Washington Administrative Code › Title 296 - Labor and Industries, Department of › Chapter 296-62 - General occupational health standards › Part G - CARCINOGENS (SPECIFIC) › Section 296-62-07470 - Methylene chloride

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
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.