Handling Of Solvents
Protect yourself from exposure to
Solvent!!! Very small exposures over many months can harm you. So can one large exposure. A very large exposure can kill you. Working with solvents can make you feel dizzy, uncoordinated, like a drunk, or cause headaches, nausea, stomach pains, skin rashes, cracking or bleeding skin or irritated eyes, nose and throat. Some solvents can blind you, destroy your kidneys or liver, or affect your nervous system. Some solvents can add to your risk of irregular heart beats which can kill you. Some can cause cancer. This is what you can do: - Read the
labels and the MSDS (material safety data sheet) for each solvent you will
use
- Replace solvents when you can
- Don’t get solvents on your skin. Don’t use solvents to
wash paint of your hands. When you use gloves, check the manufacturer’s
instructions to make sure the gloves protect against the solvent you are
using. When you lean oil-based paint from brushes, wear gloves.
- Wash your hands before you smoke, eat or drink. If you don’t, you can swallow solvents by mistake. Don’t smoke, eat or drink where solvents are used.
- Try not to breathe solvents. Use the smallest container you can. Keep lids on paint or glue when they are not being used. Throw out rags that have solvents on them. To prevent fires, when you throw out rags that have solvents, put them in special containers. Keep your face away from solvents. Use a long-handled paint roller.
- Work with solvents only where there is fresh air. You can’t always smell solvents. You may have to work indoors to glue tile or spray paint a wall or in a trench or other confined space with solvents. If you do, set an exhaust fan to pull the fumes away from you. When indoors, try to have one fan in a window pull fumes outdoors and one fan to pull in air from outside the room.
- An organic vapor cartridge may not be enough against some solvent vapors that can cause cancer like methylene chloride. For those chemicals, OSHA and NIOSH recommend only supplied-air respirators with air hoses. Respirators must be changed regularly, often once per shift or more.
Source: www.cpwr.com
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