GHS and Lead Worker safety go together like Bread and Butter and letting worker and families know the huge document risks is critical safety data to safe and happy families

1. GHS and Lead Safety
Is the whole family at risk!

2. Worker Training Requirements
• Required if you are exposed to lead at or above the
action level or if you suffer from skin or eye irritation
from lead.
• Includes:
– Specific job hazards from lead.
– Protective measures, engineering controls & work practices
to be taken.
– Dangers of lead to your body.
– Accessibility to written program/regulations.
– Description of the medical surveillance program & medical
removal program.

3. Why was Lead Used
• Prevents Corrosion
• Kills mold and mildew
• Malleable
• Strong
• Blocks Radiation
• Blocks Sound
• Drying Agent

4. Have you read and reviewed that SDS

5. Problems
• It’s a chronic and
acute poison
• Contamination

6. Reproductive Systems
• Male System
–Impotency
–Lack of drive
–Damage to
sperm
–Infertility
• Female System
– Infertility
– Birth defects
– Miscarriage
– Pregnancy

7. • Soft blue-gray metal
• Found in the
natural environment
• Was added to paint
and gasoline in past
• Still used in consumer
products
What is Lead?
the natural ore galena

8. GHS and SDS Important Numbers
• Presumed LBP: Pre-1979
• LBP – New Paint – 0.06%, 600 ppm
• LBP – Existing Paint – 0.5%, 5000 ppm, 1 mg/cm2
• LSWP Required – 0.1%, 1000 ppm, 0.5 mg/cm2
• Lead in Air – PEL = 50 µg/m3; AL = 30 µg/m3
• Contaminated Soil – 400 ppm play areas; 1000 ppm other
• Contaminated Dust – 40 µg/ft2 interior floor;
250 µg/ft2 interior horizontal; 400 µg/ft2 exterior
• Waste

9. • Gasoline (phase-out began 1980)
• Smelting
• Lead batteries (25-78% of all lead used in U.S.)
• Paints and coatings
• Solder
• Auto manufacturing
• Printing
• Other construction products : liners, shielding, water-
proofing, etc.
In what products was lead commonly used?

10. • Late 1950’s – Paint manufacturers
voluntarily reduced lead content of most
paint for residential use.
• 1978 – CPSC limits paint for residential
use to 600 ppm.
• Lead paint for non-residential use is still
sold.
History

11. Occupational Exposure to Lead
• Construction activities
 Demolition or salvage of
structures containing lead
 Removal or encapsulation of
lead materials (scraping,
heating, sanding, grinding,
blasting)
 Alteration, repair or
renovation of structures
containing lead
 Transportation, disposal,
cleanup of lead materials
 Maintenance operations
associated with construction
activities
11

12. 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.

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

14. During prolonged chronic exposure, many body
systems can be affected by lead, including:
• brain, kidneys
• muscles, bones
• blood forming & reproductive systems
Reported acute health effects include flu-like
illness, encephalophy, coma and death.
Health Effects

15. • Blood system – impairs production of “heme”, which
carries oxygen to body tissues
• Nervous system – damages the central nervous
system and brain tissue
• Urinary system – damages the kidneys
• Reproductive system – sterility, decreased sex drive,
impotence and (in men), miscarriages, menstrual
disturbances, crosses the placenta (in women)
15
HEALTH EFFECTS OF LEAD EXPOSURE
Chronic Exposure Effects

16. Health Effects

17. Health Effects

18. Health Effects

19. Health Effects

20. How Does Lead Get Into the Environment?
• Deterioration of lead-
based paint
• Leaded gasoline
• Businesses that
involve lead
• Lead mines or
smelters

21. How Are People Exposed to Lead?
• Dust, paint, and/or soil
• Contaminated food, water,
or alcohol
• Some imported home
remedies and cosmetics
• Endogenous exposure

22. Lead in Home Environments
bare soil
porch
windows
doors
walls
tracked in
Lead in dust
• Pre-1978 homes with deteriorated leaded paint
• Children at greatest risk
• Most exposure through leaded dust in home
• Lead dust levels have been directly correlated with
children’s BLL

23. How Are People Exposed to Lead in Work
Environments?
• Swallowing lead dust
• Breathing contaminated air
• Lead contacting skin
• Workers can expose
their families if they
bring lead home on
their clothes or skin

24. What Jobs Involve Lead?
• Lead smelting
or mining
• Construction/ remodeling
• Automobile repair
• Plumbing
• Police officers/military
• Many others

