OSHA sampling techniques

Trade secret provision. OSHA has provided special consideration for chemical manufacturers or distributors who claim trade secret protection for the chemical s identity. Special provisions of the standard will then apply. However, if a need to know specific chemical identity exists for any of the following reasons, the chemical manufacturer must provide the relevant information under protection of a confidentiality agreement (470, p. 53316) to assess the hazards of the chemicals to which employees will be exposed to conduct or assess sampling techniques of the workplace atmosphere to determine employee exposure levels to conduct pre-assignment or periodic medical surveillance of exposed employees to provide medical treatment to exposed employees to select or assess appropriate personal protective equipment for exposed employees to design or assess engineering controls or other protective measures for exposed employees and to conduct studies to determine the health effects of exposure. 

OSHA Vinyl Chloride Standard. On May 10, 1974, OSHA announced a proposed permanent standard that included "no detectable" level for employee exposure to VCM in monomer, polymer, and fabricating operations by a sampling and analytical technique capable of detecting vinyl chloride concentrations of 1 ppm with an accuracy of 1 ppm 50%. Subsequently public hearings were held in Washington in June and July 1974 at which 35 hours of direct testimony by 44 panels of witnesses was presented, and 89 written submissions with comments on the proposed standard were received. 

This sampling and analytical procedure is very similar to the method recommended by NIOSH for aaolein. Some changes in the NIOSH methodology were necessary to permit the simultaneous determination of both aldehydes and also to accommodate OSHA laboratory equipment and analytical techniques. 

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