This occupational health standard establishes requirements for employers to control occupational exposure to methylene chloride (MC). Employees exposed to MC are at increased risk of developing cancer, adverse effects on the heart, central nervous system and liver, and skin or eye irritation. Exposure may occur through inhalation, by absorption through the skin, or through contact with the skin. MC is a solvent which is used in many different types of work activities, such as paint stripping, polyurethane foam manufacturing, and cleaning and degreasing. Under the requirements of subsection (4) of this section, each covered employer must make an initial determination of each employee's exposure to MC. If the employer determines that employees are exposed below the action level, the only other provisions of this section that apply are that a record must be made of the determination, the employees must receive information and training under subsection (12) of this section and, where appropriate, employees must be protected from contact with liquid MC under subsection (8) of this section.
The provisions of the MC standard are as follows:
(1) Scope and application. This section applies to all occupational exposures to methylene chloride (MC), Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number 75-09-2, in general industry, construction and shipyard employment.(2) Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply: Action level. A concentration of airborne MC of 12.5 parts per million (ppm) calculated as an eight-hour time-weighted average (TWA).
Authorized person. Any person specifically authorized by the employer and required by work duties to be present in regulated areas, or any person entering such an area as a designated representative of employees for the purpose of exercising the right to observe monitoring and measuring procedures under subsection (4) of this section, or any other person authorized by the WISH Act or regulations issued under the act.
Director. The director of the department of labor and industries, or designee.
Emergency. Any occurrence, such as, but not limited to, equipment failure, rupture of containers, or failure of control equipment, which results, or is likely to result in an uncontrolled release of MC. If an incidental release of MC can be controlled by employees such as maintenance personnel at the time of release and in accordance with the leak/spill provisions required by subsection (6) of this section, it is not considered an emergency as defined by this standard.
Employee exposure. Exposure to airborne MC which occurs or would occur if the employee were not using respiratory protection.
Methylene chloride (MC). An organic compound with chemical formula, CH2Cl2. Its Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number is 75-09-2. Its molecular weight is 84.9 g/mole.
Physician or other licensed health care professional. An individual whose legally permitted scope of practice (i.e., license, registration, or certification) allows them to independently provide or be delegated the responsibility to provide some or all of the health care services required by subsection (10) of this section.
Regulated area. An area, demarcated by the employer, where an employee's exposure to airborne concentrations of MC exceeds or can reasonably be expected to exceed either the eight-hour TWA PEL or the STEL.
Symptom. Central nervous system effects such as headaches, disorientation, dizziness, fatigue, and decreased attention span; skin effects such as chapping, erythema, cracked skin, or skin burns; and cardiac effects such as chest pain or shortness of breath.
This section. This methylene chloride standard.
(3) Permissible exposure limits (PELs). (a) Eight-hour time-weighted average (TWA) PEL. The employer must ensure that no employee is exposed to an airborne concentration of MC in excess of twenty-five parts of MC per million parts of air (25 ppm) as an eight-hour TWA.(b) Short-term exposure limit (STEL). The employer must ensure that no employee is exposed to an airborne concentration of MC in excess of one hundred and twenty-five parts of MC per million parts of air (125 ppm) as determined over a sampling period of fifteen minutes.(4) Exposure monitoring. (a) Characterization of employee exposure. (i) Where MC is present in the workplace, the employer must determine each employee's exposure by either: (A) Taking a personal breathing zone air sample of each employee's exposure; or(B) Taking personal breathing zone air samples that are representative of each employee's exposure.(ii) Representative samples. The employer may consider personal breathing zone air samples to be representative of employee exposures when they are taken as follows: (A) Eight-hour TWA PEL. The employer has taken one or more personal breathing zone air samples for at least one employee in each job classification in a work area during every work shift, and the employee sampled is expected to have the highest MC exposure.(B) Short-term exposure limits. The employer has taken one or more personal breathing zone air samples which indicate the highest likely fifteen-minute exposures during such operations for at least one employee in each job classification in the work area during every work shift, and the employee sampled is expected to have the highest MC exposure.(C) Exception. Personal breathing zone air samples taken during one work shift may be used to represent employee exposures on other work shifts where the employer can document that the tasks performed and conditions in the workplace are similar across shifts.(iii) Accuracy of monitoring. The employer must ensure that the methods used to perform exposure monitoring produce results that are accurate to a confidence level of ninety-five percent, and are: (A) Within plus or minus twenty-five percent for airborne concentrations of MC above the eight-hour TWA PEL or the STEL; or(B) Within plus or minus thirty-five percent for airborne concentrations of MC at or above the action level but at or below the eight-hour TWA PEL.