Health Hazard Evaluations of Worker Exposures During Cement Tile Roofing Operations

Transcription

1 Health Hazard Evaluations of Worker Exposures During Cement Tile Roofing Operations Ronald M. Hall, MS, CIH Randy L. Tubbs, Ph.D.* Ronald Sollberger* Division of Applied Research and Technology *Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations and Field Studies Disclaimer: The findings and conclusions in this presentation have not been formally disseminated by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and should not be construed to represent any agency determination or policy

2 Background NIOSH received three union Health Hazard Evaluation (HHE) requests March 2003 October 2004 November 2004 The requests listed dust, silica, and noise as potential hazards during cement tile roofing operations

3 Cement Tile Roof

4 Cutting of Cement Tiles

5 Roofing Operations

6 Worker Cutting Tile

7 Worker Cutting Tile

8 Worker Cutting Tile

9 Sampling Strategy Personal breathing zone (PBZ) samples for respirable and total dust, and respirable silica (quartz) were collected during residential roofing operations Saw operators General working roofers Noise dosimeters were used to collect full-shift noise exposure measurements Sampled for two or three consecutive days

10 Evaluation Criteria NIOSH REL and ACGIH TLV for Respirable Silica is 0.05 mg/m 3 OSHA General Industry Standard PEL = 10 mg/m3 % Silica + 2 OSHA Construction Standard PEL = 250 mppcf % Silica + 5 apply a conversion factor of 0.1 mg/m 3 per mppcf Noise OSHA 90 dba for 8 hours per day (5dB exchange rate) NIOSH and ACGIH 85 dba for 8 hours per day (3dB exchange rate)

11 PBZ Sampling for 1 st HHE 2 consecutive days of sampling was conducted PBZ samples were collected During roofing activities At home sites where employees were cutting and laying roof tiles throughout the day 16 full-shift PBZ air samples were collected for respirable dust and silica 19 full-shift PBZ air samples for total dust were collected over the 2 days 8 full-shift noise exposure measurements were collected on workers

12 PBZ Sampling for 2 nd HHE 2 consecutive days of sampling was conducted PBZ samples were collected During roofing activities At home sites where employees were cutting and laying roof tiles throughout the day 10 PBZ air samples were collected for respirable dust and silica 8 PBZ air samples for total dust were collected over the 2 days 5 full-shift noise exposure measurements were collected on workers

13 PBZ Sampling for 3 rd HHE 3 consecutive days of sampling was conducted PBZ samples were collected During roofing activities At home sites where employees were cutting and laying roof tiles throughout the day 8 PBZ air samples were collected for respirable dust and silica 9 PBZ air samples for total dust were collected 7 full-shift noise exposure measurements were collected on workers

14 Results - 1 st HHE Respirable quartz concentrations Ranged from trace levels (between LOD and LOQ) to 0.33 mg/m 3 Respirable dust concentrations Ranged from 0.23 mg/m 3 to 2.3 mg/m 3 Samples contained 9.5% to 17.6% Quartz Total dust concentrations Ranged from 0.68 mg/m 3 to 13 mg/m 3

15 Summary of Results - 1 st HHE 12 out of 16 TWA s s for respirable silica indicated concentrations exceeding the general industry OSHA PEL 14 out of 16 TWA s s for respirable silica indicated concentrations exceeding NIOSH and ACGIH criteria 5 of 8 TWA s s noise values exceeded the OSHA Action Level (AL), and 3 of 8 exceeded the OSHA PEL All TWA noise values exceeded the NIOSH REL

16 Results - 2 nd HHE Respirable quartz concentrations Ranged from 0.03 mg/m 3 to 1.1 mg/m 3 Respirable dust concentrations Ranged from 0.53 mg/m 3 to 7.1 mg/m 3 Samples contained 11.5% to 18.5% quartz Total dust concentrations ranged from 1.3 mg/m 3 to 22 mg/m 3

17 Summary of Results 2 nd HHE 1 TWA exceeded the OSHA PEL for total dust 4 out of 7 TWAs exceeded the general industry OSHA PEL and 3 exceeded the construction industry OSHA PEL for respirable silica 6 out of 7 TWAs for respirable silica also indicated concentrations exceeding NIOSH and ACGIH criteria 3 out of 5 TWA noise values exceeded the OSHA AL All TWA noise values exceeded the NIOSH REL

18 Results - 3 rd HHE Respirable quartz concentrations Ranged from 0.06 to 0.27 mg/m 3 Respirable dust exposures Ranged from 0.32 mg/m 3 to 1.8 mg/m 3 Samples contained 12.9% to 21.7% quartz Total dust concentrations Ranged from 1.8 mg/m 3 to 12 mg/m 3

19 Summary of Results 3 rd HHE 7 of 8 TWAs for respirable dust exceeded the general industry OSHA PEL and 2 exceeded the construction industry OSHA PEL for respirable silica 7 of 8 TWAs for respirable silica indicated concentrations exceeding NIOSH and ACGIH occupational criteria 2 TWA noise values exceeded the OSHA PEL and all 7 exceeded the OSHA action limit (AL) All TWA noise values exceeded the NIOSH REL

20 Overall Summary for the 3 HHE s General OSHA Standard for Respirable Silica Data indicates 74% of the TWA s s exceeded this standard Construction OSHA Standard for Respirable Silica Data indicates 33% of the TWA s s exceeded this standard NIOSH and ACGIH Criteria Data indicates 87% of the respirable silica TWA s s were exceeding this criteria Noise 25% of the full-shift measurements exceeded the OSHA PEL 75% of the full-shift measurements exceeded the OSHA AL 100% of the full-shift measurements exceeded the NIOSH REL

21 Conclusion & Recommendations Workers were overexposed to respirable silica and noise Provide training workplace hazards respirators hearing protection dust control measures Implement a respirator protection program Develop and enforce a hearing conservation program Implement a medical screening program Investigate the use of engineering controls to reduce or eliminate dust exposure Ensure compliance with fall protection standards

22 Respiratory Protection Program Written program following OSHA respiratory protection standard Fit testing quantitatively or qualitatively at least annually Medical screens or exams at least annually Training on workplace hazards and use of respirators (donning, doffing, cleaning, storage, etc.) at least annually Must be mandatory until engineering controls are in place and proven effective

23 Engineering Controls Controls need to address both silica and noise hazards Commercially available LEV systems Wet cutting Cutting using water mist system Other options Cutting on ground with stationary saw Substitute use of crystalline silica tiles Use of a manual tile cutter to replace the saw