HEALTH AND SAFETY Control of substance hazardous to health regulations 1988 generally abbreviated to COSHH "gulation: ooo These regulations provide a framework to help to protect personnel at the workplace against health risks from substances, which are hazardous. For the purpose of COSHH regulations, substances hazardous to health include, a) Substances or preparations listed as being toxic, very toxic, harmful, corrosive or irritant in part LA of Chemicals (Hazard Information for Packaging) Supply. ooo b) ~Substancés with MEL oF OES as detailed in Schedule one of COSHH or if Health and Safety Commission has approved an OEL. ©) Harmful micro-organisms. d) — Dust of any kind in substantial concentrations. ©) Any other substance creating comparable hazards to peoples health such as pesticides and other chemicals used on farms, Hazard warning symbols 7 Black symbol of skull and crossbones on an orange square with the words Toxic or Very Toxic printed below - Black diagonal cross on an orange square with the words Harmful or Iitant printed below. - Black symbol showing a tilted test-tube dripping onto a hhand with a chunk out, adjacent to @ test tube dripping onto a stone flag. Orange background with the word corrosive printed below. Painting Inspection Grade 372. Rev 1 April 2004 "TWI woutp centre ron Health & Safety 19.1 MATERIALS JOINING TECHNOLOGY Copyright © 2003, TWI LdLEL howe Exp lasve. dimit VEL 1, Upper explosive Limit: bb Bortahe9 vie air Quucateiry | It is the employer's duty to assess the risk to employees on his/her premises and any other premises, which might be visited during the execution of duties. Training establishments are responsible for trainees. It is an employers duty to prevent, where ever possible, exposure to hazardous substances, but if it is not reasonably practical to totally prevent exposure then protective clothing, masks etc. should be issued to minimise exposure. COSHH regulations require that regular monitoring should be carried out and records kept, particularly in situations where there could be serious risk to health if control measures were to fail or deteriorate. : yeoden @safeb} Executive ( Guidance na BES6oceupanl exposure limits), is a document published by the HSE, which lists all sigtances known to be hazardous to mankind. It gives details in table form of common names, chemical formulae and chemical names of hazardous substances. The Hydrocarbon _solvents.used in modem paint formulations are hazardous to health and are listed in EH 40, Xylene is one such solvent and has an Occupational Exposure Limit (OEL) of 100 ppm (parts per Million). This means that air containing more than 100 ppm would be considered fo be a hazard to the health of personnel exposed to it. There are two categories of OBL. 1 _Maximum Exposure Limit (MEL). — Only abrevivatr, V0 ~ Br ily. Maximum Exposure Limit (MEL) “The maximum concentration of an airbome substance, averaged over a reference period, to which employees may be exposed by inhalation under any circumstances and is specified, together with the appropriate reference period, in Schedule one of COSHH.” 2 — Occupations Exposure Standard (OES). Occupations Exposure Standard (OES) “The concentration of an airborne substance, averaged over a reference period, at which, according to current knowledge, there is no evidence that itis likely to be injurious to employees if they are exposed to inhalation, day after day, to that concentration, and which is specified in a list approved by HSE.” When referring to reference periods above, long term exposure limits are averaged over an eight hour reference period and short term exposures over ten minute reference periods. If the EH 40 specifies that a substance has an MEL then the quoted figure must not be exceeded at any time, but kept as low as is reasonably practical. Painting Inspection Grade 3/2. Rev 1 April 2004 TWH wort cextaz ron Health & Safety 192, MATERIALS JOINING CIM ‘ecisoiocy Copyright © 2003, TWI LtdWith an’ OES it is permissible to exceed the stated figure provided that the average over a reference period is below the stated figure. Exposures ‘OEL examples of some solvents —] Solvent Name OEL in ppm Aleohol's Methanol 200 Ethanol 1000 & Ethers Ethyl Ether 400 Isopropyl Ether 250 Esters Methyl Acetate 200 Ethyl Acetate 400 Ketones ‘Acetone 750 Methyl Ethy! Ketone 200 Aromatics Xylene 100 Toluene 50 ‘Aliphaties White Spit 100 Hexane 500 Chlorinated Hydrocarbons 1.1.1 Trichloroethane 350 ab Trichloroethylene 100 ac a=MEL b= Maximum short term exposure 450. = Maximum short term exposure 150. Driiger tube and Driiger bellows Driiger Rs ) rr Front plate —__p + Discharge valve — AAA Figure 17.2 Cross-section of drager bellows Using the tubes and bellows Using a special fitting situated on the bellows, the nipples are snapped off both ends of the tube, which is then inserted into the aperture on the bellows in the direction indicated by the arrow. The crystals should be adjacent to the bellows. The bellows are then depressed and released according to the number expressed as n =, as written circumferentially around the centre of the tube, Each depression and release slowly draws 100 cc of air through the open end of the tube, through the crystals and into the bellows. As the air containing the hazardous material passes into the crystals, a chemical reaction takes place, resulting in a colour change in the crystals. The extent of the colour change along the scale is recorded in ppm. NB. Many vaciation of crystal combinations exist for monitoring a variety of different toxicants, all have a different requirement for number of depressions and different colour changes. The tube for monitoring the concentrations of Xylene needs five depressions and the colour change is from white to reddish brown. Painting Inspection Grade 3/2. Rev 1 April 2004 WORLD CENTRE FOR Health & Safety 19.4 MATERIALS JOINING Copyright © 2003, TWI Ltd TECHNOLOGYSome materials in common use in the coatings industry do not evaporate into gas or fumes, they remain instead as tiny particles of solids suspended in the atmosphere. Materials of this nature canniot therefore be detected by Drager Tube. They are quantified by the units milligrams per cubic metre rather than ppm. ‘Three materials, which fall into this category, are Asphalt, Coal Tar and Isocyanates. Asphalt is considered to be fairly safe with an OEL of 5 m/gm per m*. Isocyanates are very toxic with an MEL of 0.02 m gm/m?. Painting Inspection Grade 3/2, Rev | April 2004 TW wouocenrazrox Health & Safety 19.5 CAF MSERAS onic Copyright © 2003, TWI Ltd TECHNOLOGYPainting Inspection Grade 3/2. Rev | April 2004 "EWI wonto cewrer ron Health & Safety 196 Cag Metmatsonive Copyright © 2003, TWI Ltd ‘TECHNOLOGY