(b) Initial determination. Each employer whose employees are exposed to MC must perform initial exposure monitoring to determine each affected employee's exposure, except under the following conditions:(i) Where objective data demonstrate that MC cannot be released in the workplace in airborne concentrations at or above the action level or above the STEL. The objective data must represent the highest MC exposures likely to occur under reasonably foreseeable conditions of processing, use, or handling. The employer must document the objective data exemption as specified in subsection (13) of this section;(ii) Where the employer has performed exposure monitoring within twelve months prior to December 1, and that exposure monitoring meets all other requirements of this section, and was conducted under conditions substantially equivalent to existing conditions; or(iii) Where employees are exposed to MC on fewer than thirty days per year (e.g., on a construction site), and the employer has measurements by direct reading instruments which give immediate results (such as a detector tube) and which provide sufficient information regarding employee exposures to determine what control measures are necessary to reduce exposures to acceptable levels.(c) Periodic monitoring. Where the initial determination shows employee exposures at or above the action level or above the STEL, the employer shall establish an exposure monitoring program for periodic monitoring of employee exposure to MC in accordance with Table 1: Table 1
Six Initial Determination Exposure Scenarios and Their
Associated Monitoring Frequencies
Exposure scenario | Required monitoring activity |
Below the action level and at or below the STEL. | No eight-hour TWA or STEL monitoring required. |
Below the action level and above the STEL. | No eight-hour TWA monitoring required; monitor STEL exposures every three months. |
At or above the action level, at or below the TWA, and at or below the STEL. | Monitor eight-hour TWA exposures every six months. |
At or above the action level, at or below the TWA, and above the STEL. | Monitor eight-hour TWA exposures every six months and monitor STEL exposures every three months. |
Above the TWA and at or below the STEL. | Monitor eight-hour TWA exposures every three months. In addition, without regard to the last sentence of the note to subsection (3) of this section, the following employers must monitor STEL exposures every three months until either the date by which they must achieve the eight-hour TWAs PEL under subsection (3) of this section or the date by which they in fact achieve the eight-hour TWA PEL, whichever comes first: * Employers engaged in poly-urethane foam manufacturing; * Foam fabrication; * Furniture refinishing; * General aviation aircraft stripping; * Product formulation; * Use of MC-based adhesives for boat building and repair; * Recreational vehicle manufacture, van conversion, or upholstery; and use of MC in construction work for restoration and preservation of buildings, painting and paint removal, cabinet making, or floor refinishing and resurfacing. |
Above the TWA and above the STEL. | Monitor both eight-hour TWA exposures and STEL exposures every three months. |
(Note to subsection (4)(c) of this section: The employer may decrease the frequency of exposure monitoring to every six months when at least two consecutive measurements taken at least seven days apart show exposures to be at or below the eight-hour TWA PEL. The employer may discontinue the periodic eight-hour TWA monitoring for employees where at least two consecutive measurements taken at least seven days apart are below the action level. The employer may discontinue the periodic STEL monitoring for employees where at least two consecutive measurements taken at least seven days apart are at or below the STEL.)
(d) Additional monitoring. (i) The employer must perform exposure monitoring when a change in workplace conditions indicates that employee exposure may have increased. Examples of situations that may require additional monitoring include changes in production, process, control equipment, or work practices, or a leak, rupture, or other breakdown.(ii) Where exposure monitoring is performed due to a spill, leak, rupture or equipment breakdown, the employer must clean up the MC and perform the appropriate repairs before monitoring.(e) Employee notification of monitoring results. (i) The employer must, within fifteen working days after the receipt of the results of any monitoring performed under this section, notify each affected employee of these results in writing, either individually or by posting of results in an appropriate location that is accessible to affected employees.(ii) Whenever monitoring results indicate that employee exposure is above the eight-hour TWA PEL or the STEL, the employer must describe in the written notification the corrective action being taken to reduce employee exposure to or below the eight-hour TWA PEL or STEL and the schedule for completion of this action.(f) Observation of monitoring. (i) Employee observation. The employer must provide affected employees or their designated representatives an opportunity to observe any monitoring of employee exposure to MC conducted in accordance with this section.(ii) Observation procedures. When observation of the monitoring of employee exposure to MC requires entry into an area where the use of protective clothing or equipment is required, the employer must provide, at no cost to the observer(s), and the observer(s) must use such clothing and equipment and must comply with all other applicable safety and health procedures.(5) Regulated areas. (a) The employer must establish a regulated area wherever an employee's exposure to airborne concentrations of MC exceeds or can reasonably be expected to exceed either the eight-hour TWA PEL or the STEL.(b) The employer must limit access to regulated areas to authorized persons.(c) The employer must supply a respirator, selected in accordance with subsection (7)(c) of this section, to each person who enters a regulated area and must require each affected employee to use that respirator whenever MC exposures are likely to exceed the eight-hour TWA PEL or STEL. (Note to subsection (5)(c) of this section: An employer who has implemented all feasible engineering, work practice and administrative controls (as required in subsection (6) of this section), and who has established a regulated area (as required by subsection (5)(a) of this section) where MC exposure can be reliably predicted to exceed the eight-hour TWA PEL or the STEL only on certain days (for example, because of work or process schedule) would need to have affected employees use respirators in that regulated area only on those days.)
