Concern about lack of venting in lab

[Happylady]

We have a finish lab where I work that is not vented at all. The equipment was just placed in a small room with no window and one open door. It is against a back wall but with no vent.

Is this illegal? Just how dangerous is this to the person edging lenses?

We might edge 3 to 8 jobs a day and mostly plastic and poly. Most hi index is edged at an outside lab cause it's so smelly but I wonder about how much harmful stuff is going into the air with poly and cr39. The room doesn't seem dusty. We only turn on the tint unit if we are tinting a job which is less then once a week.

If it is illegal, how does a person go about getting it taken care of?

[Johns]

What do you mean "legal"? Isn't this the place you work ? Ask the owner to vent it and be done.


Or do you want to get your boss inio "legal" trouble?

[Happylady]

What do you mean "legal"? Isn't this the place you work ? Ask the owner to vent it and be done.


Or do you want to get your boss inio "legal" trouble?

No, I don't want my boss to get into trouble, but I don't know what the requirements are for a venting in a finish lab. If it is requirement to have more venting then we do, then I can speak with her about it, but I want to know the law before I do.

I want to know just how dangerous it is without venting.

[Chris Ryser]

......................., but I want to know the law before I do.

I want to know just how dangerous it is without venting.

Check the OSHA site which should give all the information. Beveldgers when used wet will not emit vapours. Dry edging can if the knive gets hot.

Conventional tinting units should be used only under a hood with outside ventilation The MicroTYint System can be used anywhere as everything is water and surfactant based.

PRESS RELEASE Opto Chemicals July 26, 2005
Hundreds of Thousands of Optical Stores and Optical Labs Endanger Employees Health by Emitting Toxic Fumes Inside Their Locations World Wide

Hot glycol ether fumes are ingested on a daily basis in optical businesses, without owners or health authorities being aware of it.
(PRWEB) July 26, 2005 -- Most optical stores and prescription laboratories (estimating about 80% in North America) are doing lens tinting operations by means of conventional lens tinting units, which use a chemical heat transfer media to heat the dyes and the dye remover chemicals (neutralizer).

Specially the dye removers are made with ether or ethylene glycols that are heated to near the boiling point, therefore emitting very toxic fumes, endangering employees to liver and kidney damage as well as brain cells. Customers to these stores and residents of a building that has central air conditioning are exposed to these fumes. (This presents no problem if a ventilation hood is placed over the tinting unit and the fumes vented outside into fresh air.) These tinting units are on hot mode from early morning to closing time for fast access and tinting.

The largest offenders are some of the well known optical chain stores in the USA and Canada which advertise 1 hour service and are located in central air conditioned buildings or shopping malls, because they can not vent the fumes outside.

Some of these optical chains, are not only emitting fumes from daily heated tinting units but also from lens hard coating machines that emit fumes of butyl alcohol and other toxic chemicals into the central air conditioning systems.

This is all due to optical chemical manufacturers and suppliers that hand out MSDS sheets that do not mention the danger of toxic fumes when these chemicals are heated. Without heat they would not work. OSHA and other health governing agencies do not seem to be aware of these conditions or they would have made these workplaces safe for the employees, customers and residents of these buildings.

OMS Opto Chemicals has recently developed a non toxic water based tint remover that will not emit any toxic fumes and does work as fast or faster than the conventional glycol products, and furthermore it can be used for every type of lens without damaging any surfaces. This product has been formulated purely from surfactants (soap family) with water as its carrier. Any evaporation can be replaced with plain tap water until it stops working and a new batch has to be used.

For enquiries contact OMS, Opto Chemicals http://optochemicals.com

For further information contact Chris Ryser, President OMS
OMS Optochemicals, 177108 Canada Inc.
97 Columbus , Pointe Claire, Quebec, Canada, H9R 4K3
Tel: +1- 514-426-3055 Fax:+1 - 514-426-1138

# # #

[Reinhardt]

The science of industrial hygiene is not an exact science. Beware of absolute statements from anyone.

See existing threads on this same subject titled:
Reducing odours when edging high index
Polycarb Concerns
tint bath

[LKahn]

Upon consulting our safety engineer, I would like to correct a misconception. All grinding machines create vapors and or dusts as part of there operating process. A prudent person would want to capture and vent these vapors and dust to the exterior rather than to inhale them.

Chemicals migrate. Anyone understanding the principals of osmosis and diffusion already knows that the chemicals in our workplace will wind up within ourselves.