Lead in Construction - Home | Occupational Safety …

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.

2 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 . 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.

3 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)

4 Overexposurecanresultinseveredamageto thecentral nervoussystem,particularly canalso damagetheblo od-forming,ur inary, nosharp dividinglinebetweenrapidlydevelopingac uteeffectsof leadandchronicef fects thattakelongerto MPTOMSOFCHRONICOVEREXPOSURES omeof thecommonsymptomsinclude: Los s ofappetite; Constipation; Nausea; 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.

5 A physicianmayprescribespecialdru gscall edchelatingagentstoreducetheamountoflead absorbedin pr eventivemeasure--thatis , 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.

6 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. 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.

7 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.

8 Cleanupac ti vitieswheredryexpendableabrasivesareused ; Movementand removalofabrasiveblastingenclosures; Manualdryscr apingandsanding; Manualdemolit ionofstructures; Heat-gunapplications; 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.

9 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; Installatio n ofproducts containinglead; Le adcontaminationfromemergencycleanup; Transportatio n,disposal,st orage,or contai nmentofleadormaterialscontaininglead whereconstruction activitiesareperformed.

10 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;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.