OSHA Instruction TED 3.7 SEP 9 1986 Office of Consultation Programs

Subject: Consultation for Wood Treatment Operations Utilizing Inorganic Compounds

A. Purpose. This instruction established the policy and procedures for assisting employers in complying with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirements governing exposures to inorganic arsenic in wood treatment operations.

B. Scope. This instruction applies OSHA-wide.

C. References.

1. EPA Federal Register Notice of January 10, 1986, (51 FR 1334) Creosote, Pentachlorophenol, and Inorganic Arsenicals; Amendment of Notice of Intent to Cancel Registrations. (Excerpt provided as Appendix A.)

2. OSHA Standard for Occupational Exposure to Inorganic Arsenic, 29 CFR 1910.1018 (for information and guidance only).

3. OSHA Instruction CPL 2-2.22, 29 CFR 1910.1018, Inspection and Compliance Procedures for the Permanent Occupational Exposure Standard for Inorganic Arsenic Compounds, January 2, 1979 (for information and guidance only).

4. OSHA Instruction CPL 2-2.20A, Industrial Hygiene Technical Manual, March 30, 1984.

5. OSHA Instruction CPL 2.45A, Revised Field Operations Manual (FOM), April 18, 1983.

6. OSHA Consultation Agreements, 29 CFR 1908.

D. Action. Regional Administrators shall ensure that the policy and procedures established in this instruction are understood and followed by 7(c)(1) Consultation Projects.

E. Federal Program Change. This instruction describes a Federal program change which affects State Programs providing private sector consultation services under 23(g) grants. Each Regional Administrator shall:

1. Ensure that this change is promptly forwarded to each State Designee.

2. Explain the technical content of this change to the State Designee as requested.

3. Ensure that each State designee acknowledges receipt of this Federal program change in writing, within 30 days of notification, to the Regional Administrator. This acknowledgment should include a description either of the State's plan to implement the change or of the reasons why the change should not apply to that state.

4. Advise the State designee that the State's acknowledgment should address the fact that State Plan States, unlike Federal OSHA, are not limited by section 4(b)(1) of the Federal Act. A State whose State plan legislation does not contain a State restriction similar to Federal 4(b)(1) can potentially apply its inorganic arsenic standard to wood treatment operations, which would of course, affect the advice rendered by consultations in that State.

a. If a State intends to apply its State plan inorganic arsenic standard to wood treatment operations instead of deferring to the EPA requirements governing employee exposure to inorganic arsenic, it shall follow its established procedures under the State plan, making referrals to its enforcement operation as appropriate.

b. If a State intends to defer to the EPA requirements instead of applying its State plan inorganic arsenic standard to wood treatment operations, procedural arrangements should be established between the State and Region for making the enforcement referrals to EPA.

5. Routine monitoring activities shall be used to determine if this change has been implemented by actual performance.

F. Background.

1. EPA is exercising authority over the exposure of employees to pesticides in their application, including the preservative treatment of wood with inorganic arsenicals. The OSHA Standard for Occupational Exposure to Inorganic Arsenic (29 CFR 1910.1018) does not apply to such exposures.

2. EPA controls the use of arsenicals in wood preservation by registration and labeling requirements established under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act. The sale and use of inorganic arsenicals for wood preservation is restricted to certified applicators (wood treatment establishments) or persons under their direct supervision and the uses are limited to those uses covered by the certification.

4. Compliance with the new requirements by wood treatment establishments using products carrying the new label, has been required since July 10, 1986, except for new operations, which must be in compliance no later than 3 months after beginning operations. Under the "Existing Stocks Provision", manufacturers to ensure that all stocks in the Marketplace carry the new label. There is no provision to require that labeling be done earlier than this. Wood treatment establishments will not be held to the conditions of the new label until the product in use carries the new label.

5. The wood preservative industry consists primarily of small, high-hazard workplaces and is, therefore, the kind of industry where the 7(c)(1) Consultation Program focuses its resources. The major trade associations representing arsenical wood treatment employers have expressed interest in receiving comprehensive assistance from 7(c)(1) consultants, including monitoring for arsenic air levels.

