Formaldehyde

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1910.1048 – Formaldehyde

(d)(6) – Employee notification of monitoring results. The employer must, within 15 working days after the receipt of the results of any monitoring performed under this section, notify each affected employee of these results either individually in writing or by posting the results in an appropriate location that is accessible to employees. If employee exposure is above the PEL, affected employees shall be provided with a description of the corrective actions being taken by the employer to decrease exposure.

(d)(7)(i) – The employer shall provide affected employees or their designated representatives an opportunity to observe any monitoring of employee exposure to formaldehyde required by this standard.

(g)(2)(i) – The employer must implement a respiratory protection program in accordance with § 1910.134(b) through (d) (except (d)(1)(iii), (d)(3)(iii)(b)(1), and (2)), and (f) through (m), which covers each employee required by this section to use a respirator.

(h)(2)(iii) – The employer shall assure that only persons trained to recognize the hazards of formaldehyde remove the contaminated material from the storage area for purposes of cleaning, laundering, or disposal.

(n) – Employee information and training –

(1) – Participation. The employer shall assure that all employees who are assigned to workplaces where there is exposure to formaldehyde participate in a training program, except that where the employer can show, using objective data, that employees are not exposed to formaldehyde at or above 0.1 ppm, the employer is not required to provide training.

(2) – Frequency. Employers shall provide such information and training to employees at the time of initial assignment, and whenever a new exposure to formaldehyde is introduced into the work area. The training shall be repeated at least annually.

(3) – Training program. The training program shall be conducted in a manner which the employee is able to understand and shall include:

(i) A discussion of the contents of this regulation and the contents of the Material Safety Data Sheet.

(ii) The purpose for and a description of the medical surveillance program required by this standard, including:

(A) – A description of the potential health hazards associated with exposure to formaldehyde and a description of the signs and symptoms of exposure to formaldehyde.

(B) – Instructions to immediately report to the employer the development of any adverse signs or symptoms that the employee suspects is attributable to formaldehyde exposure.

(iii) Description of operations in the work area where formaldehyde is present and an explanation of the safe work practices appropriate for limiting exposure to formaldehyde in each job;

(iv) The purpose for, proper use of, and limitations of personal protective clothing and equipment;

(v) Instructions for the handling of spills, emergencies, and clean-up procedures;

(vi) An explanation of the importance of engineering and work practice controls for employee protection and any necessary instruction in the use of these controls; and

(vii) A review of emergency procedures including the specific duties or assignments of each employee in the event of an emergency.

(4) – Access to training materials.

(i) The employer shall inform all affected employees of the location of written training materials and shall make these materials readily available, without cost, to the affected employees.