Managing risks associated with lead in the workplace
LEAD – Great news if you want a healthy work-force!
Lead is one of the HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS REQUIRING HEALTH MONITORING in Australia. It’s detrimental effects on humans and the unborn baby are well documented.
Like me, you will be pleased to hear that the exposure levels for lead are going to be reduced, reducing the possibility of damaging health effects to those who have to work with it
This is a GOOD thing!
Safe Work Australia has published a Decision Regulation Impact Statement (DRIS) on Managing risks associated with lead in the workplace: blood lead removal levels and workplace exposure standard.
The DRIS is the result of Safe Work Australia’s review of the current toxicological information and overseas trends in the regulation of lead in the workplace. It examines options to reduce the adverse health outcomes caused by exposure to lead in the workplace.
The DRIS has been considered by state, territory and Commonwealth Ministers responsible for work health and safety. A majority of Ministers support the preferred options to reduce the current permissible blood lead levels and workplace exposure standard, to protect workers. The preferred options will now be implemented through model work health and safety legislation:-
Reducing mandated blood lead removal levels and related requirements to reflect epidemiological and toxicological evidence:
- REDUCED FROM 50 μg/dL & 20 μg/dL to a
20 μg/dL (target level) and 30 μg/dL (removal level) for females not of reproductive capacity and males, and
10 μg/dL removal level for females of reproductive capacity.
- Workplace exposure standard of 0.15 mg/m3 down to 0.05 mg/m3.
As normal, there will be a transition period for compliance with the regulatory requirements outlined above will be two years from adoption. But the great news is that it’s finally coming.
If you have lead in your workplace and are unsure of the levels that your workers are being exposed to, we can come to your site and advise you. Please call to discuss.
The current exposure standards are shown below but you need to prepare for the new standards.
| Standard Name | Cas No | TWA ppm | TWA mgm3 | STEL ppm | STEL mgm3 | |
| Tetramethyl lead (as Pb) | 75-74-1 | – | 0.15 | – | – | |
| Tetraethyl lead (as Pb) | 78-00-2 | – | 0.1 | – | – | |
| Lead arsenate (as Pb3(AsO4)2) | 3687-31-8 | – | 0.15 | – | – | |
| Lead, inorganic dusts & fumes (as Pb) | 7439-92-1 | – | 0.15 | – | – | |
| Lead chromate (as Cr) (h) | 7758-97-6 | – | 0.05 | – | – |
For more information on this subject, check out these links:-
Managing risks when unpacking shipping containers
Safework Australia has recently updated its suite of risk management advice sheets regarding this topic.
The ones that I would like to talk about are:
& particularly
A few years ago I was involved in sales of PIDs (Photo Ionisation Detectors) which are excellent devices for measuring methyl bromide and some other fumigants. As a result of this I visited Customs and many other importers who regularly had containers to inspect or unload.
WARNING – QUICK RANT: At one point it was in the Customs procedure to use a PID to measure fumigants before & during inspection, then they dropped this from their procedure – WTF? I thought the government was supposed to set a good example!
Many importers who receive either wooden products OR get their products delivered on wooden pallets (i.e. most of them!) have an issue with methyl bromide. Treatment of wood packaging requires a concentration of up to 16,000 ppm.
In tightly packed containers airing them or even using fans does not work as the gas gets trapped, only releasing when boxes are moved. In the case of machinery on pallets & held in place with plastic film, the gas tends to gets trapped inside the film, which needs to be opened to release it. Exposure in both these cases can easily exceed the safe working limit.
Can YOU say, hand on heart, that you are compliant with current exposure recommendations?
Methyl bromide is a sweet, almost pleasant smelling gas at levels above 5ppm (the exposure limit). It is GREAT at killing insects / pests. Unfortunately, it is also a neurotoxin for humans, affecting our Central Nervous System. It is also suspected of causing genetic defects. But perhaps the worst aspect is that it is a cumulative poison….
The 5 ppm concentration is the Australian occupational exposure guideline which is considered to cause no adverse health effects for exposures of eight hours per day, five days per week (that is, 40-hours weekly exposure). But what if you are getting short bursts of higher concentration?
It makes sense to equip employees with PIDs while performing this task or, at the very least, get someone in to take some REAL TIME readings as well as the more normal personal sampling.
It’s worth noting that in the USA the IDLH (Immediate Danger to Life & Health) limit is set at just 250 ppm.
Please feel free to comment below or ask questions about the various brands of PIDs available, I’m always ready to help and have no vested interests.
More reading:
http://hsis.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/HazardousSubstance/Details?hazardousSubstanceID=2458
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bromomethane
Honeywell Midas gas detectors Vulnerable to Hacking
I remember the time when ‘HACKING’ meant chopping into a piece of wood or a tree…. How things change.
As our world becomes more and more an IoT (Internet of Things), this type of incident is bound to occur more often.
I believe this is the first time that a gas detector has been able to be attacked by Hackers although there are no reports of this happening at the time of writing.
