Lead in Construction

1 LeadinConstructionOSHA3142-12R2004Em ploy ers are responsiblefor prov idingasa fe and hea lthy work place for th eir employ-ees. OS HA s role is to pro moteth e safetyandhe alth of America s workingmen andwomen by se tt ing and enfor cingsta n-da rds; pr ovi dingtra ining,out re ach andeducation;esta blishingpar tnerships;andencouraging cont inua l im prov ementinworkplace safety and s pu bl ic ati on providesa generaloverviewof a pa rti cul ar st andards-r elat ed icati on does no t alteror det erminecom -pli ance responsibilit ies whichare set forthin OSHA stan dards,and theOccupationalSafetyandHealthActof1970. Mor eover,be causeint erpr eta tionsand enforcementpol icy maychan ge overtime,for additionalgui danc e on OSHA compliancereq uire -men ts th e readershouldconsultcurr entOSHAad min ist rat ive inte rpr et ationsandde cisionsby the OccupationalSafe ty andHe alth Revi ew Com missionand the con tai ned in this publication is inth e pub lic do mai n and maybe repr oduced,fu ll y or par ti all y, wit houtpermission.

2 Sour cecredi t is req ues ted but not in format ion is avai lableto sensoryim paire d in di vi duals uponrequest. Voicephon e: (202) 693-1999;teletypewriter (TTY)number: (877)889- ad in nalSafety andHealth AdministrationOSHA3142-12R20 04Co nte nt sHealthHazard s of 3Wo rk er Exposu .5 Construction Workers 6 Employer Respo ns ibi li ti es.. vei ll ..16 Exposure Reducti on .18En gineeringCon usekeepin g 21 Prote cti veClo th atory Pro 29 OSHAAs .36He al th Haza rdsof LeadExposurePure lead(Pb)is a heavymetal basic chemicalelement,it cancombinewith variousother su bstancestoformnumerous Leadca n damage th e centralnervoussystem,cardiovascularsyste m,re producti vesystem,hematological system, o thebodyinhighenoughdoses, ,workers leadexposure canharmtheirchildren (acute)overexposure asshort asdays--cancauseac uteencephalopathy, a conditionaffectingthebrainthatdevelopsqu icklyintoseizures,coma, si ,long-term(chronic)overexposurecanresult inseveredamageto thecentral nervoussystem,particularly canalso damagetheblo od-forming,ur inary, nosharp dividinglinebetweenrapidlydevelopingac uteeffectsof leadandchronicef fects thattakelongerto MPTOMSOFCHRONICOVEREXPOSURES omeof thecommonsymptomsinclude: Los s ofappetite; Constipation; Nausea.

3 Excessiveti redness; Headache; Fin e tremors; Colic withsevereabdominalpain; Metallic tasteinthemouth; Weakness; Nervous ir ri tabili ty; Hyperactivity;3 Musc le andjo in t painorso reness; Anxiety; Pallor; Insomnia; Numbness; and toxic ad ca n alterthest ructureofspermcellsandthereis evidenceofmiscarriageand who wereex posedtoexcess leadlevelsaremorelikelyto havebirthdefects,mentalretardation,orbeh avioraldisorder s orto dieduringthefirstye ar ofchi ld desiremedicaladviceaboutreproductiveissu esrelatedtoleadshouldcontactqualifiedmed icalpersonneltoarrangefora jobevaluationandmedicalfollowup--particu larly ifthey arepregnant oractivelyseekingtohavea yeesmaybeexposedtoleadandwhohavebeencont actedby employeeswit h limitedcircumstances,a physicianmayprescribespecialdru gscall edchelatingagentstoreducetheamountoflead absorbedin pr eventivemeasure--thatis.

4 Tolowerbloodlevelbutcontinuetoexposeawor ker--is pr ohib itedandtherapeuticordiagnosticchelations oflead thatarerequiredmustbedoneunderthesupervi sionofalicensedphysic ianina clinicalsetting,withthoroughandappropri- at e eatmentofpotentialconsequencesandallowed toobtainase condopin io ExposureLeadis most co workers br eatheinleadasa dust,fume,ormist, theirlungsandupperrespirator y tractabsorbit soabsorble adthroughthedigestivesystemif it enters themouthandis si gnificantportionoftheleadin thebloodstream,lead ci rcula tes throughthebodyandis storedin variousorgans andbodyti filtered outofthebody quic kly andexcreted,butsomeremainsin thebl oodandtis su ,theamountstoredwill increaseif thebodyabsorbs moreleadthanit ex cretes .The leadstoredin thetis suecanslowlycauseirr eversibleda mage,fir st toindividual cells, thentoorgansandwholebodysy nstructionWorkersandLea d ExposureHOWLE AD IS USEDI nconstructi on, leadis usedfrequentlyforroofs,cornices,tanklini ngs,andel ectric al ,softsolder,usedchieflyfo r sol deringtinplateandcopperpipejoints, is analloyofle ad and ti solderhasbeenbannedformanyusesintheUnite d States.

