WAC 296-155-176, Lead, applies to all construction work where an employee may be occupationally exposed to lead. All construction work excluded from coverage in the general industry standard for lead by WAC 296-62-07521 (1)(b) is covered by this standard. Construction work is defined as work for construction, alteration and/or repair, including painting and decorating. It includes but is not limited to the following:

(1) Demolition or salvage of structures where lead or materials containing lead are present;

(2) Removal or encapsulation of materials containing lead;

(3) New construction, alteration, repair, or renovation of structures, substrates, or portions thereof, that contain lead, or materials containing lead;

(4) Installation of products containing lead;

(5) Lead contamination/emergency cleanup;

(6) Transportation, disposal, storage, or containment of lead or materials containing lead on the site or location at which construction activities are performed; and

(7) Maintenance operations associated with the construction activities described in this section.

Action level. Employee exposure, without regard to the use of respirators, to an airborne concentration of lead of 30 micrograms per cubic meter of air (30 µg/m3) calculated as an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA).

Competent person. One who is capable of identifying existing and predictable lead hazards in the surroundings or working conditions and who has authorization to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate them.

Director. The director of labor and industries, or designated representative.

Lead. Metallic lead, all inorganic lead compounds, and organic lead soaps. Excluded from this definition are all other organic lead compounds.

This section. WAC 296-155-176 through 296-155-17656.

(1) You must ensure that no employee is exposed to lead at concentrations greater than 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air (50 µg/m3) averaged over an 8-hour period.

(2) If an employee is exposed to lead for more than 8 hours in any work day the employees' allowable exposure, as a time weighted average (TWA) for that day, must be reduced according to the following formula:

(3) When respirators are used to limit employee exposure as required by this section and all the requirements of WAC 296-155-17611(1) and 296-155-17613 have been met, employee exposure may be considered to be at the level provided by the protection factor of the respirator for those periods the respirator is worn. Those periods may be averaged with exposure levels during periods when respirators are not worn to determine the employee's daily TWA exposure.

(1) General.

(a) Each employer who has a workplace or operation covered by this standard must initially determine if any employee may be exposed to lead at or above the action level.

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

(c) With the exception of monitoring under subsection (3) of this section, where monitoring is required by this standard, you must collect personal samples representative of a full shift including at least one sample for each job classification in each work area either for each shift or for the shift with the highest exposure level.

(d) Full shift personal samples must be representative of the monitored employee's regular, daily exposure to lead.

(2) Protection of employees during assessment of exposure.

(a) With respect to the lead related tasks listed in this subdivision, where lead is present, until the employer performs an employee exposure assessment as required in this section and documents that the employee performing any of the listed tasks is not exposed above the PEL, you must treat the employee as if the employee were exposed above the PEL, and not in excess of 10 times the PEL, and you must implement employee protective measures prescribed in subdivision (e) of this subsection. The tasks covered by this requirement are:

(i) Where lead containing coatings or paint are present: Manual demolition of structures (e.g, dry wall), manual scraping, manual sanding, heat gun applications, and power tool cleaning with dust collection systems;

(ii) Spray painting with lead paint.

(b) In addition, with regard to tasks not listed in subdivision (a), where the employer has any reason to believe that an employee performing the task may be exposed to lead in excess of the PEL, until the employer performs an employee exposure assessment as required by this section and documents that the employee's lead exposure is not above the PEL you must treat the employee as if the employee were exposed above the PEL and you must implement employee protective measures as prescribed in subdivision (e) of this subsection.

(c) With respect to the tasks listed in this subdivision, where lead is present, until the employer performs an employee exposure assessment as required in this section, and documents that the employee performing any of the listed tasks is not exposed in excess of 500 µg/m3, you must treat the employee as if the employee were exposed to lead in excess of 500 µg/m3 and you must implement employee protective measures as prescribed in subdivision (e) of this subsection. Where the employer does establish that the employee is exposed to levels of lead below 500 µg/m3, the employer may provide the exposed employee with the appropriate respirator prescribed for such use at such lower exposures, in accordance with Table 1 of WAC 296-155-17613. The tasks covered by this requirement are:

(i) Using lead containing mortar; lead burning;

(ii) Where lead containing coatings or paint are present: Rivet busting; power tool cleaning without dust collection systems; cleanup activities where dry expendable abrasives are used; and abrasive blasting enclosure movement and removal.

(d) With respect to the tasks listed in this subdivision, where lead is present, until the employer performs an employee exposure assessment as required in this section and documents that the employee performing any of the listed tasks is not exposed to lead in excess of 2,500 µg/m3 (50xPEL), you must treat the employee as if the employee were exposed to lead in excess of 2,500 µg/m3 and you must implement employee protective measures as prescribed in (e) of this subsection. Where the employer does establish that the employee is exposed to levels of lead below 2,500 µg/m3, the employer may provide the exposed employee with the appropriate respirator prescribed for use at such lower exposures, in accordance with Table I of this WAC 296-155-17613. Protection described in this section is required where lead containing coatings or paint are present on structures when performing:

(i) Abrasive blasting;

(ii) Welding;

(iii) Cutting; and

(iv) Torch burning.

(e) Until the employer performs an employee exposure assessment as required by this section and determines actual employee exposure, you must provide to employees performing the tasks described in (a) through (d) of this subsection with interim protection as follows:

(i) Appropriate respiratory protection in accordance with WAC 296-155-17613.

(ii) Appropriate personal protective clothing and equipment in accordance with WAC 296-155-17615.

(iii) Change areas in accordance with WAC 296-155-17619(2).

(iv) Hand washing facilities in accordance with WAC 296-155-17619(5).

(v) Biological monitoring in accordance with WAC 296-155-17621 (1)(a), to consist of blood sampling and analysis for lead and zinc protoporphyrin levels, and

(vi) Training as required by WAC 296-155-17625 (1)(a) regarding WAC 296-901-140, Hazard communication; training as required by WAC 296-155-17625 (2)(c), regarding use of respirators; and training in accordance with WAC 296-155-100.

(3) Basis of initial determination.

(a) Except as provided by (c) and (d) of this subsection you must monitor employee exposures and you must base initial determinations on the employee exposure monitoring results and any of the following, relevant considerations:

(i) Any information, observations, or calculations which would indicate employee exposure to lead;

(ii) Any previous measurements of airborne lead; and

(iii) Any employee complaints of symptoms which may be attributable to exposure to lead.

