Women at risk when exposed to chemical used to remove paint and coatings

EPA releases final risk assessment for NMP

Pregnant women and those of childbearing
age were at risk of exposure to NMP: Experts

WASHINGTON - The U.S. EPA released the final risk assessment for N-Methylpyrrolidone (NMP), a chemical commonly used to remove paint and other coatings.

The assessment identified risks to pregnant women and women of childbearing age, who have high exposure to NMP through paint or other coating removal.

“By completing this assessment, we have taken an important step in protecting pregnant women and women of childbearing age who are using NMP to remove paint,” said Jim Jones, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.

“It is a reminder that as we evaluate these risks, it is very clear that our nation’s chemical laws are in much need of reform. Completing this assessment will now trigger a process to address these unacceptable risks.”

Acute and chronic risks identified for women of childbearing age who use NMP for less than four hours per day may be reduced by use of specific types of chemical-resistant gloves.

However, gloves and respirators do not adequately reduce risks to women of childbearing age who use NMP for more than four hours per day on a single day or repeatedly over a succession of days.

The NMP final risk assessment was developed as part of the Agency’s Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Work Plan, which identified chemicals for review and assessment of potential risks to people’s health and the environment.

NMP is a common alternative to methylene chloride, also known as Dichloromethane (DCM), a chemical-based paint and coating remover.

EPA has also identified risks associated with methylene chloride during the removal of paint and other coatings.

For both NMP and methylene chloride, EPA is considering a range of voluntary and regulatory actions to reduce risks, and recommends finding safer paint/coating removal chemicals, or taking precautions that can reduce exposures, such as using the product outside, in a well-ventilated area, and wearing proper gloves and respiratory protection.

Additional information on the NMP final risk assessment and other work plan chemicals can be found here.

Source: EPA press release

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Paint strippers contain harmful chemicals: EPA

Agency releases three final chemical risk assessments

DCM found in paint strippers poses
health risks to workers and
consumers: EPA risk assessment.

The EPA released three final risk assessments for specific uses of three chemicals found in common household products.

The risk assessment for Dichloromethane (DCM), which is widely used in paint stripping products, indicates health risks to both workers and consumers who use these products, and to bystanders in workplaces and residences where DCM is used.

EPA estimates that more than 230,000 workers nationwide are directly exposed to DCM from DCM-containing paint strippers.

“While EPA continues to support much needed reform of this country’s chemicals management legislation, we are also using our current authorities as effectively as we can, which includes conducting risk assessments on chemicals to determine if they are safe for the public,” said Jim Jones, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.

“Our review indicates that the use of DCM in paint strippers pose risks to human health, so EPA is beginning an effort to determine options for addressing the concern.”

Risk assessments for the other two chemicals did not show concerns. The other two looked at ecological risks of antimony trioxide (ATO) used as a synergist in halogenated flame retardants and 1,3,4,6,7,8-Hexahydro-4,6,6,7,8,8,-hexamethylcyclopenta-[γ]-2-benzopyran (HHCB) used as a fragrance ingredient in commercial and consumer products.

These final assessments and the recently released TCE risk assessment, which identified concerns for certain uses, were developed as part of the agency’s Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Work Plan, which identified chemicals for review and assessment of potential risks to people’s health and the environment.

The risk assessments are based on the best available information and were finalized after careful consideration of comments from the public and experts during an independent, scientific peer review of the assessments.

For DCM, EPA is considering a range of possible voluntary and regulatory actions to address concerns and anticipates conducting a workshop in late fall to engage key stakeholders and the public on potential alternatives and risk reduction approaches.

In the meantime, EPA recommends that consumers check the label to determine if the product contains Dichloromethane or Methylene Chloride. If so, EPA recommends taking precautions that can reduce exposures, such as using the product outside or in an extremely well-ventilated area and wearing protective equipment.

EPA is also currently evaluating risks of another chemical in paint strippers called N-Methylpyrrolidone (NMP).

EPA released a draft risk assessment for NMP which identified risks associated with use of NMP-containing paint strippers. EPA does not expect the final risk assessment to significantly change this conclusion, and therefore recommends that those using NMP-containing paint strippers also take measures to minimize exposure.

