Planning for emergencies

The body shop is a potentially hazardous place to work. An environment that presents risks all around us, working in a shop requires that we plan to prevent all mishaps that we can. Planning to prevent accidents and injuries before they occur will help eliminate accidents or lessen their number and severity.

Shop safety involves practicing correct hazardous waste handling and disposal; understanding, knowing and following material safety data sheets (MSDS); properly labeling all materials used in a shop; using the appropriate personal protection devices (PPDs); and planning or environmental and other emergencies that could occur around the shop.

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Shop safety
 

Some of the most basic shop safety preventive measures that can be taken may seem routine, and therefore be easily overlooked. Some examples are: using the proper tools for the job, being trained and tested (Fig 1) on how to use tools safely, not using tools that are not working properly, making sure that all guards and safety devices are in place and working properly, and using the proper safety equipment with the tool being used.

If a tool or piece of equipment is not working properly, it should not be used until it is repaired. During the repair or maintenance process, such as changing filters in the booth, the tool should be deactivated and the lock-out/tag-out system should be used. To do this, the machine is turned off and locked so that it cannot be restarted until the lock is removed. Until then, a tag is placed on the control panel, indicating that is being worked on and no one should start the machinery. By doing this, no one will mistakenly turn on a machine when someone else is working on it.

Flammable liquids should be kept away from any type of ignition source such as sparks (welding and grinding) or open flame (torch or plasma cutters). They should be kept in ventilated and flame-resistant cabinets (Fig 2). Fire extinguishers should be kept throughout the shop for easy access in case of

emergencies (Fig 3).The appropriate type of fire extinguisher for the type of flame should be used. An ABC fire extinguisher is often the type chosen because it will extinguish a common fire from flammable substances such as paper and wood, electrical fires and chemical fires. In addition, though, with modern vehicles and their use of flammable metals, a D-type fire extinguisher should be on hand specifically for these types of fires.

Also, with the use of alternative fuels in vehicles today, caution should be taken with vehicles that contain compressed

natural gas (CNG) or liquid propane (LP). For vehicles using this type of fuel, the fuel supply should be turned off at the tank and the battery disconnected before any cutting, grinding or welding is performed.In addition, the fuel tanks for CNG- and LP-powered vehicles should be removed before baking in the spray booth. Spray booth temperatures can cause tank pressures to increase to the point that relief valves may open.

When working with batteries, whether lead

acid, nickel metal hydrate, or lithium, technicians should wear all proper personal protective devices such as the correct gloves, glasses or goggles and protective clothing. They should not smoke nor allow sparks or open flames around batteries when servicing them. Also, when charging batteries, follow the manufacturer’s recommendations. Make sure that when batteries are stored outside of the vehicle (particularly damaged ones) that they are placed in a safe area and have an acid/alkaline resistant spill containment mat under them.

Safety signs (Fig 4) and labels, along with

safety equipment, should be well stocked and close at hand (Fig 5). Workplace labels should be on all containers that do not have the original manufacturer labels. All safety equipment such as eye wash stations, either permanent (Fig 6) or portable (Fig 7), should be in working order and tested periodically.

Responding to hazardous emergencies

materials in every corner, it seems. And laws (the right-to-know act in the United States and the WHMIS laws in Canada) require that all products be labeled, either from the manufacturer or using workplace labels. Also, workplace symbols should be placed throughout the shop in their appropriate areas (Fig 9 and 10), indicating the type of hazard that exists. The symbols are used internationally, which means that people using languages other than English will be able to understand the hazards. 

Acute and chronic exposure
Hazardous exposure is classified as one of two types. Acute exposure displays signs of health effects immediately or within one hour after exposure.  Chronic exposure indicates the health effects occur as the result of long-term exposure to low concentrations of the chemical. Such symptoms as shortness of breath, coughing and dizziness may result from an acute exposure to high levels of vapors in fumes from spray, while other types of illnesses such as emphysema will occur after long-term exposure to lower levels of those same vapors. An acute reaction often allows the specific causative agent to be more readily identified, and thus make future prevention easier.

Chronic exposure, such as low levels of noise for long periods of time over years, may not show itself until after the damage is done. Many people show signs of decreased hearing or ringing in the ears (tinnitus) after the damage has been done, and long after preventative measures should have been taken.  Unfortunately, prevention of hearing damage by the use of ear plugs (Fig 11) is often neglected because of the subtle damage of chronic exposure.

Portal of entry

The portal of entry is that point in which the damaging exposure reaches the body. Hazardous materials can enter through breathing, swallowing, absorption into the

skin and eyes, and injection into the skin. To prevent the hazardous materials from entering through breathing, the appropriate respirator should be worn (Fig 12). Respirators such as the purple HEPA respirator seen in figure 12, the charcoal respirator (either partial or full face, also in figure 12), and the fresh air respirator (Fig 13) help to protect workers in various work conditions.

Swallowing hazardous wastes can be prevented by washing hands frequently and by not eating or smoking in hazardous work areas, and not touching your face with your hands when coughing or

sneezing. Most people have been taught to cough or sneeze into their elbow (Fig 14) as opposed to coughing into their hand.  Wearing the appropriate nitrile gloves and safety glasses can prevent absorption into your skin and eyes. Many technicians are surprised when cleaning their glasses to find as much contamination and debris on the inside of the lens as on the outside. Many types of contamination are attracted to water, and the moisture that forms between the eye and the inside of safety glasses draws that vapor to it. Using goggles or a fresh air respirator will eliminate this type of contamination.

