The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 emphasizes the need for standards to protect the health and safety of workers exposed to an ever-increasing number of potential hazards at their workplace. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has projected a formal system of research, with priorities determined on the basis of specified indices, to provide relevant data from which valid criteria for effective standards can be derived. Recommended standards for occupational exposure, which are the result of this work, are based on the health effects of exposure. The Secretary of Labor will weigh these recommendations along with other considerations such as feasibility and means of implementation in developing regulatory standards. It is intended to present successive reports as research and epidemiologic studies are completed and as sampling and analytical methods are developed. Criteria and standards will be reviewed periodically to ensure continuing protection of the worker. I am pleased to acknowledge the contributions to this report on phenol by members of my staff and the valuable, constructive comments by the Review Consultants on Phenol, by the ad hoc committees of the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists and the American Academy of Occupational Medicine, and by Robert B. O'Connor, M . D . , NIOSH consultant in occupational medicine. The NIOSH recommendations for standards are not necessarily a consensus of all the consultants and professional societies iii that reviewed this criteria document on phenol. Lists of the NIOSH Review Committee members and of the Review Consultants appear on the following pa g e s .#
Section 2 -Medical Medical surveillance shall be made available as specified below to all employees occupationally exposed to phenol, except that first-aid services shall be provided to any employee who is exposed to phenol by spills, splashes, or other means of skin or eye contact.

# Ca)
Preplacement and periodic medical examinations shall be made available and shall include:
(1) A comprehensive initial or interim work history.
(2) A medical history which shall cover at least any history of preexisting disorders of the skin, respiratory tract, liver, and kidneys.
( (2) Full-length, plastic face shields shall be worn in addition to safety goggles for face protection when working at tasks where contact with phenol is likely.
(3) Eye protection measures and equipment shall conform with the provisions of ANSI Z 87.1-1968.

# (b) Protective Clothing
(1) Employers shall provide and employees shall be required to wear gloves of neoprene, polyethylene, rubber, or other material impervious to phenol when working with phenol.
Employers shall provide and employees shall be required to wear protective sleeves, aprons, jackets, trousers, caps, and shoes when needed for protection from skin contact with phenol. These garments shall be made of a material impervious to phenol.

# Firefighting
(1) Self-contained breathing apparatus with a full facepiece operated in pressure-demand or other positive pressure mode

# Required
Evacuation or escape (no concentration limit)
(1) Self-contained breathing apparatus in demand or pressure-demand mode (negative or positive pressure) (2) Full-face gas mask, front-or backmounted type, with industrial size organic vapor canister Not required (c)

# Respiratory Protection
Respirators may be used for nonroutine operations, evacuation, or emergencies which may involve occasional brief exposures to phenol at concentrations in excess of 20 mg/cu m. Such exposures may occur during the period necessary to install or test required engineering controls or to take protective actions.
Appropriate respirators as described in Table 1-1 may only be used pursuant to the following requirements:
(1) For the purpose of determining the type of respirator to be used, the employer shall measure the airborne phenol concentration in the workplace, initially and thereafter whenever process, worksite, climate, or control changes occur which are likely to increase the airborne concentration of phenol. This requirement does not apply when only positive pressure supplied-air respirators are used.
( (4) The employer shall provide respirators in accordance with Table 1-1 and shall ensure that the employee uses the respirator properly.
(5)  (1) No transfer may be made unless authorized by a responsible supervisor.

# Respiratory protective devices described in
(2) Employees authorized to make transfers shall be fully trained and familiar with the use of equipment and procedures.
(3) Open flames and smoking shall be prohibited in the area during transfer operations.
(4) The tank car or truck shall be electrically grounded and bonded to the transfer line and receiving tank.
(5)    (2) Reproduction and Growth

# Heller and Pursell
 reported the results of controlled oral exposures to phenol, in which 10 groups of rats were allowed 0, 100, 500, 1,000, 3,000, 5,000, 7,000, 8,000, 10,000, and 12,000 ppm phenol in their drinking water. For the groups allowed water containing from 0 to 8.000 ppm phenol, volumes of water consumed were noted and food was analyzed for phenol content. Phenol from food represented a significant fraction of dietary phenol intake, especially in the lower exposure groups.
Growth, fecundity, and general condition were noted for 5 generations of rats in the groups receiving 100, 500, and 1,000 ppm phenol, for 3 generations in the 3,000-and 5,000-ppm groups, for 2 generations in the 7,000-and 8,000-ppm groups, and for 1 year in the 10,000-and 12,000-ppm groups.
All observations were within normal limits in the groups allowed 5.000 ppm or less. The growth of young from the group allowed 7,000 ppm in water was stunted. At concentrations of 8,000 ppm and above, mothers did not provide the ordinary care for their young, and many of the young died.
At 10,000 ppm, the offspring died at birth. At 12,000 ppm, there was no reproduction and, in the summer, the older rats allowed 10,000 or 12,000 ppm died sooner than did controls. Conjugation occurs primarily in the liver,  but it also occurs in the intestine,  kidneys,  spleen, None of the above methods is specific for phenol, and it has been the practice in industrial hygiene to determine "total phenols" or, more accurately, -.hose substances which react with a given reagent rather than to attempt to limit the analysis to phenol. In using such methods, the underlying assumption is that either it is unnecessary to separate phenol derivatives or phenol is the only compound likely to be present.           Spill on lower body, 1 irrigation with warm water for 30 min, followed by swabbing with ethanol for 10 min, followed by repe tition of procedure

# TABLES AND FIGURES

# Apparatus
The sampling unit for the impinger collection method consists of the following components: (1) 50 ml/min (60 psig) nitrogen carrier gas flow.
(2) 65 ml/min (24 psig) hydrogen gas flow to detector.
(3) 500 ml/min (50 psig) air flow to detector.