Source: EPA

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Indoor air quality tested with PTR technique

Emissions from paints and other
building materials contribute to
poor indoor air quality.

Human health is affected by the quality of indoor air and there are countless sources of airborne contaminants.

Emissions from adhesives in carpets, paint, wood fires, cooking, building materials and electronic devices like cell phones, TVs and computers are just some of the contributors. Being indoors, their effect is magnified because concentrations can build up if there is poor ventilation.

The quality of indoor atmospheres can be assessed by a technique called proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) due to the growing commercial availability of relatively small, mobile instruments that can be moved from location to location.

PTR is finding favor in a range of applications apart from air analysis, such as breath analysis for disease diagnosis and food analysis for sensory analysis and quality control.

In the simplest set up, H3O+ ions are produced by a hollow cathode discharge and are reacted with the pollutant molecules to give protonated molecules that are detected in a mass spectrometer.

The proton affinity of the target molecules must be greater than that of water for the reaction to proceed but this is the case for many common indoor pollutants. If not, other reagent ions like nitric oxide or krypton can be injected to produce the protonated reagents.

The ionisation technique is gentle, generally producing no other ions apart from the protonated molecules, but this is sufficient for monitoring purposes if the analytes are known.

Apart from detecting certain airborne pollutants, PTR-MS can also be used in a dynamic way to follow their levels over time. The viability of this approach has been demonstrated by European scientists who carried out a range of different experiments on different materials.

Applications of PTR-MS in Indoor Air:

1) Watching paint dry

2) Printing volatiles and building boards, including

• Laser printer operation
• Diffusion of toluene through a gypsum board (calculating diffusion coefficients)
• Measuring the emission of toluene 

These examples used PTR quadrupole mass spectrometers but another application used a PTR-time-of-flight instrument in which the high-resolution capabilities allowed compounds to be identified as well as measured. This ability was demonstrated by studying the steady-state emission of volatile compounds from an oriented strand board, a type of building board.

The research team recommend the use of PTR-MS for analysing processes and materials in test chambers, like those they used for the current experiments.

Having said that, they point out that the technique does have its drawbacks. Target compounds with low proton affinities could be influenced by the humidity of the surrounding air. In addition, calibration to determine the analyte concentrations can be difficult.

The positive points are the good time resolution, high sensitivity and robustness of the technique. The low mass resolution of PTR-MS on quadrupole instruments can be countered by the new generation of PTR-TOF mass spectrometers to give a broadly applicable technique for studying indoor volatile compounds.

Source: SpectroscopyNOW.com

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Captain sues marine company for exposure to toxic fumes

Chemical exposure ruined health and future, seaman alleges

Health and safety lawsuits can be
expensive for employers.

Comal County resident Paul Whetstone seeks more than $1 million in damages from a marine company he claims exposed him to toxic chemicals.

He was ordered to repair his ship after the Ashton T ran aground on the Galveston north jetty in March 2012. Whetstone was first captain of the vessel.

Whetstone claims that he had to work “in a closed environment with little or no ventilation and ingested fumes and vapors from paint, polyurethane, welding gasses and other toxic and harmful substances in the air.”

Whetstone filed a Jones Act lawsuit against T&T Offshore Inc. and T&T Marine Inc. in Galveston County District Court.

In his suit, Whetstone claims he now wears a pacemaker following the incident last year in which “his heart and entire central nervous system shut down and he died.” Whetstone was revived and stabilized shortly afterwards, but rendered unable to work again, the suit says.

Seaman now requires pacemaker because of ship’s toxic fumes, court papers say

He also claims that he was made to eat and sleep “in this environment” and not allowed to leave the Ashton T.

Whetstone claims he requested adequate protection from “such harmful and deadly fumes, vapors and metals in the air” to no avail.

He was released from duty on April 28, 2012, and Whetstone states he was taken to San Antonio’s Baptist Hospital where surgeons installed the pacemaker.

According to the suit, the pacemaker “has permanently prevented the plaintiff from performing any form of work activity in the maritime and aviation fields because he is no longer qualified to maintain his ship captain and aviation license(s).”

A jury trial is requested.

Source: Southeast Texas Record

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US company identified as manufacture of lead paint in Africa

House paint containing dangerous concentrations of lead is being sold in Cameroon by an American company – and the company is refusing to remove the paint from store shelves.

