Introduction/Administrative News
The TRADE Industrial Hygiene/Occupational Safety Special Interest Group (IH/OS SIG) Steering Committee met on February 28, 2006 through a conference call meeting. IH/OS SIG Steering Committee Chair Ralph Hinterman, Argonne National Laboratory-East (ANL-E), facilitated the meeting in which the following Steering Committee members/guests participated:
Jocelyn Buckley, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
Deana Colley, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)
Tom Cornell, Fluor Hanford Inc.
Bill Frede, Honeywell FM&T
Harvey Grasso, DOE National Nuclear Security Administration, Livermore Site Office
Ralph Hinterman, ANL-E
Lowell Howard, PNNL
Michael Hurshman, S.M. Stoller
Bob Kapolka, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE)
Dr. Daniel Marsick, DOE, EH-52, Office Of Worker Protection Policy and Programs
Deborah McFalls, ORISE
John Peters, Brookhaven National Laboratory
Rob Nicholas, LANL
David Weitzman, DOE, EH-52, Office Of Worker Protection Policy and Programs
Paul Wambach, DOE EH-53, Office of Epidemiology and Health Surveillance
10 CFR 851
David Weitzman, DOE EH-52, reported that Worker Safety and Health Program Rule (10 CFR 851) was published in the Federal Register on February 9, 2006. (www.eh.doe.gov/ rulemaking). The contractors will have to now prepare their site’s Worker Safety and Health Plan, based on the new rule, for submittal to DOE for approval.
DOE is moving forward on development of the implementation guidance document with David as the lead on the task. David is using the guidance document developed for DOE Order 440.1A as a template to develop the 851 implementation guidance document. The first draft of the guidance document should be ready for informal review in the near future by:
HQ Subject Matter Experts
Defense Nuclear Facility Safety Board
Energy Facility Contractors Group subcommittee
IH/OS SIG Steering Committee
Others
David noted the guidance document was weak in training related information/references and asked the committee to especially focus on that area in their review of the document.
After the initial informal review, the document will go through a formal review via RevCom. The document is anticipated to be completed in early June.
The Office of Environment, Safety and Health is currently developing a schedule for workshops to be held across the DOE complex to discuss the new rule, ask questions, and provide assistance in the implementation of 10 CFR 851. Ralph Hinterman reported that ANL-E is offering to host a workshop on May 11-12 for DOE which many attendees can be linked to a trip to the May 13-18. A IHce event to be held in the same area (www.aiha.org/Content/CE/aihce/aihce.htm). Ralph brought to the attention of David Weitzman that DOE O 110.3, Conference Management directive with a 120 day notice requirement may create some issues for hosting this workshop but did note that it most likely can be exempt from the directive because the workshop would be considered training and increase of knowledge and skills of attendees.
ES&H Bulletins (January 2006)
Dan Marsick, DOE EH-52, reported that the Natural Gas Line Breaks bulletin was released in January 2006. The purpose of the bulletin was to provide information on a safety concern that may impact operations at DOE facilities. Specially, the objective is to reduce the incidence of gas line breaks and prevent natural gas fires and explosions. DOE records show that, over the past 5 years, there have been 14 accidental gas line releases, 9 of which occurred in 2005. Eleven of the incidents occurred from construction equipment rupturing or penetrating buried lines. Two occurrences involved workers cutting the wrong lines, and another case was due to a vehicle backing into an unprotected gas pipe. Preventive measure to decrease such incidents can be found in the bulletin at: www.eh.doe.gov/paa/bulletins.html.
Dan also reported on the Hexavalent Chromium bulletin that was released in January too. The purpose of the bulletin was to provide information on a safety concern that may impact operations at DOE facilities. Specially, the objective is to minimize worker exposure to hexavalent chromium.DOE records show that in 2005, there were four welding incidents involving overexposure to hexavalent chromium. In one case, the overexposure occurred despite the fact that the respiratory protection was worn and ventilation was provided.
Preventive measure to decrease such incidents can also be found in the bulletin at www.eh.doe.gov/paa/bulletins.html.
Questions concerning either of the bulletins should be directed to Dr. Bill McArthur at: bill.mcarthur @eh.doe.gov.
Control Banding for Nanotechnology
According to NIOSH (http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ctrlbanding/), control banding is a process in which a single control technology (such as general ventilation or containment) is applied to one range or band of exposures to a chemical (such as 1−10 mg/m3) that falls within a given hazard group (such as skin and eye irritants or severely irritating and corrosive). The control banding approach focuses resources on exposure controls and describes how strictly a risk needs to be managed. The principle of control banding was first applied to dangerous chemicals, chemical mixtures, and fumes. The control banding process emphasizes the controls needed to prevent hazardous substances from causing harm to people at work. The greater the potential for harm, the greater the degree of control needed to manage the situation and make the risk “acceptable.”
