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Use & Handling PageNIOSH Recommendations for Use and Handling
NIOSH RECOMMENDATIONS CCP USE &
HANDLING
Draft
" NIOSH recommends the measures
outlined in this section to prevent
or control skin and mucosal irritations
and other potential adverse effects from CCP. Since CCP formulations
may vary markedly and change frequently, NIOSH recommends that employees
be made
aware of the potential problem and be
urged to report symptoms to the medical or supervisory personnel at
their workplace. Management
should determine the frequency of
symptoms and whether they
could be related to CCP
exposure.Instruments proposed by the
Danish Branch safety Council can serve
as a useful checklist for the
determining the extent of the problem.
There may be occasions where
it is necessary to limit CCP exposure
in certain individuals. "
1. Contact the manufacturer of the CCP
to determine whether there
have been other complaints about the
product; consult the material safety data sheet (MSDS).
2. Assure environmental conditions
such as ventilation, humidity,
and temperature in the workplace---
including the office, storage
rooms, and filing areas.
3. Use administrative controls to
decrease the frequency of contact
with the suspect CCP by avoiding long
periods of work with the CCP (distribute the amount of work over a
longer period).
4. Minimize hand-to-mouth and
hand-to-eye contact and provide
adequate wash stations for periodic
cleansing of hands with mild soap.
5. Avoid storing large amounts of CCP
in the Office. Use properly
ventilated storage facilities for
amounts of CCP that exceed daily
usage.
6. Assure proper housekeeping by
avoiding dust and paper
accumulation.
7. When necessary, use photocopy
paper, computer printouts,
electronic handling of data, and other
alternatives as substitutes for CCP. ........
8. Protective gloves other than cotton
gloves are not recommended
as a common practice in this situation,
since improper daily use may
promote heat and moisture retention,
entrap irritant chemicals and fibers, and lead to skin irritation.
Caution is particularly warranted
when latex gloves are being considered,
since they have been
associated with allergic reaction [NIOSH
1997].
"Additional research is needed to
determining whether the most
potentially irritating components of
CCP can be replaced with less
irritating components."
" Since CCP may emit violate substances
into the air, Wattendorf [1988]
recommended remedies that included good
ventilation, substitution of products, wearing of gloves and washing of
hands to avoid skin contact, keeping unused forms in a paper storage
area, storing only
the minimum number of CCP paper sets
needed for current work,
and careful selection of a CCP brand
with a minimum of outgassing.
Wattendorf also recommended that
workers be warned about the
potential health effects and symptoms
of handling CCP: skin irritation
with reddening and itching of the
hands, underarms and face; irritation
of the mucous membranes of the eyes and
upper respiratory tract;
and irritation of the throat. He
recommended warning all employees
who worked everyday for a long period
sorting, counting, and filing
sets of CCP because of the direct skin
contact with the front and
back sheets of paper. He stated that
in contrast, skin or mucous
membrane irritation could not be
related to employees who mainly
filed out the sets offorms but did not
have to separate or sort them.
He further recommended the CCP
manufacturers and importers be
compelled to give exact data about the
substances used and provide
quality certificates about auxiliary
substances, additives, and
intermediate products used for each lot
of CCP."
"The Danish Branch Safety Council for
Offices and Administration
[1988] reported CCP contained small
amounts of a number of solvents
and other chemical compounds, including
alkyl benzenes, petroleum, chlorinated parafins, and formaldehyde."
"They recommended the following
prevention plan, which recognizes
a correlation between the amount of
paper handled and the occurrence
of complaints:
1. Reduce the amount of CCP used.
2. Avoid storing large amounts of CCP
at the workplace.
3. Avoid working with CCP during the
entire work day.
4. Avoid long periods of work with CCP
and distribute the amount over
a longer period.
5. Ventilate the CCP storage area for
about 2 weeks before using it.
6. Consider the use of a different
supplier of CCP (i.e., a different
chemical composition or mechanical type
of copy paper).
7. Use good hand hygiene.
8. Employ proper housecleaning
procedures.
9. Provide a satisfactory indoor
climate, including adequate ventilation."
"Cornell University Chemical Hazard
Information Program [CHIP 1988]
echoed many of the prior recommendation
and included the following:
"In response to a CCP-exposed office
employee who had inquired into the causes of eruptions between the
fingers and in the throat, Oko-Test Magazin [1990] cited known causing
skin-irritating and sensitizing and
chemicals used in the paper:
formaldehyde, zinc, and nickel salts. To
avoid health problems such as burning
eyes, throat irritations, and dermatitis, the author recommended that
offices be well-ventilated,
that the fewest possible CCP forms be
stored in the immediate workplace, and that contacted skin be cleansed
and treated with skin
care ointments. The author also
recommended that printers be used
instead of CCP."
Branch safety Council for Offices and
Administration
(Branchesikkerhedsradet for kontor og
administration) [1988]. Work
with self-copying paper. Copenhagen,
Denmark: Arbejdsmiljofondet.
CHIP[1988]. Carbonless copy paper, New
York: Cornell University
Chemical Hazard Information Program.
MSDS Companion Sheet No.10
NIOSH HAZARD REVIEW: CARBONLESS COPY
PAPER
Oko-Test Magazin [1990]. Highly
irritating forms.
Oko-Test Magazin. Feb:78
Wattendorf [1988]. Dangerous working
materials in the office. Humane
Produktion------Humane Arbeitsplatze
10(2): 10-14.
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Carbonless Copy Paper Injury and Information Network
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Last modified: July 21 2006, 05:02pm