(b) Monitoring for the initial determination where performed may be limited to a representative sample of the exposed employees who the employer reasonably believes are exposed to the greatest airborne concentrations of lead in the workplace.

(c) Where the employer has previously monitored for lead exposures, and the data were obtained within the past 12 months during work operations conducted under workplace conditions closely resembling the processes, type of material, control methods, work practices, and environmental conditions used and prevailing in the employer's current operations, the employer may rely on such earlier monitoring results to satisfy the requirements of subdivision (a) of this subsection and subsection (5) of this section if the sampling and analytical methods meet the accuracy and confidence levels of subsection (9) of this section.

(d) Where the employer has objective data, demonstrating that a particular product or material containing lead or a specific process, operation or activity involving lead cannot result in employee exposure to lead at or above the action level during processing, use, or handling, the employer may rely upon such data instead of implementing initial monitoring.

(i) You must establish and maintain an accurate record documenting the nature and relevancy of objective data as specified in WAC 296-155-17629(4), where used in assessing employee exposure in lieu of exposure monitoring.

(ii) Objective data, as described in subdivision (d) of this subsection, is not permitted to be used for exposure assessment in connection with subsection (2) of this section.

(4) Positive initial determination and initial monitoring.

(a) Where a determination conducted under subsections (1), (2) and (3) of this section shows the possibility of any employee exposure at or above the action level you must conduct monitoring which is representative of the exposure for each employee in the workplace who is exposed to lead.

(b) Where the employer has previously monitored for lead exposure, and the data were obtained within the past 12 months during work operations conducted under workplace conditions closely resembling the processes, type of material, control methods, work practices, and environmental conditions used and prevailing in the employer's current operations, the employer may rely on such earlier monitoring results to satisfy the requirements of (a) of this subsection if the sampling and analytical methods meet the accuracy and confidence levels of subsection (9) of this section.

(5) Negative initial determination. Where a determination, conducted under subsections (1), (2), and (3) of this section is made that no employee is exposed to airborne concentrations of lead at or above the action level you must make a written record of such determination. The record must include at least the information specified in subsection (3)(a) of this section and must also include the date of determination, location within the worksite, and the name and Social Security number of each employee monitored.

(6) Frequency.

(a) If the initial determination reveals employee exposure to be below the action level further exposure determination need not be repeated except as otherwise provided in subsection (7) of this section.

(b) If the initial determination or subsequent determination reveals employee exposure to be at or above the action level but at or below the PEL you must perform monitoring in accordance with this section at least every 6 months. You must continue monitoring at the required frequency until at least two consecutive measurements, taken at least 7 days apart, are below the action level at which time the employer may discontinue monitoring for that employee except as otherwise provided in subsection (7) of this section.

(c) If the initial determination reveals that employee exposure is above the PEL you must perform monitoring quarterly. You must continue monitoring at the required frequency until at least two consecutive measurements, taken at least 7 days apart, are at or below the PEL but at or above the action level at which time the employer must repeat monitoring for that employee at the frequency specified in subdivision (b) of this subsection, except as otherwise provided in subsection (7) of this section. You must continue monitoring at the required frequency until at least two consecutive measurements, taken at least 7 days apart, are below the action level at which time the employer may discontinue monitoring for that employee except as otherwise provided in subsection (7) of this section.

(7) Additional exposure assessments. Whenever there has been a change of equipment, process, control, personnel or a new task has been initiated that may result in additional employees being exposed to lead at or above the action level or may result in employees already exposed at or above the action level being exposed above the PEL, you must conduct additional monitoring in accordance with this section.

(8) Employee notification.

(a) Within 5 working days after completion of the exposure assessment you must notify each employee in writing of the results which represent that employee's exposure.

(b) Whenever the results indicate that the representative employee exposure, without regard to respirators, is at or above the PEL you must include in the written notice a statement that the employees exposure was at or above that level and a description of the corrective action taken or to be taken to reduce exposure to below that level.

(9) Accuracy of measurement. You must use a method of monitoring and analysis which has an accuracy (to a confidence level of 95%) of not less than plus or minus 25% for airborne concentrations of lead equal to or greater than 30 µg/m3.

(1) Engineering and work practice controls. You must implement engineering and work practice controls, including administrative controls, to reduce and maintain employee exposure to lead to or below the permissible exposure limit to the extent that such controls are feasible. Wherever all feasible engineering and work practices controls that can be instituted are not sufficient to reduce employee exposure to or below the permissible exposure limit prescribed in WAC 296-155-17607, you must nonetheless use them to reduce employee exposure to the lowest feasible level and you must supplement them by the use of respiratory protection that complies with the requirements of WAC 296-155-17613.

(2) Compliance program.

(a) Prior to commencement of the job you must establish and implement a written compliance program to achieve compliance with WAC 296-155-17607.

(b) Written plans for these compliance programs must include at least the following:

(i) A description of each activity in which lead is emitted; e.g., equipment used, material involved, controls in place, crew size, employee job responsibilities, operating procedures and maintenance practices;

(ii) A description of the specific means that will be employed to achieve compliance and, where engineering controls are required engineering plans and studies used to determine methods selected for controlling exposure to lead;

(iii) A report of the technology considered in meeting the PEL;

(iv) Air monitoring data which documents the source of lead emissions;

(v) A detailed schedule for implementation of the program, including documentation such as copies of purchase orders for equipment, construction contracts, etc.;

(vi) A work practice program which includes under requirements in WAC 296-155-17615, 296-155-17617, and 296-155-17619, and incorporates other relevant work practices such as those specified in subsection (5) of this section;

(vii) An administrative control schedule required by subsection (4) of this section, if applicable;

(viii) Other relevant information.

(c) The compliance program must provide for frequent and regular inspections of job sites, materials, and equipment to be made by a competent person.

(d) You must submit written programs upon request to any affected employee or authorized employee representatives, and the director, and you must make them available at the worksite for examination and copying by the director.

(e) You must revise and update written programs at least every 6 months to reflect the current status of the program.

(3) Mechanical ventilation. When ventilation is used to control lead exposure, you must evaluate the mechanical performance of the system in controlling exposure as necessary to maintain its effectiveness.

(4) Administrative controls. If administrative controls are used as a means of reducing employees TWA exposure to lead, you must establish and implement a job rotation schedule which includes:

(a) Name or identification number of each affected employee;

(b) Duration and exposure levels at each job or work station where each affected employee is located; and

(c) Any other information which may be useful in assessing the reliability of administrative controls to reduce exposure to lead.