6. OSHA has entered into an agreement with EPA, through an exchange of letters (see Appendix B) to provide, through State 7(c)(1) Consultation Projects, consultation services relative to employee exposure to inorganic arsenic at wood treatment plants where the employer requests a comprehensive consultation visit.

G. Summary of the EPA Requirements.

1. In the preservative treatment of wood with inorganic arsenicals, EPA has adopted a permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 10 micrograms of arsenic per cubic meter of air averaged over an 8-hour day, identical to the OSHA PEL.

2. Unless air monitoring shows that the PEL will not be exceeded, arsenical wood treatment plant employers must require all employees potentially exposed to airborne inorganic arsenic to wear properly fitting, well maintained, high efficiency filter respirators MSHA/NIOSH-approved for inorganic arsenic. Such respirators must be worn for the entire period that they are in the treatment application work area or are engaged in any activity associated with the treatment process.

3. Applicators may not eat, drink, or use tobacco products during parts of the process that may expose them to the wood treatment formulation. Thorough washing is required after skin contact and before eating, drinking, use of tobacco products or use of restrooms.

4. When dermal contact is expected, applicators must wear gloves impervious to the wood treatment formulation. When entering pressure treatment cylinders or other related equipment that is contaminated, employees must wear protective clothing, including overalls, jacket, gloves and boots impervious to the formulation.

5. Protective clothing must be changed when it shows signs of contamination. Applicators must leave protective clothing, including workshoes and boots, at the plant.

6. All excess pesticides and wastes and worn-out protective clothing must be disposed of in accordance with State and Federal regulations for the disposal of pesticides.

7. The treatment process must leave no visible surface deposits on the treated wood.

8. Closed emptying and mixing systems must be used for all powder formulations of inorganic arsenic.

H. OSHA Consultation Procedures.

1. Consultation Projects will respond to requests from employers in wood preservative plants for air monitoring for inorganic arsenic only when the request is for a comprehensive consultation visit (covering all operations at the worksite). [Projects are not to conduct initial arsenic air monitoring in response to specific (limited) requests.] Requests for comprehensive visits which include air monitoring for inorganic arsenic will be given the same priority as other requests for consultation. If excessive backlogs develop due to a large number of these requests, the Project Manager is asked to contact the Region, which will then contact the OSHA National Office, Directorate of Federal-State Operations (FSO) to develop methods to reduce the request backlog. Responses to requests for visits to conduct arsenic air monitoring subsequent to the initial air monitoring shall be made only as resources of the consultation project permit.

2. Consultant preparation for the visit shall include a review of the EPA requirements and their comparison with the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.1018, the OSHA Standard for Occupational Exposure to Inorganic Arsenic. In addition, a review of OSHA Instruction CPL 2-2.22 should be made so that the consultant will be prepared to use it as a source of information and guidance for the employer. The instructions for compliance officers concerning the use of personal protective equipment and other precautions regarding their own exposure to inorganic arsenic shall be heeded by consultants wherever they are applicable.

3. That portion of the consultation visit concerning exposure to inorganic arsenic in the preservative treatment of wood will be made with reference to the EPA Federal Register Notice of January 10, 1986. The employer shall be advised on compliance with the requirements of the EPA label. As requested by the employer, the consultant shall conduct initial or subsequent (as consultation resources permit) air monitoring specified by the EPA label and will report the results to the employer.

4. Where the 8-hour time weighted permissible exposure limit of 10 micrograms of arsenic per cubic meter of air is exceeded, the employer shall be advised of the EPA requirement for reducing these exposures to acceptable levels or for wearing appropriate and adequate respiratory protection whenever the exposure level remains above this limit. The advantages of reducing arsenic exposures to 10 ug/m3 or less or to the extent feasible through the use of engineering controls and effective work practices will be provided. In addition, advice and recommendations on the selection, fitting and maintenance of respirators shall be provided. Reference to OSHA Instruction CPL 2-2.22 shall be made, but only for the purpose of providing information and guidance to employers as an aid to limiting employee exposure.