25. What Hobbies Involve Lead?
• Car repair
• Artistic painting
• Stained glass
• Pottery glazing
• Soldering
• Target shooting
• Making bullets, slugs
or fishing sinkers

26. • Lead can enter water by leaching from
– Lead-containing pipes
– Brass faucets
– Solder
• Boiling does not get rid of lead
• Running cold water before
use may reduce exposure
Lead in Drinking Water

27. Lead in Commercial Products
• Lead is still used in products such as:
– Bridge paint
– Computers
– Solder
– Pewter
– Ceramic glazes
– Jewelry
– Automotive batteries
• Imported or older pre-
regulation products

28. Lead in Food Products
• Food or beverages may be contaminated
through
– Production
– Packaging
– Storage

29. Lead in the Environment
• Varies from place to place
• Soil near roadways
(pre-1976 gasoline)
• Elevated in soil, water, or air near
lead mining or smelting facilities
• Near smaller businesses and
industries that involve lead

30. • Loss of appetite
• Metallic taste in mouth
• Anxiety
• Constipation
• Nausea
• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Insomnia
• Headaches
• Nervous irritability
• Muscle & joint soreness
• Dizziness
• Hyperactivity
• Numbness
30
HEALTH EFFECTS OF LEAD EXPOSURE
Symptoms of Chronic Lead Exposure

31. 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 based on an 8-
hour time weighted average.
• Action Level: OSHA established an
Action Level of 30 μg/m3
(micrograms per cubic meter of air)
based on an 8 hour time weighted
average.

32.  Initial air monitoring & determination include employee
complaints of symptoms which may be attributable to exposure to
lead.
 If action level has been exceeded, then an air monitoring program
is required.
 If exposed to lead, you must be notified in writing of the air
monitoring results.
 If PEL is exceeded, you will be informed in writing of air
monitoring results and a description of corrective actions to be
taken.
 If exposure is between the AL and PEL, then exposure is checked
every six months.
 If over the PEL, air monitoring is conducted every three months.
Exposure Monitoring

33. Who is Most at Risk of Lead Exposure?
• Children living in
older housing
• Pregnant women and
developing fetus

34. Biologic Fate
• Most lead is excreted
• Children and pregnant
women absorb more
lead than others
• Exchanged between
blood, soft tissues,
and mineralizing
tissues

35. Physiologic Effects of lead
• No known threshold for effects of lead
• Affects all organ systems
• Developmental neurologic effects of greatest
concern

36. Neurologic Effects of Lead
• Neurologic effects on
children documented
at levels below 10 mcg/dL
• Low exposure effects:
lowered IQ, attention deficits,
and impaired hearing
• High exposure effects:
irritability, convulsions, coma, or death
• Similar effects in adults at higher
exposure levels

37. Renal Effects of Lead
• Acute exposure: reversible
effects
• Chronic exposure:
nephropathy (chronic
interstitial nephritis)
• Childhood exposures → adult
renal disease

38. Hematologic Effects of Lead
• Interferes with production of hemoglobin
• Can induce two kinds of anemia:
– Acute exposure → hemolytic
– Chronic exposure → synthetic
• Threshold for adults: 50 mcg/dL
• Threshold for children: 40 mcg/dL

39. Endocrine Effects of Lead
• Inverse correlation between BLLs and vitamin
D levels
• Chronic exposure may affect thyroid function

40. Cardiovascular Effects of Lead
• Increases risk
of hypertension

41. Developmental Effects of Lead
• Crosses the placental
barrier
• Affects fetal viability, and
fetal and early childhood
development
• Maternal lead may affect
child’s neurologic
development

42. Preventive Screening
• See state or local guidance for blood lead
screening
• CDC guidelines
– Test children at ages one and two
– Test children annually to age six if high-risk
• For adults, see OSHA guidelines
• Lead exposure risk questions

43. Environmental Exposure History
• Age and condition of residences
• Home remodeling activities
• Occupations and hobbies of family
• Family history
– Maternal /exposure
– Unusual medicines or home remedies.
• Imported or glazed ceramics or lead crystal
• Siblings or playmates with lead poisoning

44. Physical Examination
• Neurologic
• Hematologic
• Cardiovascular
• Gastrointestinal
• Renal
• For children: hearing and nutritional status

