Document kmZw0oE8Mrx5NJGn41G6OxyLn

CJE0'O553H . fyr R4U CENTER - 401-3X9 236-1362. bv October 31, '1984 SArrPOSITION. PAPER : WESTINGHQUSE BUILDING - 796 T. C. Licwller Human Resources cc: F. S. Beal - Director, Envir Attached is a recommended draft posit requested. Please route to appropria* returned to me by November 22, .1984 r. CO /O C. W. Bickerstaff, 'Manager Corporate Industrial Hygiene /ime Attachments zardous/Toxic Materials* as Comments are to be schedule. hsu'lOJ't jzaeSSi CIE036flS6SI- TOXIC OR HAZARDOUS MATERIALS IN WESTINGHOUSE A. Historical Background Westinghouse was a pioneer in the field of Industrlat^O^gienc with the history of the department going back to the early 193^^. __ The initial effort was evaluating and controlllr^^^mploye exposure to silica particulate in the foundry operations. Efforts were then directed toward developing a system of evaluating the ctvrTCR^s and materials used in the Westinghouse manufacturing processes to deMhtfine the potential employe health hazards and determining what control*^qecautionB and protective clothing was necessary to minimize the ha^|2k^. This system was then integrated into the Westinghouse Corporaffe^tandards Purchasing Department Specification/Haterial (PDS/M) Card Sys^^s ^J^ans of communicating this information to the Westinghouse plan Once the hazardous materials w lent id, then Safe Practice Data Sheets (SPDS) were developed and pre[ttre<$^^PDS included the physical' properties, the common Westlngi 3$^materials which contained this hazardous material, the toxicity, fire rmat first aid information, and how to safely handle and control te*JJ Until 1970 there was y&mited 4^^hnel monitoring of employe exposure to toxic substances at the&QMLtlnghouse plants, with the exception being the monitoring of employe rrt&fttion exposure. If the Headquarters Industrial Hygiene Department wa^involved in any monitoring that was performed, these records were well maintained. However, maintenance of such historical records at the WestinghowHRNplants varies from excellent to non-existent. Medical surveillance, ^hO^audiometric exams, periodic physicals, bloassay samples, was much mor^bfovalent including the maintenance of such records. When thfa^Sacupational Safety and Health Act came into being in 1971, more emphasis w^7placed on employe exposure to toxic materials. Industrial Hygiene Training Courses were developed and offered for the plant industrial hygiene and safety representatives. Additional monitoring equipment was purchased and Bade available to the Meetinghouse plants. Therefore, documentation of employe exposures to toxic materials or physical agents increased such that there has been more personnel monitorino o employe exposure in the last 8 years than there was in the prevlouahvAjB years. The format of the Westinghouse SPOS was revised to reflect the changes in the OSHA Occupations Health Standards, e.g. personnel si&Sfcor lng requirements, permissible exposure limits, employe training requiren^B^s concerning the potential health hazardous of toxic materials, disposg^ of waste and recordkeeping. Plant audit were established to review the. inghousc plant Industrial Hygiene and Safety Programs with a written repo then Issued to the plant discussing the findings and recommendations B. Present Conditions About 0-70 per cent of the Westingho s use, in part or total, the (W) PDS/M card system to purchase matd Is a'h&^chemicals and thus these chemicals and materials are evaluq^qji^by ouirr'^&partment as previously described. The other plants eit/lts^>^rav ir own method of material evaluation or have little knowledge of c chemicals being used in the plant. Each plant has copies of theVtW) Practice Data Sheets (SPDS) which they can use for reference JttShvtrainih^ the employes. Specific hazardous a*&e}g?ss training has always been given to (W) radiation workers. Sessions' covering hazardous or toxic materials and the (W) SPDS have recently been ^ded to the safety observer training in many (W) plants, but other p^ant^ have given little, if any, training on pi .per use and control of hazardoueyfraterials. In August, l^S^^SKA issued a standard "Qsploye Right of Access to Medical and Exposure Rdcoh*s.* This standard permits employes, or their designated representative^^ have access to their medical records and their records of exposure to ha^rdous materials. A letter was issued by (W) Headquarters advising the plants of the details of the standard, but what steps to follow if any request was made for medieal/or exposure results (Attachment 1). 2 .-(3103083633 X*-'x Only two Westingt.Mise plants (the RAD Center and Malts Mill Site) received employe requests for i 'formation on exposure to hazardous materials. Headquarters Industrial H/giene has always recomraerfS^^hat results of employe personnel monitoring be given and explained to(^*j^ employes. This is especially important with the increased emphasis on<sJ^itoring employe exposure to hazardous material and all of the new ^I^A occupational health standards now requiring it, e.g. lead, arsenic and hearing conservation. However, there are still some (W) plants whicrfyS|$\(?)ot have a mechanism for informing employes of their monitoring resul C. New Standards and Regulations of Concecy In 1981 the State of New york enact^gV Rlght-To-Know Law regarding hazardous materials in thfc workplaceJ^sE^ice (^)i about one-half of the states h.ve either proposed or legislated ^^uiar In 1983 OSHA promulgated a Federal Hazard Communication $tan$97hav(^^ similar requirements which becomes effective in 1985. A recommended program of lance was outlined and Issued to all <W) plants advising them how arjd> ieve specific requirements for the standard (Attachment 2). equirement for initial and annual employe hazard awarenes^^ralnld^di^ich will require significant time and resources. With the lncreasfrv^tfse of video display terminals (VDTs) e.g., computers, word processors, ele^ronlc mall, in the workplace, most (W) employes wilt have some exposure to VDTs on a routine basis. As the use ol VDTs has proliferated, BttaS alleged health concerns associated with their use, e.g. eye strain, bi^k5straln, cataracts, skin rash and even clusters of birth defects. The or^&sJubstantiated concern is design of the workstation, l.e. ergonomitelS^ To alleviate these concerns. Guidelines for VDTs and medical vision screen examination were developed and issued to all (W) plants (Attachments 3 and 4). Headquarters Industrial Hygiene is in the process of developing an occupational health data system. This system will be able to track employe exposure by chemical, plant, worker occupation, etc. and Include medical surveillance results. Once implemented it will aid in complying with these -3-  cmmssu . new regulations and will increase the access to record retention and access to employe, exposure and health records; in case of worker compensation claims or litigation (Attachment 5). 0. Trends in the Unions . There has been a decline In the number of new a4ehdards and inspections from OSHA under the Reagan administration, so the unions are starting to become more aggressive in this area. They nowpimvG| the ability to access chemical toxicity data (Attachment 6A). Sama^jK? even attempting to conduct mortality studies of previous members (Attaera^rit 6B). The United Auto Workers have developed and issued to itsaaestBers a brochure on epidemiology, what to look for in the workplace, types offillness ai.d deaths that could be work related and to report this inforM^X&n b^v)r\to the union headquarters. All unions are aware of these aw^RigftS^fo-ltnow regulations and the Federal Hazard Communication Stan^errL^ecafflte^most have occupational health specialists on their staffs and the^fhavejiJeen very successful in lobbying for passage of these regulations. repreesseennted and non-represented plants have experienced numerous re<; fj^f^hformation on materials in the workplace from employes. (^) Unions in general favor hivirtrK^olnt Management-Union Occupational Safety and Health Committees. y4n>inghouse promotes the use of our safety observer program and we conten^t^sa .program, if properly presented, will meet this need to Involve the workers in the plant occupational safety and health program. In fact. Headquarters Safety revised this program in 1961 and promoted its use^thuugh `Train the Trainer* seminars. -4-