(d) The employer must ensure that, within a regulated area, employees do not engage in nonwork activities which may increase dermal or oral MC exposure.(e) The employer must ensure that while employees are wearing respirators, they do not engage in activities (such as taking medication or chewing gum or tobacco) which interfere with respirator seal or performance.(f) The employer must demarcate regulated areas from the rest of the workplace in any manner that adequately establishes and alerts employees to the boundaries of the area and minimizes the number of authorized employees exposed to MC within the regulated area.(g) An employer at a multiemployer worksite who establishes a regulated area must communicate the access restrictions and locations of these areas to all other employers with work operations at that worksite.(6) Methods of compliance. (a) Engineering and work practice controls. The employer must institute and maintain the effectiveness of engineering controls and work practices to reduce employee exposure to or below the PELs except to the extent that the employer can demonstrate that such controls are not feasible.(b) Wherever the feasible engineering controls and work practices which can be instituted are not sufficient to reduce employee exposure to or below the 8-TWA PEL or STEL, the employer must use them to reduce employee exposure to the lowest levels achievable by these controls and must supplement them by the use of respiratory protection that complies with the requirements of subsection (7) of this section.(c) Prohibition of rotation. The employer must not implement a schedule of employee rotation as a means of compliance with the PELs.(d) Leak and spill detection. (i) The employer must implement procedures to detect leaks of MC in the workplace. In work areas where spills may occur, the employer must make provisions to contain any spills and to safely dispose of any MC-contaminated waste materials.(ii) The employer must ensure that all incidental leaks are repaired and that incidental spills are cleaned promptly by employees who use the appropriate personal protective equipment and are trained in proper methods of cleanup. (Note to subsection (6)(d)(ii) of this section: See Appendix A of this section for examples of procedures that satisfy this requirement. Employers covered by this standard may also be subject to the hazardous waste and emergency response provisions contained in chapter 296-843 WAC.)
(7) Respiratory protection. (a) General requirements. For employees who use respirators required by this section, the employer must provide each employee an appropriate respirator that complies with the requirements of this subsection. Respirators must be used during: (i) Periods when an employee's exposure to MC exceeds or can reasonably be expected to exceed the eight-hour TWA PEL or the STEL (for example, when an employee is using MC in a regulated area);(ii) Periods necessary to install or implement feasible engineering and work-practice controls;(iii) In a few work operations, such as some maintenance operations and repair activities, for which the employer demonstrates that engineering and work practice controls are infeasible;(iv) Work operations for which feasible engineering and work practice controls are not sufficient to reduce exposures to or below the PELs;(b) Respirator program. (i) The employer must develop, implement and maintain a respiratory protection program as required by chapter 296-842 WAC, Respirators, which covers each employee required by this chapter to use a respirator, except for the requirements in Table 5 of WAC 296-842-13005 that address gas or vapor cartridge change schedules and end-of-service-life indicators (ESLIs).(ii) Employers who provide employees with gas masks with organic-vapor canisters for the purpose of emergency escape must replace the canisters after any emergency use and before the gas masks are returned to service.(c) Respirator selection. The employer must: (i) Select and provide to employees appropriate respirators according to this section and WAC 296-842-13005, found in the respirator rule.(ii) Make sure half-facepiece respirators are not selected or used for protection against MC. This is necessary to prevent eye irritation or damage from MC exposure.(iii) Provide to employees, for emergency escape, one of the following respirator options: (A) A self-contained breathing apparatus operated in the continuous-flow or pressure demand mode; or(B) A gas mask equipped with an organic vapor canister.(d) Medical evaluation. Before having an employee use a supplied-air respirator in the negative-pressure mode, or a gas mask with an organic-vapor canister for emergency escape, the employer must: (i) Have a physician or other licensed health care professional (PLHCP) evaluate the employee's ability to use such respiratory protection;(ii) Ensure that the PLHCP provides their findings in a written opinion to the employee and the employer. | Note: | See WAC 296-842-14005 for medical evaluation requirements for employees using respirators. |
(8) Protective work clothing and equipment. (a) Where needed to prevent MC-induced skin or eye irritation, the employer must provide clean protective clothing and equipment which is resistant to MC, at no cost to the employee, and must ensure that each affected employee uses it. Eye and face protection shall meet the requirements of WAC 296-800-160, as applicable.(b) The employer must clean, launder, repair and replace all protective clothing and equipment required by this subsection as needed to maintain their effectiveness.(c) The employer must be responsible for the safe disposal of such clothing and equipment. (Note to subsection (8)(c) of this section: See Appendix A for examples of disposal procedures that will satisfy this requirement.)
