MOS 3344B: Occupational

Health and Safety

Management
Week 5
Chapter 6 (cont’d)
 Toxicology: An Overview

• Toxicology
– Scientific study of poisons
– Study of chemical-related occupational
illnesses
– Different types of toxicity can be considered
 Toxicology: Terminology
• Acute toxicity—An effect that manifests itself immediately following
exposure or very shortly thereafter. Burning your hand on a hot
surface, for example, results in immediate pain and discoloration,
and, later, blisters.
• Chronic toxicity—An effect that manifests itself sometime after the
exposure (possibly months or even years). Examples include
sensitization from isocyanates; occupational cancer, such as
leukemia, from benzene exposure; and mesothelioma from asbestos
exposure.
• Local toxicity—The effect of an exposure at the point of contact.
Cleaning your hands with paint thinner will cause dry, grey skin at the
point of contact; this will be an immediate reaction.
• Systemic toxicity—An effect that occurs at some location remote
from the point of contact. For example, inhaling a chlorinated solvent
such as trichloroethylene can cause damage to the liver; and inhaling
carbon monoxide, which interrupts oxygen transfer to the blood, can
cause asphyxiation and death.
 Four Routes of Entry

• Chemicals enter body by one of four

routes of entry:
1. Respiration (inhalation)
2. Skin absorption
3. Ingestion
4. Skin penetration
 Respiration (Inhalation)

• Most human exposure to chemicals

comes from breathing airborne
contaminants
• Five basic levels of protection within
respiratory tract:
1. Nose
2. Interior of the nasal passage
(turbinates)
3. Mucus/cilia
4. Lung passages
5. Alveoli (tiny air sacs at the ends of
the lungs’
air passages)

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 Skin Absorption

• Chemical contact with the skin is a common occurrence

in the workplace
• Can be absorbed or pass through the skin very quickly
• Often associated with its level of toxicity

• Chemicals not absorbed through skin may produce

localized irritation (dermatitis)
– Causes skin to be white and dry
 Skin Absorption: Other Impacts

• Burns or blisters can result from contact with acids or

alkalis (chemical action)
• Skin disorders can result from contact with certain
plants (biological action).
• Skin damage can result from contact with radiation or
heat (physical action)
 Ingestion

• Poor personal hygiene, eating, drinking, or

smoking in an area where solvents are used
• Ingestion of most solvents causes damage to
lining of digestive system
• Ingested solvent may be absorbed into
bloodstream and carried to organs where it
will produce toxic effects
 Ingestion

• Target organs
• Tissues or organs that are most affected by
exposure to a particular substance
• Surfactant layer
• Layer of liquids in the digestive tract and elsewhere
(e.g., the cardiovascular system) that modify or
reduce the surface tension within the conductors—
intestine, blood vessels—to allow material—blood,
food, stools, and so on—to move easily
 Penetration

• Occurs when skin is cut or punctured by any sharp

object
• Type of contamination on the source, such as a knife
or needle, will determine possible trauma or illness
• Potential effects range in seriousness from low-
grade infections to HIV (human immunodeficiency
virus)
 Characteristics and Properties of Solvents

• What is a solvent?
– A solvent is any substance, usually liquid, which is
capable of dissolving one or several substances,
thus creating a solution

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 Characteristics and Properties of Solvents

• Characteristics and properties that make solvents

effective but also hazardous and toxic:
– Low surface tension
– High vapour pressure
– Low boiling point
– Low heat of vaporization
– High volatility
– Ability to dissolve fats
– Flammability
– Vaporization

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 Inorganic Solvents

• Inorganic Solvent:
– A solvent that does not contain carbon.
– Either fall into being an acid or a base
– The simplest of chemical groups and oldest
known such groups.

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 Inorganic Solvents
• Inorganic Solvents – 2 classes
– Acids
• Hydrochloric acid (HCl), sulphuric acid (H 2SO4), and chromic acid
(H2CrO4) are some of the most common
• Highly corrosive
• Used for refining and processing metals
– Bases (alkalines)
• Potassium hydroxide (KOH), sodium hydroxide (NaOH), and sodium
chloride (NaCl [table salt])
• Sodium chloride in its refined state is a requirement of a normal diet;
less refined form is road salt
• Other two alkalines are used to etch or dissolve a variety of materials
• All are toxic in certain concentrations
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 Characteristics and Properties of Solvents

• Organic Solvents
– Petrochemically based
– Manufactured by combining carbon atom with a
great many other elements
– Identified by molecular structure and can be
grouped under 10 classifications

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Characteristics and Properties of Solvents

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Control of Exposures

Fall into these general

categories:
• Engineering Controls
• Administrative Controls
(good housekeeping, work
practices, record keeping)
• Medical Surveillance
• PPE
• Personal Hygiene

