Chapter 4: Formaldehyde Monitoring Update, 2nd Edition 2 CE Hours
By : Taylor Walding Learning outcomes
After completing this course, the learner will be able to: Recognize the employer and employee roles under this standard. Apply safe and up-to-date formaldehyde monitoring procedures.
Explain medical information and reporting of formaldehyde workplace exposures. Identify level tiers of safe exposures to formaldehydes and their limits.
INTRODUCTION
increased exposure occurs. It’s important for anyone with any potential to work near formaldehyde to know what it does, how it acts in combination with other chemical and organic substances, what to do in various cases of contact, and who to seek assistance from when those instances arise. Following are OSHA’s latest formaldehyde standards, guidelines for its higher concentrated cousin formalin, and just how to keep these chemicals monitored consistently at a safe level to work alongside (OSHA, 2013a, 2013b, 2013c). 1910.1048(c)(2) Short Term Exposure Limit (STEL): The employer shall assure that no employee is exposed to an airborne concentration of formaldehyde which exceeds two parts formaldehyde per million parts of air (2 ppm) as a 15-minute STEL. 1910.1048(d) Exposure monitoring— 1910.1048(d)(1) General. 1910.1048(d)(1)(i) Each employer who has a workplace covered by this standard shall monitor employees to determine their exposure to formaldehyde. 1910.1048(d)(1)(ii) Exception. Where the employer documents, using objective data, that the presence of formaldehyde or formaldehyde-releasing products in the workplace cannot result in airborne concentrations of formaldehyde that would cause any employee to be exposed at or above the action level or the STEL under foreseeable conditions of use, the employer will not be required to measure employee exposure When an employee's exposure is determined from representative sampling, the measurements used shall be representative of the employee's full shift or short-term exposure to formaldehyde, as appropriate. 1910.1048(d)(1)(iv) Representative samples for each job classification in each work area shall be taken for each shift unless the employer can document with objective data that exposure levels for a given job classification are equivalent for different work shifts. to formaldehyde. 1910.1048(d)(1)(iii)
Life, especially in the death-care industry, needs a good sense of humor. However, no matter the perspective, formaldehyde overexposure is no laughing matter. Having suffered from asthma since I was a child, my sensitive lungs turned against me when I, as an embalmer, experienced formaldehyde overexposure at the workplace. Thankfully, OSHA has practices in place to protect workers, immunocompromised like me or of typical wellness, from health hazards, even when required equipment faults and
Occupational Safety and Health Standard: Formaldehyde 1910.1048(a) Scope and application— This standard applies to all occupational exposures to formaldehyde, i.e., from formaldehyde gas, its solutions, and materials that release formaldehyde. 1910.1048(b) Definitions— For purposes of this standard, the following definitions shall apply: ● Action level means a concentration of 0.5 part formaldehyde per million parts of air (0.5 ppm) calculated as an eight (8) hour time-weighted average (TWA) concentration. ● Assistant Secretary means the Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, or designee. ● Authorized Person means any person required by work duties to be present in regulated areas, or authorized to do so by the employer, by this section, or by the OSH Act of 1970. ● Director means the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or designee. ● Emergency is any occurrence, such as, but not limited to, equipment failure, rupture of containers, or failure of control equipment that results in an uncontrolled release of a significant amount of formaldehyde. ● Employee exposure means the exposure to airborne formaldehyde which would occur without corrections for protection provided by any respirator that is in use. ● Formaldehyde means the chemical substance, HCHO, Chemical Abstracts Service Registry No. 50-00-0. 1910.1048(c) Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL)— 1910.1048(c)(1) TWA: The employer shall assure that no employee is exposed to an airborne concentration of formaldehyde which exceeds 0.75 parts formaldehyde per million parts of air (0.75 ppm) as an 8-hour TWA.
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Book Code: FIL1225
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