OBJECTIVES: This study characterized exposure-monitoring activities and findings under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA's) 1984 ethylene oxide (EtO) standard. METHODS: In-depth mail and telephone surveys were followed by on-site interviews at all EtO-using hospitals in Massachusetts (n = 92, 96% participation rate). RESULTS: By 1993, most hospitals had performed personal exposure monitoring for OSHA's 8-hour action level (95%) and the excursion limit (87%), although most did not meet the 1985 implementation deadline. In 1993, 66% of hospitals reported the installation of EtO alarms to fulfill the standard's "alert" requirement. Alarm installation also lagged behind the 1985 deadline and peaked following a series of EtO citations by OSHA. From 1990 through 1992, 23% of hospitals reported having exceeded the action level once or more; 24% reported having exceeded the excursion limit; and 33% reported that workers were accidentally exposed to EtO in the absence of personal monitoring. CONCLUSIONS: Almost a decade after passage of the EtO standard, exposure-monitoring requirements were widely, but not completely, implemented. Work-shift exposures had markedly decreased since the mid-1980s, but overexposures continued to occur widely. OSHA enforcement appears to have stimulated implementation.
OBJECTIVES: This study characterized exposure-monitoring activities and findings under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA's) 1984 ethylene oxide (EtO) standard. METHODS: In-depth mail and telephone surveys were followed by on-site interviews at all EtO-using hospitals in Massachusetts (n = 92, 96% participation rate). RESULTS: By 1993, most hospitals had performed personal exposure monitoring for OSHA's 8-hour action level (95%) and the excursion limit (87%), although most did not meet the 1985 implementation deadline. In 1993, 66% of hospitals reported the installation of EtO alarms to fulfill the standard's "alert" requirement. Alarm installation also lagged behind the 1985 deadline and peaked following a series of EtO citations by OSHA. From 1990 through 1992, 23% of hospitals reported having exceeded the action level once or more; 24% reported having exceeded the excursion limit; and 33% reported that workers were accidentally exposed to EtO in the absence of personal monitoring. CONCLUSIONS: Almost a decade after passage of the EtO standard, exposure-monitoring requirements were widely, but not completely, implemented. Work-shift exposures had markedly decreased since the mid-1980s, but overexposures continued to occur widely. OSHA enforcement appears to have stimulated implementation.
Authors: P A Schulte; M Boeniger; J T Walker; S E Schober; M A Pereira; D K Gulati; J P Wojciechowski; A Garza; R Froelich; G Strauss Journal: Mutat Res Date: 1992-04 Impact factor: 2.433
Authors: J Mayer; D Warburton; A M Jeffrey; R Pero; S Walles; L Andrews; M Toor; L Latriano; L Wazneh; D Tang Journal: Mutat Res Date: 1991-05 Impact factor: 2.433
Authors: P J Landrigan; T J Meinhardt; J Gordon; J A Lipscomb; J R Burg; L F Mazzuckelli; T R Lewis; R A Lemen Journal: Am J Ind Med Date: 1984 Impact factor: 2.214