thesynergist | NEWSWATCH
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EPA Releases Toxicological Review of Formaldehyde
A final toxicological review of formaldehyde conducted by EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) program finds that the substance is carcinogenic to humans through the inhalation route of exposure. The report concludes that formaldehyde inhalation can cause nasopharyngeal cancer, sinonasal cancer, and myeloid leukemia, and establishes a reference concentration (RfC) for formaldehyde of 7 µg/m3. EPA defines the RfC as “the level of continuous inhalation exposure to the human population (including sensitive subgroups) that is likely to be without appreciable risk of deleterious effects during a lifetime.”
EPA calculates the inhalation unit risk (IUR) for formaldehyde as 1.1 x 10-5 per µg/m3. The IUR, which represents an upper-bound estimate of the increased lifetime risk of cancer from inhaling 1 µg/m3 of formaldehyde for 70 years, is based on an estimate of increased risk for nasopharyngeal cancer. Due to uncertainties in published exposure-response modeling studies, the IUR does not incorporate risk from sinonasal cancer and myeloid leukemia and therefore may underestimate actual cancer risk, EPA states.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer and the U.S. National Toxicology Program also classify formaldehyde as a human carcinogen.
According to EPA, the noncancer health effects of formaldehyde exposure include increased sensory irritation and respiratory tract pathology. It is also likely that formaldehyde inhalation causes decreased pulmonary function, increased symptoms of asthma, increased allergic responses, reproductive toxicity in both females and males, and developmental toxicity in females, the report states.
Children and individuals with preexisting respiratory allergies are likely more susceptible to the respiratory effects of formaldehyde. Studies indicated that people with prior nasal damage developed more severe nasal lesions from formaldehyde exposure and may be more susceptible to nasal cancer.
The report calls for further study of potential neurotoxic effects from inhalation of formaldehyde, including the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.
In the population studies EPA reviewed, adverse health effects were observed at formaldehyde concentration levels in the range of 35–40 µg/m3. For levels between the RfC of 7 µg/m3 and 35–40 µg/m3, the potential for health effects is unknown, EPA states.
The agency indicated that it would produce a final risk assessment for formaldehyde by the end of the year. Some media reports speculated that the final risk assessment would pave the way for EPA to begin rulemaking that would restrict or ban uses of formaldehyde such as in wood products and adhesives.
The use of formaldehyde in hair straightening products is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. Earlier this year, FDA proposed a ban on formaldehyde in these products.
The American Chemistry Council (ACC) Formaldehyde Panel issued a statement criticizing the IRIS assessment. “If EPA continues on its current path,” the statement read, “formaldehyde manufacturing and many of its downstream uses could be severely restricted or potentially banned in the U.S., with an overwhelmingly negative impact on the environment, human health, national security, and the economy.”
The IRIS toxicological review of formaldehyde and related documents are available from the EPA website. The agency has published other materials related to formaldehyde, including its draft risk assessment, on its risk evaluation webpage for formaldehyde. For ACC’s news release on the IRIS review, visit the ACC website.
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Fact Sheet Focuses on Respirator Selection for Chimney Sweeps
NIOSH has released a fact sheet on protecting chimney sweeps from respiratory hazards. Intended for both employers and workers, the fact sheet clarifies employer responsibilities and advises chimney sweeps on the proper selection and use of respirators.
Common respiratory hazards for chimney sweeps include soot, organic vapors, silica, and bird and bat droppings. Studies have shown that chimney sweeps have a higher risk of bladder, esophageal, and lung cancer, as well as ischemic heart disease. In 2012, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified soot as found in occupational exposure to chimney sweeps as a Group 1 carcinogen, or carcinogenic to humans. IARC noted that soot can cause skin and lung cancer. The U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP) also classifies soot as a known human carcinogen.
The NIOSH fact sheet is available from the agency’s website. More information is available from IARC and NTP (PDF).
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OSHA Proposes More Than $1 Million in Penalties for Countertop Maker
OSHA cited a Chicago countertop-making business for more than 30 violations of worker protection standards and has proposed over $1 million in penalties, the agency announced in August. Among the violations were exposures to levels of silica dust almost six times higher than the OSHA permissible exposure limit of 50 µg/m3 as an eight-hour time-weighted average.
Florenza Marble & Granite Corp. was also cited for the absence of engineering and administrative controls for silica dust, failing to have a respiratory protection program in place, housekeeping deficiencies, lacking a silica exposure control plan and a hazard communication program, and not training employees on the use of compressed air. According to an OSHA news release, the company’s citations include eight “egregious willful” violations, four willful violations, and 20 serious violations.
