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Thursday, December 08, 2011

OSHA Issues Hazard Alert for Hair Salon Owners & Workers?

English: Example:hair being straighten with a ...
Image via Wikipedia
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a hazard alert regarding hair smoothing products.  You can find this alert at OSHA's website titled "Hair Smoothing Products That Can Release Formaldehyde".  During Federal OSHA investigations, air tests showed formaldehyde at levels above OSHA's limits (of 0.5 ppm during an 8-hour work shift or 2 ppm during any 15-minute period) for formaldehyde in salons using Brazilian Blowout Acai Professional Smoothing Solution, labeled "formaldehyde free," and Brasil Cacau Cadiveu, resulting in violations and citations to the manufacturers and distributors of the products.  The violations included failing to list formaldehyde as a hazardous ingredient on the Material Safety Data Sheet (the hazard warning sheet) provided to downstream users (e.g., salon owners, stylists), failing to include proper hazard warnings on product labels, and failing to list the health effects of formaldehyde exposure on the MSDS.
Formaldehyde is a colorless, strong-smelling gas that presents a health hazard if workers are exposed.  You can be exposed to formaldehyde if you breathe it into your lungs, if it gets into your eyes, or if it is contained in a product that gets onto your skin.  You can also be exposed accidentally if you touch your face, eat food, or drink after using a product containing formaldehyde without first washing your hands.  It can irritate the eyes and nose, and cause coughing and wheezing.  Formaldehyde is a "sensitizer," which means that it can cause allergic reactions of the skin, eyes, and lungs such as asthma-like breathing problems and skin rashes and itching.  When formaldehyde is in a product that gets sprayed into the eyes, it can damage the eyes and cause blindness.  It is also a carcinogen.
It is important to realize that though the product may be labeled as formaldehyde free, formaldehyde might be listed as methylene glycol, formalin, methylene oxide, paraform, formic aldehyde, methanal, oxomethane, oxymethylene, or CAS Number 50-00-0.  All of these are names for formaldehyde under OSHA's formaldehyde standard.  There are also chemicals, such as timonacic acid (also called thiazolidinecarboxylic acid) that can release formaldehyde under certain conditions, such as those present during the hair smoothing treatment process.  Formaldehyde can be released from hair smoothing products that list any of these names on the label and workers can breathe it in or absorb it through their skin.  Workers can be exposed to formaldehyde during the entire hair straightening process, especially when heat is applied (e.g. blow-drying, flat ironing).
As a salon owners, you must follow the OSHA formaldehyde standard if a product contains formaldehyde or any of the chemicals mentioned above, this would include:
  • Give employees appropriate gloves and other personal protective equipment (e.g., face shield, chemical splash goggles, chemical-resistant aprons) and train them on how to use this equipment while mixing and applying the products;
  • Explain to workers how to read and understand the information on a product's label and MSDS;
  • Make sure the workplace has eye and skin washing equipment if products that contain formaldehyde could be splashed onto the workers’ skin or into their eyes;
  • Train workers how to safely clean up spills and properly throw products out; and
  • Get workers the right medical attention (e.g., doctor exams) if they develop signs and symptoms of an exposure to formaldehyde or are exposed to large amounts of formaldehyde during an emergency (e.g., a large spill).
Contact Future Environment Designs and we can help you with any of the above items.  Give us a call, if you think workers may be exposed to above the OSHA formaldehyde standard and you need air testing to ensure compliance with the air quality standards.  We are here to help.
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Wednesday, December 07, 2011

NIOSH Blog Discusses Erionite

erionite
Image by fluor_doublet via Flickr
The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health's (NIOSH) Science Blog posted the following article "Erionite: An Emerging North American Hazard."  The importance of this mineral is that in its fibrous form it is very similar to asbestos.  It is a naturally occurring mineral with deposits in many western states (on the blog post is a map indicating the areas) and disturbance of the fibers can generate airborne fibers with physical properties and health effects that are similar to asbestos.  Residents of Turkish villages where erionite-containing rock was used to construct homes, had a high risk for developing malignant mesothelioma.  The United States Geological Survey found that the erionite from the Cappadocian region of Turkey, North Dakota, and Oregon were chemically and morphologically similar.
Reading this blog post, is like reading an article on asbestos exposure or how to control asbestos exposure.  According to the post, the focus of potential exposure are road construction and maintenance workers that work with erionite-containing gravel used in road surfacing.  Recommendations by NIOSH are to treat erionite-containing gravel in the same way as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) treats asbestos-containing materials.  Train workers, control dust emissions and utilize wet methods, all sounding very familar to us in the asbestos industry, however currently their is no occupational exposure limit for erionite.  Which will make things difficult for those exposed to erionite-containing gravel.  Let's hope OSHA heeds NIOSH's recommendations
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Tuesday, December 06, 2011

Kings Park Psychiatric Center Demolition Up For Bid

We realize the Kings Park Psychiatric Center Demolition being up for bid is a bit old since this was announced back in October.  However, our understanding is that the bid documents were not ready at the time of the announcement in Long Island Business News.  Contact Dvirka & Bartilucci or TRC Environmental for more information regarding this bid opportunity.  This definitely will be a large project and look forward to seeing the results of the bid for this project.
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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

2011 Northeast Regional Industrial Hygiene Conference & Exposition is Friday

This Friday is the 2011 Northeast Regional Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition held annually at Hyatt Regency Hotel in New Brunswick, New Jersey.  The title of this year's conference is "Emergency Preparedness - 10 Years Beyond & GHS - New Horizons".  According to the published program interesting topics include the "Fukushima Accident in Japan" by Dennis Quinn, CHP, DAQ, Inc. and the "Making a Difference: Sustainable Construction Practices at MTA & NYCT" by Thomas Abdallah, P.E. LEED AP, Chief Environmental Engineer, MTA New York City Transit.  We are looking forward to attending the Conference, and the Exposition Hall with the vendors is always like going to a class reunion for us.  We hope you get a chance to attend this event and hope to see you there. 
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Tuesday, November 01, 2011

CDC Website Discusses Earthquakes

The Centers for Disease Control has updated their Emergency Preparedness and Response website with information on surviving an Earthquake.  Considering we had a small one on the east coast this year, that we even felt on Long Island, it is important to be prepared and knowledgeable about what to do.  The website discusses the things you can do before, during, and after the earthquake.  The key point of the website is that in MOST situations, you will reduce your chance of injury from falling objects (and even building collapse) if you immediately: 


The website discusses emergency supplies, and inspecting the home for hazards.  One of the more interesting suggestions is the following from "Inspecting Home for Hazards:"  - Check to see if your house or garage is securely fastened to the foundation. (If your house was built before 1950, it probably does not have bolts securing the wood structure to the concrete foundation.)  If your house is not secured to the foundation, take the following steps:
  • Using a hammer drill and carbide bit, drill a hole through the sill plate into the foundation. Holes should be approximately 6 feet apart.
  • Drop a 1/2- x 7-inch expansion bolt into each hole and finish by tightening the nut and washer
We suggest you visit the website, so you can be prepared, just in case we get a more severe earthquake, next time.
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That Time of Year! Conferences, Posting Requirements, and OSHA Violations Increased!

It's that time of year again. We're between conferences.  February 15-16, 2024 was the Professional Abatement Contractors of New Yor...