(5) You must ensure that, to the extent relevant, employees follow good work practices such as described in Appendix B, WAC 296-155-17652.

(1) General. For employees who use respirators required by WAC 296-155-176, you must provide each employee with an appropriate respirator that complies with the requirements of this section. Respirators must be used during:

(a) Periods when an employee's exposure to lead exceeds the PEL.

(b) Work operations for which engineering controls and work-practices are not sufficient to reduce employee exposures to or below the PEL.

(c) Periods when an employee requests a respirator.

(d) Periods when respirators are required to provide interim protection of employees while they perform the operations as specified in WAC 296-155-17609(2).

(2) Respirator program.

(a) You must develop, implement, and maintain a respiratory protection program as required by chapter 296-842 WAC, Respirators, which covers each employee required by this chapter to use a respirator.

(b) If an employee has breathing difficulty during fit testing or respirator use, you must provide the employee with a medical examination as required by WAC 296-155-17621 (3)(a)(ii) to determine whether or not the employee can use a respirator while performing the required duty.

(3) Respirator selection. You must:

(a) Select and provide for employees appropriate respirators according to this section and WAC 296-842-13005 in the respirator rule.

(b) Provide employees with a powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR) when an employee chooses to use a PAPR and it provides adequate protection to the employee.

(c) Provide employees with full facepiece respirators instead of half facepiece respirators for protection against lead aerosols that may cause eye or skin irritation at the use concentration.

(d) Provide HEPA filters or N-, R-, or P-100 filters for powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs) and negative-pressure air-purifying respirators.

(1) Provision and use. Where an employee is exposed to lead above the PEL without regard to the use of respirators, where employees are exposed to lead compounds which may cause skin or eye irritation (e.g., lead arsenate, lead azide), and as protection for employees performing tasks as specified in WAC 296-155-17609(2), you must provide at no cost to the employee and ensure that the employee uses appropriate protective work clothing and equipment that prevents contamination of the employee and the employee's garments such as, but not limited to:

(a) Coveralls or similar full-body work clothing;

(b) Gloves, hats, and shoes or disposable shoe coverlets; and

(c) Face shields, vented goggles, or other appropriate protective equipment which complies with WAC 296-800-160.

(2) Cleaning and replacement.

(a) You must provide the protective clothing required in subsection (1) of this section in a clean and dry condition at least weekly, and daily to employees whose exposure levels without regard to a respirator are over 200 µg/m3 of lead as an 8-hour TWA.

(b) You must provide for the cleaning, laundering, and disposal of protective clothing and equipment required by subsection (1) of this section.

(c) You must repair or replace required protective clothing and equipment as needed to maintain their effectiveness.

(d) You must ensure that all protective clothing is removed at the completion of a work shift only in change areas provided for that purpose as prescribed in WAC 296-155-17619(2).

(e) You must assure that contaminated protective clothing which is to be cleaned, laundered, or disposed of, is placed in a closed container in the change area which prevents dispersion of lead outside the container.

(f) You must inform in writing any person who cleans or launders protective clothing or equipment of the potentially harmful effects of exposure to lead.

(g) You must ensure that the containers of contaminated protective clothing and equipment required under (e) of this subsection are labeled as follows:

(h) Prior to June 1, 2015, you may include the following information on bags or containers of contaminated protective clothing and equipment required under (e) of this subsection in lieu of the labeling requirements stated above in this section:

(i) You must prohibit the removal of lead from protective clothing or equipment by blowing, shaking, or any other means which disperses lead into the air.

(1) You must maintain all surfaces as free as practicable of accumulations of lead.

(2) You must perform clean-up of floors and other surfaces where lead accumulates, wherever possible, by vacuuming or other methods that minimize the likelihood of lead becoming airborne.

(3) Shoveling, dry or wet sweeping, and brushing may be used only where vacuuming or other equally effective methods have been tried and found not to be effective.

(4) Where vacuuming methods are selected, the vacuums must be equipped with HEPA filters and used and emptied in a manner which minimizes the reentry of lead into the workplace.

(5) You must not use compressed air to remove lead from any surface unless the compressed air is used in conjunction with a ventilation system designed to capture the airborne dust created by the compressed air.

(1) You must ensure that in areas where employees are exposed to lead above the PEL without regard to the use of respirators, food or beverage is not present or consumed, tobacco products are not present or used, and cosmetics are not applied.

(2) Change areas.

(a) You must provide clean change areas for employees whose airborne exposure to lead is above the PEL, and as protection for employees performing tasks as specified in WAC 296-155-17609(2), without regard to the use of respirators.

(b) You must ensure that change areas are equipped with separate storage facilities for protective work clothing and equipment and for street clothes which prevent cross-contamination.

(c) You must ensure that employees do not leave the workplace wearing any protective clothing or equipment that is required to be worn during the work shift.

(3) Showers.

(a) You must provide shower facilities, where feasible, for use by employees whose airborne exposure to lead is above the PEL.

(b) You must ensure, where shower facilities are available, that employees shower at the end of the work shift and you must provide an adequate supply of cleansing agents and towels for use by affected employees.

(4) Eating facilities.

(a) You must provide lunchroom facilities or eating areas for employees whose airborne exposure to lead is above the PEL, without regard to the use of respirators.

(b) You must ensure that lunchroom facilities or eating areas are as free as practicable from lead contamination and are readily accessible to employees.

(c) You must ensure that employees whose airborne exposure to lead is above the PEL, without regard to the use of a respirator, wash their hands and face prior to eating, drinking, smoking or applying cosmetics.

(d) You must assure that employees do not enter lunchroom facilities or eating areas with protective work clothing or equipment unless surface lead dust has been removed by vacuuming, downdraft booth, or other cleaning method that limits dispersion of lead dust.

(5) Handwashing facilities.

(a) You must provide adequate handwashing facilities for use by employees exposed to lead in accordance with WAC 296-155-140.

(b) Where showers are not provided you must ensure that employees wash their hands and face at the end of the work shift.

(1) General.

(a) You must make available initial medical surveillance to employees occupationally exposed on any day to lead at or above the action level. Initial medical surveillance consists of biological monitoring in the form of blood sampling and analysis for lead and zinc protoporphyrin levels.

(b) You must institute a medical surveillance program in accordance with subsections (2) and (3) of this section for all employees who are or may be exposed by the employer at or above the action level for more than 30 days in any consecutive 12 months;

(c) You must ensure that all medical examinations and procedures are performed by or under the supervision of a licensed physician.

