In celebration of World Asthma Day 2024, the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) has selected the theme of “Asthma Education Empowers”. GINA emphasizes the need to empower people with asthma with the appropriate education to manage their disease, and to recognize when to seek medical help.
© OHCOW, 2022
Stay up-to-date with happenings at OHCOW and in the occupational health and safety field by subscribing to our newsletter!
OHCOW was asked by worker and management representatives to conduct a hazard assessment at a manufacturing facility. The concern was potential exposure to contaminants encountered by workers when spray painting windows. The issues were:
An OHCOW Occupational Hygienist carried out extensive information gathering with location personnel through phone calls and email exchanges. This information included interviews, photos, videos, and product Safety Data Sheets. A walk-through occupational survey of the facility and the spray painting area was conducted by the hygienist and worker-certified JHSC representatives, a regional EHS manager, two spray painters, and the spray-painting area supervisor. Observations and discussions during the tour formed the basis of recommendations for the paint-spray activities including ventilation and PPE considerations.
The workers’ respirators, gloves and whole-body suits were evaluated for appropriateness of selection, use, care, and maintenance. Smoke tubes were used for qualitative measurement of airflow/ventilation effectiveness in the cleaning (with acetone prior to paint application), paint mixing and spraying area. Information on maintenance procedures (e.g. spray booth air filter change-out) through discussions with workers, supervisors and the regional health and safety manager.
Well-known safety resources were used in the hazard assessment for the booths, including the text ACGIH Industrial Ventilation – Manual of Recommended Practice for Design.
OHCOW’s observations and applicable technical references demonstrated that, to minimize exposure, only one worker at a time should be in the walk-in spray booth. Enhanced PPE protection consisting of more efficient respirators, gloves and whole body suits was also advised. These recommendations were agreeable to all parties.
consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer vitae aliquam leo, et hendrerit sem. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec elementum eleifend massa ut lobortis. Ut mattis erat sed ante aliquet, a euismod felis dictum. Donec cursus, dui quis ullamcorper hendrerit, massa felis hendrerit nisi, at viverra leo magna eget orci. Quisque gravida, lacus id consectetur pellentesque, mauris nisl consectetur massa, fermentum iaculis tortor nulla eget nulla. Vestibulum libero nulla, sodales id ante vel, dignissim fringilla risus. Cras et eleifend nulla. Donec rhoncus tempus mollis. In commodo velit eu dignissim dapibus. Mauris vitae sapien augue.
Nullam lacinia nulla at lacus lobortis tempus viverra et magna. Nulla pulvinar tempus mauris et condimentum. Curabitur vestibulum laoreet nunc a dapibus. Suspendisse rutrum fringilla magna, non accumsan urna posuere accumsan. Donec eleifend nibh nec risus semper viverra. Cras gravida elementum congue. Nunc sit amet blandit est, eu elementum metus. Morbi nec lacus lorem. Morbi tincidunt nunc a fringilla varius. Morbi lobortis libero nec felis consequat luctus. Sed eros libero, luctus id justo condimentum, lobortis congue lorem. Nam facilisis commodo sollicitudin. Donec arcu massa, viverra quis lobortis vitae, vestibulum in turpis.
Nullam imperdiet ac mi id fermentum. Vestibulum sit amet leo at purus tincidunt dignissim ut non erat. Nam auctor faucibus egestas. Aenean sit amet massa tortor. Nam sed nunc sit amet justo pulvinar efficitur. Ut tempor sollicitudin erat nec dignissim. Suspendisse vel condimentum purus, molestie tristique neque. Nulla eu turpis dolor. Etiam quis lorem luctus, commodo purus at, scelerisque nisl. Fusce in sollicitudin nunc, non mollis velit. Vivamus at maximus libero, vitae sagittis libero. Nam sed nisl turpis. Pellentesque id cursus nunc. Cras interdum nisi sit amet porttitor vehicula.
OHCOW was asked by worker and management representatives to conduct a hazard assessment at a manufacturing facility. The concern was potential exposure to contaminants encountered by workers when spray painting windows. The issues were:
An OHCOW Occupational Hygienist carried out extensive information gathering with location personnel through phone calls and email exchanges. This information included interviews, photos, videos, and product Safety Data Sheets. A walk-through occupational survey of the facility and the spray painting area was conducted by the hygienist and worker-certified JHSC representatives, a regional EHS manager, two spray painters, and the spray-painting area supervisor. Observations and discussions during the tour formed the basis of recommendations for the paint-spray activities including ventilation and PPE considerations.
The workers’ respirators, gloves and whole-body suits were evaluated for appropriateness of selection, use, care, and maintenance. Smoke tubes were used for qualitative measurement of airflow/ventilation effectiveness in the cleaning (with acetone prior to paint application), paint mixing and spraying area. Information on maintenance procedures (e.g. spray booth air filter change-out) through discussions with workers, supervisors and the regional health and safety manager.
Well-known safety resources were used in the hazard assessment for the booths, including the text ACGIH Industrial Ventilation – Manual of Recommended Practice for Design.
OHCOW’s observations and applicable technical references demonstrated that, to minimize exposure, only one worker at a time should be in the walk-in spray booth. Enhanced PPE protection consisting of more efficient respirators, gloves and whole body suits was also advised. These recommendations were agreeable to all parties.
After consultation with product suppliers, OHCOW provided updated information on the potential hazards of the substances used. The Safety Data Sheets at the facility were out of date and some were incomplete. OHCOW applied up-to-date scientific research to determine the nanomaterial content and carcignogenic classification of the materials. Their findings were consistent with the use of the precautionary principle and the implementation of a high level of engineering (ventilation), administrative (proper use of the walk-in spray booth – only one user at a time) and PPE (HEPA/organic vapor respirators and full skin protection).
Recommendations were made to minimize exposure when workers changed the spray booth air filters, including better ventilation and PPE. Detailed recommendations for air monitoring methods were provided based on the assessment.
95% Confidence Interval (CI) is a range of values (upper and lower) that you can be 95% certain contains the true mean of the population.
The relative risk is a comparison of the risk of getting lung cancer for those exposed to diesel exhaust compared to those who have never been exposed to diesel exhaust – for example, if the relative risk is 1.5, it means that for the cumulative diesel exhaust exposure entered into the calculator, the risk associated with that exposure is 1.5 times higher than the background risk of lung cancer for those who have not been occupationally exposed to diesel exhaust.
