What is MIOSHA?

• Michigan Occupational Safety and Health

Act (P.A. 154 of 1974, as amended)
• Allows enforcement of occupational safety
and health regulations at the state level
versus the federal level (OSHA)
 Definition - “employee”
• “A person permitted to work by an employer”
• Definition of an employee includes:
• volunteers
• students
• interns
• temporary help
 Employer’s
Responsibilities
• Furnish to each employee a workplace that is
free from recognized hazards that are causing, or
likely to cause, death or serious physical harm
• Comply with standards, regulations and orders
issued pursuant to the Act
• Keep employees informed of their protections
and obligations under the Act including
applicable rules and standards
• Provide PPE at employer’s expense when
required by a standard
 Employee’s
Responsibilities
• Comply with standards and regulations
covered under MIOSHA
• Never remove, displace, damage, destroy or
carry off a safeguard furnished or provided for
use in the workplace
• Cannot interfere in any way with the use of a
safeguard by another person
 Other Provisions Under
MIOSHA
• Employer/Employee participation in compliance
inspections/investigations
• Inspections: survey to detect presence of hazards
and compliance with Act
• Investigations: detailed evaluation of working
conditions
• Discrimination
• Imminent danger
 Other Provisions Under
MIOSHA
• Notification of fatality or catastrophe
• Within 8 hours
• 1 fatality or 3 or more hospitalizations from same
incident
• Recordkeeping
• Variances
• Permanent
• Temporary
 Inspection Procedures
• Opening conference
• Programs
• I&I log (Forms 300, 300A,
301)
• Hazard Communication
• MIOSHA poster
• Others (i.e., respirator)
• Walk-through of facility MIOSHA Website to
• Sampling find I&I forms:
www.michigan.gov/cis
• Ventilation Check /0,1607,7-154-
• Closing conference 11407_30929---,00.ht
• Report sent ml
Health Hazards of
Abrasive Blasting
• Silica
• Noise
• Metals
• Mechanical
 What is Silica?
• “Crystalline Silica” and “Quartz” refer to the
same thing
• 2nd most common mineral in the earth’s crust
• Major component of sand, rock, granite and
mineral ore
• Toxic and less/nontoxic forms
 Types of Silica
NON/LESS TOXIC
TOXIC Silica, Amorphous
Silica, Crystalline
(as dust) Trade Names
Trade Names  Diatomaceous earth

 Cristobalite
 Diatomaceous silica
 Tridymite
 Diatomite
 Tripoli
 Silica Gel
 Quartz
 Silicon Dioxide
Common-Sandblasters (amorphous)
 What is Abrasive
Blasting?
• Operations where an abrasive is forcibly applied
to a surface by pneumatic or hydraulic pressure
or by centrifugal force.
• Does not apply to steam blasting or steam cleaning or
hydraulic-cleaning methods where work is done
without the aid of abrasives
• Frequently used for:
• cleaning sand from foundry castings
• cleaning and removing paint from metal surfaces
• finishing tombstones
• etching and frosting glass
 What is Silicosis?
• Lung disease
• disabling
• nonreversible
• sometimes fatal
• Cause: Inhalation of respirable crystalline
silica
• 1+ million American workers exposed/year
• 250+ Americans will die with silicosis
• No cure!
 Who Is At Risk?
• Blasters using silica sand as an abrasive
• Blasters without adequate protection
• Workers near the blast areas
• cleaners
• pot tenders
• painters
• Silicosis is preventable if employers and
employees work together to reduce exposures
 Why & What We Breathe

Inhalation and Exhalation

• Oxygen/Carbon Dioxide Exchange
• Air & Particulates
• Small fraction of inhaled particles are deposited
• Remainder are exhaled or removed
• Particle size determines what stays in the lung
 Respirable Dust
• Less than 10 microns (µ)
diameter
• WHAT’S A MICRON?
• 1/24,000 of an inch
• Human Hair
• 40 - 150 microns in diameter
• Respirable Silica that
causes Silicosis:
• 0.2-5.0 (µ)
 Your Bronchial Tree
• Resembles the
Branches on a Tree
• Divided into Smaller
and Smaller Branches
• Bronchi
• Bronchioles

• Business End
• Alveoli
 How Does Exposure
Occur?
• During blasting, silica sand fractures into very
fine particles and becomes airborne
• Particles and dusts are inhaled and, if small
enough, become imbedded in the lungs
 Disease Process
• Silica particles enter the alveoli and become
trapped
• Macrophages (white blood cells) try to “eat”
and remove the silica from the lung
• Silica causes macrophage cells to break and
release material into lung tissue which causes
scarring (fibrosis)
• Scarring develops & grows around silica
particles causing (nodules) to form
 What are the Health
Effects?
• Early stages, may not notice any health
effects
• As condition worsens, nodules become
larger, making breathing more difficult
• Lungs can’t get enough oxygen from the air
• may die from suffocation
• May be complicated by tuberculosis
 Forms of Silicosis
• ACUTE

