Lead Awareness

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Lead Awareness

• University of Maryland
• Department of Environmental Safety

Martin Wizorek, Manager Occupational Safety and
Health
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INTRODUCTION
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What is Lead?

• Heavy metal at room temperature
• Bluish-gray
• Low melting point
• Pliable
• Corrosion resistant
• Can form lead compounds

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In what products was lead commonly used?

• Gasoline (phase-out began 1980)
• Smelting
• Lead batteries (25-78 of all lead used in U.S.)
• Paints and coatings
• Solder
• Auto manufacturing
• Printing

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History

• Late 1950s Paint manufacturers started to
  voluntarily reduced lead content of most paint
  for residential use.
• 1978 CPSC limits paint for residential use to
  600 ppm (essentially, lead-free paint).
• However, lead paint for non-residential use is
  still sold.

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So where is lead paint found?

• Homes built before 1950
• Everywhere inside and outside (all coatings)
• Homes built between 1950-1960
• Probably outside, may be inside
• Trims, doors, windows, kitchens, bathrooms, etc.
• Homes built between 1960-1978
• May be outside, less likely inside
• Before 1978 we assume lead!!!

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What is lead paint

• EPA/HUD/DHS Definition
• 1.0 mg/cm2 5000 ppm 0.5
• Maryland Definition
• 0.7 mg/cm2
• OSHA and MOSH Definition
• Any detectable amount

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Where could I find lead on campus?
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Buildings on Campus Year Built
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Buildings on Campus Year Built
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Buildings on Campus Year Built
Altogether, there are 169 numbered buildings on
campus that were constructed prior to 1979.
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Examples of the presence of lead-based paint at
the University of Maryland
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Francis Scott Key HallExterior white door and
door trim
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Francis Scott Key HallCream colored door
trim(white door and wall are non-LBP)
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Cole Field HouseInterior window sill (men's room)
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Cole Field HouseExterior door trim (note
deterioration)
Notice the deterioration
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Cole Field HousePainted Maryland sign
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Cambridge HallInterior drain pipe
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Cambridge HallInterior window sill (radiator
cover is non-LBP)
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Cambridge HallExterior white window trim
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Jull HallMain entrance white door, door trim,
wall
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Jull HallRear white door and white window trim
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HEALTH HAZARDS
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Ways in which lead enters the body

• Inhalation - Breathing lead fumes or dust. This
  is the most common route of entry in the
  workplace.
• Ingestion - Swallowing lead dust via food,
  cigarettes etc.

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Health Effects

• Lead which is inhaled or ingested gets into the
  bloodstream.
• Can be circulated throughout your body.

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Health Effects

• Some is excreted while some remains in organs and
  body tissues.
• If exposure continues, the amount stored in your
  body will increase if you are absorbing more lead
  than your body is excreting.

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Chronic Health Effects

• During prolonged chronic exposure, many body
  systems can be affected by lead, including
• Brain
• Kidneys
• Muscles
• Bones
• Blood forming organs
• Reproductive systems 

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Chronic Health Effects(Resulting from High Lead
Exposure and Absorption Into Body)

• Severe damage to blood forming, nervous, urinary
  and reproductive systems
• Loss of appetite, metallic taste in the mouth,
  anxiety, constipation, nausea, pallor, excessive
  tiredness, weakness, insomnia, headache, nervous
  irritability, muscle and joint pain or soreness,
  fine tremors, numbness, dizziness, hyperactivity
  and colic (with severe abdominal pain, lead line
• Person is easily irritated and may become
  aggressive

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Chronic Health Effects

• Reproductive systems of both men and women may be
  affected
• Decreased sex drive, impotence and sterility in
  men
• Miscarriage and stillbirth in women whose
  husbands were exposed to lead or where they were
  exposed

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Chronic Health Effects

• Children born of parents who were exposed to
  excessive lead are more likely to have birth
  defects, mental retardation, behavioral disorders
  or die during the first year of childhood

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Other Chronic Health Effects

• Hypertension
• Lead exposure has been consistently associated
  with increases in blood pressure in studies
  conducted in both workers and the general
  population.
• Blood lead levels of less than 20 µg/dL sometimes
  are associated with increases in blood pressure.

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Other Chronic Health Effects

• Decreased kidney function
• Low to moderate levels of lead exposure also have
  been associated with adverse changes in kidney
  function.
• This association may be even worse in people who
  have other risk factors for kidney disease, such
  as hypertension or diabetes.

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Acute Health Effects

• Acute health effects only appear when worker is
  exposed to extremely high amounts of lead
• Acute encephalopathy (disorder or disease of the
  brain) may develop quickly followed by seizures,
  coma and death from cardio-respiratory arrest
• Again, highly unusual, but not impossible

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"The Dangles" was an occupational hazard for
printers
THIS IS FROM VERY HIGH LEAD EXPOSURE!!!
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CONFIRM PRESENCE/NON-PRESENCE OF LEAD CONTAINING
MATERIALS
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Lead Identification

• Department personnel should contact the
  Department of Environmental Safety (DES) prior to
  the disturbance of painted surfaces unless it is
  known with certainty, either through
  documentation or testing, that the surface does
  not contain lead

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Lead Identification

• DES will use direct reading instrument (XRF) to
  determine if lead is present in any of the
  surfaces to be modified or demolished.