 Although the word injection may conjure up thoughts of that huge needle we remember from a childhood doctor’s visit, as a portal of entry for hazardous materials to reach inside the body, injection can occur through a cut or split in the skin, which allows direct access to either our soft tissue or blood vessels. Injection can occur when air blasts from air tools or blow guns drive a contaminant into a body’s portal of entry.

MSDS
In the United States, a material safety data sheet, or MSDS, must accompany every hazardous material sent to the workplace. In Canada, the hazardous material awareness program became known as the Workplace Hazardous Material Information System (WHMIS), and documents similar to the MSDS also accompany hazardous materials to the workplace.

The supplier-provided MSDS covers a variety of areas, such as:

• Project identification
• Hazardous ingredients
• Physical data
• Fire and explosion hazards
• Reactive data
• Health hazard data, or toxic properties
• Protective measures
• First aid measures
• MSDS preparation information

Though the style of the individual MSDS may vary, these nine categories must be included in each one. Explaining each one of these categories is beyond the scope of this article, but certain sections that are extremely important to worker safety will be discussed.

 The section on protective measures is very important to workers. This is the section that directs them to the proper personal protective devices (PPDs) to use when working with individual hazards. This section tells workers what type of respirator should be used, how to control the material during a spill, waste disposal, and how to handle the material under normal conditions. The section will also contain the special handling explanations, such as information as to whether the material must be kept in an upright position or not.

Section four, fire and explosion hazards, will tell the flash point of the substance, the auto ignition temperature, its upper and lower flammability or explosive limits, and how it can be extinguished and with which type of extinguisher.

All the MSDS sections are important and should be read, understood and followed. MSDS should be readily at hand so they can accompany an employee to the emergency room in case of exposure. The information contained in them will help emergency room staff and physicians know the appropriate treatment for the type of exposure that the person has encountered. 

Workplace labels
There must be a supplier label on every hazardous material that comes into the workplace, and the workplace also must have an MSDS on hand and readily available for every chemical in the work area.

But often these larger containers of the materials are transferred to a smaller container.  If any chemical is placed in a container that does not have the original manufacturer’s label, a workplace label is required. A product that is mixed or diluted to keep for further use, such as an all-purpose cleaner solution mixed in a spray bottle, must also have a workplace label. 

Even spray bottles with soap and water should clearly be labeled. The only exception to the workplace label requirements is when a product is mixed and then used immediately by the person who mixed it, such as mixing color or clear for immediate application. If the color that was mixed will be used the next day, though, the workplace label must be applied.

Requirements for workplace labels
Labels prepared for the workplace do not require as much information as manufacturer’s labels. In fact, the two required items are the product's name as it appears on the MSDS, and any hazardous warnings that were on the original label. 

Although these are the minimum requirements, information such as personal protection devices needed when

using this product would also be helpful for employees. Many workplace labels such as the one seen in figure 15 have fire hazards (in red), health hazards (in blue), reactivity (in yellow), and specific hazards (in white) and can be purchased for attachment in the workplace.

While these labels are recommended, they

are not required. Masking tape, permanent marker, or computer-generated labels placed on the container are allowed. Because there are only two requirements, and they can be easily written on masking tape with a pen, there is little excuse for not having workplace labels on all containers within the shop.

Personal protective equipment (PPE)

Personal protective equipment, sometimes called personal protective devices, are pieces of safety equipment that need to be used to safely handle the common hazardous materials found in a collision repair shop. All employees must have certain standard pieces of safety equipment and must know the proper way to use them.

Glasses that have satisfied rigorous safety

testing are labeled Z87 (Fig 16). Not all glasses that appear to be safety glasses have been tested and approved for use.

Respirators come in all different types specific to the type of work being done. Particle masks

(N95) are used for blocking airborne particles (Fig 17), as are HEPA filter masks (Fig 18) — but should not be used when vapors or acids are present. Where vapors are involved, either charcoal respirators (Fig 19) or air

supply respirators (Fig 20) should be used. See the MSDS of the coating being sprayed to confirm which respirator is needed. Charcoal respirators should be stored in an airtight container (Fig 21) when not in use to prolong their usefulness.

Gloves also are suited to different types of

work. Common workplace gloves protect the hands, and in some cases have gel inserts in the palms to help reduce vibration damage (Fig 22). Heavier work

gloves are used for welding (Fig 23). Also, to protect your hands from chemicals, various types of chemical-resistant gloves such as light gloves (Fig 24), which only protect hands from splashes in use for such things as wax and grease remover, are appropriate. This type of glove should never be submerged in solvent or used when cleaning a gun. Instead, heavier solvent-resistance gloves (Fig 25) should be used for such work involving long-term and heavy exposure.

Hearing protection is one of the most often forgotten personal protective devices. Noises may often not seem damaging when a worker is exposed. But with frequent exposure to even moderate noises (greater than 100 decibels), long-term hearing loss can result. To protect hearing, technicians and other exposed employees can use simple foam plugs, as seen in figure 11. Such earplugs should be used not only when the worker is actually using the loud equipment, but also when other equipment nearby raises the noise to a damaging level. The rule of thumb for hearing safety: When standing at a normal “conversational” distance from a coworker, if you must raise your voice to be heard, then hearing protection is needed.

Many other personal protective devices are available too, and should be worn when working in hazardous situations. Referring to the MSDS for recommended use of these devices should be a routine procedure.

With careful planning, training and the availability and use of the proper protective devices, most workplace hazards can be eliminated, and body shop employees can work safely, even in a hazardous environment.

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