Workers at Florenza were tasked with cutting engineered and natural stone countertops. In recent years, outbreaks of silicosis among workers who perform these tasks have been identified in Israel, Spain, Australia, and the United States. Engineered stone can contain as much as 90 percent silica content. In July, a ban on engineered stone went into effect in Australia.
Florenza came to OSHA’s attention when the agency learned of a 31-year-old employee with accelerated silicosis who needed a double lung transplant. An inspection found that the employee’s 59-year-old father, who also worked at the company, was awaiting a silicosis-related lung transplant, and a 47-year-old coworker had been undergoing treatment for work-related lung disease for more than three years.
For more information, refer to the OSHA news release and its notification of penalties (PDF).
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Comments on OSHA’s Proposed Heat Rule Due Dec. 30
OSHA’s proposed rule, “Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings,” was published in the Federal Register on Aug. 30. Its publication opened the public comment period, which will close Dec. 30, 2024.
OSHA expects that if the rule is finalized, it will cover approximately 36 million workers, or about a third of all full-time workers in the U.S. Provisions of the proposed rule would require affected employers to develop and implement site-specific heat injury and illness prevention plans as well as plans to acclimatize new or returning workers who may be unaccustomed to working in high-heat conditions. The proposed rule also addresses requirements for drinking water, rest breaks, and control of indoor heat.
OSHA welcomes all written comments from stakeholders, including feedback on issues specifically identified in the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), such as health effects, risk assessment, proposed requirements, and technological feasibility. The agency has compiled its questions about these issues in a document available as a PDF.
A public hearing may be held after the written comment period closes on Dec. 30.
The proposed rule is available in the Federal Register. An overview of OSHA’s NPRM is available from the Department of Labor’s YouTube channel. Learn more about OSHA’s heat rulemaking and how to comment by visiting the agency’s website.
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White House Releases Strategy for PFAS Research
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released a new strategy in September that outlines priorities for federal research on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. The goals of the strategy are to provide high-quality data on PFAS and their health impacts, communicate PFAS research effectively, identify technologies to help remediate PFAS pollution, and generate information about PFAS alternatives.
The strategy notes that PFAS alternatives generally involve either reducing the need for PFAS-containing materials or replacing them with substitute chemicals. It calls for engagement with researchers in universities and the private sector to develop less toxic PFAS alternatives.
Among the recommendations for supporting the strategy’s goals is the development of biomonitoring programs for identifying occupational sources and types of exposures among firefighters and other workers.
For more information, read the White House news release.
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Dashboard Allows Users to Search Data on Severe Injuries
The Department of Labor has launched its Severe Injury Report dashboard, which allows users to search OSHA’s database of severe injuries, defined as injuries resulting in inpatient hospitalization, amputation, or eye loss. The database includes all severe injuries reported by employers covered under federal OSHA since 2015.
According to an OSHA press release, the agency “encourages workers and employers to use the dashboard to learn how severe injuries happen in their industries and use the agency’s available resources to help prevent workplace injuries.”
Users can filter data by year, industry, state, establishment name, and Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System codes, as well as download the full database. The tool allows users to view, for example, the most frequent causes of severe injuries in specific industries and states covered by federal OSHA.
Users can access the dashboard via OSHA's website. More information is available from OSHA’s press release.
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IARC Evaluates 2-Bromopropane, High-Production-Volume Chemicals
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified the solvent 2-bromopropane as a Group 2A carcinogen, the agency’s designation for substances that are probably carcinogenic to humans. According to IARC, there is sufficient evidence for cancer in experimental animals exposed to 2-bromopropane, including “an unusually high degree of carcinogenic activity with regard to incidence, site, and types of [tumors]” observed in one study. In addition to its use as a solvent in dry cleaning, 2-bromopropane is used as an intermediate in the manufacture of organic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, dyes, and adhesives. Inhalation and dermal exposures to 2-bromopropane are of concern during its production and use.
IARC also published evaluations of the carcinogenicity of three other chemicals: anthracene, butyl methacrylate, and dimethyl hydrogen phosphite. Uses of anthracene, a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, include as an intermediate in the manufacture of dyes and pigments, wood preservatives, and organic chemicals. According to IARC, a few examples of butyl methacrylate’s uses are in coatings, polyvinyl chloride plastics, and healthcare materials, and dimethyl hydrogen phosphite is used as a stabilizer in oil and plaster and as a flame retardant, among other uses. Occupational exposure to anthracene may occur in firefighting, while workers may be exposed to butyl methacrylate and dimethyl hydrogen phosphite via the respiratory route during production and use of those chemicals. Exposures to butyl methacrylate are of increased concern in paint and adhesive manufacturing, IARC notes. Anthracene, butyl methacrylate, and dimethyl hydrogen phosphite fall into Group 2B and are possibly carcinogenic to humans.