5. Available evidence (from OSHA Docket #H-037, developed during the promulgation of the OSHA Standard for Occupational Exposure to Inorganic Arsenic) indicates that arsenic exposures in wood treatment operations rarely, if ever, exceed 10 times the 10 ug/m3 PEL. However, if the PEL is exceeded by a factor of 10 or more, i.e,, 8-hour time weighed exposures 100 ug/m3, the employer shall be advised of the necessity of requiring the use of a full facepiece air-purifying respirator equipped with a high efficiency filter in order to provide adequate protection. (Note that the full facepiece respirator provided protection up to 500 ug/m3. See 29 CFR 1910.1018, Table I.) If any arsenic levels exceeding 100 ug/m3 are found, this information (absent employer name) shall be reported to the OSHA National Office, Directorate of Federal-State Operations. Any such information received will be relayed to EPA for consideration in future regulatory action on arsenic exposures in wood treatment plants.

6. Any violation of the EPA requirements concerning exposure to arsenic which poses a serious hazard to employees, as determined in accordance with the guidelines contained in the FOM, Chapter IV, and which the employer fails to correct within a reasonable period of time, shall be reported by telephone to the OSHA Regional Administrator, who shall, in turn, notify the EPA Regional Office 7(c)(1) contact. (See Appendix C.)

7. The initial telephone notice of an employer's failure to correct a serious violation of the EPA requirements shall be followed with a written notice to the OSHA Director of Federal-State Operations, the EPA Regional Office 7(c)(1) contact, and to the Director, Compliance Monitoring Staff, EPA (EN-342), 401 M Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20460.

8. The remainder of the consultation visit will be conducted as other consultation visits are, with the employer being advised on correction of all hazards under OSHA jurisdiction.

9. Onsite consultation procedures set forth in 29 CFR 1908 shall be followed in conducting the visit, including the reporting of an employer's failure to correct serious hazards under OSHA jurisdiction within a reasonable period of time to the appropriate OSHA Regional Office.

I. Completion of Consultation Data System Forms. In completing the Consultation Data System Forms, consultants shall make special note of the EPA Wood Treatment program on the appropriate forms in the following items:

1. Request Form, Consultation-20.

Item 11. SIC CODE. Under SIC code, Item 11 on the Request Form should indicate SIC "2491," which represents "Wood Preserving and Treating" in the 1972 SIC manual.

Item 13. HIGH HAZARD. Indicate that the request is "high hazard,"

on the basis of the OSHA-generated SIC Listing.

Item 19. SCOPE OF HAZARD SURVEY REQUESTED. Request Forms for the EPA Wood Treatment program must reflect that a comprehensive safety and health survey is required.

Item 26. OPTIONAL INFORMATION. Indicate "N" under Optional Information Type. Indicate "10" under Optional ID. Indicate "EPA Wood Treatment" under Optional Information Value.

2. State Visit Report, Consultation-30.

Item 34. OPTIONAL INFORMATION. Indicate "N" under Optional Information Type. Indicate "10" under Optional Information ID. Indicate "EPA Wood Treatment" under Optional Information Value.

3. Hazard Record, Consultation-40

Item 16. STANDARD OR INJURY CODE. When referencing the EPA requirement, reference "O" "Other Standard or Code Reference".

Item 17. STANDARD REFERENCED OR SOURCE OF INJURY. When referencing the EPA requirement, reference "51 FR 1334 EPA WOOD TREATMENT."

Item 30. VERIFIED/REFERRED CODE. Complete this item as usual. Employers who do not comply with the EPA requirement which is classified as a "serious" hazard will be referred to the OSHA Regional Administrator.

