Personal respiratory protection

Nickel carbonyl should be used in totally enclosed systems or under good local exhaust. Plants and laboratories where nickel carbonyl is used should make use of air-monitoring devices, alarms should be present in case of accidental leakage, and appropriate personal respiratory protective devices should be readily available for emergency uses. Monitoring of urinary nickel levels is useful to help determine the severity of exposure and identify appropriate treatment measures. Some large-scale users of nickel carbonyl maintain a supply of sodium diethyldithiocarbamate, or Antabuse, a therapeutic agent, on hand for use in case of overexposure. 

Care and precautions In view of its potential toxicity, 2-nitropropane should be handled in the workplace as a potential human carcinogen. Strict chemical management should be observed at all levels. Industrial workers should be provided with approved personal respiratory protective devices and full-body clothing for protection against splashes. ... 

Developmental objectives in personal respiratory protection equipment generally encompass factors such as personal comfort, breathing resistance, mask weight, and the ability to provide protection from new agents. Present equipment has met a number of these objectives but much remains to be done, especially in the area of new and improved chemical-resistant materials, manufacturing methods, and scratch-resistant lenses. All of these items must be integrated into a new, reliable, less cumbersome, and less degrading system. 

In pharmacy practice employers sometimes choose to provide respirators instead of buying safety cabinets or isolators. This is against the general principles of risk mitigation (see Sect. 26.7.1) and may only be accepted if preparation scarcely takes place. Some specific situations however rely on personal respiratory protection by respirators ... 

Reduction of the dust to an acceptable level as far as is reasonably practicable by extraction, or where necessary by the provision of personal respiratory protective equipment of an appropriate design. 

Immediate steps should be taken to find and stop chlorine leaks as soon as there is any indication of chlorine in the air. Chlorine leaks never get better they always get worse, unless promptly corrected. Authorized, trained personnel equipped with suitable personal respiratory protection should investigate whenever a chlorine leak occurs. All other persons should be kept away from the affected area until the cause of the leak has been found and remedied. 

It is good practice to keep concentrations of airborne nickel in any chemical form as low as possible and certainly below the relevant standard. Local exhaust ventilation is the preferred method, particularly for powders, but personal respirator protection may be employed where necessary. In the United States, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) personal exposure limit (PEL) for all forms of nickel except nickel carbonyl is 1 mg/m. The ACGIH TLVs are respectively 1 mg/m for Ni metal, insoluble compounds, and fume and dust from nickel sulfide roasting, and 0.1 mg/m for soluble nickel compounds. The ACGIH is considering whether to lower the TLVs for all forms of nickel to 0.05 mg/m, based on nonmalignant respiratory effects in experimental animals. 

Figure 5.3 COSHH assessment procedure PPE = Personal Protective Equipment RPE = Respiratory Protective Equipment...

Provide separate storage areas for any protective clothing and respiratory protective equipment required, and for personal clothing. 

A good standard of personal hygiene, i.e. washing hands before eating, and showering or bathing at the end of work. Maintaining overalls and respiratory protection in a clean state. 

All respiratory protective systems should be stored in clean, dry conditions but be readily accessible. They should be inspected and cleaned regularly, with particular attention to facepiece seals, nonreturn valves, harnesses etc. Issue on a personal basis is essential for regular use otherwise the equipment should be returned to a central position. Records are required of location, date of issue, estimated duration of use of canisters etc. 

Guidance on the choice of respiratory protection for selected environments is given in Figure 13.6. All persons liable to use such protection should be fully trained this should cover details of hazards, limitations of apparatus, inspection, proper fitting of facepiece, testing, cleaning etc. 

Health Hazards Information - Recommended Personal Protective Equipment Protective clothing should be worn when skin contact can occur. Respiratory protection is necessary when exposed to vapor. Complete eye protection is recommended Symptoms Following Exposure Breathing of vapors... 

Health Hazards Information - Recommended Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory protection ... 

Health Hazards Information - Recommended Personal Protective Equipment Acid-vapor-type respiratory protection rubber gloves chemical worker s goggles other equipment as necessary to protect skin and eyes Symptoms Following Exposure Inhalation irritates mucous membranes. Contact with liquid causes severe bums of eyes and skin. Ingestion causes severe burns of mouth and stomach General Treatment for Exposure Get medical attention following all Exposures to this compound. 

Personal protective equipment Respiratory protection Gives workers direct access to worksite Increases worker exposure to hazard... 

Respiratory protection should always be carefully considered by a qualified person who is aware of the specific task and site conditions. Similar stresses as those pointed out for Levels A and B can be found... 

If no other method provides protection to the worker, design respiratory protective equipment. In the design phase, the minimum is to identify the need for personal protection. 

It should be noted that the primary purpose of the ventilation systems described for abrasive blasting rooms and hospital isolation rooms is to prevent or minimize exposure to hazardous substances in those persons working outside the blasting or isolation room. The ventilation system may also reduce exposure for workers inside these rooms, but often the reduction is not sufficient to eliminate the need for respiratory protection. 

Because personal protection is limited to the user and the equipment must be worn for the duration of the exposure to the hazard, it should generally be considered as a last line of defence. Respiratory protection in particular should be restricted to hazardous situations of short duration (e.g. emergencies, maintenance, or temporary arrangements while engineering control measures are being introduced). Occasionally, personal protection may be the only practicable measure and indeed even a legal requirement. If it is to be effective, its selection, correct use and condition are of paramount importance. 

---