Document n07J85nB9GO9D8VX3RQGpOVz

DC (. l P \ 1'ION AL SM f TY ANL) HEALTH 1910.9.'ipi (j)( I H i) ------------- ^^TANDARDS AND INTERPRETATIONS in- pruvuled. The examination shall indude the personal history of the em ployee, family and occupational backLri und, including genetic and environ mental factors. (ii) Authorized employees shall be pro vided periodic physical examinations, not less often than annually, following the preassignment examination. (iii) In all physical examinations, the examining physician shall consider whether there exist conditions of in creased risk, including reduced im munological competence, those undergoing treatment with steroids or cytotoxic acents. pregnancy and cigarette smoking. (2) Records. (i) Employers of employees examined pursuant to this paragraph shall cause to be maintained complete and accurate rec- ords of all such medical examinations. Records shall be maintained for the dura tion of the employee's employment. Upon termination of an employee's employment, including retirement or death, or in the event that the employer ceases business without a successor, records, or notarized true copies thereof, shall be forwarded by registered mail to the Director, (ii) Records required by this paragraph shall be provided upon request to au thorized representatives of the Assistant Secretary or the Director, and, upon re quest of an employee or former employee, to a physician designated by the employee or to a new employer. (iii) Any physician who conducts a medi cal examination required by this para graph shall furnish to the employer a statement of the employee's suitability for employment in the specific exposure. 1910.93q--Vinyl chloride. (a) Scope and application. (1) This section includes requirements for the control of employee exposure to vinyl chloride (chloroethene). Chemical Abstracts Service Registry No. 75015. (2) This section applies to the manufacture, reaction, packaging, repackaging, storage, handling or use of vinyl chloride or polyvinyl chloride, but does not apply to the handling or use of fabricated products made of polyvinyl chloride. (3) This section applies to the transportation of vinyl chloride or polyvinyl chloride except to the extent that the Department of Trans portation may. regulate the hazards covered by this section. vinyl chloride of 0.5 ppm averaged over an 8-hour work day. (2) "Assistant Secretary" means the Assist ant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Labor, or hisdesignee. (3) "Authorized person" means any person specifically authorized by the employer whose duties require him to enter a regulated area or any person entering such an area as a desig nated representative of employees for the purpose of exercising an opportunity to ob serve monitoring and measuring procedures. (4) "Director" means the Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, or his designee. (b) Definitions. (1) "Action level" means a concentration of (5) "Emergency" means any occurrence such as, but not limited to, equipment failure, or rhaniie T 1 24 95 1910-BSq (b) (S) UCC 093919 1910.93q lb) (5) STANDARDS AND INTERPRETATIONS OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH operation of a relief device which is likely to, or does, result in massive release of vinyl chloride. (6) "Fabricated product" means a product made wholly or partly from polyvinyl chloride, and which does not require further processing at temperatures, and for times, sufficient to cause mass melting of the polyvinyl chloride resulting in the release of vinyl chloride, (7) "Hazardous operation" means any opera tion, procedure, or activity where a release of either vinyl chloride liquid or gas might be ex pected as a consequence of the operation or because of an accident in the operation, which would result in an employee exposure in ex cess of the permissible exposure limit. (8) "OSHA Area Director" means the Direc tor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Area Office having jurisdic tion over the geographic area in which the employer's establishment is located. (9) "Polyvinyl chloride" means polyvinyl chloride homopolymer or copolymer before such is converted to a fabricated product. (10) "Vinyl chloride" means vinyl chloride monomer. (2) Where a determination conducted under paragraph (d) (1) of this section shows any employee exposures, without regard to the use of respirators, in excess of the action level, a program for determining exposures for each such employee shall be established. Such a program: (i) Shall be repeated at least monthly where any employee is exposed, without regard to the use of respirators, in excess of the per missible exposure limit. (ii) Shall be repeated not less than quar