John A. Pendergrass Assistant Secretary

DISTRIBUTION: National and Regional Offices 7(c)(1) Project Managers State Designees

 

Appendix A

 

Revised Registration Requirements for Employers

 

that Treat Wood with Inorganic Arsenicals

 

(EPA Federal Register Notice Excerpt)

Federal Register / Vol. 51, No. 7 / Friday, January 10, 1986 / Notices

1334 =============================================================================

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OPP-30000/28H; FRL-2952-6]

Creosote, Pentachlorophenol, and Inorganic Arsenicals; Amendment of Notice of Intent To Cancel Registrations.

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency [EPA]. ACTION: Amendment of notice of intent to cancel.

1338 ===========================================================================

IV. Modifications to the Terms and Conditions of Registration Required to Avoid Cancellation

A. Label Changes

In order to avoid cancellation, registrants must make the modification specified below to the labeling of their products following the procedures set forth in Unit IV of this Notice. 1. For all products labeled for use as wood preservatives and containing pentachlorophenol or its salts, the following language must appear on the labels: The U.S. EPA has determined that pentachlorophenol can produce defects in the offspring of laboratory animals. Exposure to pentachlorophenol during pregnancy should be avoided.

2. For all products labeled for pressure treatment of wood and containing inorganic arsenicals, the following language must appear on the labels:

Restricted Use Pesticide

For sale to and use only by certified applicators or by persons under their direct supervision and only for those uses covered by the certified applicators' certification.

Applicators must wear gloves impervious to the wood treatment formulation in all situations where dermal contact is expected (e.g., handling freshly treated wood and manually opening cylinder doors).

Individuals who enter pressure treatment cylinders and other related equipment that is contaminated with the wood treatment solution (e.g., cylinders that are in operation or are not free of the treatment solution) must wear protective clothing, including overalls, jacket, gloves, and boots, impervious to the wood treatment formulation. In addition, individuals who enter pressure-treatment cylinders must wear properly fitting, well-maintained, high efficiency filter respirators, MSHA/NIOSH-approved for inorganic arsenic if the level of inorganic arsenic in the plant is unknown or exceeds 10 micrograms per cubic meter of air (10 ug/m3) average over an 8-hour work period. Air monitoring programs, procedures and record retention and submission must be conducted in accordance with the instructions on the attached labeling material.

Applicators must not eat, drink, or use tobacco products during those parts of the application process that may expose them to the wood treatment formulation (e.g., manually opening/closing cylinder doors, moving trams out of cylinders, mixing chemicals, and handling freshly treated wood).

Wash thoroughly after skin contact, and before eating, drinking, use of tobacco products, or using restrooms.

Protective clothing must be changed when it shows signs of contamination. Applicators must leave protective clothing and workshoes or boots and equipment at the plant. Worn-out protective clothing and workshoes or boots must be left at the plant and disposed of in a manner approved for pesticide disposal and in accordance with state and federal regulations.

Pesticide wastes are acutely hazardous. Improper disposal of excess pesticide, spray mixture, or rinsate is a violation of Federal law. If these wastes cannot be disposed of by use according to label instruction, contact your State Pesticide or Environmental Control Agency, or the Hazardous Waste representative at the nearest EPA Regional Office for guidance.

Processes used to apply inorganic arsenical formulations shall leave no visible surface deposits on the wood, as defined by AWPA Standard C-1 and AWPB Standards LP2 and LP22. (Visible surface deposits means a surface residue or crystallization on the treated wood. Small isolated or infrequent spots of chemical on otherwise clean wood shall be allowed.)

Individuals in the work area of an arsenical wood, treatment plant must wear properly fitting, well-maintained high efficiency filter respirators, MSHA/NIOSH-approved for inorganic arsenic if the level of inorganic arsenic in the plant is unknown or exceeds 10 micrograms per cubic meter of air (10 um/m3) average over an 8-hour work period. Air monitoring programs, procedures and record retention and submission must be conducted in accordance with the instructions on the attached labeling material.

For powder formulations of inorganic arsenicals: A closed emptying and mixing system must be used for all powder formulations of the inorganic arsenicals. A closed system is defined as any containment which prevents the release of subject chemicals into the surrounding external environment, except that the release of incidental amounts of chemical during equipment loading and periodic clean-out or maintenance operations shall not be deemed a breach of containment.

