Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 001 Hazard: CHEMICAL

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970: Employees performing operations related to silkscreening were exposed to airborne concentrations of N-vinyl pyrrolidone that were in excess of the manufacturers recommended exposure level of 0.1 ppm as an 8-hour time weighted average. Exposure to N-vinyl pyrrolidone may cause health effects such as, but not necessarily limited to, benign or malignant tumors of the nasal tissue: (a) The Press Operator working in the Production Area, sampled for a total of 458 minutes on May 21, 1991, was exposed to N-vinyl pyrrolidone at an 8-hour time weighted concentration of .57 ppm, with zero exposure being assumed for the unsampled 22 minute period of time. (b) The Press Operator working in the Production Area, sampled for a total of 461 minutes on May 21, 1991, was exposed to N-vinyl pyrrolidone at an 8-hour time weighted concentration of .67 ppm, with zero exposure being assumed for the unsampled 19 minute period of time. (c) The Die Cutter working in the Die Cutting Area, sampled for a total of 422 minutes on May 21, 1991, was exposed to N-vinyl pyrrolidone at an 8-hour time weighted concentration of .2 ppm, with zero exposure being assumed for the unsampled 58 minute period of time. (d) The Die Cutter working in the Die Cutting Area, sampled for a total of 456 minutes on May 21, 1991, was exposed to N-vinyl pyrrolidone at an 8-hour time weighted concentration of .33 ppm, with zero exposure being assumed for the unsampled 24 minute period of time. (e) The Carosel Operator working in the Production Area, sampled for a total of 456 minutes on May 21, 1991, was exposed to N-vinyl pyrrolidone at an 8-hour time weighted concentration of .44 ppm, with zero exposure being assumed for the unsampled 24 minute period of time. (f) The Screen Washer Lead working in the Screen Washing Dept., sampled for a total of 427 minutes on June 12, 1991, was exposed to N-vinyl pyrrolidone at an 8-hour time weighted concentration of .28 ppm, with zero exposure being assumed for the unsampled 53 minute period of time. (g) The Screen Washer working in the Screen Washing Dept., sampled for a total of 470 minutes on June 12, 1991, was exposed to N-vinyl pyrrolidone at an 8-hour time weighted concentration of .31 ppm, with zero exposure being assumed for the unsampled 10 minute period of time. (h) The Screen Washer working in the Screen Washing Dept., sampled for a total of 463 minutes on June 12, 1991, was exposed to N-vinyl pyrrolidone at an 8-hour time weighted concentration of .44 ppm, with zero exposure being assumed for the unsampled 17 minute period of time. (i) The Screen Washer working in the Screen Washing Dept., sampled for a total of 459 minutes on June 12, 1991, was exposed to N-vinyl pyrrolidone at an 8-hour time weighted concentration of .14 ppm, with zero exposure being assumed for the unsampled 21 minute period of time. Feasible means of control for this hazard include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following: 1. Substitution to inks which do not contain N-vinyl pyrrolidone. 2. Installation of local exhaust ventilation, at the source(s) of N-vinyl pyrrolidone air contaminant generation. 3. Increase levels of dillution ventilation. Note that the employer, based upon superior knowledge of the operation and working conditions, is responsible for the selection and implementation of control measures to abate this hazard in accordance with the following abatement schedule: STEP 1: Effective respiratory protection shall be provided and used by exposed employees as an interim protective measure until feasible engineering controls can be implemented, or whenever such controls fail to reduce employee exposure to within the manu- facturer's recommended exposure limit. STEP 2: Submit to the District Supervisor a written, detailed plan of abatement, outlining a schedule for the implementation of engineering measures, to control employee exposure to hazardous substances as referenced in this citation. This plan shall include, at a minimum, the target dates for the following actions: 1. Evaluation of engineering control options; 2. Selection of optimum control methods and completion of design; 3. Procurement, installation and operation of selected control measures; 4. Testing and acceptance or modification/redesign of control measures; 5. Abatement shall have been completed by the implementation of feasible engineering controls, upon verification of their effectiveness at achieving compliance.