249955
An integrated approach to worker health and safety in the metal recycling industry
Art Wickman, MS, CIH
,
Occupational Safety and Health Program, Georgia Tech Research Institute, Atlanta, GA
Robert Hendry
,
Occupational Safety and Health Program, Georgia Tech Research Institute, Atlanta, GA
Jenny Leigh Houlroyd, MSPH
,
Ga Tech Occupational Safety and Health Program, Georgia Tech Research Institute, Atlanta, GA
Kristen Butler, MPH
,
Ga Tech Occupational Safety and Health Program, Georgia Tech Research Institute, Atlanta, GA
Hilarie L. Schubert, MPH
,
Health Sciences Branch, Georgia Tech Research Institute, Atlanta, GA
Michelle L. Dunham, MSPH, MSM
,
Ga Tech Occupational Safety and Health Program, Georgia Tech Research Institute, Atlanta, GA
Vicki Ainslie
,
Ga Tech Occupational Safety and Health Program, Georgia Tech Research Institute, Atlanta, GA
The recycling of metals is an important business in the US, annually processing 60 million metric tons of metal, generating revenues of $84 billion, and employing approximately 100,000 workers. Workers in this industry perform a critically important role in both the economic and the environmental health of our country. However, these workers also face serious safety and health challenges as they carry out their work. Primary among these workplace hazards are exposures to toxic metals, including lead, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, arsenic, manganese, beryllium, and mercury. These hazards do not come packaged with labels, hazard warnings, and MSDSs. Rather, workers on a daily basis face irregular and unquantified exposures to known toxins. In addition to metal toxins, workers are exposed to high noise levels, compressed gases, machine hazards, confined spaces, and the risk of ionizing radiation. Using industrial hygiene sampling results for airborne exposure and wipe sampling results for settled metal dust, this presentation will discuss several case studies of metal recycling facilities conducted by the Georgia Tech Research Institute's Safety and Health Consultation Program. The study will examine the limitations of worker protection afforded by current OSHA standards and how these standards are challenged to encompass the dynamic nature of the exposures faced by these workers. As an alternative, the study will present an approach to worker health and safety that provides a more comprehensive program for protecting workers. The study will present an integrated approach to combining the medical monitoring provisions applicable to the various toxic metals.
Learning Areas:
Occupational health and safety
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines
Learning Objectives: Evaluate current OSHA standards for toxic metals
Identify techniques to overcome weaknesses in OSHA standards
Assess industrial hygiene data pertaining to metal recyclers
Keywords: Occupational Health, Workplace Safety
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am Certified by the American Board of Industrial Hygiene, am the head of the Health Science Branch Industrial Hygiene program at GTRI, have an MS degree in industrial hygiene, and 20 years of professional experience in industrial hygiene
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines,
and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed
in my presentation.
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