5 In addition, therustingandcorrosionofir onandsteel,however,leadcontinuestobeused onbridges,railways,ships,lighthouses, andotherst eelstructures,althoughsubstitutecoatings ar e n pr oj ects varyintheirscopeandpotentialforex posing workersto leadandot suchasre movin g paintfr oma fewinteriorresidentialdoors mayinvolvelimited exposure. Others pr ojects, however,mayinvolveremovingorstrippingsub stantialquantitiesoflead-basedpaints onlargebridges andotherstructur VULNERABLE WORKER SWor kers potential ly atriskforleadexposureincludethoseinvolve din ironwork;demolitionwork; painting;lead-basedpaint5abatement;plu mbing;heatingandairconditioningmaintenan ceandrepair; el ectricalwork;andcarpentry,renovation,and re mbers,welders,andpainters ar e amongthoseworkersmost gnificantleadexposuresalsocanarise fromremovingpaintfromsurfacespr eviouslycoatedwithlead- basedpaint suchasbridges,residencesbeingrenovated,a ndst ructuresbeing ,bridgerepair, residentialleadabatement,andresi-dential remodeling,thepotentialforexposure tolead-basedpainthasbecomemore e highestriskofleadexposur e arethoseinvolvedin: Abras ivebl astin g and Welding, cu tti ng, withthepotentialtoexposewor kers to leadinclude: Leadburni ng; Usinglead-containingmortar; Powertoolcl eaning wit hout dustcollectionsystems; Rivetbustin g; Cleanupac ti vitieswheredryexpendableabrasivesareused ; Movementand removalofabrasiveblastingenclosures; Manualdryscr apingandsanding; Manualdemolit ionofstructures; Heat-gunapplications.

6 Powertoolcl eaning wit h dustcollectionsystems;and Spra y painting wi sLeadStan dardOSHA sLeadStandardfortheConstructionIndustry, Tit le 29 CodeofFederalRegul ,coversleadina varietyofforms,includingmetalli c lead,allinorganicleadcompounds,andorgani clead LIMITST hestandardestablishesmaximumlimits of exposuretoleadforallworkerscovered,inclu dinga permissibleexposurelimit(PEL)andactionle vel(AL).ThePELsetsth e maximumworkerexposure tolead:50micro-gramsof leadpercubicmeterofai r (50 g/m3)averagedoveraneight-hourperiod. If employeesareexposedtoleadformorethaneigh thour s ina workday,theirallowable exposure asa TWAforthatdaymust be reducedaccording tothisformula:Employeeexpos ure(in g/m3)= 40 0 ,regardlessofrespiratoruse,is anai rborneconcentra -tionof30 g/ m3,averagedoveranei thelevel atwhichanemployermustbeginsp ecificcomplianceactivi -tiesoutlinedin th e TOCONSTRUCTIONOSHA s leadin constructionst andard appli wor k relatedto Construction , alteration,orrepair, includingpainting anddecorat -ing,is in ,constructionincludes,but isnotlimitedto: Demoliti onorsalvageofst ructureswhereleadormaterialscontainingle adar e pr esent; Removalorencapsulationofmaterialsco ntaininglead; New co nstruc tion,alteration,repair,or renovationofstructures,substrates,orpor tionsormaterialsco ntaininglead.

7 Installatio n ofproducts containinglead; Le adcontaminationfromemergencycleanup; Transportatio n,disposal,st orage,or contai nmentofleadormaterialscontaininglead whereconstruction activitiesareperformed; and Maintenance operationsassociatedwi thth eseconstructionac pl oy er ResponsibilitiesWORK ERPR OTECTIONSE mployers ofconstructionworkersar e responsibl e fordevelop-ingandimplementinga minimum,theemployer s workerpr otectionprogramforemployeesexposedtolead abovethePELshouldinclude: Hazard determination,in cludingexposureassessment; Medical surveill anceandprovisionsformedicalremoval; Job-s pecifi c co mplianceprograms; Engineeringand workpractic e controls; Res piratoryprotection; Prot ectivecl othin g andequipment; Housekeeping; Hygiene facili ti esandpr actices; Sig ns ; Employeeinformationandtraining.