"There is an immediate need for regulations to restrict the lead content of paint in Cameroon to protect public health," said Perry Gottesfeld, Executive Director of Occupational Knowledge International (OK International) and co-author of a new research study about this lead hazard.

"The levels of lead are extraordinarily high, and these products have been banned in the U.S. for more than 30 years," Gottesfeld said.

The study, in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene revealed lead concentrations are as high as 50 percent by weight in household paint being sold by Cameroon's largest paint company, Seignerurie – a subsidiary of the U.S. Company PPG. This concentration is more than 5,000 times the allowable limit in the U.S.

Lead is added to paint because it is inexpensive way to add color, resist corrosion, or to improve the drying.

The research was jointly conducted by OK International and the Research and Education Centre for Development (CREPD) and involved samples from dozens of stores. Results showed that two-thirds (66%) of new paints in Cameroon made by more than ten companies had hazardous lead levels in excess of 90 parts per million (ppm). The researchers also found that none of the lead paints surveyed in stores had any hazard warnings while only 8% of the paints had labels identifying any of the ingredients. The new study is the first one which provides the names of paint companies and the lead concentrations for all 61 paints tested.

"This is the ultimate case of a company operating with double standards as they sell hazardous products in developing countries that have been banned in the U.S. since the 1970s," Gottesfeld added.

As a result of this research, consumers in Cameroon are being warned to avoid purchasing paints unless the cans are labeled with as having no added lead. Most of the paint available in the market contains hazardous levels of lead that causes birth defects, brain damage, high blood pressure, and other health effects in both children and adults.

CREPD is issuing a warning following the results of a recent survey showing that most of the new paints being sold in stores still contain lead at excessive levels despite pledges by some paint companies to reformulate.

"The problem we are seeing is that the older paint is still in stores because none of the companies have recalled products with hazardous levels of lead," said Gilbert KUEPOUO, Coordinator of CREPD. "As a result, we are asking consumers to look for labels that indicate that lead levels are less than 90 parts per million (PPM) as required in the U.S., China, and other countries."

PPG sent a letter to some of the distributors offering to exchange some products, but few responded.

CREPD recently interviewed the managers of the 11 stores that sell Seigneurie paints and identified only three that had returned products based on the companies offer. There are no regulations regarding the lead content of new paints in Cameroon.

The World Health Organization estimates that 240 million people around the world are overexposed to lead contamination and 99 percent of those most severely exposed reside in developing countries. Lead paint in housing contributes significantly to children's exposure resulting in brain damage, mental retardation, lower educational performance, and a range of other health effects.

Paint spill causes evacuation of 800 employees

Paint can emit harmful
fumes.

Exposure to chemical fumes is no laughing matter, as a recent evacuation of hundreds of workers at a company in Santa Monica shows.

Just before 8 a.m. on Friday morning, about 20 gallons of industrial-strength paint were spilled at C&D Zodiac Inc., causing one woman to be sent to the hospital for treatment of nausea.

There was a mandatory evacuation of the building affecting 800 employees, while hazardous material response crews were cleaning up.

The spill occurred after some shelves collapsed and dropped water-based paint cans to the floor.

Some of the cans were punctured in the process and spilled the paint, which is used to coat aircraft interiors (such as overhead baggage bins).

While the paint did not pose a big fire risk, the fumes were a major concern and made several employees feel ill.

Source: Santa Maria Times

Air cleaners for airborne fumes and chemicals

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Industrial chemical fumes affecting nearby apartment residents

Residents are worried about chemical
odors coming from the business next door.

We may live in an industrial world, but there is such a thing as too close for comfort.

In Bakersfield, California, the residents of an apartment complex worry about chemical fumes from the industrial tank maker next door drifting over to their apartments.

The company is making above-ground tanks for industrial uses and the residents are most concerned about the irritating odors when their tanks are painted.

The residents have noticed paint droplets on cars and windows and say they worry most about the children living in the apartment complex.

Signs on the outside of Tiger Tanks’ fence warn that cancer causing chemicals are used on the property.
Authorities are investigating the complaints, but couldn’t determine any violations so far.

Source: 23 ABC News

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