Re: ? lead hazard

["GORDON MILLER" <GORDON.MILLER@quickmail.llnl.gov>]

        Reply to:   RE>? lead hazard

Lead is a serious toxicity issue.  It is also become the focus of the people
who used to do asbestos abatement so there's alot of publicity about lead
which can lead to employee angst.

The major item about lead is that IHs frequently worry about inhaled metals
and are usually less concerned about ingestion.  Not so for lead.  Lead is
toxic by ingestion and inhalation!  This means that a seemingly trivial
operation like cutting lead bricks with a bandsaw could create a lead toxicity
issue, especially if eating is allowed near the bandsaw.

Our experience has been that outdoor storage is a bad idea because it promotes
the formation of a removable carbonate film that could be an inhalation or
ingestion (from surface contamination) issue.

OSHA, 29CFR1910.1025(d)(2 and 3), states:  "Each employer who has a workplace
or work operation covered by this standard shall determine if any employee may
be exposed to lead at or above the action level. 
(3) Basis of initial determination. (i) The employer shall monitor employee
exposures and shall base initial determinations on the employee exposure
monitoring results..."  An IH needs to look at your lead operations.

Guidnace provided at LLNL in 1992 follows.  It is sent in its entirety because
of the significance of the lead issue.  Check with your IHs to see what needs
to be done in your areas; your situations may not match what LLNL recommended.
 I edited the LLNL guidance slightly to remove LLNL-specific references...

"Handling Lead Bricks Can Create Excessive Levels of Lead in Air

A recent set of air samples showed that personnel moving lead bricks may be
exposed to concentrations of airborne lead about permissible limits. 
According to OSHA regulations, employees shall not be exposed to an 8-hour
average concentrations of lead above 50 ug/m3.

Many lead bricks have a white coating of lead oxide which can flake off, be
inhaled, and get on an employees clothing.  In addition to being an inhalation
hazard, lead carried on clothing could contaminate food and expose family
members at home.  LEAD IS NOT ONLY TOXIC WHEN IT IS INHALED BUT ALSO WHEN IT
IS INGESTED (emphasis added for Radsafe).

The following precautions must be followed when working with lead bricks:

o	Do not use lead bricks for any purpose other than shielding.  Improper uses
of lead bricks include ballast for signs or pencil sharpeners or as door
stops.

o	Limit handling of heavily oxidized bricks.

o	Wear gloves and wash your hands and face immediately after handling any
quantity of lead bricks.  Gloves that were used to handle lead bricks must be
disposed of as hazardous waste.

o	Wear Tyvek coveralls, disposable foot covers, and disposable gloves when
handling large quantities of bricks, more than 25 bricks at a time.  Used
coveralls, foot covers, and gloves must be disposed of as hazardous waste. 
Also use a respirator when handling more than 25 lead bricks.  Contact an
Industrial Hygienist to obtain guidance and approval for respirators (text
slightly modofoed for Radsafe).

o	Store lead bricks indoors to protect them from the weather and to limit the
formation of film which easily flakes off.  If lead bricks must be stored
outdoors, they should be placed on a concrete or asphalt pad with a sheet of
plastic between them to limit contamination and also covered with at least one
plastic sheet to protect them from sun and rain (text slightly changed).

o	After handling or moving lead bricks, WET-wipe the area.  Use disposeable
rags, and change rags frequently to ensure thorough cleaning.  Fold the sheets
of plastic and place them and the wet rags in a labeled plastic bag for
disposal as hazardous waste.

o	Arrange for air sampling when handling more than 25 bricks at a time (text
slightly changed).

Provide lead awareness training for employees who work with small amounts of
lead on an infrequent basis.  Interested employees and supervisors should
attend this one hr class.  Employees who work with larger amounts of lead or
whose exposures exceed the OSHA training action level of 30 ug/m3 must receive
more extensive training.  Contact an Industrial Hygienist to arrange for this
training."


--------------------------------------
Date: 6/5/96 8:21 AM
To: GORDON MILLER
From: radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu
One of our IHs raised a question about the lead we use for shielding and
the hazards associated with it.  We tend to use a lot of lead foil for
the I-125 work.  It is bent and shaped as required, wearing gloves.

Should we be concerned about this?  Should all the lead foil and bricks
be wrapped in duct tape?  Has anyone measured lead levels in such cases?

If this issue has been raised before, please respond to me directly.  I
will post a summary of the answers.

Thanks.

Regards,

John



John Zummo, RSO
Genentech, Inc.
(415) 225-2959
(415) 225-5008 (fax)
zummo@gene.com



------------------ RFC822 Header Follows ------------------
Received: by quickmail.llnl.gov with SMTP;5 Jun 1996 08:20:22 -0700
Received: from romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu (romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu [128.174.74.24]) by
postoffice.cso.uiuc.edu (8.6.12/8.6.12) with SMTP id KAA113328; Wed, 5 Jun
1996 10:20:10 -0500
Received: from localhost by romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu (NX5.67d/NeXT-2.0)
	id AA20777; Wed, 5 Jun 96 10:16:51 -0500
Date: Wed, 5 Jun 96 10:16:51 -0500
Message-Id: <960605080954.ZM79923@ether12mac-37.gene.com>
Errors-To: melissa@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu
Reply-To: radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu
Originator: radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu
Sender: radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu
Precedence: bulk
From: "John Zummo" <zummo@gene.COM>
To: Multiple recipients of list <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu>
Subject: ? lead hazard
X-Listserver-Version: 6.0 -- UNIX ListServer by Anastasios Kotsikonas
X-Comment:  Radiation Safety Distribution List