Or. Admin. Code § 437-002-0281

Current through Register Vol. 64, No. 1, January 1, 2025

Section 437-002-0281 - Manganese

Note: Table OR Q-2 describes levels of respiratory protection that may be relied upon, within the duration of time indicated for the specific welding-related task, to prevent exposure to Manganese above the Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) listed in Division 2/Z, OAR 437-002-0382, Oregon Rules for Air Contaminants.

(1) The guidelines in Table OR Q-2 may be used as an alternative to air monitoring for Manganese exposure under the following conditions:

(a) All respirator use must be in accordance with the Respiratory Protection Standard, 1910.134.

(b) The employer must provide the respiratory protection with the Assigned Protective Factor (APF) based on the type of welding-related task and the expected duration of that task. (See descriptions of tasks in 437-002-0299.)

(c) If the duration of the task reaches the upper time limit for the APF listed, then the employer must either:

(A) End the exposures for that employee for that shift, or

(B) Provide respiratory protection with the higher APF listed in the Table for any additional performance of the task during the employee's shift.

(2) If, during the course of a single work shift, an employee will perform more than one task listed in Table OR Q-2, the employer must add together the anticipated duration of all tasks and provide the respiratory protection with the most protective Assigned Protective Factor for the total duration of all tasks performed.

Note: EXAMPLE #1: The employer anticipates 60 minutes of "Grinding tasks related to welding" and 90 minutes of Flux Core Arc Welding (FCAW) during an employee's work shift. Although both of these tasks, performed individually for the specified time periods would fall within the APF=10 column for respiratory protection, adding 90 + 60 minutes together = 150 total minutes. In this example the most protective Assigned Protection Factor is for FCAW, when exposures above 120 minutes would fall in the APF=25 column. Therefore, to meet the conditions for the exemption from air monitoring for Manganese, the employer would need to provide the APF=25 level of respiratory protection for the duration of both of the combined tasks.

EXAMPLE #2: The employer anticipates 10 minutes of "Grinding tasks related to welding" and 30 minutes of "Handheld torch cutting" during a work shift. Although the grinding tasks, if done alone for the specified time would be below the threshold for the APF=10 column of respiratory protection, adding 10 + 30 minutes together = 40 total minutes. The combined duration of 40 minutes places both the hand-held torch work and the grinding tasks within the APF=10 column. Therefore, to meet the conditions for the exemption from air monitoring for Manganese, the employer would need to provide the APF=10 level of respiratory protection for the duration of both of the combined tasks.

Or. Admin. Code § 437-002-0281

OSHA 11-2021, adopt filed 09/01/2021, effective 9/1/2022

Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 654.025(2), 654.035, 656.726(4)

Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 654.001 through 654.295