(9) Hygiene facilities. (a) If it is reasonably foreseeable that employees' skin may contact solutions containing 0.1 percent or greater MC (for example, through splashes, spills or improper work practices), the employer must provide conveniently located washing facilities capable of removing the MC, and must ensure that affected employees use these facilities as needed.(b) If it is reasonably foreseeable that an employee's eyes may contact solutions containing 0.1 percent or greater MC (for example through splashes, spills or improper work practices), the employer must provide appropriate eyewash facilities within the immediate work area for emergency use, and must ensure that affected employees use those facilities when necessary.(10) Medical surveillance. (a) Affected employees. The employer must make medical surveillance available for employees who are or may be exposed to MC as follows: (i) At or above the action level on thirty or more days per year, or above the eight-hour TWA PEL or the STEL on ten or more days per year;(ii) Above the 8-TWA PEL or STEL for any time period where an employee has been identified by a physician or other licensed health care professional as being at risk from cardiac disease or from some other serious MC-related health condition and such employee requests inclusion in the medical surveillance program;(iii) During an emergency.(b) Costs. The employer must provide all required medical surveillance at no cost to affected employees, without loss of pay and at a reasonable time and place.(c) Medical personnel. The employer must ensure that all medical surveillance procedures are performed by a physician or other licensed health care professional, as defined in subsection (2) of this section.(d) Frequency of medical surveillance. The employer must make medical surveillance available to each affected employee as follows: (i) Initial surveillance. The employer must provide initial medical surveillance under the schedule provided by subsection (14)(b)(iii) of this section, or before the time of initial assignment of the employee, whichever is later.(ii) Periodic medical surveillance. The employer must update the medical and work history for each affected employee annually. The employer must provide periodic physical examinations, including appropriate laboratory surveillance, as follows: (A) For employees forty-five years of age or older, within twelve months of the initial surveillance or any subsequent medical surveillance; and(B) For employees younger than forty-five years of age, within thirty-six months of the initial surveillance or any subsequent medical surveillance.(iii) Termination of employment or reassignment. When an employee leaves the employer's workplace, or is reassigned to an area where exposure to MC is consistently at or below the action level and STEL, medical surveillance must be made available if six months or more have elapsed since the last medical surveillance.(iv) Additional surveillance. The employer must provide additional medical surveillance at frequencies other than those listed above when recommended in the written medical opinion. (For example, the physician or other licensed health care professional may determine an examination is warranted in less than thirty-six months for employees younger than forty-five years of age based upon evaluation of the results of the annual medical and work history.)(e) Content of medical surveillance. (i) Medical and work history. The comprehensive medical and work history must emphasize neurological symptoms, skin conditions, history of hematologic or liver disease, signs or symptoms suggestive of heart disease (angina, coronary artery disease), risk factors for cardiac disease, MC exposures, and work practices and personal protective equipment used during such exposures. (Note to subsection (10)(e)(i) of this section: See Appendix B of this section for an example of a medical and work history format that would satisfy this requirement.)