Note to User: Examples of acceptable materials for protective clothing (e.g., gloves, overalls, jackets, and boot(s) required during application and handling of inorganic arsenicals are vinyl, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), neoprene, NBR (Buna-N), rubber, and polyethylene.

3. For all products labeled for pressure treatment of wood and containing inorganic arsenicals, the following language must be attached as labeling:

====================================================================== a. Implementation of the permissible exposure limit (PEL) monitoring program. Each arsenical wood treatment plant employer shall require all employees potentially exposed to airborne inorganic arsenic to wear properly fitting, well maintained high efficiency filter respirators MSHA/NIOSH-approved for inorganic arsenic for the entire period that the employees are in the treatment application work area or engaged in any activity associated with the treatment process. Alternatively, to potentially relieve employees from the burden of wearing respirators, the employer may implement a Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) monitoring program. This requirement becomes effective for existing plants on July 10, 1986. Any plants which begin operations in the future will have 3 months from the date of initial operation to implement this requirement.

===============================================================================

All wood treatment plant employers who elect to implement the PEL monitoring program must determine the current levels of airborne arsenic, averaged over an 8-hour period, to which their employees are exposed by July 10, 1986. Monitoring data obtained two years prior to this implementation date may be used to determine the initial levels of airborne exposure to employees, if the date were obtained in the same manner as described below in the "Monitoring and Measurements Procedures" unit, and if the employer can certify that no changes have been made since the time of monitoring that could have resulted in new or additional employee exposure to inorganic arsenic including events on the "PEL Checklist" below.

If the initial or subsequent monitoring demonstrates that airborne inorganic arsenic in a work area is greater than 10 ug/m3, all employees working in that area are required to wear properly fitting, well maintained high efficiency filter respirators MSHA/NIOSH-approved for inorganic arsenic. If in subsequent monitoring, at least two consecutive measurements taken at least 7 days apart, the inorganic arsenic levels are below 10 ug/m3, employees in those areas may discontinue the wearing of the respirators, except as discussed in the "PEL Checklist" below. However, if the employee exposure is above 5 ug/m3 and below 10 ug/m3, the employer shall repeat monitoring at least every 6 months until at least two consecutive measurements, taken at least 7 days apart, are below 5 ug/m3. The employer may then continue monitoring, except as discussed in the "PEL Checklist" below.

b. PEL Checklist. In all cases where there has been a change in production, process, control, or employee handling procedures, or if any events in the PEL Checklist occurred, or if, for any other reason an employer should suspect new or additional airborne inorganic arsenic, additional monitoring that complies with the requirements for initial monitoring shall be completed. Responses to the Checklist will become part of the monitoring records. Monitoring is required within 3 months if any of the following events/questions on the check list can be answered in the affirmative with respect to any events which may have occurred since the last monitoring report submitted to the Agency:

1. After the wood has been treated, have you changed from hand stacking to mechanical stacking or from mechanical stacking to hand stacking? If yes, when?

2. Has your production capacity increased significantly? If yes, when?

3. Have you changed from a ready-to-use or dilute concentrate to a mix-it-yourself formulation? Has the proportional amount of arsenic in the solution increased, e.g., have you shifted from CCA type A or C to type B? If yes, when?

4. Has a significant, i.e., reportable under the "Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980" (Superfund), 42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq., spill occurred? If yes, when?

5. Is treated wood being retained on the drip pad for less time? If yes, when?

6. Have there been any other production, process, control or employee handling procedure changes which could result in new or additional airborne inorganic arsenic? Identify change, and when it occurred.

c. Monitoring and measurement procedures. The employer shall collect personal air samples, including at least one sample which is adequate to represent typical conditions for a full work shift (at least 7 hours) for each job classification in each work area. Sampling should be done using a personal sampling pump calibrated at a flow rate of 2 liters per minute. Samples should be collected on 0.8 micrometer pore size membrane filter (37 mm diameter). The method of sampling analysis should have an accuracy of not less than +- 35 percent (with a confidence limit of 95 percent) for concentrations of inorganic arsenic between 5 and 10 ug/m3.

