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Hazardous Materials—General

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Hazard Identification: Federal OSHA Issues Guidance on Laboratory Safety; Addressing Hazards in 4 Major Categories
January 2012
Laboratories are dangerous places, and university laboratories have proved deadly with disturbing regularity in recent years. . . . more »

Radiation: What the State and Federal Regulations Cover and What You Must Do
October 2011
Workers in the nuclear power industry--including California's two operating nuclear power plants--as well as in the mining, healthcare, semiconductor manufacturing, and transportation and shipping industries can receive occupational exposure to ionizing radiation. . . . more »

Hazardous Chemicals: Pipes with Hazardous Chemicals Require Special Precautions; Recommendations for Safe Pipe Cleaning
July 2011
The Kleen Energy plant in Middletown, Conn., was under construction in January 2010, and as many as 1,000 contractors worked at the site each weekday to complete the building by the following summer. Workers even came in on weekends. But on Super Bowl Sunday, more workers than usual stayed home--so the football game may have saved some lives. . . . more »

Hazardous Chemicals: NIOSH Finds No Safe Exposure Levels Exist for Beryllium; Tips for Controlling Exposures
May 2011
Beryllium, a toxic metal, is used extensively in aerospace and mater-ials research as well as nuclear weapons development and testing. So it wasn't really a surprise when routine beryllium tests in July 2007 showed dangerously high levels in a machine shop at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory during a seismic retrofit. As many as 178 contract workers in this nuclear weapons research facility may have been exposed to the chemical, which is known to cause cancer in humans. . . . more »

Hazardous Chemicals: Cal/OSHA Regulates Exposure to Diacetyl and Other Buttery Flavorings--but Does Not Set a PEL
December 2010
It has been eight years since the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published the first reports of a potentially deadly lung disease in workers at a microwave-popcorn factory. In 2004, the first case of this newly identified lung disease--called "popcorn lung" by some and officially dubbed bronchiolitis obliterans for its devastating effect on the lungs--was documented in a California worker. The disease was eventually linked to diacetyl, a chemical used to create butter flavor in prepared foods. . . . more »

Trainer's Handbook: Operating Procedures for Highly Hazardous Chemicals; A Process Safety Management Primer
November 2010
The protracted drama of oil gushing from the floor of the Gulf of Mexico following the explosion and fire on a drill rig has drawn attention to the problem of process safety management (PSM)--controlling highly hazardous chemicals to prevent disasters. PSM has many components; one is employee training. . . . more »

Hazardous Chemicals: Isocyanates Pose Skin and Respiratory Hazards; Five Tips to Prevent Exposures and Protect Workers
November 2010
More than 300,000 California workers suffer from occupational asthma, and more than 350 chemicals known to trigger asthma are used in California workplaces. . . . more »

Hazardous Chemicals: Cal/OSHA Updates Permissible Exposure Limits; Part II: Previously Unregulated Chemicals
September 2010
In December, the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board completed the most recent update of Cal/OSHA's permissible exposure limits (PELs)--something it does approximately once every three years (the last revision took effect in 2006). In last month's issue of COCA, we covered the eight revised PELs that went into effect on Aug. 3, 2010. . . . more »

Trainer's Handbook: 'Green' Dry Cleaning Comes with Risks to Workers; How to Avoid Ergonomic, Chemical, and Burn Hazards
August 2010
It has been a tough summer for dry cleaners. In July, the next stage of California's environmentally motivated phase-out of perchloroethylene (PERC), a chemical used extensively by dry cleaners, went into effect. Dry cleaners must retire PERC-based machines once they reach the age of 15 years, and PERC use must be entirely phased out by 2023. . . . more »

Bulletin: Dry cleaners face phase-out of equipment
July 2010
In 2007, the California Air Resources Board approved amendments to the Dry Cleaning Operations Airborne Toxic Control Measure for Emissions of Perchloroethylene (PERC), and the changes are finally taking effect. The amendments require all dry cleaning operations with PERC solvent equipment manufactured after July 1, 1995, to either . . . more »

Hazardous Chemicals: Federal OSHA Changes Notification Requirements in Hexavalent Chromium Rule; Cal/OSHA Prepares to Follow Suit
July 2010
On June 15, 2010, revisions to federal OSHA's hexavalent chromium standard took effect. The changes are to the notification portion of the rule. . . . more »

Bulletin: Online Exclusive: Pool chemical safe storage checklist
March 2010
Chemically treated pools may be safer for swimmers, but the chemicals that make the pools that way pose dangers to the workers who handle them. Pool chemicals can cause injuries by igniting fires, . . . more »

News Note: Study Finds Workplace BPA Exposure Increases Risk of Male Sexual Dysfunction
January 2010
High levels of workplace exposure to bisphenol-A (BPA) may increase the risk of reduced sexual function in men, a study conducted by researchers at Kaiser Permanente's Division of Research in Oakland found. The five-year study . . . more »

News Note: Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards Now Available for the iPhone
January 2010
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards (NPG) is now available as a mobile application for . . . more »

Hazardous Chemicals: New NIOSH Study Examines Control Banding; It's Not Just for Chemical Hazards Anymore
November 2009
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Chemical Information and Testing Branch (CITB) keeps an inventory of existing chemicals. There are currently 70,000 substances in the CITB's inventory; the CITB estimates that . . . more »

Hazard Identification: Indoor Firing Ranges Pose Physical, Chemical Hazards: Take Aim at Safety
August 2009
There are between 16,000 and 18,000 indoor firing ranges in the United States, serving more than one million professional shooters (law enforcement personnel) and 20 million . . . more »

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