(ii) Physical examination. Where physical examinations are provided as required above, the physician or other licensed health care professional must accord particular attention to the lungs, cardiovascular system (including blood pressure and pulse), liver, nervous system, and skin. The physician or other licensed health care professional must determine the extent and nature of the physical examination based on the health status of the employee and analysis of the medical and work history.(iii) Laboratory surveillance. The physician or other licensed health care professional must determine the extent of any required laboratory surveillance based on the employee's observed health status and the medical and work history. (Note to subsection (10)(e)(iii) of this section: See Appendix B of this section for information regarding medical tests. Laboratory surveillance may include before-and after-shift carboxyhemoglobin determinations, resting ECG, hematocrit, liver function tests and cholesterol levels.)
(iv) Other information or reports. The medical surveillance must also include any other information or reports the physician or other licensed health care professional determines are necessary to assess the employee's health in relation to MC exposure.(f) Content of emergency medical surveillance. The employer must ensure that medical surveillance made available when an employee has been exposed to MC in emergency situations includes, at a minimum: (i) Appropriate emergency treatment and decontamination of the exposed employee;(ii) Comprehensive physical examination with special emphasis on the nervous system, cardiovascular system, lungs, liver and skin, including blood pressure and pulse;(iii) Updated medical and work history, as appropriate for the medical condition of the employee; and(iv) Laboratory surveillance, as indicated by the employee's health status. (Note to subsection (10)(f)(iv) of this section: See Appendix B for examples of tests which may be appropriate.)
(g) Additional examinations and referrals. Where the physician or other licensed health care professional determines it is necessary, the scope of the medical examination must be expanded and the appropriate additional medical surveillance, such as referrals for consultation or examination, shall be provided.(h) Information provided to the physician or other licensed health care professional. The employer must provide the following information to a physician or other licensed health care professional who is involved in the diagnosis of MC-induced health effects: (i) A copy of this section including its applicable appendices;(ii) A description of the affected employee's past, current and anticipated future duties as they relate to the employee's MC exposure;(iii) The employee's former or current exposure levels or, for employees not yet occupationally exposed to MC, the employee's anticipated exposure levels and the frequency and exposure levels anticipated to be associated with emergencies;(iv) A description of any personal protective equipment, such as respirators, used or to be used; and(v) Information from previous employment-related medical surveillance of the affected employee which is not otherwise available to the physician or other licensed health care professional.(i) Written medical opinions. (i) For each physical examination required by this section, the employer must ensure that the physician or other licensed health care professional provides to the employer and to the affected employee a written opinion regarding the results of that examination within fifteen days of completion of the evaluation of medical and laboratory findings, but not more than thirty days after the examination. The written medical opinion must be limited to the following information: (A) The physician's or other licensed health care professional's opinion concerning whether exposure to MC may contribute to or aggravate the employee's existing cardiac, hepatic, neurological (including stroke) or dermal disease or whether the employee has any other medical condition(s) that would place the employee's health at increased risk of material impairment from exposure to MC;(B) Any recommended limitations upon the employee's exposure to MC, removal from MC exposure, or upon the employee's use of protective clothing or equipment and respirators;(C) A statement that the employee has been informed by the physician or other licensed health care professional that MC is a potential occupational carcinogen, of risk factors for heart disease, and the potential for exacerbation of underlying heart disease by exposure to MC through its metabolism to carbon monoxide; and(D) A statement that the employee has been informed by the physician or other licensed health care professional of the results of the medical examination and any medical conditions resulting from MC exposure which require further explanation or treatment.(ii) The employer must instruct the physician or other licensed health care professional not to reveal to the employer, orally or in the written opinion, any specific records, findings, and diagnoses that have no bearing on occupational exposure to MC. (Note to subsection (10)(h)(ii) of this section: The written medical opinion may also include information and opinions generated to comply with other OSHA health standards.)
