Working Safely with Paint—By the Numbers

The chemicals that help make paint flow, set, and dry effectively, or that make painted surfaces smooth or durable, can create health and safety problems that can have a dangerous impact on your workplace and your employees.

1. General Paint Safety Guidelines

While each paint’s ingredients determine its specific hazards and precautions, these protective measures are generally recommended.

•   Wear protective clothing that covers as much of the skin as possible, including gloves that resist the ingredients in the specific paint. Be sure the clothes fit snugly enough to actually prevent contact.
•   Wear safety glasses, goggles, or face shields to protect the eyes and face.
•   Use protective skin creams if they are recommended for the ingredients in the paint being used.
•   Ventilate the painting area to reduce the possibility of inhaling hazardous vapors and gases and to prevent fires.
•   Wear a respirator if required. Work in a paint spray booth always requires a respirator, but a respirator may also be called for if ventilation is inadequate for other painting tasks.
•   Use water-based, rather than oil-based, paint whenever possible.
•   Don’t mix paint with other substances–even water–unless the MSDS says there is no risk of reactivity.
•   Keep paints away from ignition sources–and never smoke in areas where paint is used or stored.
•   Keep paint containers closed and tightly sealed when not in use.
•   Don’t store paint near ignition sources or incompatible materials, or in areas that are either very hot or very cold.

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2. Proper Cleanup Counts

It’s important for employees to play it safe after, as well as during, a painting job. Paint that gets on the skin should be removed promptly and thoroughly with soap and water or in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations. Oil-based soaps can help keep the skin from drying.

Emphasize that workers should never use solvents or thinners to remove paint from their bodies. Solvents not only remove essential fats and oils from the skin, they can also penetrate the skin and create irritations, increasing the risk of infection and other health problems.

Direct workers to contain and clean up paint spills immediately, following MSDS-recommended procedures and your work rules. Also, paint cans should be closed and tightly sealed, with label information visible, before storage. Empty paint cans should be disposed of promptly in the proper receptacles.

3. In Case of Exposure

Finally, make workers aware of what to do if they are exposed to paint containing hazards:

•   Inhalation. Get to fresh air immediately. Give oxygen or artificial respiration if needed.
•   Skin contact. Remove contaminated clothing and wash with soap and water.
•   Eye contact. Flush eyes with warm water for at least 15 minutes.  Get immediate medical attention.

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Ready-Made Checklists 

This kind of actionable advice is only a sampling of the materials Safety Audit Checklists provides in its section on paint safety. You also get a 22-point compliance checklist highlighting key provisions of OSHA’s spray finishing standard and a second checklist with important paint safety information that can be circulated to supervisors and posted for employees. All told, this best-selling program provides you with more than 300 separate safety checklists keyed to three main criteria:

•   OSHA compliance checklists, built right from the government standards in such key areas as HazCom, lockout/tagout, electrical safety, and many more.
•   “Plaintiff attorney” checklists, built around those non-OSHA issues that often attract lawsuits.
•   Safety management checklists that monitor the administrative procedures you need to have for topics such as OSHA 300 Log maintenance, training program scheduling and recording, and OSHA-required employee notifications. 

Make as many copies as you need for all your supervisors and managers, and distribute. What’s more, the entire program is updated annually. And the cost averages only about $1 per checklist.

If this method of ensuring a safer, more OSHA-compliant workplace interests you, we’ll be happy to make Safety Audit Checklists available for a no-cost, no-obligation, 30-day evaluation in your office. Just let us know, and we’ll be pleased to arrange it.

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