Monitoring may be conducted through a request made to the Occupational Safety and Health administration (OSHA) for monitoring assistance which may be provided free of charge under the terms of the OSHA consultation program as provided under section 7(c)(1) of the OSHA Act, or by employees or contractors of the employer's choosing.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may direct that remonitoring take place at statistically selected establishments to assure that the Checklist is effective in identifying events which increase airborne arsenic. Selected employers will be notified by EPA/State enforcement representatives. The employer will be responsible for obtaining current air monitoring data within the time specified in the remonitoring notification and for submitting these data and reports to the EPA as described below.

d. Data submission and certification. The employer shall establish and maintain accurate records which include responses to PEL Checklist and all monitoring reports. The annual records or copies thereof shall be submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances Office of Compliance Monitoring (EN-342), 401 M Street SW., Washington, D.C. 20460. All records submitted will be certified by the employer as accurate and in compliance with all calibration, analytical and sampling requirements outlined in this program. If the employer received assistance from an OSHA 7(c)(1) consultant, that consultant's report to the employer will be an acceptable record of calibration, analysis, and monitoring requiring no additional certification.

V. Existing Stocks Provision

In order to be lawfully distributed, sold, offered for sale, held for sale, shipped, delivered for shipment, or received and (having been so received) delivered or offered for delivery to any other person, all wood preservative products subject to this amended Notice, and all existing stocks of such products (whether in the hands of registrants or others) must be relabled with Agency approved labels in accordance with the label language set forth in Unit IV of this Notice by November 10, 1986.

 

APPENDIX B

 

OSHA Agreement with EPA

 

(Through an exchange of letters)

UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY Washington, D.C. 20460

FEB 14 1986

Mr. Patrick Tyson Acting Assistant Secretary Occupational Safety and Health Administration U.S. Department of Labor 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20210

Dear Mr. Tyson:

This will confirm the request made by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) permit consultants funded under the OSHA 7(c)(1) consultation program to respond to consultation requests from arsenical wood treatment plant employers. The consultation visit will be comprehensive and include the monitoring of ambient inorganic arsenicals.

 

BACKGROUND

As stated in the November 8, 1979, letter from the OSHA Deputy Assistant Secretary, "as a matter of policy to avoid duplicative regulation of wood preservative pesticides, it [OSHA] will defer to EPA on workplace regulation of uses and impregnation/application so long as OSHA has full assurance from EPA of an active program in that agency to investigate any public or occupational health risks from these wood preservatives that are brought to its attention, and full assurances that regulatory action to eliminate any significant risks also are forthcoming from EPA." Furthermore, the Scope and Application of the OSHA Inorganic Arsenic (1978) standard, 29 CFR 1910.1018, states, "[T]his section applies to all occupational exposures to inorganic arsenic except that this section does not apply to employee exposures in agriculture or resulting from pesticide application, the treatment of wood with preservatives or the utilization of arsenically preserved wood."

On July 13, 1984, EPA published in the Federal Register a Notice of Intent to Cancel Registrations of Pesticide Products containing Creosote, Pentachlorophenol (including its salts) and the Inorganic Arsenicals (49 FR 28666). This Notice concluded the Rebuttable Presumption Against Registration (RPAR) process of the wood preservative uses of the three chemicals and announced that certain modifications in the terms and conditions of registration were required to avoid cancellation. One of the requirements of this Notice was the use of respirators in arsenic pressure treatment plants where the arsenic ambient air levels exceed 10 ug/m3 or are unknown.

(Permissible Exposure Limit [PEL] program). EPA has concluded that certain minor changes to the July 13 Notice are appropriate and issued an amended Notice on January 10, 1986. The PEL program will remain the same as set out in the July 13 Notice except for minor revisions in the dates for certain monitoring requirements. A six month phase-in period will be allowed from the date of publication of the amended Notice for the PEL program in existing inorganic arsenic pressure treatment plants. Any plants which begin operations in the future will have three months from the date of initial operation to conduct monitoring. When a PEL checklist item has been exceeded, there will be a three month period to conduct remonitoring. A two year grandfathering period from the date of publication of the amended Notice will be allowed for use of existing monitoring data as long as the data were obtained in the same manner as described in the Notice.