(d) You must make available the required medical surveillance including multiple physician review under subsection (3)(c) without cost to employees and at a reasonable time and place.

(2) Biological monitoring.

(a) Blood lead and ZPP level sampling and analysis. You must make available biological monitoring in the form of blood sampling and analysis for lead and zinc protoporphyrin levels to each employee covered by subsection (1)(a) and (b) of this section on the following schedule:

(i) For each employee covered by subsection (1)(b) of this section, at least every two months for the first 6 months and every 6 months thereafter;

(ii) For each employee covered by subsection (1)(a) or (b) of this section whose last blood sampling and analysis indicated a blood lead level at or above 40 µg/dl, at least every two months. This frequency must continue until two consecutive blood samples and analyses indicate a blood lead level below 40 µg/dl; and

(iii) For each employee who is removed from exposure to lead due to an elevated blood lead level at least monthly during the removal period.

(b) Follow-up blood sampling tests. Whenever the results of a blood lead level test indicate that an employee's blood lead level is at or above the numerical criterion for medical removal under WAC 296-155-17623 (1)(a), you must provide a second (follow-up) blood sampling test within two weeks after the employer receives the results of the first blood sampling test.

(c) Accuracy of blood lead level sampling and analysis. Blood lead level sampling and analysis provided pursuant to this WAC 296-155-176 must have an accuracy (to a confidence level of 95%) within plus or minus 15% or 6 µg/dl, whichever is greater, and must be conducted by a laboratory approved by OSHA.

(d) Employee notification.

(i) Within 5 working days after the receipt of biological monitoring results, you must notify each employee in writing of their blood lead level; and

(ii) You must notify each employee whose blood lead level is at or above 40 µg/dl that the standard requires temporary medical removal with Medical Removal Protection benefits when an employee's blood lead level exceeds the numerical criterion for medical removal under WAC 296-155-17623 (1)(a).

(3) Medical examinations and consultations.

(a) Frequency. You must make available medical examinations and consultations to each employee covered by subsection (1)(b) of this section on the following schedule:

(i) At least annually for each employee for whom a blood sampling test conducted at any time during the preceding 12 months indicated a blood lead level at or above 40 µg/dl;

(ii) As soon as possible, upon notification by an employee either that the employee has developed signs or symptoms commonly associated with lead intoxication, that the employee desires medical advice concerning the effects of current or past exposure to lead on the employee's ability to procreate a healthy child, that the employee is pregnant, or that the employee has demonstrated difficulty in breathing during a respirator fitting test or during use; and

(iii) As medically appropriate for each employee either removed from exposure to lead due to a risk of sustaining material impairment to health, or otherwise limited pursuant to a final medical determination.

(b) Content. The content of medical examinations made available pursuant to subdivision (a)(ii) and (iii) of this subsection must be determined by an examining physician and, if requested by an employee, must include pregnancy testing or laboratory evaluation of male fertility. Medical examinations made available pursuant to subdivision (a)(i) of this subsection must include the following elements:

(i) A detailed work history and a medical history, with particular attention to past lead exposure (occupational and nonoccupational), personal habits (smoking, hygiene), and past gastrointestinal, hematologic, renal, cardiovascular, reproductive and neurological problems;

(ii) A thorough physical examination, with particular attention to teeth, gums, hematologic, gastrointestinal, renal, cardiovascular, and neurological systems. Pulmonary status should be evaluated if respiratory protection will be used;

(iii) A blood pressure measurement;

(iv) A blood sample and analysis which determines:

(A) Blood lead level;

(B) Hemoglobin and hematocrit determinations, red cell indices, and examination of peripheral smear morphology;

(C) Zinc protoporphyrin;

(D) Blood urea nitrogen; and,

(E) Serum creatinine;

(v) A routine urinalysis with microscopic examination; and

(vi) Any laboratory or other test relevant to lead exposure which the examining physician deems necessary by sound medical practice.

(c) Multiple physician review mechanism.

(i) If the employer selects the initial physician who conducts any medical examination or consultation provided to an employee by WAC 296-155-176, the employee may designate a second physician:

(A) To review any findings, determinations or recommendations of the initial physician; and

(B) To conduct such examinations, consultations, and laboratory tests as the second physician deems necessary to facilitate this review.

(ii) You must promptly notify an employee of the right to seek a second medical opinion after each occasion that an initial physician conducts a medical examination or consultation pursuant to WAC 296-155-176. You may condition its participation in, and payment for, the multiple physician review mechanism upon the employee doing the following within 15 days after receipt of the foregoing notification, or receipt of the initial physician's written opinion, whichever is later:

(A) The employee informing the employer that they intend to seek a second medical opinion; and

(B) The employee initiating steps to make an appointment with a second physician.

(iii) If the findings, determinations or recommendations of the second physician differ from those of the initial physician, then the employer and the employee must ensure that efforts are made for the two physicians to resolve any disagreement.

(iv) If the two physicians have been unable to quickly resolve their disagreement, then the employer and the employee through their respective physicians must designate a third physician:

(A) To review any findings, determinations or recommendations of the prior physicians; and

(B) To conduct such examinations, consultations, laboratory tests and discussions with the prior physicians as the third physician deems necessary to resolve the disagreement of the prior physicians.

(v) You must act consistent with the findings, determinations and recommendations of the third physician, unless the employer and the employee reach an agreement which is otherwise consistent with the recommendations of at least one of the three physicians.

(d) Information provided to examining and consulting physicians.

(i) You must provide an initial physician conducting a medical examination or consultation under WAC 296-155-176 with the following information:

(A) A copy of this regulation for lead including all Appendices;

(B) A description of the affected employee's duties as they relate to the employee's exposure;

(C) The employee's exposure level or anticipated exposure level to lead and to any other toxic substance (if applicable);

(D) A description of any personal protective equipment used or to be used;

(E) Prior blood lead determinations; and

(F) All prior written medical opinions concerning the employee in the employer's possession or control.

(ii) You must provide the foregoing information to a second or third physician conducting a medical examination or consultation under WAC 296-155-176 upon request either by the second or third physician, or by the employee.

(e) Written medical opinions.

(i) You must obtain and furnish the employee with a copy of a written medical opinion from each examining or consulting physician which contains only the following information:

(A) The physician's opinion as to whether the employee has any detected medical condition which would place the employee at increased risk of material impairment of the employee's health from exposure to lead;

(B) Any recommended special protective measures to be provided to the employee, or limitations to be placed upon the employee's exposure to lead;

(C) Any recommended limitation upon the employee's use of respirators, including a determination of whether the employee can wear a powered air purifying respirator if a physician determines that the employee cannot wear a negative pressure respirator; and

(D) The results of the blood lead determinations.

