Janet Keyes, CIH, recently attended the American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition (AIHCe) in Denver. Over the next couple weeks we will be featuring some of the highlights from that conference.
Control banding is developing as a way to control risks when no exposure limits exist or where exposure monitoring isn’t feasible or practical. While it is not a replacement for monitoring, it can be a useful tool, especially for small businesses. You instinctively know that it is preferable to substitute a less hazardous chemical for a more hazardous one (for example, using a less toxic, “green” cleaner for a corrosive cleaner). Control banding gives us a tool to assess how beneficial, in terms of the protective measures needed, that substitution would be.
Control banding reviews a chemical’s toxicity and behavior, and assigns it to the level of control needed based on its apparent hazard. For instance, a low toxicity, non-volatile chemical may be assigned to a control band requiring gloves, while a more toxic substance may be assigned to the local ventilation required/gloves mandatory band. (See NIOSH’s information page on control banding.)
Control banding grew out of the pharmaceutical industry’s need to determine the risks of new pharmaceuticals, and is based on the biosafety levels established for handling infectious agents (the more dangerous the pathogen, the higher the level of control). Given that only about 700 chemicals have OSHA-established Permissible Exposure Limits (established anticipated safe limits of exposure), control banding may become essential for determining and controlling the hazards of all the other substances in use.
For more information on this, chemical monitoring or assistance with safety, please contact CHESS at 651-481-9787 or carkey[at]chess-safety.com.