What is MIOSHA?

• Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Act (P.A. 154 of 1974, as amended)

• Allows enforcement of occupational safety and health regulations at the state level versus the federal level (OSHA)

Definition - “employee”

• “A person permitted to work by an employer”• Definition of an employee includes:

• volunteers

• students

• interns

• temporary help

Employer’s Responsibilities

• Furnish to each employee a workplace that is free from recognized hazards that are causing, or likely to cause, death or serious physical harm

• Comply with standards, regulations and orders issued pursuant to the Act

• Keep employees informed of their protections and obligations under the Act including applicable rules and standards

• Provide PPE at employer’s expense when required by a standard

Employee’s Responsibilities

• Comply with standards and regulations covered under MIOSHA

• Never remove, displace, damage, destroy or carry off a safeguard furnished or provided for use in the workplace

• Cannot interfere in any way with the use of a safeguard by another person

Other Provisions Under MIOSHA

• Employer/Employee participation in compliance inspections/investigations• Inspections: survey to detect presence of hazards

and compliance with Act

• Investigations: detailed evaluation of working conditions

• Discrimination• Imminent danger

Other Provisions Under MIOSHA

• Notification of fatality or catastrophe• Within 8 hours• 1 fatality or 3 or more hospitalizations from same

incident• Recordkeeping• Variances

• Permanent• Temporary

Inspection Procedures• Opening conference• Programs

• I&I log (Forms 300, 300A, 301)

• Hazard Communication• MIOSHA poster• Others (i.e., respirator)

• Walk-through of facility• Sampling• Ventilation Check• Closing conference• Report sent

MIOSHA Website to find I&I forms: www.michigan.gov/cis/0,1607,7-154-11407_30929---,00.html

Health Hazards of Abrasive Blasting

• Silica• Noise• Metals• Mechanical

What is Silica?

• “Crystalline Silica” and “Quartz” refer to the same thing

• 2nd most common mineral in the earth’s crust• Major component of sand, rock, granite and

mineral ore• Toxic and less/nontoxic forms

Types of Silica

TOXICSilica, Crystalline (as dust) Trade Names Cristobalite Tridymite Tripoli QuartzCommon-Sandblasters

NON/LESS TOXIC

Silica, Amorphous

Trade Names Diatomaceous earth Diatomaceous silica Diatomite Silica Gel Silicon Dioxide

(amorphous)

What is Abrasive Blasting?

• Operations where an abrasive is forcibly applied to a surface by pneumatic or hydraulic pressure or by centrifugal force.• Does not apply to steam blasting or steam cleaning

or hydraulic-cleaning methods where work is done without the aid of abrasives

• Frequently used for: • cleaning sand from foundry castings• cleaning and removing paint from metal surfaces• finishing tombstones• etching and frosting glass

What is Silicosis?

• Lung disease• disabling

• nonreversible

• sometimes fatal

• Cause: Inhalation of respirable crystalline silica

• 1+ million American workers exposed/year• 250+ Americans will die with silicosis • No cure!

Who Is At Risk?

• Blasters using silica sand as an abrasive• Blasters without adequate protection• Workers near the blast areas

• cleaners

• pot tenders

• painters

• Silicosis is preventable if employers and employees work together to reduce exposures

Why & What We Breathe

Inhalation and Exhalation• Oxygen/Carbon Dioxide Exchange

• Air & Particulates

• Small fraction of inhaled particles are deposited• Remainder are exhaled or removed• Particle size determines what stays in the lung

Respirable Dust

• Less than 10 microns (µ) diameter

• WHAT’S A MICRON?• 1/24,000 of an inch

• Human Hair• 40 - 150 microns in diameter

• Respirable Silica that causes Silicosis:• 0.2-5.0 (µ)

Your Bronchial Tree

• Resembles the Branches on a Tree

• Divided into Smaller and Smaller Branches• Bronchi• Bronchioles

• Business End• Alveoli

How Does Exposure Occur?

• During blasting, silica sand fractures into very fine particles and becomes airborne

• Particles and dusts are inhaled and, if small enough, become imbedded in the lungs

Disease Process

• Silica particles enter the alveoli and become trapped

• Macrophages (white blood cells) try to “eat” and remove the silica from the lung

• Silica causes macrophage cells to break and release material into lung tissue which causes scarring (fibrosis)

• Scarring develops & grows around silica particles causing (nodules) to form

What are the Health Effects?

