Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 006 Hazard:

29 CFR 1910.134(d)(1)(iii): The employer did not identify and evaluate the respiratory hazard(s) in the workplace; including a reasonable estimate of employee exposures to respiratory hazards and identification of the contaminant's chemical state and physical form: On or about the period between November 27, 2017 and December 12, 2017 the employer did not evaluate the employee's exposure to airborne particulates during work activities: a) Abrasive blasting activities-the employer did not evaluate sandblaster's exposure to respirable particulate matter. 1. An employee engaged in abrasive blasting activities on December 12, 2017 was exposed to particles not otherwise regulated respriable fraction as an 8 hour time weighted average of 14.71 mg/m3, approximately 2.9 times the permissible exposure limit of 5.0 mg/m3; this limit was established to prevent adverse health effects. The abrasive blaster used virgin coal slag to abrasive blast media to blast various pieces of metal. The exposure level was derived from three samples collected over 278 minutes, the remaining 202 minutes was calculated as zero (0) exposure time. 2. An employee engaged in abrasive blasting activities on December 12, 2017 was exposed to particles not otherwise regulated respriable fraction as an 8 hour time weighted average of 13.82 mg/m3, approximately 2.7 times the permissible exposure limit of 5.0 mg/m3; this limit was established to prevent adverse health effects. The abrasive blaster used virgin coal slag to abrasive blast media to blast various pieces of metal. The exposure level was derived from three samples collected over 274 minutes, the remaining 206 minutes was calculated as zero (0) exposure time. b) Cleanup activities-the employer did not evaluate employees total dust particulate matter during the cleanup of abrasive blasting room. The employees used a skid loader the abrasive blast room.