Recently, OSHA announced two new tools designed to help employers protect their workers from exposure to hazardous chemicals.
The first tool helps employers identify safer chemicals and the second is a web resource called the “Annotated Permissible Exposure Limits,” or annotated PEL tables, which OSHA says will enable employers to voluntarily adopt newer, more protective workplace exposure limits.
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While use of the tools is voluntary, OSHA strongly urges businesses to adopt these measures because many of its exposure limits are outdated and do not adequately protect workers.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the first of OSHA’s new tools, an online guide titled Transitioning to Safer Chemicals: A Toolkit for Employers and Workers. Tomorrow, we’ll tell you more about the annotated PEL tables and how to access them.
7-Step Process
The safer chemicals toolkit, based around the concept of “informed substitution,” is designed to help employers eliminate or reduce hazardous chemical usage through substitution of safer alternatives, changes to work practices, and other methods. OSHA intends the toolkit to be used as a resource both for businesses looking to improve chemical safety and for workers who wish to better understand chemical use.
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At the core of the toolkit is a seven-step process for evaluating current chemical use, considering alternatives, implementing substitutions, and monitoring the outcome. For each step, OSHA provides detailed information and resources to assist employers, including searchable databases of hazardous chemicals and alternatives, case studies, and risk assessment tools.
The seven steps of the process are:
1. Engage. At this step, employers should form a team to develop a plan for transitioning to safer chemical use. Issues to discuss include worker involvement, goals, and scope of the plan. OSHA recommends involving workers who perform a variety of functions across the organization in order to include a range of perspectives and experiences.
2. Inventory and prioritize. After developing a plan, employers should examine their current chemical use. What chemicals currently in use could be hazardous to workers? What functions do these chemicals perform, and are the chemicals essential? After gaining a good understanding of current chemical use and hazards, employers can set priorities by considering where the most serious hazards exist and the potential for a chemical or process change to improve workplace safety and health.
3. Identify alternatives. This step is about identifying alternatives with the potential to enhance worker safety. Employers should consider not only chemical substitutions but also changes to processes, design, technology, or materials that could lead to reduced exposure to hazardous chemicals.
4. Assess and compare alternatives. After identifying alternatives to the chemicals in use, employers should compare those that seem most promising on dimensions like price, performance, and safety. It’s important to ensure that one chemical hazard isn’t simply being replaced with another, so employers should make sure they fully understand any hazards of potential replacement chemicals and how they compare to current hazards.
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5. Select a safer alternative. Based on the information they’ve gathered, employers can now choose a chemical or process change to adopt. Worker input during this stage can be helpful in weighing the advantages and disadvantages of various alternatives. Once a decision is made, employers should make sure to communicate it to all affected parties and develop a plan for implementation of the new method and/or chemical. When selecting a replacement chemical that comes with potential hazards of its own, those who will be exposed to it will need to be trained according to OSHA’s hazard communication standard.
6. Test the alternative. Employers should begin by using the new process and/or chemical on a small scale in order to evaluate its performance, safety, and other key factors before making a larger commitment to the change.
7. Implement and evaluate the alternative. Employers should create a plan to implement the new chemical or process on a larger scale and communicate it to those who will be involved, making sure to consider any necessary organizational or technological changes. Once the alternative is fully implemented, continuing evaluate its performance in the workplace is important. Does the alternative meet expectations for safety, performance, and other key factors? How do workers feel about the changes? Finally, companies shouldn’t stop evaluating their chemical use after successfully making one transition. Rather, they should keep informed about the new and constantly evolving methods, chemicals, and other innovations that can improve worker safety.
For more information about the safer chemicals toolkit, click here.