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Biological Monitoring for Isocyanates in Motor Vehicle Body Repair

Could any of these things happen in your Bodyshop?

• Painters spraying above head height?
• Painters not wearing an air fed mask or visor at all?
• Painters not wearing the correct air fed masks or visors?
• Painters lifting visors to take a closer look at the job?
• People entering a spray booth soon after spraying without observing the correct 'clearance time'?
• People going into spray areas to speak to painters during spraying?

If so your employees may be at risk of being exposed to isocyanates.
Remember: 'Water-based' does not mean 'isocyanate-free'. And almost all top coats contain isocyanates. This is explained in HSE Sector Information Minute 03/2006/12.

What is Biological Monitoring?

Biological monitoring (BM) is used to assess exposure by the measurement of a chemical or its breakdown of products in blood, urine or breath. For isocyanates, a urine sample is all that is needed to check if your employees have had isocyanates in their body.

How is it done?

Easily. We supply you with 'biological monitoring kits'. Your employees send a sample of their urine to the laboratory and we receive the results, analyse them and report back to you directly. From there we can help you can decide what you need to do next, if anything.

The fee

£58.20 per kit (ex vat)

If your interested and want to find out more, please scroll to the top of the page and click the red arrow to get in touch.

The technical stuff:-

Are your control measures preventing exposure?

According to the Health and Safety Executive (Sector Information Minute SIM 03/2006/04), the only practical way of measuring a paint sprayer's exposure to isocyanate is by analysis of isocyanate metabolites in a urine sample. This is a validated technique to determine whether a paint sprayer wearing air fed breathing apparatus is being adequately protected and a benchmark against which to compare exposure measurement results.

Given the risks to employees' health and the reliance upon breathing apparatus to control exposure, an adequate risk assessment would indicate that exposure needs to be monitored to maintain adequate control. As biological monitoring is the only practical measure of exposure, it becomes requisite for ensuring the maintenance of adequate control of the exposure of employees to isocyanates (COSHH Reg 10(1). Biological monitoring should be carried out during the first few months of employment to show that RPE and working practices are sufficient to prevent isocyanate absorption. The frequency of urine samples for paint sprayers should typically be once per year (but would be more frequent if half-mask breathing apparatus is used in spray rooms).

Biological monitoring is a new requirement and initial enforcement is likely to be advice/ letter. As the practice becomes established, EMM (Enforcement Management Model) indicates that an Improvement Notice requiring biological monitoring would be appropriate unless the employer can demonstrate by some other method that adequate control is being achieved. Note that biological monitoring for isocyanates DOES NOT provide information about a person's health; it indicates whether exposure to isocyanates is occurring.

Urine sampling

The Health & Safety Laboratory (HSL) has developed a method for analysing breakdown products of isocyanates in urine. The method can measure exposure to HDI, TDI, MDI and IPDI, either separately or as mixed exposures. Samples should be taken immediately post-shift (or post-exposure, if exposure is intermittent or 'task-based'). If sampling is for TDI or a mixture of isocyanates, samples should be collected in special bottles containing citric acid.

Sound Advice Safety & Health Ltd has an association with the Health & Safety Laboratory which allows us to provide a comprehensive biological monitoring programme which includes:

• Anonymity of company details to HSL/HSE.
  
• Issue of isocyanate biological monitoring kits complete with employee and manager instructions.
  
• Interpretation of laboratory analysis and issue of report.
  
• Assistance of re-assessment of control measures and employer check list if required by a qualified safety advisor (additional fees apply).
  
• Automatic issue of re-tests if appropriate.
  
• Annual recall for biological monitoring.

Isocyanates are highly reactive chemicals used in making a variety of products, including paints, foams and glues. Exposure to isocyanates can cause occupational asthma - one of today's most common work-related lung diseases. Occupational asthma can cause serious ill health and result in major changes to the lifestyle of affected people. In some cases, the sufferer has to change jobs to stop their asthma symptoms from getting worse. However, if adequate control measures are in place the condition is preventable.

Isocyanates are often used in the motor vehicle repair (MVR) industry, for example:

• Two-pack spray paints (e.g. hexamethylene diisocyanate, HDI).
  
• Some glues and hard wearing plastics (e.g. toluene diisocyanate, TDI).
  
• Making, cutting, grinding or heating polyurethane foams (e.g. methylene diphenylene diisocyanate, MDI).
  
• Production of polyurethane paints, varnishes and elastomers (e.g. isophorone diisocyanate, IPDI).

To control the risk of asthma, isocyanate exposure needs to be kept at very low levels. Even brief exposures to isocyanates can cause sensitisation. Once a person has been sensitised, exposure to low levels can still cause an asthma attack. The law requires employers to control exposure to isocyanates to a level which is as low as is reasonably practicable. But as an employer, how can you tell whether you are doing enough to control the exposure of your employees to isocyanates?

What is Biological Monitoring?

Biological monitoring (BM) is used to assess exposure by the measurement of a chemical or its breakdown products in blood, urine or breath. For isocyanates, a urine sample from a person is all that is needed for BM.

Why use Biological Monitoring for isocyanates?

Biological Monitoring is unique because it can measure how much of a chemical has actually entered a person's body, rather than how much is in the environment around them. Control of exposure to isocyanates usually relies on engineering controls such as spray booths and respiratory protective equipment such as air fed breathing apparatus (visors). By using Biological Monitoring you can tell whether control measures like these are working and whether they are used correctly.

What do these results mean?

It is important to realise that BM analysis does not give any information about health effects; instead it is a measure of the overall effectiveness of exposure control measures. Nevertheless it is important that the purpose of BM is clearly explained to each individual taking part and that their informed consent is obtained. Following extensive field surveys it is clear that a 'none detected' result for urinary isocyanate metabolite is achievable for most sprayers. This is not a formal Guidance Value, but it is an indicator of what HSE views as 'reasonably practicable' in spray booths and elsewhere.

A BM survey of a variety of MVR companies, ranging from national dealerships to 'one man' operations, was carried out. Factors that might lead to isocyanates exposure were identified. These included:

• Spraying above head height because respiratory protective equipment sometimes does not fit properly when people look upwards;
  
• Briefly lifting visors to take a closer look at the job, wearers are then not protected;
  
• Entering a spray booth soon after spraying without observing the correct 'clearance time';
  
• Entry of unprotected workers into spray areas to speak to protected colleagues during spraying.

BM allowed these risk factors, which might otherwise have gone unnoticed, to be identified and highlighted areas where improved health and safety procedures were needed.

Contact us now on 01925 838350 and speak to one of our consultants for further advice on your company's needs.
Tel: (01925) 838350 - Fax: (01925) 838351 - Email: office@soundadviceltd.co.uk