Permissible exposure limit employees protection

Describe control measures employees can take to protect themselves. OSHA sets exposure limits for airborne concentration of Cr(VI). Exposures to Cr(VI) can be reduced or eliminated through the use of engineering and work practice controls. If these control measures don t reduce exposvu es to, or below, OSHA s permissible exposure limit, employees must wear respirators. When eye or skin contact with Cr(VI) is possible, employees must use personal protective equipment. Describe to employees appropriate work practices, emergency procedures, and protective equipment to be used. 

CFR1910.120(g)(3)(v) 29CFR1910.120, Appendix B 4.5.4 The level of protection provided by PPE selection shall be increased when additional information or emergency conditions show that increased protection is necessary to reduce employee exposures below permissible exposure limits and published exposure levels for hazardous substances and health hazards. (See Appendix B of 29CFR1910.120 for guidance on selecting PPE ensembles.)... 

The purpose of the air contaminants standards are to reduce risk of occupational illness for workers by reducing permissible exposure limits (PEL) for chemicals. Table 14.10.3 lists the PELs [8-hr time-weighted average (TWA) exposure] for the solvents discussed. To achieve complianee with the PEL, administrative or engineering controls must first be determined and implemented, whenever feasible. When such controls are not feasible to achieve full eompliance, personal protective equipment, work practices, or any other protective measures are to be used to keep employee exposure below the PEL. 

Terminology used by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to state the level of toxicant that requires medical surveillance and training to further protect employees. It is usually one-half the level of the permissible exposure limit. Action levels exist for only a few air contaminants, such as lead, cadmium, and benzene. Activated Charcoal... 

General respiratory protection requirements begin at 29 CFR 1926.55 — Gases, vapors, fumes, dusts, and mists. Employees exposed to any material or substance at a concentration above the permissible exposure limit (PEL) specified in Appendix A to 1926.55 must be avoided. Comphance must be achieved by using administrative (i.e., employee shift changes) or engineering (i.e., ventilation) controls first. When these controls are not feasible to achieve fiill compliance, protective equipment must be used to keep the exposure within the PELs prescribed. 

The purpose of this subpart is to protect employees from exposure to toxic and hazardous substances in the workplace. It covers the Permissible Exposure Limits (PEL) for all air contaminants including all gases, vapors, and dusts. Some of the contaminants covered underthis subpart include asbestos, coal tar pitch volatiles, vinyl chloride, inorganic arsenic, lead, cadmium, benzene, coke-oven emissions, bloodborne pathogens, cotton dust, ethylene oxide, and formaldehyde. 

Maximum use concentration (MUC) means the maximum atmospheric concentration of a hazardous substance from which an employee can be expected to be protected when wearing a respirator, and is determined by the assigned protection factor of the respirator or class of respirators and the exposure limit of the hazardous substance. The MUC can be determined mathematically by multiplying the assigned protection factor specified for a respirator by the required QSHA permissible exposure limit, short-term exposure limit, or ceiling limit. When no QSHA exposure limit is available for a hazardous substance, an employer must determine an MUC on the basis of relevant available information and informed professional judgement. 

The employer shall implement engineering and work practice controls, including administrative controls, to reduce and maintain employee exposure to lead to or below the permissible exposure limit to the extent that such controls are feasible. Wherever all feasible engineering and work practices controls that can be instituted are not sufficient to reduce employee exposure to or below the permissible exposure limit prescribed in paragraph (c) of this section, the employer shall nonetheless use them to reduce employee exposure to the lowest feasible level and shall supplement them by the use of respiratory protection that complies with the requirements of paragraph (f) of this section. 

Air Contaminants (29 CFR 1910.1000). OSHA requires that employees who must work in or near industrial operational areas with an ambient air exposure limit above a set level wear appropriate respiratory protection. The permissible exposure levels (PELs) of major concern for colorant and additive formulators are as follows ... 

PERSONAL PROTECTION wear protective gloves, lab coat, apron or coveralls use chemical safety goggles a closed system of local exhaust ventilation is recommended to keep employee exposure below the Airborne Exposure Limits a half-face dust/mist respirator is needed in areas where exposure would be above the permissible exposure level in high vapor concentrations, use positive pressure self-contained breathing apparatus use non-sparking tools and equipment. 

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