If you have either of these two versions:
- Midas, Version 1.13b1 and prior versions, and
- Midas Black, Version 2.13b1 and prior versions.
Then you should contact your local Honeywell Dealer or refer to the link below to get security updates to address this vulnerability.
There are TWO vulnerabilities that could be exploited by even a novice hacker:
PATH TRAVERSAL
The web server interface allows the authentication process to be bypassed, potentially allowing unauthorized configuration changes to be made to the device, as well as the initiation of calibration or test processes.
CLEARTEXT TRANSMISSION OF SENSITIVE INFORMATION
The user’s password is not encrypted during transmission.
LINKS:
To Download the Midas Security Update Package (SN 2015-10-14 01 Rev 03) go to
http://www.honeywellanalytics.com/en/products/Midas and click on the software tab
For more in depth explanation you can go to:
Express your views on lead in the workplace
Safe Work Australia has just released the following:
Express your views on lead in the workplace Safe Work Australia invites you to have your say on proposed changes to work health and safety requirements for inorganic lead. Current scientific evidence suggests that current legislated blood lead levels and workplace exposure standards do not adequately protect worker health. Exposure standards are specified in the model Work Health and Safety Regulations as mandatory legal limits to protect the health of workers and minimise exposure to chemicals in the workplace. Safe Work Australia is seeking feedback on proposed amendments to blood lead levels and airborne lead concentrations, in particular options for: 1. Setting levels of lead in workers’ blood (blood lead levels) to identify: a) trigger points to commence mandatory health monitoring of workers 2. Setting maximum concentration levels of lead in air for workplaces. Workers and businesses involved with or undertaking lead risk work, regulators, occupational hygienists, work health and safety professionals and other interested stakeholders, are invited to comment on options put forward in the Consultation Regulation Impact Statement. We want to hear your thoughts on the options presented; the cost and impact to businesses, any technical barriers which may preclude adoption, and the degree to which businesses have already im plemented voluntary control measures beyond those prescribed in the regulations and workplace exposure standards. The public consultation period is open for 10 weeks. Submissions can be made via the Safe Work Australia public submissions website. Submissions close 5.30 pm AEDT, Friday 26 February 2016.
If you need the concentration of lead in your workplace air measured call Air Hazards on 0423 659 131. We can also test for lead paint and deposited lead dust. |
WorkSafe Victoria – Asbestos in imported building products
Following on from WorkCover NSW issuing a prohibition order on building panels containing asbestos imported from China, WorkSafe Victoria has released a SAFETY ALERT regarding asbestos in imported building panels.
The polystyrene insulated panels were marked as ASBESTOS FREE but testing revealed the presence of chrysotile (white) asbestos.
The safety alert informs that it is not believed that any of the material has been used in Victoria and goes on to provide information on how importers can safeguard themselves to prevent this happening.
Stay safe
Hazardous Substances Information System Updated – December 2015
After a slight hiccup with the uploading process, last week Safe Work Australia has completed an update of the Hazardous Substances Information System (HSIS) database and the GHS Hazardous Chemical Information List (HCIL) to incorporate assessments made by the National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS). These changes represent human health assessments made as part of tranches one through seven of the Inventory Multi-tiered Assessment and Prioritisation (IMAP) framework.
This update includes 289 new entries and 121 amendments to existing entries.
More information at
http://hsis.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/News
Is it SAFE to send your Kids to School?
his month the Australian Government Asbestos Safety & Eradication Agency has released a SAFETY ALERT aimed at schools (see link below).
The safety alert is to advise of the reported presence of asbestos rock samples contained in some “mineral kits” purchased by schools. These kits have been sold throughout Australia and continue to be available for sale online.
Also some earlier mineral kits (dating from the 1970’s) produced by the former Geological Specimen Supplies company may also contain asbestos.
Ensure that your children’s school is aware of this safety alert:
Express your views about workplace exposure standards for hazardous chemicals
In case you missed Safe Work Australia’s recent press release…
Safe Work Australia’s Chief Executive Officer, Michelle Baxter is urging interested parties to express their views about exposure standards for hazardous chemicals used in workplaces in a public consultation process.
Exposure standards refer to the airborne concentration of individual chemicals in the worker’s breathing zone which, according to current knowledge, should not cause adverse health effects or undue discomfort to nearly all workers.
Exposure standards are specified in the model Work Health and Safety Regulations as mandatory legal limits to protect the health of workers and minimise exposure to chemicals in the workplace. There are some 644 exposure standards, as listed in Workplace exposure standards for airborne contaminants.
The public consultation period is open for six weeks from 9 November 2015 until 18 December 2015. Submissions close at 5.30 pm AEDT, Friday 18 December 2015.
Are you a business owner in Victoria?
Have your say!
EPA Victoria have just released a “SCHEDULED PREMISES REGULATIONS REVIEW DISCUSSION PAPER”
As ‘Scheduled Premises’ applies to so many industries, please have a look at this and have your say, all replies are considered.
If you need any air monitoring done – remember to give Kelvin a call on 0423 659 131