What is nanotechnology? A basic definition is nanotechnology is engineering of functional systems at the molecular scale. According to the National Nanotechnology Initiative, a federal research and development program (http://www.nano.gov/html/facts/whatIsNano.html), nanotechnology is the understanding and control of matter at dimensions of roughly 1 to 100 nanometers, where unique phenomena enable novel applications. Encompassing nanoscale science, engineering and technology, nanotechnology involves imaging, measuring, modeling, and manipulating matter at this length scale.
Paul Wambach, DOE EH-53, presented information on control banding as it relates to nanotechnology activities. Information about nanotechnology was shared at the DOE NanoSummit in 2004. The summit was held to share information on emerging research opportunities and priorities in nanoscale science and technology for the energy future. Information shared at the conference is posted at: https://public.ornl.gov/conf/nanosummit2004/.
Paul noted the energy will be one of the first areas to use nanotechnology, however that is a lot of potential for its use in many different areas. An important aspect for safety and health professionals is to manage the risk related to nanoscale activities.
Under the 21st Century Nanotechnolgy Research and Development Act:
DOE provides the physics, chemistry, and computational tools needed to make nanotechnology possible
Authorizes approximately $1.5 billion over 4 years for building and operating 5 DOE nanotechnology user centers:
National Nanotechnology Initiative (www.nano.gov/) receives funding to advance the understanding of the unique phenomena and processes that occur at the nanometer scale
National Science Foundation was funded for basic research and has a coordination role
National Institute for Science and Technology was funded for methods for characterizing and naming new materials
Environmental Protection Agency is funding:
Health protection research
National Toxicology Program research including an initiative on animal studies
Even thought NIOSH was left out somewhat on research efforts, they are focusing on associated risks. They are hoping control banding will help decrease potential risks. Information about their efforts is posted at: www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/nanotech/.
Qualitative job hazard analysis for control banding includes:
Exposure bands instead of OELs
Control bands
Two flavors of control banding are:
United Kington HSE COSSH Essentials (and very similar ILO Occupational Risk Management Toolkit)
Pharmaceutical and other industry specific methods
COSSH is control of substance hazardous to health. COSSH Essentials (www.coshh-essentials.org.uk/) is a good source of information about COSHH that was developed to help firms comply with the COSSH Regulations (United Kingdom regulation). Control banding is exposure banding.
Exposure bands includes:
Risk assessment includes:
What is the health hazard (exposure band)?
R phrases from globally harmonized MSDS
How much is being used?
Low – grams or milliliters
Medium – kilograms or liters
High – tons or cubic meters
Exposure pontential?
Boiling point/operating temperature
Pellets – granules - powder
Control banding includes:
Control bands features focus on:
Use good industrial hygiene practice
Use local exhaust ventilation
Enclose process
Seek specialist advice
Pharmaceutical: no open handling (closed systems required)
Seek specialist advice
Pharmaceutical: no manual operations/human intervention (robotics or remote operations requirement)
Pharmaceutical industry specific method:
Uses a more sophisticated health hazard rating method (Does not include qualitative exposure assessment)
MSDSs with R phrases aren’t available
Toxicity data generated during the research and development process
Relatively small number of typical operations
Pharmaceutical Industry Specific Method
Potency (mg/day)
8-Hr TWA (mg/m3)
>100
>1
10-100
0.1-1
1-10
0.01-0.1
0.1-1
0.001-0.01
<0.01
<0.001
Control banding issues are:
R Phrases are dependent on the available data
Recommended controls do not always achieve desired level of protection
Jones RM, Nicas M. Evaluation of COSHH Essentials for Vapor Degreasing and Bag Filling Operations. Ann Occup Hyg. 2006 Mar; 50(2):137-47.
Not valid for spraying and other tasks with high energy dispersion
No exposure monitoring or other real feedback to correct errors
Joint EFCOG/DOE Chemical Management Workshop
Dan Marsick, DOE EH-52, reminded the Committee that the Chemical Safety Topical Committee is holding its eighth annual Joint Energy Facility Contractors Group/DOE Chemical Management Workshop in Washington, D.C., March 14-16. About 150 people have registered to participate in the workshop. In addition to the workshop’s focus on chemical safety, there will be presentations on nanotechnology and 10 CFR 851. More information about the conference can be found at: www.eh.doe.gov/chem_safety/ ws2006/.
Future Steering Committee Conference Call Meeting The next Steering Committee Conference Call meeting is scheduled for April 4, 2006, 1:15 – 2:45 EST, conference call number is: (202)287-1376. The meeting agenda will be provided prior to the meeting.
For additional information, please contact: Deborah McFalls, IH/OS SIG Coordinator
Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education
P. O. Box 117, MS 10
Oak Ridge, TN 37831-0117
