Today, we’re going to talk about working safely with lead. Overexposure to lead is one of the most common exposure hazards found in industry. In fact, lead overexposure is a leading cause of workplace illness.

The health hazards of lead exposure are well documented. Even a one-time exposure to extremely high levels of lead can have immediate and serious health effects. However, in most workplaces containing lead, the more likely health hazard is the result of long-term exposure to low levels of lead.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has extensive regulations that cover potential exposure to lead. OSHA’s standards require that employees potentially exposed to lead must be trained in a number of topics, including health hazards of lead, operations that could result in exposure, restricted areas, engineering controls, medical surveillance, personal protective equipment, or PPE, hygiene and housekeeping, and decontamination procedures.

Session Objectives

The main objective of this session is to make sure that you know how to work safely around lead and how to take the proper precautions to protect yourself from lead hazards. By the time the session is over, you should be able to:

• Know potential workplace lead exposure hazards;
• Understand the health hazards and symptoms of lead exposure;
• Know the permissible exposure limits;
• Understand what medical surveillance is required; and
• Know what air monitoring is and why it’s required.

29 CFR 1910.1025.

Prequiz: How Much Do You Know?

Before we begin the session, let’s take a few minutes to see how much you already know about working with lead. Decide which of the statements on the screen are true or false.

• Lead has been banned from many of its previous uses in the United States. – This is true.
• Most exposures to lead occur through ingestion or inhalation of dust or fumes. – This is true.
• The symptoms of lead exposure include loss of appetite and anxiety. – This is also true.
• Lead exposure causes no long-term damage to the body. – This is false.

How did you do? Did you get all the answers right?

If not, don’t worry. You’ll learn all about these issues and a lot more during the session.

Lead Sources

Although the use of lead is now banned from most of its previous uses in the United States, there are still many ways you may be exposed. The creation of, working of, shaping of, and machining of lead-containing materials can put you at risk.

• Lead is still used in the United States to manufacture batteries, pipes, ammunition, and in equipment used to shield people from X rays. Even if you are not exposed to these applications, you could still be exposed to existing products that have lead in them, such as lead paint and many ceramics.
• Exposure to lead can have serious short- and long-term effects.
• There are many ways to protect yourself if you need to work around lead—it’s your job to know the hazards and how to protect yourself.

How Lead Enters the Body

The most common way for lead to enter the body is by inhaling lead dust or fumes. In addition, cutting or grinding that lead pipe will expose you to lead dust. Welding the pipe will expose you to lead fumes.

• Lead dust or fumes most commonly enter the body by inhalation. Smoking cigarettes contaminated with lead dust or fumes can also result in the inhalation of lead.
• Lead dust or fumes can also be ingested when eating food or drinking beverages that have been contaminated with lead dust or fumes.

How Are Lead Dust And Fumes Created?

Lead dust and fumes are released into the work space when employees work with a product or material containing lead or coated with a lead-based paint.

• Welding or flame torch cutting that’s performed on lead or lead-containing materials will generate toxic lead fumes.
• Abrasive blasting for cleaning structures or materials that contain lead will generate toxic lead fumes.
• Cutting, sanding, scraping, or grinding on lead-containing materials will generate lead dust. The use of powered sanders or grinders will generate a much higher concentration of lead dust than manual sanding or grinding.
• Machining of lead alloys, casting of leaded alloys and use of lead-based solder can also generate lead exposure.
• Almost any maintenance work on equipment or materials containing lead will expose the worker to some level of lead dust or lead fumes in the air.

Symptoms of Exposure

If you experience any of these symptoms after being potentially exposed to lead, report them to your supervisor immediately. Prompt treatment can help avoid serious problems related to lead exposure. Symptoms of lead overexposure include:

• Loss of appetite
• Metallic taste in mouth
• Anxiety
• Stomach cramps
• Pale skin
• Tiredness
• Headache
• Nervous irritability
• Muscle and joint pain
• Tremors
• Numbness
• Dizziness

Short-Term Exposure

• The effects of short-term lead exposure vary depending on the concentration of lead in the air that was inhaled or the amount of lead that was ingested. Higher quantities of lead absorbed by the body result in more severe health effects.
• Health effects can range from the symptoms described on the previous slide to seizures, coma, or even death.

Long-Term Exposure

When lead enters your body, it gets absorbed into your bloodstream, where it is distributed to organs and body tissue. If your body takes in more lead than it can naturally eliminate, the lead builds up and over time can cause severe and irreversible damage to your blood, nervous, urinary, and reproductive systems. The following illnesses may occur:

• Anemia, which is a decrease in the blood’s ability to carry oxygen. Anemia can make you weak and tired.
• Nervous system damage, which is sometimes temporary, but which can lead to severe brain damage. The symptoms of lead-caused nervous system damage include vomiting, poor memory, restlessness, irritability, tremors, convulsions, muscular weakness, and a feeling of dullness or drowsiness.