• Early stages, may not notice any health effects

• As condition worsens, nodules become larger, making breathing more difficult

• Lungs can’t get enough oxygen from the air• may die from suffocation

• May be complicated by tuberculosis

Forms of Silicosis

• ACUTE

• CHRONIC• Simple• Complicated• Accelerated

Acute Silicosis

• Symptoms develop within a few weeks to 4-5 years after initial exposure

• Very high exposure concentrations• Fluid accumulations in lungs

Chronic Silicosis

• Simple

• Complicated

• Accelerated

10+ years of exposure relatively low exposure

10+ years of exposure relatively low exposure

Symptoms develop 5-10 years after exposure

moderate exposure

Chronic Silicosis

• Simple Silicosis• Nodules in upper lungs

• Nodules are small

• No symptoms

• Accelerated Silicosis• Nodule formation

similar to simple

• Symptoms similar to simple or complicated

• Complicated Silicosis• Nodules in lungs

• Nodules are large

• Symptoms

• Secondary disease

Symptoms

• Dry or productive cough

• Breathlessness• Loss of appetite• Pain in chest• Malaise• Weight loss

• Secondary disease• TB

• Respiratory failure

• Congestive heart failure

Tuberculosis

• Silica affects the cells that control TB infection (macrophages)

• People with chronic silicosis more likely to get TB infections

• Symptoms:• Coughing up blood

• Fever

• Shortness of breath

Carcinogenicity

• Respirable crystalline silica has been classified as a Group I “known human carcinogen”• Lung Cancer

• Silica exposure linked to:• Stomach Cancer

• Skin Cancer

• Lymphatic Cancer

Lung CancerInternational Agency for Research on Cancer

(IARC) has classified respirable crystalline silica:

KNOWN CANCER CAUSING AGENT

• Lung Cancer• Symptoms:

Coughing up blood Chest Pain Shortness of breath

Diagnosis

• Occupational work history

• Symptoms• Chest X-ray• Pulmonary function

test

Medical Exams

• Baseline and every 3 years• Medical and occupational history• Chest X-ray• Pulmonary function test• TB skin test

NO CURE

• Only secondary complications treated• TB

• Respiratory Failure

• Lung Cancer

• Heart Disease

Occupational Disease Report

• Within 10 days• All known or suspected occupational disease• Employer, physician, clinic, hospital• Annual summary• MIOSHA-MTSD-51 form• MIOSHA Website to find Occupation Disease

Report Form: www.michigan.gov/cis/0,1607,7-154-11407_30929---,00.html

Noise

• Noise: Unwanted sound• When noise exposure is too intense or

prolonged, may cause harmful effects:• Temporary or permanent hearing loss

• Fatigue, irritability, tension, circulatory effects

• May not be able to hear warning signals

Noise Rules

Exposure Monitoring

PEL = 90 dBA

AL = 85 dBA• Hose noise must be monitored

• If above PEL, engineering or administrative controls must be implemented

• Seek out quieter equipment

Audiometric Testing

• If above AL (action level)• Qualified personnel• Baseline• Annual - Standard

Threshold Shift (STS)

Hearing Protection

• Mandatory• Selection (formable plugs, premolded plugs, ear muffs)• Noise Reduction Rating (NRR)

• Amount of decibels that a given device will reduce noise exposure

Protected dBA=Unprotected dBA-[NRR-7]Example:

Unprotected Workplace Exposure dBA = 95 Ear protection NRR = 19 Protected dBA=95 – [19-7] = 95 – [12] Protected dBA = 83

Metals• Lead

• Long term exposure may result in damage to your nervous system, reproductive system, kidneys and blood forming system

• Cadmium• Long term exposure may result in kidney damage,

increased risk of prostate and lung cancer

• Inorganic arsenic• Skin irritant, damage to your nervous system, liver

and may cause lung cancer

Mechanical Hazards

• Media ricochet• Being shot by another blaster• Jammed hose

Preventing Silicosis& Deaths From Sandblasting

What Precautions Can Reduce The Risk?

• Substitute Alternative Blasting Medias• aluminum oxide

• coal slag (watch out for arsenic)

• steel shot and grit (low toxicity)

• plastic media

• corn cob

• garnet

• glass beads

• copper slag (watch out for arsenic)

• specular hematite (low toxicity)

What Precautions Can Reduce The Risk?

