Like many cancer-causing agents, any level of exposure, even concentrations below applicable occupational exposure limits, may pose a residual cancer risk. Lowering exposures, even below the PEL, is considered to be good industrial hygiene practice. Animal studies have shown that exposure to methylene chloride may lead to liver and lung cancer, as well as tumors in the breast and salivary glands. Long-term exposure may cause cancer in humans. As exposure increases so do the health effects, with a potential for suffocation, loss of consciousness, coma, and sudden death. Heart attacks may occur even before any other symptoms of methylene chloride exposure occur. In workers with heart disease, an increase in carbon monoxide may lead to early onset heart attacks and arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats). The specific effects of methylene chloride exposure will vary depending on several factors, such as the amount of methylene chloride the worker is exposed to, how long the exposure lasts, and whether the worker has a higher susceptibility (for example, having a preexisting heart condition).
Tub painnt skin#
Prolonged skin contact may cause irritation and even chemical burns. Methylene chloride exposure may cause dizziness, fatigue, headaches, nausea, a “feeling of intoxication,” and eye, nose, and throat irritation. At high enough levels, it can stop breathing. When methylene chloride enters the human body, it affects brain function, such as concentration. In September 2011, a worker using a product containing methylene chloride to strip the glaze from a bathtub collapsed in the bathtub and later died. In February 2012, a worker using a product containing methylene chloride to refinish a bathtub was found dead, slumped over a bathtub in an unventilated bathroom. Exposure to as little as six ounces of methylene chloride-based material has been enough to cause death.
This situation creates dangerously high concentrations of methylene chloride and even replaces the breathable air. Moreover, because methylene chloride evaporates quickly (it has a high vapor pressure), vapors can collect in the bottom of a bathtub and in the worker’s breathing zone when working in the bathtub. Since methylene chloride is a volatile organic compound that will evaporate faster when sprayed, brushed, or poured, the chemical vapors can quickly build up in small spaces. Workers often spray or pour a bathtub stripping product into the basin of the bathtub and then brush the product onto the tub surface. Using methylene chloride products in a bathroom is extremely dangerous as bathrooms are often small, enclosed spaces with little or no ventilation. However, the human body can quickly become desensitized to the smell and a worker may be overexposed even if he or she can no longer smell it. So, once workers can smell methylene chloride they are already being overexposed. Methylene chloride cannot be smelled until the level in the air is higher than OSHA’s permissible exposure limits (PELs). Workers are exposed to methylene chloride by breathing it in and by absorbing it through their skin. It is often referred to as dichloromethane and has many industrial uses, such as paint stripping, metal cleaning, and degreasing. Methylene chloride, a chlorinated solvent, is a volatile, colorless liquid with a sweet-smelling odor. It is a less costly alternative to replacing a bathtub however, the process often involves the use of hazardous chemicals including methylene chloride, acids, and isocyanates. Earlier this week NIOSH and OSHA released a joint Hazard Alert titled Methylene Chloride Hazards for Bathtub Refinishers.īathtub refinishing is the process of restoring the surface of an old bathtub to improve the bathtub’s appearance and repair surface damage. Products containing methylene chloride should be avoided when possible.
Alternative products and processes exist for bathtub refinishing. Methylene chloride is extremely dangerous when not used properly.
Many stripping products (including those that may also be available to consumers) contain high percentages of methylene chloride. At least 14 workers have died since 2000 as a result of using stripping agents containing methylene chloride during bathtub refinishing.
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