• CHRONIC
• Simple
• Complicated
• Accelerated
 Acute Silicosis
• Symptoms develop within a few weeks to
4-5 years after initial exposure
• Very high exposure concentrations
• Fluid accumulations in lungs
 Chronic Silicosis
• Simple  10+ years of exposure
 relatively low exposure

• Complicated  10+ years of exposure

 relatively low exposure

• Accelerated  Symptoms develop 5-10

years after exposure
 moderate exposure
 Chronic Silicosis
• Simple Silicosis • Complicated Silicosis
• Nodules in upper lungs • Nodules in lungs
• Nodules are small • Nodules are large
• No symptoms • Symptoms
• Secondary disease
• Accelerated Silicosis
• Nodule formation
similar to simple
• Symptoms similar to
simple or complicated
 Symptoms
• Dry or productive • Secondary disease
cough • TB
• Breathlessness • Respiratory failure
• Loss of appetite • Congestive heart
failure
• Pain in chest
• Malaise
• Weight loss
 Tuberculosis
• Silica affects the cells that control TB
infection (macrophages)
• People with chronic silicosis more likely to
get TB infections
• Symptoms:
• Coughing up blood
• Fever
• Shortness of breath
 Carcinogenicity
• Respirable crystalline silica has been
classified as a Group I “known human
carcinogen”
• Lung Cancer
• Silica exposure linked to:
• Stomach Cancer
• Skin Cancer
• Lymphatic Cancer
 Lung Cancer
International Agency for Research on Cancer
(IARC) has classified respirable
crystalline silica:

KNOWN CANCER CAUSING

AGENT
• Lung Cancer
• Symptoms:
 Coughing up blood
 Chest Pain
 Shortness of breath
 Diagnosis
• Occupational work
history
• Symptoms
• Chest X-ray
• Pulmonary function
test
 Medical Exams

• Baseline and every 3 years

• Medical and occupational history
• Chest X-ray
• Pulmonary function test
• TB skin test
 NO CURE
• Only secondary
complications treated
• TB
• Respiratory Failure
• Lung Cancer
• Heart Disease
 Occupational Disease
Report
• Within 10 days
• All known or suspected occupational disease
• Employer, physician, clinic, hospital
• Annual summary
• MIOSHA-MTSD-51 form
• MIOSHA Website to find Occupation Disease
Report Form: www.michigan.gov/cis/0,1607,7-
154-11407_30929---,00.html
 Noise
• Noise: Unwanted sound
• When noise exposure is too intense or
prolonged, may cause harmful effects:
• Temporary or permanent hearing loss
• Fatigue, irritability, tension, circulatory effects
• May not be able to hear warning signals
 Noise Rules
 Exposure Monitoring
PEL = 90 dBA
AL = 85 dBA
• Hose noise must be monitored
• If above PEL, engineering or administrative
controls must be implemented
• Seek out quieter equipment
 Audiometric Testing

• If above AL (action level)