The PEL Program describes the conditions which require either a respirator to be worn or require the periodic monitoring of ambient arsenic levels by the employer to determine if respiratory protection is required. The requirements for employee protection from inorganic arsenicals are consistent with OSHA's requirements at 29 CFR 1910.1018 by requiring properly fitting, well-maintained filter respirators approved by MSHA-NIOSH to be effective with inorganic arsenic when employees are exposed to ambient levels of inorganic arsenic which meet or exceed 10 ug/m3. In addition, all pressure treatment applicators are required to use processes (engineering controls) to apply the inorganic arsenical formulations in a manner which causes no visible surface deposits to be left on the treated wood. Excess arsenic formulations on the drying wood surfaces are believed to cause increased ambient arsenic levels in the workplace.

Employers may elect to forego monitoring and if so, employees would be required to wear the respirators during their entire work period. The Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) Program is preferred for the following reasons: 1) requiring compliance with a PEL of 10 ug/m3 is a more effective way of reducing exposures than would be achieved by requiring workers to wear respirators, and 2) establishments with acceptable ambient arsenic levels would be identified and the employees of these establishments would not be required to wear respirators unnecessarily.

Employers who elect monitoring will be responsible for providing arsenic monitoring information to the EPA/State enforcement agencies. In addition, if exposures are over the PEL, employers may choose to install engineering controls to control exposure to avoid less effective respirator use. The majority of the approximately 200 arsenic wood treatment plants which are expected to request a consultation visit fall into the category of "small business." They may not be knowledgeable of monitoring techniques or cost effective engineering controls which do exist.

The goal of assisting small business, coupled with the limited resources available to EPA to provide technical assistance in monitoring the ambient levels of arsenic in wood treatment plants has led to this EPA request.

 

AGREEMENT

As a result of comprehensive discussions between our respective staffs, it is mutually agreed that:

OSHA will permit consultants funded by the 7(c)(1) program to respond to initial requests from arsenical wood treatment plant employers for a comprehensive consultation visit. The visit will include a review of OSHA-regulated hazards and the consultants will advise employers regarding compliance with OSHA standards which are applicable as well as compliance with the EPA label concerning arsenic air levels and the OSHA arsenic standard. If the EPA label requirements or OSHA standards are not being met, the consultant will advise employers of ways to meet the requirements. The consultant's written report, including the arsenic monitoring data, may be submitted by the employer to EPA-delegated enforcement personnel to satisfy the monitoring data requirements. If the consultant finds, in the course of any follow-up consultation that the employer is not taking adequate steps to correct serious (TWA 10 ug/m3) arsenic hazards, in violation of the EPA requirements, the consultation program will notify OSHA and OSHA would notify EPA. Employer requests for follow up or additional consultation visits will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The service provided by the OSHA 7(c)(1) program will be free of charge to the employer or to EPA.

 

EFFECT OF AGREEMENT

Arsenical wood treatment plant employers enthusiastically support the use of OSHA's 7(c)(1) program in their industry. EPA has been assured by the major trade associations representing arsenical wood treatment employers that an active effort will be made to advise employers of the availability of a comprehensive visit by an OSHA 7(c)(1) consultant and that the subsequent arsenic monitoring report may be used to comply with EPA requirements, and to encourage use of the OSHA consultation program.

The four major groups affected by this agreement are expected to accrue the following benefits:

-- Employees will benefit from protection against excessive exposure to arsenic as well as protection from OSHA regulated health and safety hazards.

-- Employers will benefit from free OSHA consultation visits in which safety and health problems will be identified and advice on hazard correction will be provided. In addition, the employers will be provided a valid monitoring report with which to comply with EPA's requirement under the PEL Program.