Post Warning signs to mark areas contaminated with crystalline silica

Provide Medical Examinations, including periodic x-rays, to all potentially exposed employees

Worker Training should include information on health effects, work practices, and protective equipment for silica

Report All Cases of Silicosis to the State on MIOSHA-MTSD-51 form (blue form)

What Precautions Can Reduce The Risk?

Conduct Air Monitoring to measure worker exposure

Use Proper Respiratory Equipment when exposures cannot be kept below the NIOSH Recommended Exposure Limit (REL)

Blast In Automatic Blast Cleaning Machines or Cabinets when possible, permitting workers to operate the machinery from outside

Maintain Dust Control Systems to make sure they are working properly

What Precautions Can Reduce The Risk?

Practice Good Personal Hygiene. Workers should wash their hands and face before eating, drinking or smoking

Wear Disposable Clothes Shower and Change

Clothes before leaving the worksite

Park Cars where they will not be contaminated with overspray

No Food, Drink or Tobacco in blasting area

Respiratory Protection

• How to:• Determine whether a respirator is necessary

• Select an appropriate respirator

• Determine whether a respirator fits properly

• Occupational Health Standard, Respiratory Protection, Part 451

• Occupational Health Standard, Abrasive Blasting, Part 523

When Do You Use Respiratory Protection?

• PEL exceeded• IDLH/Oxygen deficiency• Engineering controls not feasible• Administrative controls not feasible

WHAT IS PEL?

• Permissible Exposure Limit• OSHA PEL (respirable fraction)

10 mg/m3

% SiO2 + 2

• PEL varies by % crystalline silica

Abrasive Blasting

• Engineering controls • enclosures

• containment

• ventilation

• Typically do not control exposures to below the PEL of crystalline silica

• Respiratory protection is necessary

Abrasive Blasting (Part 523)

• Only approved respirators may be used• Employees must wear abrasive-blasting respirators when:

• Working inside blast-cleaning rooms

• Using silica sand in manual blasting operations where operator is not physically separated from blasting operation

• When above PEL and operator not physically separated from blasting operation

• Employees should wear respirators:• During clean-up operations

NIOSH Table

• National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

• Specifies:• Type of respirator to be worn at different

concentrations of silica exposure

• Based on the assigned protection factors (APF) of the different types of respirators

Respirator APF

• Assigned Protection Factor (APF):• The workplace level of

respiratory protection that a respirator or class of respirators is expected to provide to employees when the employer implements a continuing, effective respiratory protection program

Respirator MUC Maximum Use Concentration:

– The maximum atmospheric concentration of a hazardous substance from which an employee can be expected to be protected when wearing a respirator, and is determined by the APF of the respirator or class of respirators and the exposure limit of the hazardous substance.

– Determined mathematically by multiplying the APF specified for a respirator by the required OSHA PEL, short-term exposure limit, or ceiling limit. When no OSHA exposure limit is available for a hazardous substance, an employer must determine an MUC on the basis of relevant available information and informed professional judgment.

NIOSH Approved Abrasive Blasting Respirators

• Continuous flow, loose hood, APF = 25• Continuous flow, tight-fitting facepiece, APF = 50• Positive Pressure, tight-fitting half-mask

facepiece, APF = 1000• Pressure demand or positive pressure, tight-fitting

full facepiece, APF = 2000

Respirator User Notice 10/4/93

Respirator APF

1910.134(d)(3)(1)(A)

Notes for Table 1

1 Employers may select respirators assigned for use in higher workplace concentrations of a hazardous substance for use at lower concentrations of that substance, or when required respirator use is independent of concentration.

2 The assigned protection factors in Table 1 are only effective when the employer implements a continuing, effective respirator program as required by this section (29 CFR 1910.134), including training, fit testing, maintenance, and use requirements.

Notes for Table 1

3 This APF category includes filtering facepieces, and half masks with elastomeric facepieces.

4 The employer must have evidence provided by the respirator manufacturer that testing of these respirators demonstrates performance at a level of protection of 1,000 or greater to receive an APF of 1,000. This level of performance can best be demonstrated by performing a WPF or SWPF study or equivalent testing. Absent such testing, all other PAPRs and SARs with helmets/hoods are to be treated as loose-fitting facepiece respirators, and receive an APF of 25.

Notes for Table 1

5 These APFs do not apply to respirators used solely for escape. For escape respirators used in association with specific substances covered by 29 CFR 1910 subpart Z, employers must refer to the appropriate substance-specific standards in that subpart. Escape respirators for other IDLH atmospheres are specified by 29 CFR 1910.134 (d)(2)(ii).

