“TLV – TWA – STEL” - WHAT KIND OF LANGUAGE IS THIS?

When reading Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), you will frequently encounter strange abbreviations that can make understanding the data sheet difficult. While these abbreviations may look confusing at first, it is important that the data
sheets provide the correct technical information. In order to take the correct precautions when using a specific chemical you must know the hazards that exposure to it may present. MSDS’ are the common tool to educate you on the hazards
and assist you in selecting personal protective equipment. But all of this information is based on exposure limits.

This article will provide you some basic term definitions regarding chemical exposures. These abbreviations are not difficult to understand, only confusing until you become familiar with them. Exposure limits, where these abbreviations
are usually found in Part II, of the MSDS, entitled “Hazardous Ingredients.”

TLV-TWA - Threshold Limit Value—Time Weighted Average

This is a level at which the “average” worker can be safely exposed repeatedly, day after day, without adverse effect.The TLV on the form is normally based on an exposure period of 8 hours-per-day and a 40 hour-per-workweek schedule. While your exposure may be over the TLV-TWA levels at points within the workday or workweek, if the time weighted average over the 8 hour day is at or below the listed number the average person is not exposed to an adverse hazard.

TLV-STEL - Threshold Limit Value—Short Term Exposure Limit

This is the concentration that has been determined that you can be exposed to continuously for short periods of time (not to exceed 15 minutes). Being exposed to a STEL should not be repeated more than 4 times per day. Plus, there should be at least 60 minutes between successive exposure periods. For some toxic materials, the MSDS may dictate other maximum periods other than 15 minutes, although 15 minutes is the most common period of time.

TLV-C - Threshold Limit Value—Ceiling

This concentration should not be exceeded at any time. This is the top limit of allowable exposure for any period of time. The TLV-TWA is assumed to be a level that is safe. However, each person may have different tolerances, susceptibilities
and sensitivities to various chemicals. Some chemicals cause a person to be permanently sensitized, so that even minute subsequent exposures may cause discomfort. Therefore, the levels noted may not be appropriate for you personally.

Whenever you work with chemicals of any kind, here at work or at home, caution should be the byword. If you have symptoms at working with a chemical, such as redness of the skin, numbness, swelling of the mucous membranes, headaches, etc., report it immediately to your supervisor, evaluate ways to reduce your exposure to the chemical or seriously consider upgrading your personal protective equipment to a higher level of protection.Read the Material Safety Data Sheet for the chemicals you use carefully so you will be able to protect yourself with knowledge and appropriate precautions.

HEAT EXHAUSTION AND SUNSTROKE

When working during hot weather, we may suffer heat exhaustion or sunstroke. Heat exhaustion is caused by the loss of body salt, and sunstroke occurs when the body mechanism is not able to keep the system cool. Following are the symptoms of these ailments and the steps we should take to aid the victim.

Symptoms:

The first signs of heat exhaustion are dizziness, weakness, headache, blurred vision, nausea and staggering. The face becomes pale, there is profuse sweating, the pulse is weak, and breathing is shallow. The person may become unconscious.

Treatment:

When someone shows symptoms of heat exhaustion, immediately remove that person to a place where the air is circulating freely. Make the person lie down and keep him or her warm. If the victim is conscious, add a teaspoon of salt to a pint of cool water and give this to the victim in small sips at frequent intervals. If the heat exhaustion symptoms persist, call the doctor.

How to Avoid:

Keep in good physical condition and stop to rest when you begin to feel faint. Increase dietary salt and fluids when working in extremely hot weather.

SUNSTROKE (HEATSTROKE) Symptoms:

The victim develops a severe headache, the face is red the skin is hot and dry, there is no sweating, and the pulse is strong and very rapid. The person has a high fever (105o—106oF.)and may become unconscious. This is followed by convulsions, coma, and sometimes death.

Treatment:

Get the victim to where there's professional medical treatment as soon as possible. In the meantime place the individual in the shade. Loosen the clothing and cool the victim with the best means available. If the individual's temperature starts to drop, cover with a light blanket, so that the sudden change in body temperature won't cause shivering or convulsions.

How to Avoid:

Stay away from alcoholic beverages. Instead, drink water, lemonade, or citrus fruit juices. Wear clothing that is lightweight, well ventilated, and loose. Replace the body salts lost through perspiration by making sure your salt and fluid intake is adequate.

Know The Difference:

Become familiar with the symptoms of sun- stroke and heat exhaustion. As we've discussed, the treatment for each of these ailments is different and knowing the difference could mean life or death.

HAZARDS OF SOLVENTS

We use solvents practically every day in our lives. At work, we may use or be exposed to solvents when we come in contact with paints, coatings, while using dip tanks, thinners, degreasers, cleaners, glues or mastics. As a result of this widespread usage, it is important to know some of the hazards that are associated with the group of chemicals, generally called “solvents.”