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 Engineering Controls

• Remember, the best mitigation of risk comes with

elimination first! But if not possible…
• Engineering Controls
– Substitution with less hazardous solvents
– Process enclosure exhaust ventilation
– Closed systems
– Maintenance of engineering control systems
– Vapour recovery system
– Control of ignition systems

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 Administrative Controls

• Employees should receive training in:

– Safe operating and emergency procedures
– Use and care of PPE
– Handling and control of agents
• Training must be conducted on an ongoing basis
– New solvents and other agents are continually
entering the workplace
• Workers must be familiar with WHMIS legislation

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 Administrative Controls

• WHMIS
– Comprehensive communication system outlining the
safe use of hazardous products via:
• Product labels
• Safety data sheets (SDS)
• Worker education and training

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 Administrative Controls

– Updated in 2015 to reflect new rules related to

classifying hazards, label requirements, and newly
formatted safety data sheets (similar to GHS)
– The federal government released an
amended Hazardous Products Act(HPA) and released the
new Hazardous Products Regulations (HPR), which
replaced the Controlled Product Regulations.
• Defines which materials are included in WHMIS 2015 and what
info suppliers must provide employers

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 Administrative Controls

– Hazards classes and categories

• All hazardous materials are organized by group, class,
category, and type
• Three main groups:
– Physical
– Health
– Environmental

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Administrative Controls

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 Administrative Controls

• WHMIS
– Two specific types
of labels:
• Supplier
• Workplace labels

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Administrative Controls

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 Administrative Control

• WHMIS
– Safety Data Sheets:
• Manufacturer or supplier must develop for each
product supplied for use in the workplace.
– Suppliers regulated federally (Hazardous product act) and
provincially
• Identify potentially harmful materials
• Present information about the nature of materials and
their harmful effects
• Provide guidance on how to handle safely

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 Administrative Control

• WHMIS
– Companies and organizations that use hazardous
products as outlined in the HPA must have a WHMIS
program in place.
– Any and all individuals who use or directly work with
(e.g., workers), or are exposed to but do not directly work
with a hazardous product (e.g., supervisors, emergency
personnel), must receive WHMIS education and training.
– Specific requirements for content of training will differ
provincially

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 Control of Exposure: Medical Surveillance
• Implemented to ensure that employees who are exposed
to agents are not subjected to situations in which their
health will be jeopardized
• Pre-employment and pre-placement medical examinations
should be conducted to establish a baseline of the
employee’s health and exposure to agents in previous
workplaces
• Types of exposures employees face and their health
records before and after exposure should be included in
this process
 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• Most commonly used protection device is a
respirator:
– Respiratory protection is more specialized for biohazards
than it is for chemical agents
• PPE for hands, face, and other body parts must be
provided where necessary
• No single protective device, such as a facemask, will
adequately address all conditions for all workers
• Device must be properly fitted to individual:
• One size does not fit all

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 Needlestick Injuries: A Decrease in Rates

• Needlestick injuries have been a concern for

many years (biohazard).
• Many communities adopted recycling programs,
putting recycling workers at risk.
• Workers often encounter needles disposed of
improperly.

• Question to think about: Can you think of ways

to control/protect workers? How can you use
administrative controls and PPE to protect
workers?
 Personal Hygiene Practices

• Remove outer protective clothing, and clean

hands, arms, face, and nails before entering rest
areas or lunchrooms
• Avoid touching lips, nose, and eyes with
contaminated hands
• Wash hands before eating, drinking, or smoking,
and eat, drink, and smoke only in designated
areas
• Remove work clothes and wash/shower before
leaving work
 Optional Video Link to Illustrate Impact of
Chemical Agents

• Asbestos, WorkSafeBC
– Asbestos can pose health hazards to workers and
homeowners who renovate or demolish those
homes. This animation shows how asbestos fibres
could damage lung tissue and lead to lung disease
(2min, 17sec)
 Midterm (Week of Feb 10th IN PERSON)

– 75 MC choice questions
– Relatively evenly distributed across 6 chapters
covered before the Midterm
– Practice questions available through the Top Hat
platform and select questions on Brightspace
 Study Tips from a Past Student
Prioritize (if you have to):
1. Content covered in lectures/posted recordings and heavily focused upon in
the textbook
2. Content that overlaps with lecture sections from textbook
3. Content only covered in textbook (testable, but not the main focus)
During the exam:
1. Don’t panic. You have approx. 1min and 15 seconds per question. Take the
time to read it carefully. Some questions you’ll know right away, some will
take longer.
2. Highlight key components of the question including words like “are NOT”,
“always true”, etc.
3. Eliminate answer options that immediately don’t work and then read the
question again.
4. Always pick the response choice that is the MOST correct (correct all the
time versus only in some cases).