When OSHA inspectors entered a New Jersey chemical facility Feb. 6 as part of the agency's national emphasis program for chemical facilities, they had no idea they’d find workers exposed to a substance capable of causing a host of hazards, from fire to liver damage.
"Our inspectors focused on vinylidene fluoride, a liquified flammable gas manufactured and used at Solvay Specialty Polymers' chemical facility,” said Paula Dixon-Roderick, director of OSHA's Marlton Area Office. “This gas poses serious safety and health risks to this company's employees, including fire and explosion hazards, frostbite, skin and lung irritation, and liver damage associated with chronic exposures.”