A study was undertaken to identify methods used by the fiberglass fabrication industry in Washington State to reduce worker exposure to styrene vapor. All plants in Washington were surveyed to determine the number of employees, number of exposed employees, degree of exposure, amount of raw material used, type of engineering controls, effectiveness of engineering controls, and respiratory protection practices including personal protection. Data were collected during walk-through and sampling surveys to study approaches of industries of different sizes to the control of employee exposure to styrene vapor. There were approximately 1000 exposed employees in 31 plants with a total employment of 4300. Most plants were involved in boat building and repair, an industry with the highest exposure. In 12 selected plants a total of 592 air samples was collected. Approximately 40% of all samples indicated overexposure.
Furfural is a cyclic, unsaturated aldehyde existing as a colorless, oily liquid which readily oxidizes in air. It possesses a characteristic "thick, sweet" odor. This compound is generally produced from various pentosans found in cereal straws and brans. Although there is only one industrial source of furfural in the United States, there is no available information on annual production. This compound finds usage in the formulation of varnishes, insecticides, fungicides, germicides, as a vulcanizing agent in the rubber industry and as a component in various resin systems. The current Permissible Exposure Limit established by OSHA is 5 parts per million.
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