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Industrial
Hygiene Insights – February 2008 |
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Welcome to IH
Insights, the monthly electronic newsletter for industrial
hygiene practitioners. Each issue brings you analysis and
commentary
from our contributing editors, all veteran industrial
hygienists, plus
news on compliance, research, and professional practice from the
Occupational Hazards editorial team. |
In This
Issue:
1. Teaching an
Old Dogma New Tricks
2. ACGIH Ratifies
Exposure Limits
3. Responder
Safety: The Lingering Threat of Avian Flu
4. AIHA
Launches Digital Library
5. EPA
Program Addresses Nanoscale Product Safety
6. OSHA's New
Program Addresses Crystalline Silica Hazards
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1. Teaching an Old Dogma New
Tricks
By John F. Rekus
All accidents are preventable! That is pretty much dogma in the safety
and health field. Well, I was involved in a fatality investigation a few
years ago that cast doubt on that widely held belief.
The case involved a laboratory synthesis of an energetic chemical being
considered as a solid propellant. For reasons that remained
undetermined, a glass process vessel blew up, a shard of glass cut a
technician's carotid artery and he died.
"An open and shut case!" exclaimed some coworkers. "There should have
been a blast shield in place," they said. I, on the other hand, wanted
to learn the facts before rushing to judgment.
Upon looking into the matter, I found that the facility had done an
exceptionally thorough process hazard analysis. In fact, the laboratory
protocol employed a two-column format: On one side was a summary of the
chemistry and on the other, a detailed accounting of the potential
hazards and safety precautions. There were some steps of the procedure
that did require a blast shield, and there were other provisions
including personnel boding straps to control potential static
electricity hazards.
The physical characteristics of the material, including the ignition
energy in millijoules, had been determined and other characteristics
thoroughly researched. The particular step of the reaction where the
explosion occurred had been evaluated and it had been determined that no
particular hazards were expected at that point and hence no special
precautions were required.
I could find nothing wrong with the technical approach and having been
provided with all of the process information, I too came to the same
conclusion. Nevertheless, something did go terribly wrong and a lab
technician was dead.
As I pondered the facts, I considered the dogma that "All accidents are
preventable." In this case, I wasn't so sure. I was convinced that had a
hazard been anticipated at this stage, precautions would have been taken
to mitigate it.
The fact was, those involved in the hazard assessment had determined
that no special hazards were present and consequently, no special
precautions were required. This wasn't like so many other cases I've
seen where an employee is injured or killed and people just thow up
their hands and say, "Whoops, it was just an accident," or "We didn't
know the line was energized at 480 volts because nobody tested it," or
"We didn't know that trenches had to be protected from cave-ins" or "Who
knew that a portable generator would produce enough carbon monoxide to
kill people working in an unventilated basement?"
In this case, responsible, knowledgeable people had conducted a
sophisticated hazard analysis and based on their background education
and experience, concluded that no unusual hazards were present at this
particular step.
This being the case, how could this fatality have been prevented?
Perhaps our traditional dogma needs to be reconsidered, because to my
way of thinking, a hazard must be recognized before it can be
controlled.
John Rekus, PE, CIH, CSP, is an independent consultant. He has more
than 25 years of regulatory experience.
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2. ACGIH Ratifies Exposure Limits
The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists
(ACGIH) announced Jan. 31 that its board of directors ratified the 2008
biological exposure indices and threshold limit values for chemical
substances and physical agents.
Read More
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4. AIHA Launches Digital Library
The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) announced the
launch of OEHS Library Central, a new digital library that serves as a
comprehensive source of occupational and environmental health and safety
information for industry professionals.
Read More
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New low cost digital sound level meter
Casella USA have recently introduced the all new CEL-240 "EZ does it"
instrument. A low cost, full specification, simple to use sound level
meter it complies with all the national and international type 2
accuracy standards and is so easy to use. In fact we can really say "EZ
does it". www.casellausa.com
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If you have
any comments or feedback about the content or format of IH
Insights, please share them with Editor Sandy Smith at ssmith@penton.com.
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