Air Purifiers for Xylene and Formalin Exposure

Chronic exposure to xylene and formalin is well-documented as a significant health hazard, yet these compounds are still routinely used for processing and staining in histology laboratories.

Despite the implementation of traditional laboratory filtration technologies such as fume hoods and incorporated air filters, histotechnologists are still suffering the effects of chemical exposure.

A New Approach to Air Filtration for Xylene and Formalin

Electrocorp air purifiers for Xylene and Formalin are stand-alone air scrubbers that offer enhanced protection from airborne chemicals. Fitted with the deepest, most extensive carbon beds in the industry, our air purifiers for laboratories are designed to target compounds with high molecular weights such as xylene.

Our carbon can also be impregnated with potassium permanganate for lower molecular weight compounds such as formaldehyde. These deep-bed carbon filters physically bind the chemical contaminants and while a medical-grade HEPA filter captures contaminated airborne dust and other particulate.


Allerair’s Recommended Air Purifiers for Xylene and Formalin Exposure:



Rap 204



5000 DX Vocarb

For more information on our Air Purifiers for Xylene and Formalin, contact our laboratory air quality expert Gershon Katz at 1-866-667-0297.

CHRONIC OCCUPATIONAL XYLENE EXPOSURE

“Xylene vapour is absorbed rapidly from the lungs and xylene liquid and vapour are absorbed slowly through the skin (Riihimaki and Pfaffli, 1978). Chronic occupational exposure has been associated with neuropsychological and neurophysiological dysfunction, anaemia, thrombocytopaenia, leukopaenia, chest pain with ECG abnormalities, dyspnoea and cyanosis (Langman, 1994).”

_-Biological Monitoring of Low Level Occupational Xylene Exposure and the Role of Recent Exposure; G. A. JACOBSON and S. McLEAN ; Ann Occup Hyg (2003) 47 (4): 331-336.

XYLENE CONFIRMED AS A REPRODUCTIVE HAZARD

A reproductive study of workers exposed to workplace solvents has confirmed what safety experts have long suspected: the fetus is at risk (Khattak et al.,1999). This research is the first to combine prospective and retrospective approaches. The surprising facet of this study is the magnitude of the risk to the unborn child. While many health studies demonstrate significant differences only through statistical comparisons, these findings are so unequivocal that anyone can see clearly just how serious the threat is to human health.

-The Innovator, Volume 4, Number 1, Winter 2001

Update: Read more about xylene and the health effects associated with xylene exposure in this blog post: Occupational safety and health: Xylene exposure

Air Quality and Metalworker Health and Safety: Chemical Exposure, Noise and Hearing Loss

Click here for more information on air quality solutions for welding fume extraction, solvents and industrial chemicals, gases, fumes and odors.

New research conducted by Spanish scientists as found chemical contaminants in the workplace can interact with noise and change the way work-related deafness manifests.

Electrocorp Welding Fume Extractor

According to a report by ENS:

"Workers exposed to noise in the presence of metalworking fluids exhibit a delay in hearing alteration in comparison with those exposed only to noise at the same intensity," said Juan Carlos Conte, lead author of the new study and a researcher at the University of Zaragoza.
"However," he said, "those exposed to noise in the presence of welding fumes experience increased hearing alteration."

In the study, published in the journal "Anales del Sistema Sanitario de Navarra," the team analyzed the way in which various physical and chemical contaminants interact, and the impact this had on hearing alteration in 558 metal workers.

"A problem we detected with respect to welding fumes in the presence of noise was that the protection used is effective for reducing the intensity of noise, but not for reducing the effects of the chemical contaminant," Conte explained.

Cellulose masks or others made of similar compounds had little effect in this case, since their capacity to filter particles such as charcoal had no effect on toxic gas molecules such as carbon monoxide.

In noisy atmospheres with metalworking fluids, people have the advantage of being able to use masks as respiratory protection, the researchers found, although the ear protection must be used in the same way to ensure that a worker is comprehensively protected from noise.

The researchers point to other factors in work-related hearing loss. Tobacco was found to contribute to initial acoustic trauma, while exposure to noise outside the work environment impacts on advanced acoustic injury.

