Kodak J-314 - Manual (Page 4)

Indoor Air Quality and Ventilation in Photographic Processing Facilities
•
J-314(ENG) 4
Ceiling Limit (C): The airborne
concentration that is representative
of a worker’s exposure that should
not be exceeded.
Action Level (AL): For the
comprehensive standards
established by OSHA, an Action
Level may be specified. The Action
Level is typically
1 ⁄
2
of the PEL and is
the concentration at which you may
have to address certain compliance
requirements such as employee
monitoring, training, or medical
surveillance.
ACGIH is a professional
organization whose members work
within the government or academia.
This organization annually
publishes a booklet entitled
Threshold Limit Values (TLVs) for
Chemical Substances and Physical
Agents and Biological Exposure
Indices (BEIs). ACGHI TLVs are
exposure guidelines and do not
have the effect of law. These values
change in response to new data and
are usually more rapidly updated
than OSHA limits.
The Threshold Limit Value (TLV)
refers to airborne concentrations of
substances and represents
conditions under which it is
believed that nearly all workers may
be repeatedly exposed day after day
without adverse health effects.
The ACGIH TLVs include:
Threshold Limit Value-Time-
Weighted Average (TLV-TWA):
The time-weighted average
concentration for a normal 8-hour
workday and a 40-hour work week,
to which nearly all workers may be
repeatedly exposed, day after day,
without adverse effect.
AMERICAN CONFERENCE
OF GOVERNMENTAL
INDUSTRIAL HYGIENISTS
(ACGIH)
In 1970, OSHA reviewed existing
exposure guidelines and consensus
standards in the workplace, and
adopted these as OSHA regulations.
These exposure standards set
airborne concentration limits and
are legally enforceable. Two of the
major references used by OSHA at
that time were the 1968 Threshold
Limits Values (TLVs) published by
the American Conference of
Governmental Industrial Hygienists
(ACGIH) and Acceptable
Concentrations of Toxic Dusts and
Gases published by the American
National Standards Institute (ANSI).
Since 1970, OSHA has established
approximately 28 new chemical-
specific standards. These new
standards such as the one for
formaldehyde, are much more
comprehensive and detailed. These
new standards include additional
requirements for written programs,
training, personal protective
equipment, control measures,
medical surveillance, etc.
The airborne exposure limits
established by OSHA include:
Permissible Exposure Limit
(PEL): The allowable limit that is
representative of a worker’s
exposure, averaged over an 8-hour
day.
Short-term Exposure Limit
(STEL): The allowable limit that is
representative of a worker’s
exposure, averaged over 15 minutes.
EXPOSURE STANDARDS
AND GUIDELINES
THE OCCUPATIONAL
SAFETY AND HEALTH
ADMINISTRATION (OSHA)
As the bubbles burst, tiny droplets
of the liquid are released into the air.
The composition of a mist is usually
the same as the liquid from which it
was generated.
Potential air contaminants
associated with photographic
processing operations will be
determined by the specific process
chemistry and the operating
conditions of the equipment. Some
photographic processing solutions
release small amounts of vapors
such as acetic acid and benzyl
alcohol or gases such as ammonia, or
sulfur dioxide. High-temperature
processing and nitrogen-burst
agitation of tank solutions may
increase the release of chemicals
into the air and generate mists from
the photographic processing
solutions. Depending on the
concentration in the air, these
chemicals could be irritating to the
eyes and respiratory tract, or create
odors. Although odor does not
always indicate safe versus unsafe
conditions, strong odors or the
presence of eye and/or respiratory
irritation can indicate that there is
not sufficient general dilution
ventilation or that the local exhaust
systems may not be capturing the air
contaminants effectively at their
source.
In order to assess whether or not
exposure to airborne chemicals
presents a health and safety hazard,
several exposure standards and
guidelines are available for
comparison.
ANTICIPATED AIR
CONTAMINANTS
FROM PHOTOGRAPHIC
PROCESSING
OPERATIONS