Long-Term Exposure (cont.)

• Symptoms of kidney disease, such as urinary problems, usually do not show up until the damage to the kidneys is major and possibly permanent.
• Reproductive impairment, which is one of the worst hazards to both men and women. Lead may decrease women’s fertility and cause abnormal menstrual cycles. Overexposure to lead for men may decrease the sex drive and cause impotence or sterility.
• Miscarriage or stillbirth if either parent has been overexposed to lead. In addition, children born to exposed parents are more likely to have birth defects, mental retardation, behavioral disorders, or even die during the first year of life.

Permissible Exposure Limit

To protect you from toxic exposure to lead on the job, OSHA has set up a Permissible Exposure Limit, or PEL, which is the highest concentration of lead that OSHA has determined workers can be exposed to without serious health effects.

• An average of 50 micrograms of lead per cubic meter (µg/m3 ) of air is the highest concentration allowed over a continuous 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA).
• The PEL is adjusted based on how many hours you work each day. For example, if you work a 10-hour day, the highest lead concentration allowed under the lead rule is 40 µg/m3 for that period.

Areas Above the PEL

Work areas with lead concentrations greater than 50 µg/m3 must be designated as restricted.

• Signs must be posted stating “DANGER—LEAD—MAY DAMAGE FERTILITY OR THE UNBORN CHILD. CAUSES DAMAGE TO THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. DO NOT EAT, DRINK, OR SMOKE IN THIS AREA.”
• If you work in an area with lead concentrations greater than 50 µg/m³ , you must wear respiratory protection, which we will discuss in more detail later.
• We must have a written plan to reduce lead concentrations in the work area, and we must implement engineering or work practice controls to reduce the lead concentrations when workers are exposed for more than 30 days per year.
• We must also have a written compliance program that demonstrates how we comply with OSHA’s Lead Standard. The plan must include topics such as: hazard determination, exposure controls, signs, respiratory protection, PPE, housekeeping and hygiene, medical surveillance, and training.
• We are required to provide showers, changing rooms, and lunchrooms for workers exposed to airborne lead above the PEL.

Action Level

In addition to the PEL, OSHA has also established an “action level” for lead. This is exposure to a concentration of 30 µg/m3 of air averaged over an 8-hour day. If you are exposed at or above the action level, additional OSHA requirements apply. For example:

• Engineering controls and other means must be used to reduce lead levels in that work area.
• Employees must be given a thorough medical exam before being assigned to work.
• If you are exposed to 30 µg/m3 for more than 30 days per year, you must be informed of the hazards associated with the work, and you must take a blood test. If the results show elevated lead levels, you must be moved to another job that does not involve exposure to lead. In addition, you must be allowed access to your medical records.
• The air in the work area must be monitored for lead at least every 6 months.

Exercise

Now, it’s time for an exercise. Earlier, we discussed the effects of short-term lead exposure and the effects of long-term exposure. For each of the symptoms you’ll see on the screen, decide if it is a short– or long-term effect.

• Nervous System Damage—This is a long-term effect.
• Headache—This is a short-term effect.
• Kidney Disease—This is a long-term effect.
• Anxiety—This is a short-term effect.
• Tremors—This is a short-term effect.
• Dizziness—This is a short-term effect.
• Anemia—This is a long-term effect.

How did you do? Did you get them all correct? Are you setting goals to help yourself remember the information after you complete the course?

Review

Now it’s time to ask yourself if you understand the information presented so far. Do you understand what we’ve said about:

• The hazards of lead exposure?
• Symptoms of exposure?
• What PELs and action levels are?

It’s important to understand this information so that you are aware of lead hazards and what can be done about them.

Controlling Lead Exposure

Now that you know the risks of working around lead, let’s go over how to protect yourself. Here are some of the basic ways you can limit your exposure to lead:

• Only enter a restricted area if you are authorized. Entrances to areas above the PEL should be limited, so be sure to follow the restrictions.
• Read and follow warning signs that warn against entering restricted areas. Signs should state “DANGER—LEAD—MAY DAMAGE FERTILITY OR THE UNBORN CHILD. CAUSES DAMAGE TO THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. DO NOT EAT, DRINK, OR SMOKE IN THIS AREA.”
• Make sure the available ventilation systems are operating to reduce the lead concentrations in the area.
• Follow administrative controls, such as job rotation, to limit your exposure to less than 30 days per year. Management must keep records of which employees are rotated, where, and when.
• And finally, practicing proper housekeeping and hygiene will also keep lead exposure to a minimum.