(ii) You must instruct each examining and consulting physician to:

(A) Not reveal either in the written opinion or orally, or in any other means of communication with the employer, findings, including laboratory results, or diagnoses unrelated to an employee's occupational exposure to lead; and

(B) Advise the employee of any medical condition, occupational or nonoccupational, which dictates further medical examination or treatment.

(f) Alternate physician determination mechanisms. The employer and an employee or authorized employee representative may agree upon the use of any alternate physician determination mechanism in lieu of the multiple physician review mechanism provided by subdivision (c) of this subsection so long as the alternate mechanism is as expeditious and protective as the requirements contained in this section.

(4) Chelation.

(a) You must ensure that any person whom he retains, employs, supervises or controls does not engage in prophylactic chelation of any employee at any time.

(b) If therapeutic or diagnostic chelation is to be performed by any person in subdivision (a) of this subsection, you must ensure that it be done under the supervision of a licensed physician in a clinical setting with thorough and appropriate medical monitoring and that the employee is notified in writing prior to its occurrence.

(1) Temporary medical removal and return of an employee.

(a) Temporary removal due to elevated blood lead level. You must remove an employee from work having an exposure to lead at or above the action level on each occasion that a periodic and a follow-up blood sampling test conducted pursuant to WAC 296-155-176 indicate that the employee's blood lead level is at or above 50 µg/dl; and

(b) Temporary removal due to a final medical determination.

(i) You must remove an employee from work having an exposure to lead at or above the action level on each occasion that a final medical determination results in a medical finding, determination, or opinion that the employee has a detected medical condition which places the employee at increased risk of material impairment to health from exposure to lead.

(ii) For the purposes of WAC 296-155-176, the phrase "final medical determination" means the written medical opinion on the employees' health status by the examining physician or, where relevant, the outcome of the multiple physician review mechanism or alternate medical determination mechanism used pursuant to the medical surveillance provisions of WAC 296-155-176.

(iii) Where a final medical determination results in any recommended special protective measures for an employee, or limitations on an employee's exposure to lead, you must implement and act consistent with the recommendation.

(c) Return of the employee to former job status.

(i) You must return an employee to their former job status:

(A) For an employee removed due to a blood lead level at or above 50 µg/dl when two consecutive blood sampling tests indicate that the employee's blood lead level is below 40 µg/dl;

(B) For an employee removed due to a final medical determination, when a subsequent final medical determination results in a medical finding, determination, or opinion that the employee no longer has a detected medical condition which places the employee at increased risk of material impairment to health from exposure to lead.

(ii) For the purposes of WAC 296-155-176, the requirement that an employer return an employee to their former job status is not intended to expand upon or restrict any rights an employee has or would have had, absent temporary medical removal, to a specific job classification or position under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement.

(d) Removal of other employee special protective measure or limitations. You must remove any limitations placed on an employee or end any special protective measures provided to an employee pursuant to a final medical determination when a subsequent final medical determination indicates that the limitations or special protective measures are no longer necessary.

(e) Employer options pending a final medical determination. Where the multiple physician review mechanism, or alternate medical determination mechanism used pursuant to the medical surveillance provisions of WAC 296-155-176, has not yet resulted in a final medical determination with respect to an employee, you must act as follows:

(i) Removal. You may remove the employee from exposure to lead, provide special protective measures to the employee, or place limitations upon the employee, consistent with the medical findings, determinations, or recommendations of any of the physicians who have reviewed the employee's health status.

(ii) Return. You may return the employee to their former job status, end any special protective measures provided to the employee, and remove any limitations placed upon the employee, consistent with the medical findings, determinations, or recommendations of any of the physicians who have reviewed the employee's health status, with two exceptions.

(A) If the initial removal, special protection, or limitation of the employee resulted from a final medical determination which differed from the findings, determinations, or recommendations of the initial physician or;

(B) If the employee has been on removal status for the preceding 18 months due to an elevated blood lead level, then you must await a final medical determination.

(2) Medical removal protection benefits.

(a) Provision of medical removal protection benefits. You must provide an employee up to 18 months of medical removal protection benefits on each occasion that an employee is removed from exposure to lead or otherwise limited pursuant to WAC 296-155-176.

(b) Definition of medical removal protection benefits. For the purposes of WAC 296-155-176, the requirement that an employer provide medical removal protection benefits means that, as long as the job the employee was removed from continues, you must maintain the total normal earnings, seniority and other employment rights and benefits of an employee, including the employee's right to their former job status as though the employee had not been medically removed from the employee's job or otherwise medically limited.

(c) Follow-up medical surveillance during the period of employee removal or limitation. During the period of time that an employee is medically removed from their job or otherwise medically limited, you may condition the provision of medical removal protection benefits upon the employee's participation in follow-up medical surveillance made available pursuant to WAC 296-155-176.

(d) Workers' compensation claims. If a removed employee files a claim for workers' compensation payments for a lead-related disability, then you must continue to provide medical removal protection benefits pending disposition of the claim. To the extent that an award is made to the employee for earnings lost during the period of removal, the employer's medical removal protection obligation must be reduced by such amount. You must receive no credit for workers' compensation payments received by the employee for treatment-related expenses.

(e) Other credits. The employer's obligation to provide medical removal protection benefits to a removed employee must be reduced to the extent that the employee receives compensation for earnings lost during the period of removal either from a publicly or employer-funded compensation program, or receives income from employment with another employer made possible by virtue of the employee's removal.

(f) Voluntary removal or restriction of an employee. Where an employer, although not required by WAC 296-155-176 to do so, removes an employee from exposure to lead or otherwise places limitations on an employee due to the effects of lead exposure on the employee's medical condition, you must provide medical removal protection benefits to the employee equal to that required by subdivisions (a) and (b) of this subsection.

(1) General.

(a) Hazard communication. You must include lead in the program established to comply with the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS), WAC 296-901-140. You must ensure that each employee has access to labels on containers of lead and safety data sheets, and is trained in accordance with the provisions of HCS and subsection (1) of this section. You must ensure that at least the following hazards are addressed:

(i) Reproductive/developmental toxicity;

(ii) Central nervous system effects;

(iii) Kidney effects;

(iv) Blood effects; and

(v) Acute toxicity effects.