(j) Medical presumption. For purposes of this subsection (10), the physician or other licensed health care professional must presume, unless medical evidence indicates to the contrary, that a medical condition is unlikely to require medical removal from MC exposure if the employee is not exposed to MC above the eight-hour TWA PEL. If the physician or other licensed health care professional recommends removal for an employee exposed below the eight-hour TWA PEL, the physician or other licensed health care professional must cite specific medical evidence, sufficient to rebut the presumption that exposure below the eight-hour TWA PEL is unlikely to require removal, to support the recommendation. If such evidence is cited by the physician or other licensed health care professional, the employer must remove the employee. If such evidence is not cited by the physician or other licensed health care professional, the employer is not required to remove the employee.(k) Medical removal protection (MRP). (i) Temporary medical removal and return of an employee.(A) Except as provided in (j) of this subsection, when a medical determination recommends removal because the employee's exposure to MC may contribute to or aggravate the employee's existing cardiac, hepatic, neurological (including stroke), or skin disease, the employer must provide medical removal protection benefits to the employee and either: (I) Transfer the employee to comparable work where methylene chloride exposure is below the action level; or(II) Remove the employee from MC exposure.(B) If comparable work is not available and the employer is able to demonstrate that removal and the costs of extending MRP benefits to an additional employee, considering feasibility in relation to the size of the employer's business and the other requirements of this standard, make further reliance on MRP an inappropriate remedy, the employer may retain the additional employee in the existing job until transfer or removal becomes appropriate, provided: (I) The employer ensures that the employee receives additional medical surveillance, including a physical examination at least every sixty days until transfer or removal occurs; and(II) The employer or PLHCP informs the employee of the risk to the employee's health from continued MC exposure.(C) The employer must maintain in effect any job-related protective measures or limitations, other than removal, for as long as a medical determination recommends them to be necessary.(ii) End of MRP benefits and return of the employee to former job status.(A) The employer may cease providing MRP benefits at the earliest of the following: (II) Return of the employee to the employee's former job status following receipt of a medical determination concluding that the employee's exposure to MC no longer will aggravate any cardiac, hepatic, neurological (including stroke), or dermal disease;(III) Receipt of a medical determination concluding that the employee can never return to MC exposure.(B) For the purposes of this subsection (10), the requirement that an employer return an employee to the employee's former job status is not intended to expand upon or restrict any rights an employee has or would have had, absent temporary medical removal, to a specific job classification or position under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement.(l) Medical removal protection benefits. (i) For purposes of this subsection (10), the term medical removal protection benefits means that, for each removal, an employer must maintain for up to six months the earnings, seniority, and other employment rights and benefits of the employee as though the employee had not been removed from MC exposure or transferred to a comparable job.(ii) During the period of time that an employee is removed from exposure to MC, the employer may condition the provision of medical removal protection benefits upon the employee's participation in follow-up medical surveillance made available pursuant to this section.(iii) If a removed employee files a workers' compensation claim for a MC-related disability, the employer must continue the MRP benefits required by this section until either the claim is resolved or the six-month period for payment of MRP benefits has passed, whichever occurs first. To the extent the employee is entitled to indemnity payments for earnings lost during the period of removal, the employer's obligation to provide medical removal protection benefits to the employee shall be reduced by the amount of such indemnity payments.(iv) The employer's obligation to provide medical removal protection benefits to a removed employee must be reduced to the extent that the employee receives compensation for earnings lost during the period of removal from either a publicly or an employer-funded compensation program, or receives income from employment with another employer made possible by virtue of the employee's removal.(m) Voluntary removal or restriction of an employee. Where an employer, although not required by this section to do so, removes an employee from exposure to MC or otherwise places any limitation on an employee due to the effects of MC exposure on the employee's medical condition, the employer must provide medical removal protection benefits to the employee equal to those required by (l) of this subsection.(n) Multiple health care professional review mechanism.(i) If the employer selects the initial physician or licensed health care professional (PLHCP) to conduct any medical examination or consultation provided to an employee under (k) of this subsection, the employer must notify the employee of the right to seek a second medical opinion each time the employer provides the employee with a copy of the written opinion of that PLHCP.(ii) If the employee does not agree with the opinion of the employer-selected PLHCP, notifies the employer of that fact, and takes steps to make an appointment with a second PLHCP within fifteen days of receiving a copy of the written opinion of the initial PLHCP, the employer must pay for the PLHCP chosen by the employee to perform at least the following: (A) Review any findings, determinations or recommendations of the initial PLHCP; and(B) Conduct such examinations, consultations, and laboratory tests as the PLHCP deems necessary to facilitate this review.(iii) If the findings, determinations or recommendations of the second PLHCP differ from those of the initial PLHCP, then the employer and the employee must instruct the two health care professionals to resolve the disagreement.(iv) If the two health care professionals are unable to resolve their disagreement within fifteen days, then those two health care professionals must jointly designate a PLHCP who is a specialist in the field at issue. The employer must pay for the specialist to perform at least the following: (A) Review the findings, determinations, and recommendations of the first two PLHCPs; and(B) Conduct such examinations, consultations, laboratory tests and discussions with the prior PLHCPs as the specialist deems necessary to resolve the disagreements of the prior health care professionals.