• Qualified personnel
• Baseline
• Annual - Standard
Threshold Shift (STS)
 Hearing Protection
• Mandatory
• Selection (formable plugs, premolded plugs, ear muffs)
• Noise Reduction Rating (NRR)
• Amount of decibels that a given device will reduce noise
exposure
Protected dBA=Unprotected dBA-[NRR-7]
Example:
 Unprotected Workplace Exposure dBA = 95
 Ear protection NRR = 19
 Protected dBA=95 – [19-7] = 95 – [12]
 Protected dBA = 83
 Metals
• Lead
• Long term exposure may result in damage to your
nervous system, reproductive system, kidneys and
blood forming system
• Cadmium
• Long term exposure may result in kidney damage,
increased risk of prostate and lung cancer
• Inorganic arsenic
• Skin irritant, damage to your nervous system, liver
and may cause lung cancer
 Mechanical Hazards
• Media ricochet
• Being shot by another blaster
• Jammed hose
Preventing Silicosis
& Deaths From
Sandblasting
 What Precautions Can
Reduce The Risk?
• Substitute Alternative Blasting Medias
• aluminum oxide
• coal slag (watch out for arsenic)
• steel shot and grit (low toxicity)
• plastic media
• corn cob
• garnet
• glass beads
• copper slag (watch out for arsenic)
• specular hematite (low toxicity)
 What Precautions Can
Reduce The Risk?
 Post Warning signs to  Worker Training should
mark areas contaminated include information on
with crystalline silica health effects, work
 Provide Medical practices, and protective
Examinations, including equipment for silica
periodic x-rays, to all  Report All Cases of
potentially exposed Silicosis to the State on
employees MIOSHA-MTSD-51 form
(blue form)
 What Precautions Can
Reduce The Risk?
 Conduct Air Monitoring  Blast In Automatic Blast
to measure worker Cleaning Machines or
exposure Cabinets when possible,
 Use Proper Respiratory permitting workers to
Equipment when operate the machinery
exposures cannot be kept from outside
below the NIOSH  Maintain Dust Control
Recommended Exposure Systems to make sure
Limit (REL) they are working properly
 What Precautions Can
Reduce The Risk?
 Practice Good Personal  Park Cars where they
Hygiene. Workers should will not be contaminated
wash their hands and face with overspray
before eating, drinking or  No Food, Drink or
smoking Tobacco in blasting area
 Wear Disposable Clothes
 Shower and Change
Clothes before leaving the
worksite
 Respiratory Protection
• How to:
• Determine whether a respirator is necessary
• Select an appropriate respirator
• Determine whether a respirator fits properly
• Occupational Health Standard, Respiratory
Protection, Part 451
• Occupational Health Standard, Abrasive
Blasting, Part 523
 When Do You Use
Respiratory Protection?
• PEL exceeded
• IDLH/Oxygen deficiency
• Engineering controls not feasible
• Administrative controls not feasible
 WHAT IS PEL?
• Permissible Exposure Limit
• OSHA PEL (respirable fraction)

10 mg/m3
% SiO2 + 2

• PEL varies by % crystalline silica

 Abrasive Blasting
• Engineering controls
• enclosures
• containment
• ventilation
• Typically do not control exposures to below the
PEL of crystalline silica
• Respiratory protection is necessary
 Abrasive Blasting
(Part 523)

• Only approved respirators may be used

•
Employees must wear abrasive-blasting respirators when:
• Working inside blast-cleaning rooms
• Using silica sand in manual blasting operations where
operator is not physically separated from blasting operation
• When above PEL and operator not physically separated
from blasting operation
•
Employees should wear respirators:
• During clean-up operations
 NIOSH Table
• National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health (NIOSH)
• Specifies:
• Type of respirator to be worn at different
concentrations of silica exposure
• Based on the assigned protection factors (APF) of
the different types of respirators
 Respirator APF
• Assigned Protection Factor (APF):
• The workplace level of respiratory
protection that a respirator or class of
respirators is expected to provide to
employees when the employer
implements a continuing, effective
respiratory protection program
 Respirator MUC
 Maximum Use Concentration:
– The maximum atmospheric concentration of a hazardous
substance from which an employee can be expected to be
protected when wearing a respirator, and is determined by
the APF of the respirator or class of respirators and the
exposure limit of the hazardous substance.
– Determined mathematically by multiplying the APF
specified for a respirator by the required OSHA PEL, short-
term exposure limit, or ceiling limit. When no OSHA
exposure limit is available for a hazardous substance, an
employer must determine an MUC on the basis of relevant
available information and informed professional judgment.
 NIOSH Approved Abrasive
Blasting Respirators
• Continuous flow, loose hood, APF = 25
• Continuous flow, tight-fitting facepiece, APF = 50
• Positive Pressure, tight-fitting half-mask
facepiece, APF = 1000
• Pressure demand or positive pressure, tight-fitting
full facepiece, APF = 2000