The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work recognized in 2006 that noise-related hearing loss is the most common professional disease seen in Europe, and suggests greater focus should be placed on combined risk factors in workers exposed to the combination of high noise levels and chemical compounds.

In the United States, the relationship between chemical exposure and hearing loss is beginning to be better understood. Scientists with the Hearing Loss Research Program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published 40 manuscripts on chemical-noise interactions between 1989 and 2005.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, NIOSH, says while there are chemicals commonly found in industry, construction, and agriculture that are hazardous to hearing alone, or when combined with noise, there is very little awareness in the occupational health community of the chemical hazards to hearing.

NIOSH estimates that almost 10 million American workers are exposed to occupational combinations of noise and chemicals that pose a hazard to their hearing.
These chemicals include metals, solvents, insecticides, herbicides, and asphyxiants. Some studies have indicated the combined effects of noise and chemicals on hearing are increased over what would be observed for exposure to either noise or the chemical alone.

The agency noted as far back as 1994 that the degreaser trichloroethylene when combined with noise put workers at greater risk of hearing loss. Also listed as hearing hazards were solvents toluene and xylene, found in solvent mixtures such as paints, varnishes, and thinners; and styrene, used in the production of plastics, synthetic rubber, resins, and insulating materials.

"Standard hearing conservation practices focus entirely on noise and do not take into account the potential risk to hearing posed by chemical exposures. When chemical exposure limits are set, rarely are auditory effects are taken into consideration," NIOSH says in a 1994 article published in the journal "Environmental Health Perspectives."

By 2007, understanding of the relationship between noise and chemical exposure had grown. NIOSH responded to a review of its Hearing Loss Research Program by the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine by saying in part, "It is recognized now that many different factors can cause or potentiate occupational hearing loss: noise, pharmaceuticals, aging, genes and ototoxic [ear damaging] chemicals. Other compounds, such as antioxidants, appear to have a protective effect against damage from noise."

In its review, the Institute of Medicine recommended that such exposures be included in a surveillance initiative that examines hearing hazards.

In response, NIOSH established a goal that by 2016 it would track noise exposure and occupational hearing loss in three high priority industrial sectors - mining, construction, and shipyard manufacturing.

Air quality and worker health and safety: N.J. manufacturer faces OSHA fine for exposing workers to chemical

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Miskeen Originals LLC for workplace safety and health violations, including employee exposure to methylene chloride.

Proposed penalties total $43,150. Miskeen Originals LLC is a clothing manufacturer with 12 employees at the Camden, N.J., location.

OSHA initiated an inspection after receiving an employee complaint alleging workplace safety and health hazards. As a result of the inspection, Miskeen was cited for one willful violation with a penalty of $28,000, 12 serious violations with a $15,150 penalty, and seven other-than-serious violations, which carry no penalty.

"Employees exposed to methylene chloride are at increased risk of developing cancer; adverse effects on the heart, central nervous system and liver; and skin or eye irritation," said Paula Dixon-Roderick, director of OSHA's area office in Marlton, N.J.

"These hazards need to be corrected immediately to protect the safety and health of workers at the plant."

Are you looking for solutions to improve worker health and safety? As experts in industrial odor and chemical control, Electrocorp can customize a unit to meet your needs. Contact us for an assessment.

STUDY: A healthy building leads to a more productive workforce

A new study which appears in the September 2010 issue of the American Journal of Public Health finds that an investment in a “greener” facility pays dividends for employers.

Researchers from Michigan State University evaluated the physical and mental health status of people who moved from traditional spaces to “greener” office buildings. The employees were asked about absenteeism from work in both types of buildings, specifically for health ailments including asthma and allergies. The researchers found that absenteeism associated with these conditions decreased in the new facilities by more than 50%, dropping from 1.12 days per month to .49 days.

Improved facility air has been sited widely for its direct and immediate impact on allergen levels and airborne chemicals, both recognized triggers for those who suffer from allergies and asthma. For more information on industrial air cleaners or industrial odor and chemical controllers for green buildings contact an Electrocorp air quality expert today. Are you a government buyer? Contact our dedicated service team.