IARC’s findings appear in volume 133 of the agency’s monographs series. Additional details can be found on the IARC website.
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OSHA Considers Excluding Volunteers from Emergency Response Standard
In a statement released Sept. 17, OSHA signaled that it may revise its proposed rule on emergency response to exclude volunteer emergency response organizations from its requirements. The statement follows comments submitted to the agency that “raise serious concerns about the economic feasibility of the proposed standard for volunteer fire departments,” according to OSHA.
If adopted, the emergency response rule would replace OSHA’s fire brigades standard (29 Code of Federal Regulations 1910.156), which was promulgated in 1980, covers only firefighters, and has received only minor updates. The new standard would expand protections to include employees who work for employers that provide emergency services other than firefighting, such as emergency medical service providers and technical search and rescue services. The standard would also update performance specifications for protective clothing and equipment and specify safety and health practices based on industry consensus standards.
Between the proposed rule’s publication in the Federal Register on Feb. 5 and July 22, the agency received more than 4,100 comments, including, it said, from volunteer emergency responders, fire chiefs, and members of Congress. “The comments submitted to the rulemaking docket provide crucial information that the agency did not have earlier in the rulemaking process,” OSHA’s statement reads. “This new information will help the agency make the necessary determinations about whether the proposed standard is feasible for volunteer organizations.”
OSHA will hold an informal public hearing on the rule beginning at 9:30 a.m. ET on Nov. 12. For more information, read the agency’s statement.
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NIOSH Reviews Wildland Fire Smoke Exposures among Outdoor Workers
A new NIOSH draft hazard review is the first authoritative document released at the federal level that focuses on wildland fire smoke exposure among outdoor workers. The document aims to evaluate the health effects of smoke from wildland fires on this workforce and provides recommendations for workplace controls to reduce exposures. According to the agency, outdoor workers are at increased risk of adverse health effects from wildland fire smoke exposures because traditional exposure control measures are difficult to implement outdoors.
Farmworkers comprise a large proportion of the outdoor workforce—approximately 800,000 to 1.5 million workers—and workers in construction, transportation, installation, maintenance and repair, fishing, and forestry occupations are also potentially exposed to wildland fire smoke. While NIOSH recognizes that wildland firefighters are also at risk, the new draft hazard review does not focus on hazards associated with smoke exposure among this group.
NIOSH’s draft hazard review identifies PM2.5 as “the primary hazard of concern with respect to exposure related to health effects” from wildland fire smoke, which contains a mixture of gas and particulate chemicals.
NIOSH is seeking input on the draft hazard review until Nov. 12. A list of questions of interest to NIOSH can be found in the Federal Register. The questions focus on the characterization of outdoor worker populations, exposure assessment methods for wildland fire smoke, and other topics.
The draft document can be found on Regulations.gov. To learn more about the hazard review and the comment process, see the NIOSH news release.
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IARC Publishes Monographs on Aspartame, Two Flavoring Substances
Volume 134 of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) monograph series evaluates the carcinogenicity of the artificial sweetener aspartame and the flavoring compounds methyleugenol and isoeugenol.
Aspartame has been used in foods and beverages for decades. An IARC working group classified aspartame as group 2B, possibly carcinogenic to humans, based on limited evidence for an association between aspartame consumption and liver cancer. In occupational environments, the highest potential exposures occur for workers who manually handle aspartame powder.
IARC classified isoeugenol as group 2B based on sufficient evidence for cancer in experimental animals and inadequate evidence for cancer in humans. Methyleugenol was classified as group 2A, probably carcinogenic to humans.
When IARC first announced its aspartame classification in July 2023, it noted that no recommendation was made to lower the acceptable daily intake (ADI) of aspartame from its current level of 0–40 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. A news release accompanying the announcement clarified that an adult weighing 70 kg—about 154 pounds—would need to consume more than 9–14 cans of diet soft drinks per day to exceed the ADI, assuming the beverages contained between 200 and 300 mg of aspartame.
Following IARC’s 2023 announcement, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration stated that it “disagrees with IARC’s conclusion that these studies support classifying aspartame as a possible carcinogen to humans.”
Volume 134 of IARC’s monograph series is available from the agency's website. For more information, see IARC’s news release, its 2023 statement, and FDA’s webpage on aspartame and other sweeteners.