Medical Exams

• Consists of medical questionnaire• PLHCP reviews questionnaire, recommends

follow-up examination if medically necessary

• Frequency of medical evaluations (after initial assessment) is event-related instead of time-related

Medical Evaluations

• Required:• When wearing a tight-fitting facepiece respirator

• Prior to fit-test and before first use

• PLHCP determines:• Tests in the followup medical exam

• Restrictions

Respirator Fit Testing

• Type CE Abrasive Blasting Respirators (hoods, helmets) DO NOT need to be fit tested

• Negative or positive pressure tight-fitting facepiece respirators MUST be fit tested• Different sizes and models

• Pick size/model to fit person’s face

• Types of fit tests:• Qualitative

• Quantitative

Fit Test Protocol

• Individual wears respirator• Series of exercises• Test atmosphere• Recommended protocol - Appendix A of the

Respiratory Protection Standard

Types of Fit Tests

• Qualitative:• Test agent directed around the head of the

respirator wearer

• If user can detect agent, test is failed

• Quantitative:• Test atmosphere

• Quantifies respirator fit using instrumentation to determine the amount of leakage into the respirator facepiece

Fit Tests

Qualitative Fit Test• Banana oil

• Irritant smoke

• Saccharin challenge

• Bitrex solution

Quantitative Fit Test• Expensive machinery

• Fit Factors• Outside to inside

concentration

Standard prohibits facial hair which interferes with face - to - facepiece seal or valve function

User Seal Checks

• Assures a proper fit• Face to facepiece seal • Recommended protocols in Appendix B-1 of

Respirator Standard• User Seal Check

• Positive pressure check

• Negative pressure check

• Not a substitute for Fit Testing

Maintenance & Care

• Clean and disinfect as often as necessary to maintain a sanitary condition

• Inspect before and after each use and after cleaning

• Store away from heat, cold, light, moisture, dusts and chemicals

• See Appendix B-2 of 1910.134

Written Respiratory Protection Program

• Standard Operating Procedures• Respirator Selection• Medical Evaluations• Fit Testing• Proper use (emergency)• Maintenance Program• Respirator air supply monitoring• Employee Training

• Respiratory Hazards• Proper use of Respirator

• Program Evaluation

Respirator Training

• Initial • Competent person• Topics

• Selection

• Use and limits

• Maintenance

• How to wear

• Good fit

• Medical signs & symptoms

Compressors• Locate so contaminated air cannot enter• Low moisture content• Inline air-purifying sorbent bed & filter

maintained• Tag showing maintenance kept at

compressor• Pressure reducing valve

Compressors

• Oil Lubricated• Alarm for overheating

• CO monitor

• or both

• Non oil lubricated• Assure CO not more than 10 ppm

Personal Protective Equipment

• Hazard Assessment• Selection

• Communication

• Fit

• Safe, reliable, & sanitary• Clean, inspect & maintain• MUST NOT use defective or damaged PPE

Hazard Assessment

• Written Certification (General Industry)• Workplace assessed

• Certifier

• Date of workplace hazard assessment

• Major hazard: IMPACT of the ricocheting abrasive media while blasting

PPE for Abrasive Blasters

• Disposable or washable work clothes• Heavy canvas or leather gloves• Heavy canvas or leather apron • Protective head, neck and shoulder gear• Safety shoes• Respirator

Protective Clothing

• Employees leave at worksite• Dispose or employer launders

PPE Training• When, why and what• How to wear• Limitations• Care and Maintenance• Disposal• Certify with

• employee’s name

• date of training

• subject of training

PPE Training

• Retraining required when:• Workplace changes makes previous training

obsolete

• PPE changes makes previous training obsolete

• Employee knowledge or use of PPE indicates retraining needed

Conclusion

• Hazard Assessment• Training

• Head, neck & shoulder protection

• Hand protection• Body protection• Hearing protection• Safety shoes• Respirator

Personal Hygiene

• Shower after work• Wash hands & face before eating,

drinking or smoking• No food, drink or tobacco in blast area• Park cars away from area• Vacuum clothing using a vacuum

equipped with a HEPA filter

Housekeeping

• Clean up dust promptly• Vacuum surfaces with HEPA filter• DO NOT dry sweep• DO NOT use compressed air for

cleaning surfaces or clothing

Awareness Planning

Prevent

Silicosis