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1. How can
working with toxic solvents affect my health?
If you breathe too much of a toxic solvent it
affects your nervous system (your brain). Symptoms include nausea,
dizziness, clumsiness, drowsiness, and other effects like those of being
drunk. If you are overexposed for a short time, the effects on your nervous
system go away when exposure stops. However, if you are overexposed for
months or years the damage to your nervous system can last a long time and
may be permanent. Solvents can also irritate your eyes, nose, throat and
skin. Getting solvents on your skin can cause a rash (dermatitis). Some
solvents can also cause other long-term health effects, including damage to
the nerves in your feet, legs, hands, and arms; damage to your reproductive
system; or cancer.
2. How can I
find out if I’m working with toxic solvents?
Check the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for the
product you are using. Section 2 of the MSDS should identify toxic solvents
and other hazardous materials by their Chemical Abstract Service (CAS)
numbers. The MSDS also should have information on health hazards and
exposure control methods. However, sometimes the health hazard information
is difficult to understand and may not be complete. See the HESIS
publications, Aerosol
Use in Auto Repair,
HESIS Guide to
Solvent Safety, and
n-Hexane Use in
Vehicle Repair for information on the health hazards of toxic solvents
and how to protect against exposure and prevent health damage.
3. What is “Pollution
Prevention?”
This term refers to an approach in which
environmental pollutants are replaced by alternative products or processes
that do not create smog or deplete the ozone layer. Pollution Prevention (or
P2) is different from pollution control, which relies on controlling the
quantity of pollutant released to the environment, and proper handling of
chemical wastes (recycling, re-use or acceptable disposal).
4. How does Pollution
Prevention help to protect workers?
If pollution prevention alternatives or replacement
products are non-toxic and are used in workplaces, they will help protect
workers’ health as well as the environment. For example, in several
industries, water-based cleaners have been developed as replacements for
cleaners that contain toxic solvents. Although the primary reason for
developing the cleaners was to reduce air pollution, workers who use the
cleaners will significantly reduce their risks of developing nerve damage
and other serious health problems that can be caused by toxic solvents.
5. Do pollution prevention
alternatives always protect workers?
No. If the replacement product is narrowly
directed toward preventing environmental pollution without also looking at
the potential impact on worker health, an alternative that is harmful to
worker health may be introduced. This was the case when brake cleaners were
re-formulated with n-hexane as a replacement for chlorinated solvents like
methylene chloride . Another example is the development of the toxic
solvent 1-bromopropane as a replacement for ozone-depleting solvents like
trichloroethane in spray adhesives and degreasers.
6. What can be done
to ensure that pollution prevention alternatives don’t harm workers?
It is important to identify non-toxic or low
toxicity pollution prevention alternatives that are safer for both workers
and the environment. This requires researching, developing, and testing the
safer alternatives to ensure that they are effective substitutes and can be
used by the industry. It’s also important for environmental protection and
occupational health agencies to work together when pollution prevention
alternatives are being considered. For example, HESIS staff participates on
technical advisory groups convened by the South Coast Air Quality Management
District, the California Air Resources Board, and other agencies to help
ensure that alternative chemicals identified as safe for the environment
don’t pose health hazards for workers.
7. Did your project
find safer aerosol cleaners that are good substitutes for solvent-based aerosols?
Yes. We identified water-based aerosol cleaners
that were effective for general purpose cleaning, cleaning brakes, and
degreasing engines. Aerosol cleaners formulated with soy and acetone were
effective in cleaning carburetor or fuel-injection intakes, and were safer
for workers and the environment than the solvent-based aerosol cleaners
currently in use. The Institute for Research and Technical Assistance (IRTA),
a non-profit organization that worked with us on the project, has
information on the availability of the safer alternatives we identified
during the project. See our fact sheet,
Aerosol Cleaner Use in
Auto Repair .
8. Did the project
identify other auto repair hazards and ways to protect against them?
Yes. We identified a variety of other health and
safety hazards in the industry and ways to protect against them. In
addition to toxic solvents, common auto repair industry health hazards
include asbestos, diesel engine exhaust, and carbon monoxide. Common safety
hazards include eye injuries, back and arm injuries, and fires. Our
brochure,
Injury, Illness, and Pollution Prevention in Auto Repair helps
employers develop a comprehensive plan to protect workers and the
environment from common hazards. It also helps them comply with
environmental protection and occupational health and safety regulations.
Preventing
pollution and protecting worker health in auto repair main page
Hazard Evaluation System and Information Service
(HESIS) home page
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