Air Monitoring

• OSHA requires air monitoring of employee exposure if there are any indications of dangerous lead levels in the work area, such as an employee with symptoms that could indicate lead exposure.
• If monitoring indicates exposure above the PEL, monitoring must be repeated every 3 months.
• If initial monitoring indicates exposure between the action level and the PEL, monitoring must be repeated at least every 6 months. If monitoring shows lead concentrations below the action level, no further monitoring is required unless there are changes in the workplace.
• Whenever any changes in the work area could lead to new or added exposure to lead, OSHA requires employers to repeat monitoring.
• Employers must inform employees in writing about the lead levels revealed during monitoring in their work area, including any action taken or planned to reduce dangerous lead exposures. Employees or their representatives may observe any air monitoring. Air monitoring should include personal monitoring for full shifts in order to get an accurate picture of the lead exposure.

Ventilation

Proper ventilation is a common protection method against overexposure to airborne lead.

• Mechanical systems may be used with enclosures or containment situations. Remember, lead cannot be vented outside one work area to another area. Lead dust and fumes must be captured in some type of collection system.
• Local portable ventilation systems can be installed adjacent to where specific tasks, such as welding or sanding operations, are performed.
• Shrouded power tools with ventilation can be used to capture the lead dust that is created while grinding or sanding.
• Measurements of the ventilation system’s effectiveness should be taken every 3 months. Capture velocity, duct velocity, or static pressure can be assessed to measure the efficiency of a ventilation system.

Respirators

• Respirators are used as a last resort when engineering controls, such as ventilation, or administrative controls, such as job rotation, are not enough to reduce lead exposure below the PEL.
• OSHA also gives you the right to request a respirator even if lead levels are not high enough to require one. You can voluntarily choose to wear a respirator when exposed to lead levels below the PEL.
• OSHA allows changing the respirator’s cartridge any time there is an increase in breathing resistance. You can also leave the work area to wash your face and the respirator face piece whenever necessary to prevent skin irritation.
• Wash your face and the respirator while still wearing the respirator. Removing the respirator before washing could result in inhaling lead dust that may have accumulated on your face or on the respirator itself.

Other Types of PPE

Employers are required to provide clean protective clothing to protect employees from lead exposure. You must never leave the workplace wearing any contaminated clothing or equipment. Additional protective clothing can help prevent skin irritation. For example:

• Coveralls protect your body and underclothing from contamination.
• Gloves protect your hands from contamination.
• Protective hats or hoods keep lead out of your hair and ears.
• Shoe covers prevent lead from contaminating your shoes and being tracked through your home.
• And finally, face shields or vented goggles protect your eyes and face.

PPE Cleaning and Disposal

To prevent the spread of lead contamination be sure to clean and store your PPE and clothing properly. Employers must repair, replace, clean, launder, and dispose of protective clothing in a way that does not spread lead contamination.

• The best way to remove dust from your protective clothing is with a HEPA vacuum. The lead dust is drawn into the vacuum and contained.
• Do not remove lead dust by blowing with compressed air or by shaking your clothing. This only spreads the lead dust around and puts it into the air, where you will breathe it.
• Dispose of lead-contaminated clothing in sealed bags or containers. If you reuse your work clothing, keep it separate from personal clothing to prevent cross contamination.
• Disposal or laundry containers must be labeled “DANGER: CLOTHING AND EQUIPMENT CONTAMINATED WITH LEAD. MAY DAMAGE FERTILITY OR THE UNBORN CHILD. CAUSES DAMAGE TO THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. DO NOT EAT, DRINK, OR SMOKE WHEN HANDLING. DO NOT REMOVE DUST BY BLOWING OR SHAKING. DISPOSE OF LEAD CONTAMINATED WASH WATER IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE LOCAL, STATE, OR FEDERAL REGULATIONS.” In addition, an explanation of lead hazards must also be provided to those responsible for cleaning or laundering the protective clothing.
• Lead-contaminated wash water must be disposed of in accordance with all applicable local, state, or federal regulations. Do not allow lead-contaminated water to enter the environment. The water must go through a regulated wastewater treatment center.

 

 

Housekeeping and Hygiene

• OSHA requires that all surfaces be maintained free of accumulations of lead.
• Vacuums with HEPA filters are recommended to clean floors and other surfaces. Do not use compressed air. Do not shovel, brush, or use dry or wet sweeping unless vacuuming does not work.
• Never take food, beverages, or tobacco into areas with high lead levels as they may spread contamination even if consumed in a different area.
• When you leave the high lead area, vacuum contaminated clothing or remove and dispose of it.
• Wash hands before eating, smoking, or applying cosmetics.
• Don’t go home wearing lead contaminated clothing. At the end of the shift, remove your contaminated clothing, leave it in the changing room, shower, and put on clean personal clothing.
• Store work clothes away from personal clothes.

