A checklist for qualitative assessment of metalworking fluids

Details

• Personal Author:
  O'Brien, Dennis M. ; Piacitelli, Gregory M. ; Sheehan M ; Sieber W
• Description:
  Most OSHA health standards require that "initial monitoring" of worker exposures be conducted to determine the frequency of further exposure monitoring, to select appropriate respiratory protection, and to determine the need for engineering controls. In 1999, the OSHA Metalworking Fluids Standards Advisory Committee (MWF-SAC) recommended that an alternative approach to initial monitoring requirements be considered for the metalworking industry. The Committee recognized that some machining situations (such as low volume or well-ventilated operations) may not be expected to create exposures to metalworking fluids above applicable exposure limits. In these cases, it was felt that a qualitative assessment checklist could be utilized rather than air samples. This approach would particularly benefit small employers which lack industrial hygiene expertise and resources. Members from the MWF-SAC and NIOSH developed a checklist of qualitative information and observations thought to be useful for predicting the need for exposure monitoring. For validation, this checklist was sent to employers who had participated in a NIOSH study of MWF exposures in machine shops. Checklists were returned from 34 shops (a response rate of 43%) and analyzed to determine if there was a relationship between checklist responses and MWF concentrations measured previously by NIOSH. Linear regression was used to determine which checklist questions were most highly associated with MWF levels. Multi-variable models were then developed incorporating different variables which were significantly associated (p<0.05) with the compliance fraction (i.e., the percentage of sample values over the NIOSH REL of 0.5 mglrn3). The best model (R2=O.93) included factors for fluid management, housekeeping, ventilation, and work practices. These findings suggest that an appropriate checklist could be used as objective evidence that a quantitative exposure assessment may not be necessary. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aerosols Dust Irritants Lubricants Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Metals Occupational Health Particulate Matter Respiratory System Safety Ventilation

  More +
• Keywords:
  Aerosol-particles Exposure-levels Fluid-mechanics Hazards Machine-operators Machine-tools Metalworking-fluids Milling-industry Monitoring-systems Oils Particulate-dust Particulates Respirable-dust Respiration Respiratory-irritants

  More +
• Publisher:
  American Industrial Hygiene Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  61-62
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20043766
• Citation:
  American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, June 2-7, 2001, New Orleans, Louisiana. Fairfax, VA: American Industrial Hygiene Association, 2001 Jun; :61-62
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2001
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, June 2-7, 2001, New Orleans, Louisiana
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:5ddc294234488d7448b3d41f2e0d1deb1f251736359d4a8b154e7bb5f4ec93866b8160073b9b1f0dad62f1c7de6182106e57afc6b4951876774d05f31418c11f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/195582/cdc_195582_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.45 MB ]