(v) The written opinion of the specialist must be the definitive medical determination. The employer must act consistent with the definitive medical determination, unless the employer and employee agree that the written opinion of one of the other two PLHCPs shall be the definitive medical determination.(vi) The employer and the employee or authorized employee representative may agree upon the use of any expeditious alternate health care professional determination mechanism in lieu of the multiple health care professional review mechanism provided by this section so long as the alternate mechanism otherwise satisfies the requirements contained in this section.(11) Hazard communication - General. (a) Chemical manufacturers, importers, distributors, and employers must comply with all requirements of the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS), WAC 296-901-140 for MC.(b) In classifying the hazards of MC at least the following hazards are to be addressed: Cancer, cardiac effects (including elevation of carboxyhemoglobin), central nervous system effects, liver effects, and skin and eye irritation.(c) Employers must include MC in the hazard communication program established to comply with the HCS, WAC 296-901-140. Employers must ensure that each employee has access to labels on containers of MC and to safety data sheets, and is trained in accordance with the requirements of HCS and subsection (12) of this section.(12) Employee information and training. (a) The employer must provide information and training for each affected employee prior to or at the time of initial assignment to a job involving potential exposure to MC.(b) The employer must ensure that information and training is presented in a manner that is understandable to the employees.(c) In addition to the information required under the Hazard Communication Standard at WAC 296-901-140: (i) The employer must inform each affected employee of the requirements of this section and information available in its appendices, as well as how to access or obtain a copy of it in the workplace;(ii) Wherever an employee's exposure to airborne concentrations of MC exceeds or can reasonably be expected to exceed the action level, the employer must inform each affected employee of the quantity, location, manner of use, release, and storage of MC and the specific operations in the workplace that could result in exposure to MC, particularly noting where exposures may be above the eight-hour TWA PEL or STEL;(d) The employer must train each affected employee as required under the Hazard Communication Standard at WAC 296-901-140, as appropriate.(e) The employer must retrain each affected employee as necessary to ensure that each employee exposed above the action level or the STEL maintains the requisite understanding of the principles of safe use and handling of MC in the workplace.(f) Whenever there are workplace changes, such as modifications of tasks or procedures or the institution of new tasks or procedures, which increase employee exposure, and where those exposures exceed or can reasonably be expected to exceed the action level, the employer must update the training as necessary to ensure that each affected employee has the requisite proficiency.(g) An employer whose employees are exposed to MC at a multiemployer worksite must notify the other employers with work operations at that site in accordance with the requirements of the Hazard Communication Standard, WAC 296-901-140, as appropriate.(h) The employer must provide to the director, upon request, all available materials relating to employee information and training.(13) Recordkeeping. (a) Objective data. (i) Where an employer seeks to demonstrate that initial monitoring is unnecessary through reasonable reliance on objective data showing that any materials in the workplace containing MC will not release MC at levels which exceed the action level or the STEL under foreseeable conditions of exposure, the employer must establish and maintain an accurate record of the objective data relied upon in support of the exemption.(ii) This record must include at least the following information: (A) The MC-containing material in question;(B) The source of the objective data;(C) The testing protocol, results of testing, and/or analysis of the material for the release of MC;(D) A description of the operation exempted under subsection (4)(b)(i) of this section and how the data support the exemption; and(E) Other data relevant to the operations, materials, processing, or employee exposures covered by the exemption.(iii) The employer must maintain this record for the duration of the employer's reliance upon such objective data.(b) Exposure measurements. (i) The employer must establish and keep an accurate record of all measurements taken to monitor employee exposure to MC as prescribed in subsection (4) of this section.(ii) Where the employer has twenty or more employees, this record must include at least the following information: (A) The date of measurement for each sample taken;(B) The operation involving exposure to MC which is being monitored;(C) Sampling and analytical methods used and evidence of their accuracy;(D) Number, duration, and results of samples taken;(E) Type of personal protective equipment, such as respiratory protective devices, worn, if any; and(F) Name, Social Security number, job classification and exposure of all of the employees represented by monitoring, indicating which employees were actually monitored.(iii) Where the employer has fewer than twenty employees, the record must include at least the following information: (A) The date of measurement for each sample taken;(B) Number, duration, and results of samples taken; and(C) Name, Social Security number, job classification and exposure of all of the employees represented by monitoring, indicating which employees were actually monitored.(iv) The employer must maintain this record for at least thirty (30) years, in accordance with chapter 296-802 WAC.(c) Medical surveillance. (i) The employer must establish and maintain an accurate record for each employee subject to medical surveillance under subsection (10) of this section.(ii) The record must include at least the following information: (A) The name, Social Security number and description of the duties of the employee;(B) Written medical opinions; and(C) Any employee medical conditions related to exposure to MC.(iii) The employer must ensure that this record is maintained for the duration of employment plus thirty years, in accordance with chapter 296-802 WAC.(d) Availability. (i) The employer, upon written request, must make all records required to be maintained by this section available to the director for examination and copying in accordance with chapter 296-802 WAC. (Note to subsection (13)(d)(i) of this section: All records required to be maintained by this section may be kept in the most administratively convenient form (for example, electronic or computer records would satisfy this requirement).)