For practical purposes a solvent is simply a liquid capable of dissolving specific solids or liquids. As you know, there are solvents that
we use daily that are hazardous. Petroleum based solvents are the most common type used in industry. Therefore, as part of your job,
it’s important for you to understand the hazards of working with or around solvents.

Exposure and over-exposure to a solvent can come from various methods. The routes of entry may include:

· Absorption by direct contact on the skin. If there are no “barriers” between the solvent and your skin, the solvent can be
absorbed through your skin.

· Inhalation by breathing solvent vapors. Breathing in the solvent vapors can quickly result in the chemical getting into your body
and bloodstream via your lungs.

· Ingestion from literally eating the chemical by not practicing good hygiene after handling solvents. Direct contact with your
hands and mouth through eating or smoking may result in unexpected ingestion of solvents.

· Puncture of the skin by a tool or other object that has a coating of solvent. Punctures can result in the direct introduction of toxic
chemicals into your body.

Overexposure to solvents can cause a variety of ailments. Depending on the type of solvent you are exposed to, the body will react in
different ways. Skin contact may result in minor skin rashes or an allergic reaction resulting in “chloracne.” This happens when the
solvent dissolves the skin’s natural oils. Some workers can develop a sensitization to a particular product or chemical. Sensitization
results in the entire body being “overly” sensitive to a particular chemical or product. After sensitization has occurred, even a very
slight exposure can result in adverse or serious reactions. Serious overexposures can lead to illnesses resulting in organ or tissue
damage.

As with any chemical or product, important information is contained in the product’s Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS). The
MSDS provides information on safe use, handling, disposal and protection methods among other information.

Solvents are very useful in our everyday lives. If we take the time to learn more about them, we can be better prepared to properly use
them, protect ourselves and effectively get our job done.

If you are unsure of the solvent or product that you are using, ask questions or check the MSDS.

Key Safety Components

You might call them Ten Safety Commandments or you might just call them good sense. But if you remember the following safety procedures, you’ll have a better chance of going home injury free at the end of your workday.

1. Know How To Do Your Job Safely: If you are new to a job or task and don’t fully understand all safe work
procedures, check it out with your foreman or supervisor.

2. Keep The Work Area Clean: Housekeeping is everybody’s responsibility. Working in a disorganized, cluttered
environment is bad for crew morale. Poor housekeeping is the cause of many accidents.

3. Use Personal Protective Equipment: You shouldn’t have to be told to use safety gear. Wear your hard hat, eye
protection, gloves, fall protective gear and other required PPE to avoid having an incident and injury.

4. Use The Right Tools: Be sure your tools are always in good repair and use them only for the purpose they were
designed for. Defective tools should be tagged and removed from service before they may cause injury to someone.

5. Work Safely When Using Ladders: Report defective or broken ladders to your supervisor. Always face a ladder
when climbing up or down, keep your belt buckle inside the ladder rungs, and don’t carry tools or materials in your
hands while climbing. Many workers fall from ladders, don’t be one of them!

6. Handle Materials Safely: Protect your back from injury by using the right lifting techniques, and get help with heavy
loads. Taking shortcuts when handling heavy objects can mean lost time and pain in the long run.

7. Use Care Around Equipment: Don’t operate power driven equipment unless you are qualified and have been
authorized to do so. And never be a hitchhiker—taking a ride on mobile equipment is a foolish gamble.

8. Dress For The Job: Loose or ragged clothing may not fully protect your body and can be caught on tools, equipment,
or in moving parts of machinery. Sturdy work boots are needed for foot and ankle protection, tennis shoes won’t do
it.

9. Report Unsafe Conditions: Foreman and supervisors can’t be everywhere at once, so take responsibility for letting
them know about any conditions that exposure your crew to hazards.
10. Follow The Rules: Job safety rules are written for your protection. Strive to be the best at what you do, but strive just
as hard to get home safely every night. It’s up to you!

Make It A Habit To Work Safely!

SLEEP LOSS & FATIGUE – A SAFETY HAZARD

There has been a lot of talk lately about a nationwide "sleep deficit." Apparently, people are not getting enough sleep.
Because of this, fatigue has been found to be a contributing factor in a number of high visibility accidents, such as Three
Mile Island, Chernobyl, and some air transport incidents. Assuming this is true, perhaps this is an important safety
concern.

Probably the greatest hazard associated with lack of sleep is the deterioration of physical and mental abilities that take
place when you are tired. It may take longer to think out a problem; your coordination may diminish and your reaction
time may be slowed. You know the feeling.. .you seem to be one step off, all day long. Fortunately, the problem is fairly
easy to resolve—get enough sleep. Most studies show that people need a good eight hours of uninterrupted sleep per
night. Some need more, some less. When the longer daylight hours of spring and summer arrive, it may be even more
tempting to stay up later in the evening, at the expense of rest. It's not a good idea to short yourself on the rest you need.

