§ 1910.1044 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane.

(a) Scope and application. (1) This section applies to occupational exposure to 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP).

(2) This section does not apply to:

(i) Exposure to DBCP which results solely from the application and use of DBCP as a pesticide; or

(ii) The storage, transportation, distribution or sale of DBCP in intact containers sealed in such a manner as to prevent exposure to DBCP vapors or liquid, except for the requirements of paragraphs (i), (n) and (o) of this section.

(b) Definitions. Authorized person means any person required by his duties to be present in regulated areas and authorized to do so by his employer, by this section, or by the Act. Authorized person also includes any person entering such areas as a designated representative of employees exercising an opportunity to observe employee exposure monitoring.

DBCP means 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane, Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number 96-12-8, and includes all forms of DBCP.

Director means the Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or designee.

Emergency means any occurrence such as, but not limited to equipment failure, rupture of containers, or failure of control equipment which may, or does, result in an unexpected release of DBCP.

OSHA Area Office means the Area Office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration having jurisdiction over the geographic area where the affected workplace is located.

Assistant Secretary means the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Labor, or designee.

(c) Permissible exposure limit—(1) Inhalation. The employer shall assure that no employee is exposed to an airborne concentration of DBCP in excess of 1 part DBCP per billion parts of air (ppb) as an 8-hour time-weighted average.

(2) Dermal and eye exposure. The employer shall assure that no employee is exposed to eye or skin contact with DBCP.

(d) [Reserved]

(e) Regulated areas. (1) The employer shall establish, within each place of employment, regulated areas wherever DBCP concentrations are in excess of the permissible exposure limit.

(2) The employer shall limit access to regulated areas to authorized persons.

(f) Exposure monitoring—(1) General. (i) Determinations of airborne exposure levels shall be made from air samples that are representative of each employee's exposure to DBCP over an 8-hour period.

(ii) For the purposes of this paragraph, employee exposure is that exposure which would occur if the employee were not using a respirator.

(2) Initial. Each employer who has a place of employment in which DBCP is present, shall monitor each workplace and work operation to accurately determine the airborne concentrations of DBCP to which employees may be exposed.

(3) Frequency. (i) If the monitoring required by this section reveals employee exposures to be at or below the permissible exposure limit, the employer must repeat these measurements at least every 6 months.

(ii) If the monitoring required by this section reveals employee exposures to be in excess of the permissible exposure limit, the employer must repeat these measurements for each such employee at least quarterly. The employer must continue quarterly monitoring until at least two consecutive measurements, taken at least seven (7) days apart, are at or below the permissible exposure limit. Thereafter the employer must monitor at least every 6 months.

(4) Additional. Whenever there has been a production, process, control, or personnel change which may result in any new or additional exposure to DBCP, or whenever the employer has any reason to suspect new or additional exposures to DBCP, the employer shall monitor the employees potentially affected by such change for the purpose of redetermining their exposure.

(5) Employee notification. (i) The employer must, within 15 working days after the receipt of the results of any monitoring performed under this section, notify each employee of these results either individually in writing or by posting the results in an appropriate location that is accessible to employees.

(ii) Whenever the results indicate that employee exposure exceeds the permissible exposure limit, the employer shall include in the written notice a statement that the permissible exposure limit was exceeded and a description of the corrective action being taken to reduce exposure to or below the permissible exposure limit.

(6) Accuracy of measurement. The employer shall use a method of measurement which has an accuracy, to a confidence level of 95 percent, of not less than plus or minus 25 percent for concentrations of DBCP at or above the permissible exposure limit.

(g) Methods of compliance—(1) Priority of compliance methods. The employer shall institute engineering and work practice controls to reduce and maintain employee exposures to DBCP at or below the permissible exposure limit, except to the extent that the employer establishes that such controls are not feasible. Where feasible engineering and work practice controls are not sufficient to reduce employee exposures to within the permissible exposure limit, the employer shall nonetheless use them to reduce exposures to the lowest level achievable by these controls, and shall supplement them by use of respiratory protection.

(2) Compliance program. (i) The employer shall establish and implement a written program to reduce employee exposures to DBCP to or below the permissible exposure limit solely by means of engineering and work practice controls as required by paragraph (g)(1) of this section.

(ii) The written program shall include a detailed schedule for development and implementation of the engineering and work practice controls. These plans must be revised at least annually to reflect the current status of the program.

(iii) Written plans for these compliance programs shall be submitted upon request to the Assistant Secretary and the Director, and shall be available at the worksite for examination and copying by the Assistant Secretary, the Director, and any affected employee or designated representative of employees.

(iv) The employer shall institute and maintain at least the controls described in his most recent written compliance program.

(h) Respiratory protection—(1) General. For employees who are required to use respirators by this section, the employer must provide each employee an appropriate respirator that complies with the requirements of this paragraph. Respirators must be used during:

(i) Periods necessary to install or implement feasible engineering and work-practice controls.

(ii) Maintenance and repair activities for which engineering and work-practice controls are not feasible.

(iii) Work operations for which feasible engineering and work-practice controls are not yet sufficient to reduce employee exposure to or below the permissible exposure limit.

(iv) Emergencies.

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

(3) Respirator selection. Employers must:

(i) Select, and provide to employees, the appropriate atmosphere-supplying respirator specified in paragraph (d)(3)(i)(A) of 29 CFR 1910.134.

(ii) Provide employees with one of the following respirator options to use for entry into, or escape from, unknown DBCP concentrations:

(A) A combination respirator that includes a supplied-air respirator with a full facepiece operated in a pressure-demand or other positive-pressure or continuous-flow mode, as well as an auxiliary self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) operated in a pressure-demand or positive-pressure mode.

(B) An SCBA with a full facepiece operated in a pressure-demand or other positive-pressure mode.

(i) Emergency situations—(1) Written plans. (i) A written plan for emergency situations shall be developed for each workplace in which DBCP is present.

(ii) Appropriate portions of the plan shall be implemented in the event of an emergency.

(2) Employees engaged in correcting emergency conditions shall be equipped as required in paragraphs (h) and (j) of this section until the emergency is abated.

(3) Evacuation. Employees not engaged in correcting the emergency shall be removed and restricted from the area and normal operations in the affected area shall not be resumed until the emergency is abated.

(4) Alerting employees. Where there is a possibility of employee exposure to DBCP due to the occurrence of an emergency, a general alarm shall be installed and maintained to promptly alert employees of such occurrences.

(5) Medical surveillance. For any employee exposed to DBCP in an emergency situation, the employer shall provide medical surveillance in accordance with paragraph (m)(6) of this section.

(6) Exposure monitoring. (i) Following an emergency, the employer shall conduct monitoring which complies with paragraph (f) of this section.

(ii) In workplaces not normally subject to periodic monitoring, the employer may terminate monitoring when two consecutive measurements indicate exposures below the permissible exposure limit.

(j) Protective clothing and equipments—(1) Provision and use. Where there is any possibility of eye or dermal contact with liquid or solid DBCP, the employer shall provide, at no cost to the employee, and assure that the employee wears impermeable protective clothing and equipment to protect the area of the body which may come in contact with DBCP. Eye and face protection shall meet the requirements of § 1910.133 of this part.