Medical Surveillance

OSHA requires employers to provide free medical surveillance and biological monitoring with results provided for:

• Workers who are assigned to work near lead.
• Workers who are exposed above the action level for more than 30 days a year. These workers must have a medical exam at least every 6 months.
• Workers who report possible symptoms of overexposure.
• And, those who have a blood lead level of 40 micrograms per 100 grams of whole blood. These employees will receive medical exams every 2 months until blood levels test below 40 micrograms for 2 consecutive tests.

Removal from Lead Exposure

We will remove employees from a job if they have elevated blood lead levels or if it is medically necessary. Any employee removed from a job will retain his or her job status. Employees must be removed from a job with lead exposure at or above the action level if:

• Blood lead level averages: – at or above 60 micrograms per 100 grams of whole blood for a periodic and follow-up blood sampling test, or – 50 micrograms per 100 grams for an average of three blood sampling tests, and
• Use of engineering controls, protective clothing, respirators, etc., cannot bring the lead exposure down, or
• A medical exam places the employee at an increased risk of “material impairment of health” due to lead exposure.

Once blood levels reach the safety zone or it is medically determined that an employee is no longer at risk of exposure to lead, removed workers can return to their jobs. Blood test results must be less than 40 micrograms for two consecutive tests. Blood must be tested monthly when an employee is removed from the job as a result of lead exposure.

Written Compliance Program

Employers must have a written compliance program before starting any projects where employee exposure to lead may be above the PEL. The compliance program should include information about:

• The hazards of the worksite by performing a lead exposure assessment. This might include monitoring or evaluating the project for specific tasks that will generate lead dust or fumes. It must also describe the types of activities or processes where lead is emitted.
• Engineering and work practice controls, which may include ventilation, containment, and limiting employee time in high lead areas.
• Posting signs at entrances to areas with high lead exposure that say “DANGER—LEAD—MAY DAMAGE FERTILITY OR THE UNBORN CHILD. CAUSES DAMAGE TO THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. DO NOT EAT, DRINK, OR SMOKE IN THIS AREA.”
• And, the appropriate type of respiratory protection for the project. Respiratory protection might be required or voluntary, depending on the concentration of lead.

Written Compliance Program (cont.)

The plan should also describe:

• The PPE employees will use while in the high-lead work area;
• Housekeeping practices that will be used during the project;
• Hygiene practices and facilities that will be established, such as changing rooms, showers, and storage areas for work clothes and personal clothes;
• Medical surveillance programs for the workers on this project;
• Training to ensure all workers are informed of the hazards of lead;
• And finally, a designated competent person capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards or working conditions that are hazardous to employees. The competent person must have the authority to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate problems. This competent person will inspect the high-lead operations to ensure the safety of all workers.

Emergencies

Some emergency situations will require procedures for a spill of lead dust materials and first aid for overexposure by inhalation or ingestion.

• Sweep or vacuum spills into sealed containers. Label the containers appropriately with the words “Lead Waste.”
• Do not allow lead dust to enter the environment by release into the air, ground, or water.
• If a large amount of lead dust is inhaled, get fresh air and rest. Get medical attention as soon as possible.
• If a large amount of lead dust is ingested, rinse your mouth. Get medical attention as soon as possible.

Exercise

In the second half of this training presentation, we reviewed ways you can protect yourself from lead exposure. See how many of them you can remember.

Did you remember these systems designed to protect you from lead exposure?

• Air monitoring
• Controlling exposure
• Ventilation
• PPE
• Housekeeping and hygiene
• Medical surveillance
• Removal from the job If you didn’t remember all of them, you might want to go back and review.

Review

Now it’s time to ask yourself if you understand the information presented in the previous slides about how to protect yourself from lead exposure? Do you understand what we’ve said about:

• Air monitoring?
• Controlling exposure?
• Ventilation?
• PPE?
• Housekeeping and hygiene?
• Medical surveillance?
• Removal from the job?

It’s important to understand this information so that you can remain safe on the job.

Let’s continue now to the last slide and some key points to remember.

Key Points To Remember

Here are the main points to remember about this session on lead safety:

• Although lead has been banned for many uses today, it is still produced in a few industries and widely found in older materials.
• Exposure to lead can have harmful short- and long-term health effects.
• It’s important that you know what you can do to protect yourself from the effects of lead exposure.

This concludes the Lead Safety—General Industry training session. Will you remember this information after the course is complete, or do you need to go back and review?