DCHAS-L Discussion List Archive

Date: Tue, 27 Jul 2004 13:42:04 -0700
From: "Larry D. McLouth" 
Organization: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Latex Glove degeneration

At the risk of straying from the original question, hazard
assessments as prescribed by the OSHA PPE Standard are  prudent for
lab operations but according to an OSHA interpretation, they are not
required if these elements are covered in training.  See the OSHA
Interpretation entitled:

"01/23/1995 - The application of the Personal Protective Equipment
standard to PPE hazard assessment and training for laboratory and
clinical health care workers."  At this URL:

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=INTERPRETATIONS&p_id=21681

As I read the Lab Standard, the PPE standard and this interpretation,
I think OSHA is saying that the PPE standard was intended for chem
hazards related to operations where the hazards are relatively stable
- i.e, in industrial situations and production processes where the
chem hazards don't change that much.   Lab environments are more
dynamic.

I'd be interested in your thoughts on this matter.

BTW we use Ms. Wetterhahn's tragic death as a lessons learned and as
a segue to glove selection during Chem Hygiene Training.  We teach
people how to use glove resistance charts and web based selection
databases.

Larry