8 And Rec a cumulativeandpersistenttoxic substanceandhealt h ef fectsmayresultfromexposureoverpr olongedperiods,empl oyersmust usethesepr ec autionswhere feasibletominimizeempl oyeeexpos ureto emplo yersh ould,asneeded,consult a qualifiedsafetyandhealt h professionalto developandimplementaneffective, kindependently ormaybeassociatedwithaninsurancecarrier, tradeorganization,oron-site OFA COMPLIANCEPROGRAMFor each jo b whereemployeeexposur e exceedsthePEL,theempl oyermust es tablishandimplementa writ tencomplianceprogramto iance pro grammustprovideforfr equentandregularinspec-tionsofjobsites, materia ls,andequipmentbya ams,whichmustbereviewedandupdatedatleast ev erysixmonths, mustinclude:8 A descrip tion ofeachactivity inwhi chleadis emitted(suchasequipmentused,materialinvo lved,controls in pl ace,crewsize,employeejobresponsibilities ,operatingpr ocedures,andmaintenancepr actices); Themeanstobeusedtoachieveco mpliance andengineeringplans andstudiesusedto det erminetheengi neeringcontrolsselectedwheretheyarerequi red; Information onthetechnologyco ns id eredtomeetthePEL; Airmonitori ngdatathatdocumentthe so ur ceofleademissions; A detailedscheduleforimplementin g theprogram,inc ludingcopiesof doc umentation(such aspurc haseordersforequipment,co ns tructioncontracts); A workpr acticeprogram; Anadmin is trativecontrolschedule,if appl icable.

9 And Arrangementsmadeamongco nt ractors on multi-contrac torsitestoin formemployeesofpotential smentAnempl oyeris requiredto conduct aninitialemployeeexposureas sessment ofwhetheremployeesar e exposedtoleadatorabovetheALbasedon: Any information, observation,orcalcu lation thatindicatesemployeeexposureto lead; Any previousmeasurementsofairbornelead;and Any emplo yeecomplaints ofsympto msattributable and histor icalmeasurementsofleadmaybeusedtosatisfy thestandard ITI ALEMPLOYEE EX POSURE ASSESSMENTI nitialmonitori ngmaybelimitedto a representativesampleofthose emplo yeesexposedto thegreatestconcentrationsofairborne lead. Representativeexposuresamplingis permittedwhentherearea numberofemployeesperformingthesamejob,wi th9lead exposure ofsimilardurationandlevel,underessential lythesa mecondi tions . Foremployeesengagedinsimilarwork,thest andardrequi resthatthemembersofthegr oupreasonablyex pectedtohavethehighestexposure levelsbemonitored.

10 Thisresult is thenattributedto theotheremployeesofthe emplo yermustestablishandmaintainanaccurate recorddocumentin g thenatur e andrelevancyofpreviousexposure ,theemployermayinsomeca sesrely onobj ectivedata thatdemonstratethata particularlead-containing materialorpr oductcannotresultinemployeeexposureatora bovetheactionlevelwhenit is processed,used, OL OGICALMONITORINGTESTSAnal ysis ofblo odleadsamplesmust beconductedbyanOSHA-approvedlabandbeaccu rate (t o a confidencelevelof95percent)withinplus orminus15percent, or6 g/dl,whicheveris gr sai rborneleadlevelis atorabovetheALformorethan 30daysin anyconsecutive12months,theemployermustma kebiolo gi calmonitoringavailableonthefollowingsche dul e: Atleastevery twomonthsforthefirstsixmonthsandevery si xmonths thereafterforemployeesexposedatoraboveth eactionle velfo r more than30daysannually; Atleastevery twomonthsforemployeeswhoselastbloodsampl in g and analysisindicateda bloodleadlevelatorabove40 g/ dl ; and Atleastmonthly whileanemployeeis removedfromexposuredue anel NGEMPLOYEEEXPOSURE ASSESSMENTU ntil theemployerperformsanexpos ur e assessmentanddocuments thatemployeesarenotexposedabovethePEL,OS HA requiresso g respiratoryprotection,protectiveworkclot hi ngandequipment,hygienefacilities,biologi calmonitoring,andtraining asspecif iedbythestandards forcertaintaskspronetoproducehi gh exposure.