(b) You must train each employee who is subject to exposure to lead at or above the action level on any day or who is subject to exposure to lead compounds which may cause skin or eye irritation (e.g., lead arsenate, lead azide), in accordance with the requirements of this chapter. You must institute a training program in accordance with subsection (2) of this section and ensure employee participation.

(c) You must provide the training program as initial training prior to the time of job assignment or prior to the start up date for this requirement, whichever comes last.

(d) You must also provide the training program at least annually for each employee who is subject to lead exposure at or above the action level on any day.

(2) Training program. You must assure that each employee is trained in the following:

(a) The content of this standard and its appendices;

(b) The specific nature of the operations which could result in exposure to lead above the action level;

(c) The training requirements for respiratory protection as required by WAC 296-842-110, 296-842-19005, and 296-842-16005;

(d) The purpose and a description of the medical surveillance program, and the medical removal protection program including information concerning the adverse health effects associated with excessive exposure to lead (with particular attention to the adverse reproductive effects on both males and females and hazards to the fetus and additional precautions for employees who are pregnant);

(e) The engineering controls and work practices associated with the employee's job assignment including training of employees to follow relevant good work practices described in Appendix B, WAC 296-155-17652;

(f) The contents of any compliance plan in effect;

(g) Instructions to employees that chelating agents should not routinely be used to remove lead from their bodies and should not be used at all except under the direction of a licensed physician; and

(h) The employee's right of access to records under Part B, chapter 296-62 WAC and chapter 296-800 WAC.

(3) Access to information and training materials.

(a) You must make readily available to all affected employees a copy of this standard and its appendices.

(b) You must provide, upon request, all materials relating to the employee information and training program to affected employees and their designated representatives, and the director.

(1) You must post the following warning signs in each work area where an employee's exposure to lead is above the PEL.

(2) You must ensure that no statement appears on or near any sign required by this section which contradicts or detracts from the meaning of the required sign.

(3) You must ensure that signs required by this section are illuminated and cleaned as necessary so that the legend is readily visible.

(4) You may use signs required by other statutes, regulations or ordinances in addition to, or in combination with, signs required by this section.

(5) Prior to June 1, 2016, you may use the following legend in lieu of that specified in subsection (1) of this section:

(1) Exposure assessment.

(a) You must establish and maintain an accurate record of all monitoring and other data used in conducting employee exposure assessments as required in WAC 296-155-17609.

(b) Exposure monitoring records must include:

(i) The date(s), number, duration, location and results of each of the samples taken if any, including a description of the sampling procedure used to determine representative employee exposure where applicable;

(ii) A description of the sampling and analytical methods used and evidence of their accuracy;

(iii) The type of respiratory protective devices worn, if any;

(iv) Name, Social Security number, and job classification of the employee monitored and of all other employees whose exposure the measurement is intended to represent; and

(v) The environmental variables that could affect the measurement of employee exposure.

(c) You must maintain monitoring and other exposure assessment records in accordance with the provisions of part B, chapter 296-62 WAC.

(2) Medical surveillance.

(a) You must establish and maintain an accurate record for each employee subject to medical surveillance as required by WAC 296-155-17621.

(b) This record must include:

(i) The name, Social Security number, and description of the duties of the employee;

(ii) A copy of the physician's written opinions;

(iii) Results of any airborne exposure monitoring done on or for that employee and provided to the physician; and

(iv) Any employee medical complaints related to exposure to lead.

(c) You must keep, or assure that the examining physician keeps, the following medical records:

(i) A copy of the medical examination results including medical and work history required by WAC 296-155-17621;

(ii) A description of the laboratory procedures and a copy of any standards or guidelines used to interpret the test results or references to that information;

(iii) A copy of the results of biological monitoring.

(d) You must maintain or assure that the physician maintains medical records in accordance with the provisions of part B, chapter 296-62 WAC.

(3) Medical removals.

(a) You must establish and maintain an accurate record for each employee removed from current exposure to lead pursuant to WAC 296-155-17623.

(b) Each record must include:

(i) The name and Social Security number of the employee;

(ii) The date of each occasion that the employee was removed from current exposure to lead as well as the corresponding date on which the employee was returned to their former job status;

(iii) A brief explanation of how each removal was or is being accomplished; and

(iv) A statement with respect to each removal indicating whether or not the reason for the removal was an elevated blood lead level.

(c) The employer must maintain each medical removal record for at least the duration of an employee's employment.

(4) Objective data for exemption from requirement for initial monitoring.

(a) For purposes of WAC 296-155-176, objective data are information demonstrating that a particular product or material containing lead or a specific process, operation, or activity involving lead cannot release dust or fumes in concentrations at or above the action level under any expected conditions of use. Objective data can be obtained from an industry-wide study or from laboratory product test results from manufacturers of lead containing products or materials. The data the employer uses from an industry-wide survey must be obtained under workplace conditions closely resembling the processes, types of material, control methods, work practices and environmental conditions in the employer's current operations.

(b) You must maintain the record of the objective data relied upon for at least 30 years.

(5) Availability. You must make available upon request all records required to be maintained by this section to affected employees, former employees, and their designated representatives, and to the director for examination and copying.

(6) Transfer of records. You must comply with requirements involving the transfer of records set forth in WAC 296-802-60005.

(1) Employee observation. You must provide affected employees or their designated representatives an opportunity to observe any monitoring of employee exposure to lead conducted pursuant to WAC 296-155-17609.

(2) Observation procedures.

(a) Whenever observation of the monitoring of employee exposure to lead requires entry into an area where the use of respirators, protective clothing or equipment is required, you must provide the observer with and assure the use of such respirators, clothing and equipment, and you must require the observer to comply with all other applicable safety and health procedures.

(b) Without interfering with the monitoring, observers must be entitled to:

(i) Receive an explanation of the measurement procedures;

(ii) Observe all steps related to the monitoring of lead performed at the place of exposure; and

(iii) Record the results obtained or receive copies of the results when returned by the laboratory.

The information contained in the appendices to WAC 296-155-176 is not intended by itself, to create any additional obligations not otherwise imposed by this standard nor detract from any existing obligation.

(1) Substance identification.

(a) Substance: Pure lead (Pb) is a heavy metal at room temperature and pressure and is a basic chemical element. It can combine with various other substances to form numerous lead compounds.