45. Signs and Symptoms
• Patient may appear asymptomatic
• Impaired abilities may include
– Decreased learning and memory
– Lowered IQ
– Decreased verbal ability
– Impaired speech and hearing functions
– Early signs of hyperactivity or ADHD
• Symptoms vary by exposure level

46. Signs and Symptoms: Low Toxicity
• Myalgia or paresthesia
• Mild fatigue
• Irritability
• Lethargy
• Occasional abdominal discomfort

47. Signs and Symptoms: Moderate Toxicity
• Arthralgia
• General fatigue
• Difficulty concentrating/Muscular exhaustibility
• Tremor
• Headache
• Diffuse abdominal pain
• Vomiting
• Weight loss
• Constipation

48. Signs and Symptoms: Severe Toxicity
• Paresis or paralysis
• Encephalopathy—may abruptly lead to
seizures, changes in consciousness, coma, and
death
• Lead line (blue-black) on gingival tissue
• Colic (intermittent, severe abdominal cramps)

49. Laboratory Tests
• Venous blood sample
• Confirm elevated finger-stick
• Erythrocyte protoporphyrin
(EP) is no longer
considered useful

50. Complete Blood Count
• May show basophilic stippling* in patients
with extended significant exposure
* Also seen in arsenic poisoning
Lead poisoning Normal red blood cells
basophilic
stippling

51. Abdominal Radiograph
Charm in Stomach
Lead
Lead charm found in
child’s stomach

52. Longbone radiographs
Lead Lines
Lead Lines
“Lead Lines” in five
year old male with
radiological growth
retardation and
blood lead level of
37.7µg/dl
(Photo courtesy of Dr. Celsa López Campos,
Clinical Epidemiologic Research Unit, IMSS, Torreón, México)

53. Lead Lines in Legs
“Lead Lines” in
three-year-two-
month-old girl with
Blood lead level of
10.6 µg/dl
Notice the increased
density on the
metaphysis growth
plate of the knee.
(Photo courtesy of Dr. Celsa López Campos,
Clinical Epidemiologic Research Unit, IMSS, Torreón, México)
Lead Lines

54. U.S. Standards for Lead
Blood:
CDC level of concern for children: 10 mcg/dL
OSHA workplace standard:
50 mcg/dL for removal from the job
40 mcg/dL for mandatory notification
Environmental:
Agencies have set standards for lead in water, air, and
soil

55. Clinical Management
• Most important step is removal of lead
exposure
–Referral to health department
–Environmental Investigations
–Other potential sources of lead
–Education about prevention

56. Summary
Diet
Drinking
water
Paint
Soil / Dust
Air
Other
sources
Outdoor Indoor

57. Medical Surveillance Program
Workers exposed to lead above the action level must be in a
Medical Surveillance Program.
This includes:
• Blood tests for lead: Blood Lead Level (BBL) and Zinc
Protoporphyrin (ZPP). Does not include tissues or organ
information.
• Medical examinations
• Removal from lead exposure if worker health is at risk
(Medical Removal Protection)
• Chelation: Use of certain drugs to remove lead from the
body. Used only in severe cases of lead poisoning and only
by a qualified MD.

58. • MRP protects you when engineering & administrative
controls, work practices and respirators have failed to
provide protection.
• Temporary removal from regular job to a different job
with significantly lower exposure.
• No loss of earnings, seniority, rights or benefits.
• Maximum 18 month period.
• Allows your body to naturally excrete the lead.
• Includes blood lead level criteria/schedules.
Medical Removal Protection
(MRP)

59. • Shrouded tools provide exhaust ventilation at the
point where the dust is generated.
• High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters on
vacuums are capable of capturing very small dust
particles with a 99.97% efficiency.
Engineering Controls

60. Respiratory Protection
• Used when other
types of controls are
not sufficient to
reduce lead exposure
to below PEL.
• Additional training is
required to wear a
respirator.

61. PPE (Personal Protective Equipment)
• Used to keep lead
dust off your body
and clothes

62. • 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 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.
Housekeeping/Work Practices

63. EXPOSURE > PEL
• Respiratory protection
• Personal protective equipment
• Change rooms
• Showers (where feasible in construction)
• Eating facilities
• Hand washing facilities

64. USA EMPLOYEE TRAINING
(within 180 days)
• REQUIRED:
– EXPOSURE > AL
– ANNUALLY

65. RECORDKEEPING
• EXPOSURE DATA AND MEDICAL
SURVEILLANCE
– 40 years or duration of employment plus 20
years
• MEDICAL REMOVAL
– At least duration of employment