Respirator User Notice 10/4/93

Respirator APF

1910.134(d)(3)(1)(A)
 Notes for Table 1
 1
Employers may select respirators assigned for use in
higher workplace concentrations of a hazardous
substance for use at lower concentrations of that
substance, or when required respirator use is
independent of concentration.
 2
The assigned protection factors in Table 1 are only
effective when the employer implements a continuing,
effective respirator program as required by this section
(29 CFR 1910.134), including training, fit testing,
maintenance, and use requirements.
 Notes for Table 1
 3
This APF category includes filtering facepieces, and
half masks with elastomeric facepieces.
 4
The employer must have evidence provided by the
respirator manufacturer that testing of these respirators
demonstrates performance at a level of protection of
1,000 or greater to receive an APF of 1,000. This level
of performance can best be demonstrated by
performing a WPF or SWPF study or equivalent
testing. Absent such testing, all other PAPRs and SARs
with helmets/hoods are to be treated as loose-fitting
facepiece respirators, and receive an APF of 25.
 Notes for Table 1
 5 These APFs do not apply to respirators
used solely for escape. For escape
respirators used in association with specific
substances covered by 29 CFR 1910
subpart Z, employers must refer to the
appropriate substance-specific standards in
that subpart. Escape respirators for other
IDLH atmospheres are specified by 29 CFR
1910.134 (d)(2)(ii).
 Medical Exams
• Consists of medical questionnaire
• PLHCP reviews questionnaire, recommends
follow-up examination if medically
necessary
• Frequency of medical evaluations (after
initial assessment) is event-related instead of
time-related
 Medical Evaluations
• Required:
• When wearing a tight-fitting facepiece respirator
• Prior to fit-test and before first use
• PLHCP determines:
• Tests in the followup medical exam
• Restrictions
 Respirator Fit Testing
• Type CE Abrasive Blasting Respirators
(hoods, helmets) DO NOT need to be fit
tested
• Negative or positive pressure tight-fitting
facepiece respirators MUST be fit tested
• Different sizes and models
• Pick size/model to fit person’s face
• Types of fit tests:
• Qualitative
• Quantitative
 Fit Test Protocol
• Individual wears respirator
• Series of exercises
• Test atmosphere
• Recommended protocol - Appendix A of the
Respiratory Protection Standard
 Types of Fit Tests
• Qualitative:
• Test agent directed around the head of the
respirator wearer
• If user can detect agent, test is failed
• Quantitative:
• Test atmosphere
• Quantifies respirator fit using instrumentation
to determine the amount of leakage into the
respirator facepiece
 Fit Tests
Qualitative Fit Test Quantitative Fit Test
• Banana oil • Expensive machinery
• Irritant smoke • Fit Factors
• Saccharin challenge • Outside to inside
concentration
• Bitrex solution

Standard prohibits facial hair which interferes

with face - to - facepiece seal or valve function
 User Seal Checks
• Assures a proper fit
• Face to facepiece seal
• Recommended protocols in Appendix B-1 of
Respirator Standard
• User Seal Check
• Positive pressure check
• Negative pressure check
• Not a substitute for Fit Testing
 Maintenance & Care
• Clean and disinfect as often as necessary to
maintain a sanitary condition
• Inspect before and after each use and after
cleaning
• Store away from heat, cold, light, moisture,
dusts and chemicals
• See Appendix B-2 of 1910.134
 Written Respiratory
Protection Program
• Standard Operating Procedures
• Respirator Selection
• Medical Evaluations
• Fit Testing
• Proper use (emergency)
• Maintenance Program
• Respirator air supply monitoring
• Employee Training
• Respiratory Hazards
• Proper use of Respirator
• Program Evaluation
 Respirator Training
• Initial
• Competent person
• Topics
• Selection
• Use and limits
• Maintenance
• How to wear
• Good fit
• Medical signs & symptoms
 Compressors
• Locate so contaminated air cannot enter
• Low moisture content
• Inline air-purifying sorbent bed & filter
maintained
• Tag showing maintenance kept at
compressor
• Pressure reducing valve
 Compressors
• Oil Lubricated
• Alarm for overheating
• CO monitor
• or both

• Non oil lubricated

• Assure CO not more than 10 ppm
 Personal Protective
Equipment
• Hazard Assessment
• Selection
• Communication
• Fit
• Safe, reliable, & sanitary
• Clean, inspect & maintain
• MUST NOT use defective or damaged PPE
 Hazard Assessment
• Written Certification (General Industry)
• Workplace assessed
• Certifier
• Date of workplace hazard assessment
• Major hazard: IMPACT of the ricocheting
abrasive media while blasting
PPE for Abrasive Blasters
• Disposable or washable work clothes
• Heavy canvas or leather gloves
• Heavy canvas or leather apron
• Protective head, neck and shoulder gear
• Safety shoes
• Respirator
 Protective Clothing
• Employees leave at worksite
• Dispose or employer launders
 PPE Training
• When, why and what
• How to wear
• Limitations
• Care and Maintenance
• Disposal
• Certify with
• employee’s name
• date of training
• subject of training
 PPE Training

• Retraining required when:

• Workplace changes makes previous training
obsolete
• PPE changes makes previous training obsolete
• Employee knowledge or use of PPE indicates
retraining needed
 Conclusion
• Hazard Assessment • Head, neck &
• Training shoulder protection
• Hand protection
• Body protection
• Hearing protection
• Safety shoes
• Respirator
 Personal Hygiene
• Shower after work
• Wash hands & face before eating,
drinking or smoking
• No food, drink or tobacco in blast area
• Park cars away from area
• Vacuum clothing using a vacuum
equipped with a HEPA filter
 Housekeeping

• Clean up dust promptly

• Vacuum surfaces with HEPA filter
• DO NOT dry sweep
• DO NOT use compressed air for
cleaning surfaces or clothing
 Awareness
Planning
Prevent

Silicosis