(b) Compounds covered by the standard: The word "lead" when used in this standard means elemental lead, all inorganic lead compounds and a class of organic lead compounds called lead soaps. This standard does not apply to other organic lead compounds.

(c) Uses: Exposure to lead occurs in several different occupations in the construction industry, including demolition or salvage of structures where lead or lead-containing materials are present; removal or encapsulation of lead-containing materials, new construction, alteration, repair, or renovation of structures that contain lead or materials containing lead; installation of products containing lead. In addition, there are construction related activities where exposure to lead may occur, including transportation, disposal, storage, or containment of lead or materials containing lead on construction sites, and maintenance operations associated with construction activities.

(d) Permissible exposure: The permissible exposure limit (PEL) set by the standard is 50 micrograms of lead per cubic meter of air (50 µg/m3), averaged over an 8-hour workday.

(e) Action level: The standard establishes an action level of 30 micrograms of lead per cubic meter of air (30 µg/m3), averaged over an 8-hour workday. The action level triggers several ancillary provisions of the standard such as exposure monitoring, medical surveillance, and training.

(2) Health hazard data.

(a) Ways in which lead enters your body. When absorbed into your body in certain doses, lead is a toxic substance. The object of the lead standard is to prevent absorption of harmful quantities of lead. The standard is intended to protect you not only from the immediate toxic effects of lead, but also from the serious toxic effects that may not become apparent until years of exposure have passed. Lead can be absorbed into your body by inhalation (breathing) and ingestion (eating). Lead (except for certain organic lead compounds not covered by the standard, such as tetraethyl lead) is not absorbed through your skin. When lead is scattered in the air as a dust, fume respiratory tract. Inhalation of airborne lead is generally the most important source of occupational lead absorption. You can also absorb lead through your digestive system if lead gets into your mouth and is swallowed. If you handle food, cigarettes, chewing tobacco, or make-up which have lead on them or handle them with hands contaminated with lead, this will contribute to ingestion. A significant portion of the lead that you inhale or ingest gets into your blood stream. Once in your blood stream, lead is circulated throughout your body and stored in various organs and body tissues. Some of this lead is quickly filtered out of your body and excreted, but some remains in the blood and other tissues. As exposure to lead continues, the amount stored in your body will increase if you are absorbing more lead than your body is excreting. Even though you may not be aware of any immediate symptoms of disease, this lead stored in your tissues can be slowly causing irreversible damage, first to individual cells, then to your organs and whole body systems.

(b) Effects of overexposure to lead.

(i) Short term (acute) overexposure. Lead is a potent, systemic poison that serves no known useful function once absorbed by your body. Taken in large enough doses, lead can kill you in a matter of days. A condition affecting the brain called acute encephalopathy may arise which develops quickly to seizures, coma, and death from cardiorespiratory arrest. A short term dose of lead can lead to acute encephalopathy. Short term occupational exposures of this magnitude are highly unusual, but not impossible. Similar forms of encephalopathy may, however, arise from extended, chronic exposure to lower doses of lead. There is no sharp dividing line between rapidly developing acute effects of lead, and chronic effects which take longer to acquire. Lead adversely affects numerous body systems, and causes forms of health impairment and disease which arise after periods of exposure as short as days or as long as several years.

(ii) Long-term (chronic) overexposure. Chronic overexposure to lead may result in severe damage to your blood-forming, nervous, urinary and reproductive systems. Some common symptoms of chronic overexposure include loss of appetite, metallic taste in the mouth, anxiety, constipation, nausea, pallor, excessive tiredness, weakness, insomnia, headache, nervous irritability, muscle and joint pain or soreness, fine tremors, numbness, dizziness, hyperactivity and colic. In lead colic there may be severe abdominal pain. Damage to the central nervous system in general and the brain (encephalopathy) in particular is one of the most severe forms of lead poisoning. The most severe, often fatal, form of encephalopathy may be preceded by vomiting, a feeling of dullness progressing to drowsiness and stupor, poor memory, restlessness, irritability, tremor, and convulsions. It may arise suddenly with the onset of seizures, followed by coma, and death. There is a tendency for muscular weakness to develop at the same time. This weakness may progress to paralysis often observed as a characteristic "wrist drop" or "foot drop" and is a manifestation of a disease to the nervous system called peripheral neuropathy. Chronic overexposure to lead also results in kidney disease with few, if any, symptoms appearing until extensive and most likely permanent kidney damage has occurred. Routine laboratory tests reveal the presence of this kidney disease only after about two-thirds of kidney function is lost. When overt symptoms of urinary dysfunction arise, it is often too late to correct or prevent worsening conditions, and progression to kidney dialysis or death is possible. Chronic overexposure to lead impairs the reproductive systems of both men and women. Overexposure to lead may result in decreased sex drive, impotence and sterility in men. Lead can alter the structure of sperm cells raising the risk of birth defects. There is evidence of miscarriage and stillbirth in women whose husbands were exposed to lead or who were exposed to lead themselves. Lead exposure also may result in decreased fertility, and abnormal menstrual cycles in women. The course of pregnancy may be adversely affected by exposure to lead since lead crosses the placental barrier and poses risks to developing fetuses. Children born of parents either one of whom were exposed to excess lead levels are more likely to have birth defects, mental retardation, behavioral disorders or die during the first year of childhood. Overexposure to lead also disrupts the blood-forming system resulting in decreased hemoglobin (the substance in the blood that carries oxygen to the cells) and ultimately anemia. Anemia is characterized by weakness, pallor and fatigability as a result of decreased oxygen carrying capacity in the blood.

(iii) Health protection goals of the standard. Prevention of adverse health effects for most workers from exposure to lead throughout a working lifetime requires that a worker's blood lead level (BLL, also expressed as PbB) be maintained at or below 40 micrograms per deciliter of whole blood (40 µg/dl). The blood lead levels of workers (both male and female workers) who intend to have children should be maintained below 30 µg/dl to minimize adverse reproductive health effects to the parents and to the developing fetus. The measurement of your blood lead level (BLL) is the most useful indicator of the amount of lead being absorbed by your body. Blood lead levels are most often reported in units of milligrams (mg) or micrograms (µg) of lead (1 mg = 1000 µg) per 100 grams (100g), 100 milliliters (100 ml) or deciliter (dl) of blood. These 3 units are essentially the same. Sometime BLLs are expressed in the form of mg% or µg%. This is a shorthand notation for 100g, 100 ml, or dl. (References to BLL measurements in this standard are expressed in the form of µg/dl.)

