“Formaldehyde Hazard at Pall Trinity?”

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Health.°Safety

Formaldehyde
Hazard at Pall Trinity?

by Carl Feuer, ICLG that no worker is exposed to a
Robin Whittlesey, ROE dangerous level of formaldehyde.
The exposure limits are stringent:

Is there a safety problem with no more than 1 ppm formaldehyde
formaldehyde at Pall Trinity in (one part formaldehyde per

“Cortland? This is a question that
workers, members of UAW Local
1326, are asking.

Formaldehyde is a fact of life
for workers, most of whom are

million parts of air) averaged over
an eight-hour work day, and no
more than 2 ppm during any
fifteen minute period. The Na-

women, in Pall Trinity’s Filter
Department. Always has been. It
used to be in much heavier use,
before the company moved parts of

the operation to Puerto Rico. Now
it’s just used for a few hours at a
time, as part of the corrugating
process for making paper filters.
But when it is used, the fumes can
be intense.

Formaldehyde is dangerous
stuff. First of all, it’s a carcino-
gen, shown to cause respiratory
and lung cancer. Safe exposure

»—The_tests_performed
‘did not meet OSHA

‘pecifications.

vels are not known for any
arcinogen, formaldehyde in-
“uded.

Persons exposed to formalde-
ayde may also develop an asthma-
ike allergy, with wheezing,
‘oughing, and/or chest tightness.
Formaldehyde also irritates—and
may possibly damage—the skin,
eyes, nose, and throat.

Respiratory and skin problems
are common among the workers,
past and present, in the Filter
Department. There has been at
least one cancer case and one
throat operation.

Because formaldehyde is so
dangerous, OSHA recently issued
extensive regulations governing
its use. Under these regulations,
management is required to insure

vous

Formaldehyde

If you work with it, you should know the hazards
and you should know your rights

Contact the Labor Coalition at 277-5670
~~. formore information“

tional Institute for Occupational

Safety and Health (NIOSH)

recommends an even lower short

term exposure limit—0.1 ppm.

It’s this short-term exposure
limit that is relevant to Pall
Trinity, where workers are ex-
posed to formaldehyde for periods
up to two hours, not usually for a
full day. Sometimes the fumes
can get really bad during these
times. Do they exceed the NIOSH
or OSHA limits?

OSHA specifies strict guide-
lines for monitoring worker
exposures. Although formalde-

_hyde testing has occurred at Pall

Trinity, the tests performed did not
meet OSHA specifications, which
require testing to follow strict
procedures, cover long periods of
time, and take place under the
worst possible conditions. Work-
,ers have yet to see the results of
‘even’ the limited tests that were
performed.

Where a formaldehyde problem
is indicated, either by air testing
or workers’ symptoms, the em-
ployer must not only bring
exposures into compliance with
OSHA, but also provide medical
surveillance for workers. Appro-
priate measures include periodic
physical exams, lab tests, and
counseling—none of which have
been provided at Pall Trinity.

All workers have the right to a
safe workplace. The possibility of
hazardous levels of formaldehyde
in the Filter Department raises
important questions about health
and safety at Pall Trinity.

"OF COURSE THIS WoRK
OF MANAGE Mer

First Lin
Union Health a

Who is your health and sa
and Safety Committee meet? 1]
don't know who it is, or if you
or don't know much about it, y

Health and safety is no mir
Each Year:
¢ 11,000 workers are killed ir
¢ 70,000 are permanently dis:
¢ 100,000 die from occupation »,

¢ 5 million are injured seriou ~

¢ 9 million are exposed to kr

¢ At least 14 million are exp
damage to hearing.

Union Health and Safety (
against disease and injury on
can no more rely on manag
workplace, than we can expe
pressure and hard bargaining

Nor can we rely on the gov
tional health and safety regule:
weaker. OSHA has neither the
job on its own. This is one reas)
to take one example, are tw
construction workers in Europy

Both management and OSH
safety seriously. Pushed har
Safety Committee comes in.

The health and safety o—
ideally with each shift and each?
unsafe and unhealthy conditi*