-- EPA will benefit by having valid exposure data for enforcement purposes.

-- OSHA will benefit by meeting its mandate in reducing risks to employees and by assisting other agencies in also achieving this mandate.

I recommend that the terms of this agreement become effective upon the signature of the agencies and remain in effect until terminated by (1) mutual agreement; or (2) a 30-day advance written notice by any of the parties.

Sincerely,

John A. Moore Assistant Administrator for Pesticides and Toxic Substances

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Assistant Secretary for

Occupational Safety and Health Washington, D.C. 20210

MAR 7 1986

Mr. John Moore Assistant Administrator for Pesticides and Toxic Substances Environmental Protection Agency 401 M Street, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20460

Dear Mr. Moore:

This is in response to your letter of February 14, containing a proposed agreement between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) under which the OSHA 7(c)(1) consultants would not normally provide such assistance since, under our understanding of November 8, 1979, exposure to arsenic resulting from the treatment of wood with preservatives is regulated by EPA.

We have reviewed the agreement, and we will be pleased to assist smaller employers in the wood preservative industry as the agreement provides. State consultants in the OSHA 7(c)(1) Program will monitor for inorganic arsenic as part of a comprehensive visit to wood preservative employers during which they provide advice on all applicable OSHA standards. Consultants will also advise on ways to meet the EPA label requirements when the employer is not in compliance. OSHA understands that the consultant's monitoring results can be used by the employer to comply with the EPA monitoring requirements. If an employer fails to take the actions necessary to correct serious arsenic hazards (TWA 10 ug/m3) within a reasonable period of time, the State consultation project would notify OSHA and OSHA would notify EPA.

The assistance being provided in conjunction with this agreement falls directly within the mission of our 7(c)(1) Consultation Program, i.e., help smaller employers within high-hazard industries identify potential hazards and develop preventive management systems. We are pleased that this agreement will assist employers and employees in wood treatment plants in preventing both OSHA-regulated hazards and exposure to inorganic arsenicals.

This response constitutes OSHA's endorsement of the provisions of the agreement as set forth in your February 14 letter.

Sincerely,

Patrick R. Tyson Acting Assistant Secretary

 

Appendix C

 

EPA/OSHA 7(c)(1) CONSULTATION AGREEMENT

 

EPA Regional Program Managers/Contacts

Region Name Title FTS Mailing Address ------ ---- ----- --- ---------------

  1     Louis F. Gitto       Director        223-2226  JFK Federal Bldg.
                             Air Mgmt.                 Room 2311 - AAA
                             Division                  Boston, MA  02203

  2     Dr. Barbara Metzger  Director        340-6754  Woodbridge Av
                             Environmental             Building 10
                             Services Division         Edison, NJ  08837

  3     Stephen R. Wassersug Director        597-8131  841 Chestnut St.
                             Hazardous Waste           Philadelphia, PA
                             Division                  19107

  4     Winston A. Smith     Director        257-3043  345 Courtland St. NE
                             Air, Pesticides           Atlanta, GA  30365
                             & Toxic Substances
                             Division

  5     Phyllis Reed         Acting Chief    353-2291  536 S. Clark St.
                             Pesticides &              Chicago, IL  60605
                             Toxic Substances
                             Branch

  6     William B. Hathaway  Director        729-0104  1201 Elm Street
                             Air & Pesticides          Dallas, TX  75270
                             and Toxic Division        6T

  7     Art Spratlin         Director        757-2834  726 Minnesota Av
                             Air & Toxics              Kansas City, KS
                             Division                  66101

  8     Irwin L. Dickstein   Director        564-1437  One Denver Place
                             Air & Toxics              Suite 1300
                             Division                  Denver, CO
                                                       80202-2413

  9     Harry Seraydarian    Director        454-7460  215 Fremont St.
                             Toxics &                  San Francisco, CA
                             Waste Mgmt.               94105
                             Division

  10    Gary O'Neal          Director        399-1198  STOP: 531
                             Air & Toxics              1200 6th Av
                             Division                  Seattle, WA  98101

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