demand or self-contained breathing apparatus (approved by either the Mining Enforcement and Safety Administration or the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) are required when concentrations of VC arc in excess of 50 ppm. Alleged violations will be supported by compound label information, employee statements, photographs, ventila tion measurements, other observed facts, measurements, and samples taken. No imminent danger citation will be issued where the employer voluntarily eliminates direct internal contact with VC substances by removing the employees or by providing interim measures for their protection until permanent correction of the dangerous condition can be accomplished. In the citation issued later, the interim protective measures will be required until the date set for permanent coirection of the danger. Where the employer refuses to eliminate the recognized hazard, citations will be issued only after initial court proceedings arc concluded regarding the imminent danger. If, on inspection, it is learned that the employer has not monitored the ambient air and/or the employees, a citation will be issued. It seems most likely that the violation would be nonserious, the directive said. How ever, each case must be evaluated on its own merits and would become a matter of judgment for the compliance officer. Any establishment covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Act that may contain VC may be inspected. The VC standard has higher priority than the Target Health Hazard Program. Inspections will be conducted by only an OSHA or state agreement industrial hygienist. Protective Equipment When a compliance officer goes to a VC or PVC plant to make an inspection, the monitoring records should be checked before beginning the inspection or touring the facilities to ascertain the nccessaiy protective equipment. The compliance officer is required to use the principle of safe distance or the organic vapor respirator as protection 1517 in areas where it appears from the monitoring records that the exposure to VC is 50 ppm or less. "It must be remembered that each cartridge of the respirator is not to be worn longer than 30 minutes," the directive said. If, from the monitoring records, it appears there are areas in which the exposures to VC are in excess of 50 ppm, the compliance officer will wear a Type C continu ous flow or pressure demand air supplied respirator. Normally, the compliance officer would not enter areas where the employer has not monitored, the directive said. However, if the compliance officer must go in for a reason, such as a fatality, and the employer has not monitored, it will be assumed that the level of VC is above 50 ppm. Therefore, the compliance officer will wear a respirator. In performing any inspection, the compliance officer must exercise good judgment and make the appropriate evaluation regarding protection necessary for himself, the directive said. Often a factor such as distance, in lieu of respiratory protection, can be useful as a protective measure. When appropriate, the instructions from the manufac turer may be used as guidelines for decontamination or deactivation of VC. Monitoring for VC Personal breathing zone samples should be collected from employees where exposure to VC is likely, the directive said. A Model SP-1 Sipin personal sampling pump shall be used to collect the sample on NIOSHapproved charcoal tubes. The flow rate of the pump shall be no more than 50 milliliters per minute and the total sample size approximately one liter, and/or a sampling time of 20 minutes where a concentration of approxi mately 50 ppm is suspected. Where concentrations may be greater than 50 ppm, but less than 100 ppm, the sampling time should be 10 minutes. For concentrations greater than 100 ppm, but less than 200 ppm, the sampling time should be five minutes. All measurements should represent the time when exposures are likely to be the greatest, rather than random exposure throughout the workday. Generally, no more thari eight tubes per worker, per day, should be submitted for analysis. One or two tubes may suffice if they represent the maximum exposures. It is requested that the charcoal sampling tubes with the vinyl chloride samples be forwarded to the OSHA/ NIOSH laboratory, Salt Late City, Utah, on the same day the samples are taken. For shipment, the samples must be placed in a double mailing container and inner part of the container marked "Cancer Causing Substance: Vinyl Chlo ride." SIC Code Numbers The following OSHA list of Standard Industrial Classifi cation code numbers for vinyl chloride is not all inclusive or restrictive. It gives some preliminary indication of where vinyl chloride monomer can be found. Many other locations will have VC or PVC powder or substances containing free vinyl chloride gas. Copyright 1974 fay Tha Bursau of National Affairs, Ine. SL 092365 tj IU SIC Number