A number of factors heighten fatigue when you are already tired. Alcohol is a depressant, along with a number of other
drugs. A drink when you are tired will slow you down more than a drink when you are well rested. The alcohol will also
interfere with restful sleep when you do go to bed. Drinking when fatigued is not a good idea and when done to excess
can effect you the entire next day.

I’m sure you've seen the warnings on the side of prescription or over-the-counter medicine containers. "Warning...may
cause drowsiness. Do not drive or operate machinery when taking this medication." Unfortunately, many people ignore
this warning and put both themselves and others at risk of injury. Don’t tempt fate; heed the warning. NEVER mix
alcohol and drugs. This combination alone could be fatal. If you are given prescription drugs, be sure to ask your doctor
about the side effects. You will be better off staying at home, as opposed to going to work impaired.

When many people think of safety, they think of machine guarding, maintenance, and other mechanical factors. Let's not
forget the most important element in safety — the human factor. Your body is a sophisticated machine. It too requires
care, attention and adequate rest.

Food For Thought

You have most likely heard the message that an impaired worker is an unsafe worker. Usually we think of a worker that
is impaired as one who comes to work under the influence of a chemical. Drugs and alcohol probably come first to your
mind when we talk about chemical impairment. Chemically, a healthy body is well balanced. Impairment occurs when
the drugs alter your blood chemistry. Can you think of another, subtler way in which blood chemistry can be altered?

The answer is surprisingly simple.

It is food or perhaps more commonly, the lack of food. Everyone that watches television has heard how important a good
breakfast is for children. It's a well-documented fact that children who start the day with a good breakfast do much better
in school. While the nutritional needs of adults are different than children, they are important and nutrition affects your
performance in all areas of your work, including safety.

Think back to the last time you were really hungry…what do you remember? Most likely, it was a dull ache in the pit of
your stomach, which successfully prevented you from thinking very long about anything other than how hungry you were.
To perform your job safely, you need to be concentrating on the task at hand, not, "when's lunch?" Inadequate nutrition
also decreases endurance, memory, arithmetic reasoning, reading ability and attention span. You may say that your job
doesn't require reading or arithmetic skills. However, decreases in performance in these areas are similarly experienced
when one is under the influence of drugs or alcohol. In other words, inadequate nutrition is an impairment.

While breakfast may be the day's most important meal, many people begin to fade around 2:00 or 3:00 p.m. Prevention
magazine reported that researchers found that performance increased significantly when a high calorie snack was eaten in
the afternoon, rather than drinking the more common diet soda.

The Food-for-Thought in this safety meeting is Eat Well. Have a nutritious breakfast, a healthy lunch, and a snack in the
afternoon. Eating nutritious foods or snacks maintains your metabolism, assisting you in sustaining or improving your job
performance and concentration on the job. This in turn can improve your personal safety performance and make you more
comfortable during the day by getting rid of that uncomfortable ache.

Paints and Painting

Modern day paints are complex chemical mixtures of pigments for color, binders that cause paint to adhere to surfaces, and solvents that make the application easier and smoother.

Pigments can contain hazardous materials such as lead, zinc, chromium, titanium dioxide, and silicates, as well as other hazardous substances. Binders can contain alkyd and epoxy resins that are classified as toxic.

Pigments and binders are dissolved in water or solvents, such as naptha, ether, xylene, mineral spirits or alcohol. When the paint is applied, solvents evaporate leaving behind pigments and binders.

The acute or immediate health hazards that can occur from exposure to paints are:

¨ INHALATION – Irritation of the throat and lungs, headaches, dizziness,
disorientation and unconsciousness

¨ EYE CONTACT – Chemical burns, loss of vision

¨ SKIN CONTACT – Irritation

¨ INGESTION – Abdominal pain and nausea

These symptoms will be noticed almost immediately. On the other hand, chronic effects or long term exposure can result
in the following:

¨ INHALATION – Liver or kidney damage

¨ SKIN CONTACT – Dermatitis or “sensitization.” Once sensitization occurs, even the slightest exposure may
result in severe reactions.

Paints containing lead can be harmful if inhaled or ingested. Continual exposure to even small amounts of lead can result
in lead poisoning. Symptoms are headache and dizziness. Marine bottom coatings are typically extremely toxic.

When using paints and associated products:

1. Be sure there is adequate ventilation.
2. Read and follow the Material Safety Data Sheet on the product.
3. Wear a properly fitted respirator and make sure it has the correct cartridge.
4. Wash your hands thoroughly before eating or smoking.
5. Dispose of paints and rags in proper containers.
6. Wear gloves, aprons, safety goggles and barrier creams as appropriate.