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Respiratory Hazards Assessment
Paragraph
1910.134(d)(1)(iii)
of the respiratory
standard,
requires all employers whose employees are
required to use respirators, to conduct a
hazard evaluation for each operation,
process, or work area where airborne
contaminants may be present in routine
operations, or during an emergency to:
- Identify and develop a list of
hazardous substances used at the site,
for each operation or work process, to
include the nature of the hazard, e.g.
toxicity, chemical and physical
properties.
- Review work processes and operations
and determine where potential
exposures of identified hazardous
substances may occur and make an
inventory of those operations.
- Quantify extent of potential
hazardous exposure (hazardous agent
concentrations) and times of exposure
(a DEHS Industrial Hygienist will
provide monitoring when needed).
Exposure
Assessment
is Required When:
- Employees are exposed to a
respiratory hazard, or are required to
wear respirators.
- Substances with an OSHA specific
standard(such as lead, methylene
chloride, asbestos)are used.
- Employees report symptoms of
irritation, odors or complain of
respiratory health effects.
- The workplace contains visible
emissions (e.g., fumes, dust,
aerosols).
The employer must determine or provide a
"reasonable estimate" of employee
exposures anticipated to occur as a result
of working with those hazards, including
those likely to be encountered in
reasonably foreseeable emergency
situations
Types
of Respiratory Hazards or Hazardous
Agents
Workplace respiratory hazards may
be present in the following forms:
- Dusts
and fibers - solid particles
that are formed or generated from
solid materials through mechanical
processes such as crushing, grinding,
drilling, abrading or blasting.
Examples of toxic dusts and fibers
include lead, silica, and asbestos.
- Fumes
- solid particles that are formed when
a metal or other solid vaporizes and
the molecules condense (or solidify)
in cool air. Examples are metal
fumes from smelting or welding.
Fumes also may be formed from
processes such as plastic injection,
or extrusion molding.
- Mists
- tiny droplets of liquid suspended in
the air. Examples are oil mist
produced from lubricants used in metal
cutting operations, acid mists from
electroplating, and paint spray mist
from spraying operations.
- Gases
- materials that exist as
individual molecules in the air at
room temperature. Examples are
welding gases, such as acetylene and
nitrogen, and carbon monoxide produced
from internal combustion engines.
- Vapors
- the gaseous form of
substances that are normally in the
solid or liquid state at room
temperature and pressure. They are
formed by evaporation. Most
solvents/chemicals produce
vapors. Examples include
benzene, methylene chloride, toluene,
Nitric and hydrochloric Acids,
etc.
- Biological
hazards - include bacteria,
viruses, fungi, and other living
organisms that can cause acute and
chronic infections if breathed
in. Examples include
Legionnaire’s Disease, flour, and
animal products and allergens (dander,
excreta, saliva).
Types
of Required Exposure Monitoring
While the standard allow the
employers to use different approaches to
estimate worker exposures to respiratory
hazards. To accurately quantify
employee exposure in the workplace and to
determine how much and what type of
respiratory protection is required in any
given circumstance. The University of
Minnesota will use following approach:
- Risk Assessmentand Job or Task
Hazard Analysis to collect information
on hazardous chemicals used and
hazardous operations or processes.
(see Risk
Assessment for Job Hazard Analysis
Training)
- Personal Sampling/ Personal Exposure
Monitoring to obtain workers accurate
exposure information (DEHS Industrial
Hygienist) for all substances
regulated under the Air Contaminants
standard (29 CFR 1910.1000), or by
specific monitoring requirements as
outlined in the OSHA
substance-specific standards.
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