Industry 2821 5029 2851 3292 3079 2818 2813 3357 Polyvinyl chloride and vinyl resins Gases, compressed and liquified Plastic base paints Vinyl asbestos tile PVC film, pipe; molding plastics Industrial organic chemicals Industrial gases Insulated wire VC-PVC Questionnaire Compliance officers were requested to fill out question naires regarding VC inspections to provide OSHA with data to consider in developing a permanent standard. Following is a partial list of some of the questions on the questionnaire. (1) Is it an outdoor facility? (2) How long has the plant been in operation? (3) Is the equipment corroded? (4) Is the equipment in need of maintenance? (5) Is the housekeeping good? (6) Where is the control room? (7) What raw materials are used? (8) How are these handled? (9) What provisions are made for storage? (10) Is entry to storage facilities done with an airsupplied mask? (11) How are withdrawals of raw materials controlled? (12) What process is used? (13) What is the method of recycle for the unreacted vinyl chloride? (14) In what form is the finished product? (15) How is it shipped? (16) What are the container sizes? (17) In the reaction process, what controls are used? (18) What is the type of ventilation system? (19) Where is the air exhausted? (20) Is makeup air introduced in sufficient volume to maintain correct operation? (21) Is the entry air to the control room treated? (22) What is the disposition of waste materials? (23) What sanitation facilities are provided? (24) In which activities is there potential for exposure? (25) Are the activity areas regulated? (26) Are all employees aware of the VC or PVC hazards? (27) With what protective clothing are the employees provided? (28) Do employees wear different clothes at work? (29) Do they shower at the end of the day? (30) Do they wash before eating? (31) Are the work clothes cleaned? (32) What kind of respiratory protection is provided? (33) Is there training for employees? (34) How often are respiratory devices checked? (35) What procedures are established for maintenance and decontamination? (36) What provision is made for cleanup of spills? (37) What provision is made for fire protection? (38) What is the method of sampling? uv,i,urHi i^nML Mtrci i a neMLiri Heron ten (39) What method i. id to analyze samples? (40) What does the in-house medical program consist of? Health Hazardi tOSHA TO PREPARE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT FOR VINYL CHLORIDE STANDARD An environmental impact statement concerning any proposed standards for occupational exposure to vinyl chloride is being prepared by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The August 1, 1973, Guidelines of the Council on Environmental Quality require federal agencies to prepare statements considering the effects of proposed legislation on the human environment. OSHA adopted final regula tions for the issuance of the impact statements on March 15 (Current Report, March 21, p. 1332). OSHA is currently collecting information on any ad verse environmental effects which cannot be avoided if the standard is adopted, irreversible commitments of resources which would be involved in complying with the standard, the relationship between short-term uses of the environment and the maintenance of long-term productiv ity, and alternatives to any standard which may finally be proposed. Information will be collected in the form of medical or toxicological evidence that exposure to vinyl chloride affects living organisms, combustible characteristics, iden tification of the uses of vinyl chloride and its polymers through finished products, and suggested actions for con trolling health hazards associated with the substance. A 45-day comment period will be allowed after the draft environmental impact statement is issued. OSHA's announcement of its intent to prepare the statement appears in the Full Text section of tliis report. Coal Mines PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE EXTENDS DEADLINE FOR SECOND CHEST X-RAYS The date of completion of the second round of chest X-ray examinations of underground coal miners was ex tended from June 30, 1974, to September 30, 1974, by the Public Health Service on April 25. The extension was made because the number of ap proved facilities for conducting the X-ray tests was fewer than necessary for all coal operators to fulfill their responsibilities under the existing time limit. The regulations governing the second round of chest X-ray examinations of miners were published on July 27, 1973. They required coal operators to provide each miner the opportunity for a chest X-ray examination by June 30, 1974. However, the new regulation said the facilities, both mobile and fixed-site, are so tightly scheduled that "there is no allowance for equipment breakdown, illness of medical or technical staff, power shortages, scarcity of Occupational Safaty A Haalth Roportar SL 092366