Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Hexavalent Chromium: A Fact Sheet from the CDC

Information courtesy of Center for Disease Controls and Prevention



I wanted to provide everyone with an excellent resource for researching and reading about Hexavalent Chormium. The CDC has published an 'overview' along with helpful links and articles regarding this topic.



http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/hexchrom/



If you believe that you are being exposed to Hexavalent Chromium, or may have a problem at your workplace please consult your safety department. If you do not have safety department, please inform senior manger that there may be a problem, and safety guidelines should be followed. It is important to protect your own health and those surrounding you. Hexavalent Chromium is a known human carcinogen and has been linked to lung cancer, and other terminal illnesses. Remember, safety comes first!


For more information on engineering controls, or regarding the health issue with Hexavalent Chromium please visit our website at:


http://www.hexavalentchromiumdangers.com

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Controling Welding Fumes: Hexavalent Chromium

Welding Fume Extraction: An Engineering Control for Hexavalent Chromium

Since May 31, 2010, companies have been required to implement engineering controls for reducing employee exposure to Hexavalent Chromium (CR6). For those of you that have done so...great! For those that have not, please keep in mind that this is a Federal OSHA regulation and really should do so. On a weekly basis, I run into companies that have not yet begun controlling employee exposure to this carcinogenic compound. I often hear the same excuses from companies that they find the research cumbersome and difficult. Many of my clients tell me that there is no simple "cookie-cutter" control available on the market. This is not necessarily true! I did a piece on choosing a fume extractor last year that reviewed several different models that may be solid engineering controls. The most popular unit that I see in the field is the Sentry Air Systems Welding Fume Extractor (SS-300-PFS). The obvious advantage of this HEPA filtered fume extractor is that it has been tested for Hexavalent Chromium with a MIG welding process. I would say the challenge implemented by Sentry Air Systems was extremely legitimate and would be reflective of what would seen in "industry". The test was conducted by a Robert Adams and Associates of Houston, Texas. They are obviously proud of the Hexavalent Chromium test results as they are published prominently on their web site http://www.sentryair.com/. The system had over 99% efficiency of removal of Hexavalent Chromium from the air stream. Well within the range of OSHA's stringent standard.

Features of the SS-300-PFS:

The Welding Fume Extraction system that Sentry Air has is extremely small. At first you may be surprised by how compact the unit is measuring 13"x13". I was impressed with the suction and the removal rate of the unit when I saw it in action. The unit did an excellent job of removing welding smoke from both a TIG welding process as well as MIG welding bench. I noticed that on Sentry Air's website they also have a similar system that has a long flexible hose for hard to reach areas. This may be a better alternative for some of you that have to weld in hard to reach areas. Overall, I would rate the Sentry system an excellent solution for welding fume control especially when dealing with Hexavalent Chromium.

Video courtesy of YouTube showing the Sentry welding fume extractors in action:





If you believe that you are being exposed to Hexavalent Chromium, or may have a problem at your workplace please consult your safety department. If you do not have safety department, please inform senior manger that there may be a problem, and safety guidelines should be followed. It is important to protect your own health and those surrounding you. Hexavalent Chromium is a known human carcinogen and has been linked to lung cancer, and other terminal illnesses. Remember, safety comes first!



For more information on engineering controls, or regarding the health issue with Hexavalent Chromium please visit our website at:

http://www.hexavalentchromiumdangers.com