Facility Needs To Handle Nicotine

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Facility Needs To Handle Nicotine

Facilities that handle any type of nicotine must protect their employees.

In the United States, tobacco products and smoking-cessation medications contain nicotine, a naturally occurring, toxic chemical found in tobacco plants. Handling nicotine can cause acute and chronic health effects, and can even be fatal, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The owner or "officially designated representative" of a company using nicotine on-site must provide employees with hazardous substance information and file paperwork with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to report the facility's use of nicotine.

Measuring and Monitoring Procedures

Companies must take air samples in employee breathing zones to determine the average exposure level of nicotine. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration states that "the legal airborne permissible exposure to nicotine is 0.5 mg/m3, averaged over an eight-hour work shift."

The Certified National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health identifies detector tubes or nicotine samples on resin as approved ways of acquiring a sample, with acceptable sampling intervals ranging from a minimum of once a day to as often as every 30 minutes in an eight-hour shift. If a sample yields a higher-than-allowed exposure, employers must supply and implement the use of air respirators or another approved breathing apparatus.

Protection Equipment

Nicotine absorption occurs through ingestion, inhalation, skin contact and mucous membranes. OSHA requires employers to determine the appropriate personal protective equipment -- defined by the CDC as "impervious clothing, gloves and face shields" -- and to train employees on its use. Employers also must provide containers and training for discarding contaminated protective equipment and clothing.

Work Controls and Practices

Enclosing the work area helps control the amount of nicotine contaminants, and proper ventilation and exhaust systems prevent eye and skin contact with nicotine. If possible, employees should transfer nicotine from drums or containers in an enclosed system. Work practice recommendations from the CDC include labeling all containers; leaving contaminated clothing at the facility; avoiding eating, drinking or smoking in areas where nicotine is handled, processed or stored; and proper hygiene.

Researchers led by Brian Curwin of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health examined the concentration of nicotine residue on the hands of tobacco harvesters in five tobacco fields near Kinston, North Carolina, and measured the effectiveness of hand washing at reducing illness associated with nicotine exposure. The study, published in the July 2005 issue of "The Annals of Occupational Hygiene," concluded that "washing with soap and water in the field significantly reduced nicotine levels by an average of 96 percent."

Emergency Procedures

OSHA requires work safety procedures to include training in emergencies and first aid, and mandates that employers provide eye wash fountains, emergency showers and a decontamination corridor within the immediate work area. Emergency procedures and Material Safety Data Sheets for hazardous chemicals, including Materials Warning Placards and Substance Fact Sheets, must be posted per OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard. In addition, employers must keep emergency contact numbers readily accessible during each work shift, in all employee work areas.

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Wednesday, April 3, 2013