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How is lead exposure measured?

• PEL  You are allowed to be exposed up to the
  Permissible Exposure Limit established by OSHA of
  50 ug/m3 (micrograms per cubic meter of air)
  based on an 8-hour time weighted average.
• Action Level OSHA established an Action Level of
  30 µg/m3 based on an 8 hour time weighted
  average. 

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The All-ImportantAction Level

• If lead is present in any quantity in your
  workplace, OSHA has directed that an initial
  determination must be made by taking air samples
  while workers are performing their job that may
  result in airborne lead exposure
• The AL for lead is 30 µg/m3.
• If the results are below the AL, no further
  monitoring is necessary for that job, and the
  workers are not considered to be significantly
  lead exposed.

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Air Sample Results(As performed by DES for
Various Occupations)
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Conclusions

• Based on the results, typical maintenance tasks
  would not result in exposures above the AL.
• Some activities, such as power sanding on painted
  surfaces, resulted in short-term exposures.
  However, these short-term exposures were still
  below the PEL.

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Awareness of Lead Standard

• OSHA Regulations state
• Where there is a potential exposure to airborne
  lead at any level, the employee must be informed
  of the contents of OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1025,
  Appendix A B.
• Because you may be exposed to lead, even in small
  quantities, the next three slides describe the
  contents of Appendix A B

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Appendix A

• Substance Identification
• Health Hazard Data

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Appendix B

• Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL)
• Exposure Monitoring
• Methods of Compliance
• Respiratory Protection
• Personal protective Equipment
• Housekeeping
• Hygiene Facilities

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Appendix B

• Medical Surveillance
• Medical Removal
• Training and Information
• Signs
• Record keeping

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Health Exam Requirements(Applicable to Lead
Workers only)
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Lead Medical Surveillance

• OSHA standards require biological monitoring and
  medical surveillance for all employees exposed to
  levels of lead above the action level of 30 µg/m3
  for more than 30 days per year
• The blood lead level of all employees who are
  exposed to lead above the action level is to be
  determined at least every six months.
• The frequency is increased to every two months
  for employees whose last blood lead level was
  above 40 µg/100 g

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Health Protection/Medical Surveillance

• Obtain a Blood Lead Level (BLL)
• Maintain blood lead levels to below 40 micrograms
  per 100 grams of whole blood (40 µg/100g).
• Recommend a level below 30 µg/100g for workers
  who intend to have children
• Blood lead measurements show the amount of lead
  circulating, but not the amount stored in tissue.

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Lead Medical Examination

• A medical examination is given to lead workers
• Annually
• Immediately, if an employee has developed signs
  or symptoms commonly associated with lead
  poisoning
• Whenever an employee desires medical advice
  regarding lead exposure and the ability to
  procreate a healthy child
• Immediately if the employee has demonstrated
  difficulty in breathing during a respirator
  fitting test or during respirator use

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Lead Poisoning Prevention(For the Non-Lead
Worker)

• Minimizing exposure to lead is the key to
  minimizing health effects

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Housekeeping/Work Practices
When working with products that contain lead,
such as lead-based paints and lead blocks

• Use exhaust ventilation to capture dust/fumes
  whenever possible
• HEPA vacuum dust-covered work surfaces dry
  sweeping or compressed air is prohibited wet
  methods may be used
• Do not eat, drink, smoke or apply cosmetics in
  areas where lead/lead dust is present
• Wash hands and face after lead work
• Wear protective clothing to avoid getting dust on
  your clothes and then bringing it home to spouse
  and children.

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Lead Dust Control

• Recommend that HEPA vacuum be used to pick up
  lead paint of other lead dust.

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Lead Dust Control

• You must use caution if you perform any of the
  following activities where lead containing
  coatings or paint are present
• It would be a good idea to coordinate these
  activities with DES to assure lead exposure is
  controlled
• manual demolition of structures
• manual scraping
• manual sanding
• heat gun applications
• power tool cleaning
• rivet busting
• welding
• cutting
• torch burning
• abrasive blasting
• cleanup activities where dry expendable abrasives
  are used
• abrasive blasting enclosure movement and removal

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Prohibited Lead Removal Methods

• The contractor performing abatement of lead-based
  paint may not use the following methods to remove
  the paint
• Open flame burning
• Dry sanding (unless used with a HEPA vacuum)
• Open abrasive blasting
• Uncontained hydro-blasting
• Methylene chloride for interior use (exception,
  methylene chloride may be used in interior work
  areas for localized touch-up)
• Dry scraping
• Heat gun operating at or above 1,100F

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Approved Lead Control Methods

• Wet scraping
• Chemical stripping
• Heat Gun

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Approved Lead Control Methods

• Replacement
• Any component part of a building may be abated by
  replacement with a part free of lead-containing
  substances
• For instance, the lead-painted component (such as
  a doorframe or a window frame) is removed
  entirely and in one piece.

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Could I find lead outside of campus?

• If your home was built before 1978, it may
  contain lead based paint. 
• Hobbies stained glass, home remodeling or
  painting, recreational target shooting, melting
  lead for fishing weights, lead glaze in ceramics.
  
• Non-occupational exposures backyard scrap metal
  recycling, leaded crystal tableware, cookware,
  folk remedies, pica, mine tailings, beauty
  products (eye make up, certain hair dyes).

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Questions?