(ii) The employer, upon request, must make any employee exposure and objective data records required by this section available for examination and copying by affected employees, former employees, and designated representatives in accordance with chapter 296-802 WAC.(iii) The employer, upon request, must make employee medical records required to be kept by this section available for examination and copying by the subject employee and by anyone having the specific written consent of the subject employee in accordance with chapter 296-802 WAC.(e) Transfer of records. The employer must comply with the requirements concerning transfer of records set forth in WAC 296-802-600 Transfer and disposal of employee records.(14) Dates.(a) Engineering controls required under subsection (6)(a) of this section must be implemented according to the following schedule: (i) For employers with fewer than twenty employees, no later than April 10, 2000.(ii) For employers with fewer than one hundred fifty employees engaged in foam fabrication; for employers with fewer than fifty employees engaged in furniture refinishing, general aviation aircraft stripping, and product formulation; for employers with fewer than fifty employees using MC-based adhesives for boat building and repair, recreational vehicle manufacture, van conversion, and upholstering; for employers with fewer than fifty employees using MC in construction work for restoration and preservation of buildings, painting and paint removal, cabinet making and/or floor refinishing and resurfacing, no later than April 10, 2000.(iii) For employers engaged in polyurethane foam manufacturing with twenty or more employees, no later than October 10, 1999.(b) Use of respiratory protection whenever an employee's exposure to MC exceeds or can reasonably be expected to exceed the eight-hour TWA PEL, in accordance with subsections (3)(a), (5)(c), (6)(a) and (7)(a) of this section, must be implemented according to the following schedule: (i) For employers with fewer than one hundred fifty employees engaged in foam fabrication; for employers with fewer than fifty employees engaged in furniture refinishing, general aviation aircraft stripping, and product formulation; for employers with fewer than fifty employees using MC-based adhesives for boat building and repair, recreational vehicle manufacture, van conversion, and upholstering; for employers with fewer than fifty employees using MC in construction work for restoration and preservation of buildings, painting and paint removal, cabinet making and/or floor refinishing and resurfacing, no later than April 10, 2000.(ii) For employers engaged in polyurethane foam manufacturing with twenty or more employees, no later than October 10, 1999.(c) Notification of corrective action under subsection (4)(e)(ii) of this section, no later than ninety days before the compliance date applicable to such corrective action.(d) Transitional dates. The exposure limits for MC specified in WAC 296-307-62610 Table 1, must remain in effect until the start up dates for the exposure limits specified in subsection (14) of this section, or if the exposure limits in this section are stayed or vacated.(e) Unless otherwise specified in this subsection, all other requirements of this section must be complied with immediately.(15) Appendices. The information contained in the appendices does not, by itself, create any additional obligations not otherwise imposed or detract from any existing obligation.Wash. Admin. Code § 296-62-07470
Amended by WSR 14-07-086, filed 3/18/14, effective 5/1/2014Amended by WSR 19-01-094, Filed 12/18/2018, effective 1/18/2019Statutory Authority: RCW 49.17.010, 49.17.040, 49.17.050, 49.17.060. 09-15-145, § 296-62-07470, filed 7/21/09, effective 9/1/09; 07-05-072, § 296-62-07470, filed 2/20/07, effective 4/1/07; 04-10-026, § 296-62-07470, filed 4/27/04, effective 8/1/04. Statutory Authority: RCW 49.17.010,[49.17].040 , and [49.17].050. 01-11-038, § 296-62-07470, filed 5/9/01, effective 9/1/01; 99-10-071, § 296-62-07470, filed 5/4/99, effective 9/1/99. Statutory Authority: RCW 49.17.040, [49.17].050 and [49.17].060. 97-18-062, § 296-62-07470, filed 9/2/97, effective 12/1/97.