chemical exposure

OSHA finds methylene chloride, other hazards at Bergen County manufacturing facility

February 24, 2022

OSHA issued citations related to methylene chloride hazards, including allowing workers to be overexposed to the solvent, and failing to provide personal protective equipment, eye wash stations, and medical surveillance for workers exposed or potentially exposed to the solvent.

Buildings suffering from under ventilation, toxic hazards need help

Michael Driedger

January 20, 2022

High levels of VOCs in indoor spaces can reduce cognitive function and are a health risk. For a healthier and safer building, getting VOCs as low as possible is now a priority.

As 3D printing use increases, so does risk of VOCs, combustible dust

Joshua Lew, MPH, CIH

August 27, 2021

In an age where there are new breakthroughs every day, mitigating hazards can prove difficult when there is little to no research on potential hazards to health, let alone rules and regulations to ensure that organizations are protecting the health and safety of their employees.

Exposure to manganese can be harmful for workers

Mark D. Smith Reggie Suga

May 6, 2021

The hazardous metals that first come to mind related to welding and cutting are lead, chromium, zinc and perhaps beryllium. Manganese doesn’t have the same recognition in terms of risk in the general population.

Donning and doffing best practices

Protect your employees from inadvertently taking home toxins

Dan Bowen

February 8, 2021

COVID-19 cases are on the rise in many areas of the United States, so it’s a good time to evaluate your PPE protocol to help ensure workers are properly protected on the job and not bringing potential toxins home with them.

Best Practices

Despite benefits in testing and observation, there are many risks to smoke tubes

Dan Markiewicz, MS, CIH, CSP, CHMM

October 14, 2020

Beneficial uses of smoke tubes include respirator fit tests and air flow observations and measurements. Users of smoke tubes must be aware, however, of the significant risks if the tool is misused. Proper use of smoke tubes, therefore, is essential.

2019 top standards- OSHA Most Frequently Violated Standards

OSHA hazard communication standard

Hazard Communication (1910.1200) OSHA’s hazard communication standard was the second most-frequently cited agency standard in FY 2018.

January 7, 2019

This occupational safety and health standard is intended to address comprehensively the issue of classifying the potential hazards of chemicals, and communicating information concerning hazards and appropriate protective measures to employees, and to preempt any legislative or regulatory enactments of a state, or political subdivision of a state, pertaining to this subject.

Chemical Protection from DuPont Personal Protection

December 5, 2018

DuPont Personal Protection introduced DuPont™ Tychem® gloves, a collection of gloves designed for chemical exposure protection. Now workers can wear Tychem® garments with Tychem® gloves for a complete protection system.

Don’t gamble with reproductive health

Outdated thinking: Naive women will remain silent

Dan Markiewicz, MS, CIH, CSP, CHMM

December 3, 2018

Class action lawsuits regarding reproductive health rights were recently filed against Walmart, the U.S.’s largest private employer, in Illinois, New York and Wisconsin. Many other employers such as Amazon, Merck and Novartis face similar lawsuits, too, relating to pregnancy discrimination, failure to provide reasonable accommodations and violations of EEOC rules.

Why you need an industrial hygienist along during OSHA site sampling

Dan Markiewicz, MS, CIH, CSP, CHMM

October 16, 2018

An OSHA health compliance officer (an industrial hygienist -- IH) recently put me in an ethical dilemma. While conducting “side-by-side” air sampling as the employer’s representative during an OSHA inspection, I observed that the OSHA IH was not sampling for asbestos correctly.