terly where any employee is exposed, with out regard to the use of respirators, in ex cess of the action level. (iii) May be discontinued for any employee only when at least two consecutive moni toring determinations, made not less than 5 working days apart, show exposures for that employee at or below the action level. (3) Whenever there has been a production, process or control change which may result in an increase in the release of vinyl chloride, or the employer has any other reason to suspect that any employee may be exposed in excess of the action level, a determination of employee exposure under paragraph (d) (1) of this sec tion shall be performed. (c) Permissible exposure limit. (1) No employee may be exposed to vinyl chloride at concentrations greater than 1 ppm averaged over any 8-hour period, and (2) No employee may be exposed to vinyl chloride at concentrations greater than 5 ppm averaged over any period not exceeding 15 minutes. (4) The method of monitoring and measure ment shall have an accuracy (with a confidence level of 95 percent) of not less than plus or minus 50 percent from 0.25 through 0.5 ppm, plus or minus 35 percent from over 0.5 ppm through 1.0 ppm, and plus or minus 25 percent over 1.0 ppm. (Methods meeting these accu racy requirements are available in the "NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods"). (3) No employee may be exposed to vinyl chloride by direct contact with liquid vinyl chloride. (5) Employees or their designated represen tatives shall be afforded reasonable opportu nity to observe the monitoring and measuring required by this paragraph. (d) Monitoring. (e) Regulated area. (1) A program of initial monitoring and meas urement shall be undertaken in each estab (1) A regulated area shall be established lishment to determine if there is any employee where: exposed, without regard to the use of res (i) Vinyl chloride or polyvinyl chloride is pirators, in excess of the action level. manufactured, reacted, repackaged, stored, handled or used; and I910.93<j ()<l)(i) 124.96 Change T v- UCC 093920 (KCLPATION'AL SVFtTY AND HEALTH 1910.93q It) (1) (ii) STANDARDS AND INTERPRETATIONS (ii) Vinyl chloride concentrations are in excest of the permissible exposure limit. (2) Access to regulated areas shall be limited to au.' orized persons. A daily roster shall be made of authorized persons who enter. examination and copying to authorized rep resentatives of the Assistant Secretary and the Director. Such plans shall be updated at least every six months. (g) Respiratory protection. (f) Methods of compliance. Employee exposures to vinyl chloride shall be controlled to at or below the permissible expo sure limit provided in paragraph (c) of this sec tion by engineering, work practice, and personal protective controls as follows: (1) Feasible engineering and work practice controls shall immediately be used to reduce exposures to at or below the permissible expo sure limit. (2) Wherever feasible engineering and work practice controls which can be instituted im mediately are not sufficient to reduce expos ures to at or below the permissible exposure limit, they shall nonetheless be used to reduce exposures to the lowest practicable level, and shall be supplemented by respiratory protec tion in accordance with paragraph (g) of this section. A program shall be established and implemented to reduce exposures to at or helow the permissible exposure limit, or to the greatest extent feasible, solely by means of engineering and work practice controls, as soon as feasible. Where respiratory protection is required under this section: (1) The employer shall provide a respirator which meets the requirements of this para graph and shall assure that the employee uses such respirator, except that until December 31, 1975, wearing of respirators shall be at the discretion of each employee for exposures not in excess of 25 ppm, measured over any 15minute period. Until December 31, 1975, each employee who chooses not to wear an appro priate respirator shall be informed at least quarterly of the hazards of vinyl chloride and the purpose, proper use, and limitations of respiratory devices. (2) Respirators shall be selected from among those jointly approved by the Mining En forcement and Safety Administration, De partment of the Interior, and the National In stitute for Occupational Safety and Health under the provisions of 30 CFR Part 11. (3) A respiratory protection program meeting the requirements of 8 1910.134 shall be estab lished and maintained. (3) Written plans for such a program shall be developed and furnished upon request for (4) Selection of respirators for vinyl chloride shall be as follows: Chan** 7 124.97 l10.*3q (a) (4) UCC 093921