BLL measurements show the amount of lead circulating in your blood stream, but do not give any information about the amount of lead stored in your various tissues. BLL measurements merely show current absorption of lead, not the effect that lead is having on your body or the effects that past lead exposure may have already caused. Past research into lead-related diseases, however, has focused heavily on associations between BLLs and various diseases. As a result, your BLL is an important indicator of the likelihood that you will gradually acquire a lead-related health impairment or disease.

Once your blood lead level climbs above 40 µg/dl, your risk of disease increases. There is a wide variability of individual response to lead, thus it is difficult to say that a particular BLL in a given person will cause a particular effect. Studies have associated fatal encephalopathy with BLLs as low as 150 µg/dl. Other studies have shown other forms of diseases in some workers with BLLs well below 80 µg/dl. Your BLL is a crucial indicator of the risks to your health, but one other factor is also extremely important. This factor is the length of time you have had elevated BLLs. The longer you have an elevated BLL, the greater the risk that large quantities of lead are being gradually stored in your organs and tissues (body burden). The greater your overall body burden, the greater the chances of substantial permanent damage. The best way to prevent all forms of lead-related impairments and diseases—both short term and long term—is to maintain your BLL below 40 µg/dl. The provisions of the standard are designed with this end in mind.

Your employer has prime responsibility to assure that the provisions of the standard are complied with both by the company and by individual workers. You, as a worker, however, also have a responsibility to assist your employer in complying with the standard. You can play a key role in protecting your own health by learning about the lead hazards and their control, learning what the standard requires, following the standard where it governs your own actions, and seeing that your employer complies with provisions governing employee actions.

(iv) Reporting signs and symptoms of health problems. You should immediately notify your employer if you develop signs or symptoms associated with lead poisoning or if you desire medical advice concerning the effects of current or past exposure to lead or your ability to have a healthy child. You should also notify your employer if you have difficulty breathing during a respirator fit test or while wearing a respirator. In each of these cases, your employer must make available to you appropriate medical examinations or consultations. These must be provided at no cost to you and at a reasonable time and place. The standard contains a procedure whereby you can obtain a second opinion by a physician of your choice if your employer selected the initial physician.

This appendix summarizes key provisions of the standard for lead in construction that you as a worker should become familiar with.

(1) Permissible exposure limit (PEL)—WAC 296-62-17607.

The standard sets a permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 50 micrograms of lead per cubic meter of air (50 µg/m3), averaged over an eight-hour workday which is referred to as a time-weighted average (TWA). This is the highest level of lead in air to which you may be permissibly exposed over an eight-hour workday. However, since this is an 8-hour average, short exposures above the PEL are permitted so long as for each 8-hour work day your average exposure does not exceed this level. This standard, however, takes into account the fact that your daily exposure to lead can extend beyond a typical 8-hour workday as the result of overtime or other alterations in your work schedule. To deal with this situation, the standard contains a formula which reduces your permissible exposure when you are exposed more than 8 hours. For example, if you are exposed to lead for 10 hours a day, the maximum permitted average exposure would be 40 µg/m3.

(2) Exposure assessment—WAC 296-155-17609.

If lead is present in your workplace in any quantity, your employer is required to make an initial determination of whether any employee's exposure to lead exceeds the action level (30 µg/m3 averaged over an 8-hour day). Employee exposure is that exposure which would occur if the employee were not using a respirator. This initial determination requires your employer to monitor workers' exposures unless the employee has objective data which can demonstrate conclusively that no employee will be exposed to lead in excess of the action level. Where objective data is used in lieu of actual monitoring the employer must establish and maintain an accurate record, documenting its relevancy in assessing exposure levels for current job conditions. If such objective data is available, the employer need proceed no further on employee exposure assessment until such time that conditions have changed and the determination is no longer valid.

Objective data may be compiled from various sources, e.g., insurance companies and trade associations and information from suppliers or exposure data collected from similar operations. Objective data may also comprise previously collected sampling data including area monitoring. If it cannot be determined through using objective data that worker exposure is less than the action level, your employer must conduct monitoring or must rely on relevant previous personal sampling, if available. Where monitoring is required for the initial determination, it may be limited to a representative number of employees who are reasonably expected to have the highest exposure levels. If your employer has conducted appropriate air sampling for lead in the past 12 months, they may use these results, provided they are applicable to the same employee tasks and exposure conditions and meet the requirements for accuracy as specified in the standard. As with objective data, if such results are relied upon for the initial determination, your employer must establish and maintain a record as to the relevancy of such data to current job conditions.

If there have been any employee complaints of symptoms which may be attributable to exposure to lead or if there is any other information or observations which would indicate employee exposure to lead, this must also be considered as part of the initial determination. If this initial determination shows that a reasonable possibility exists that any employee may be exposed, without regard to respirator, over the action level, your employer must set up an air monitoring program to determine the exposure level representative of each employee exposed to lead at your workplace. In carrying out this air monitoring program, your employer is not required to monitor the exposure of every employee, but they must monitor a representative number of employees and job types. Enough sampling must be done to enable each employee's exposure level to be reasonably represent full shift exposure. In addition, these air samples must be taken under conditions which represent each employee's regular, daily exposure to lead. Sampling performed in the past 12 months may be used to determine exposures above the action level if such sampling was conducted during work activities essentially similar to present work conditions.

The standard lists certain tasks which may likely result in exposures to lead in excess of the PEL and, in some cases, exposures in excess of 50 times the PEL. If you are performing any of these tasks, your employer must provide you with appropriate respiratory protection, protective clothing and equipment, change areas, hand washing facilities, biological monitoring, and training until such time that an exposure assessment is conducted which demonstrates that your exposure level is below the PEL.

If you are exposed to lead and air sampling is performed, your employer is required to notify you in writing within five working days of the air monitoring results which represent your exposure. If the results indicate that your exposure exceeds the PEL (without regard to your use of a respirator), then your employer must also notify you of this in writing, and provide you with a description of the corrective action that has been taken or will be taken to reduce your exposure.

Your exposure must be rechecked by monitoring, at least every 6 months if your exposure is at or over the action level but below the PEL. Your employer may discontinue monitoring for you if two consecutive measurements, taken at least 7 days apart, are at or below the action level. Air monitoring must be repeated every 3 months if you are exposed over the PEL. Your employer must continue monitoring for you at this frequency until two consecutive measurements, taken at least 7 days apart, are below the PEL but above the action level, at which time your employer must repeat monitoring of your exposure every 6 months and may discontinue monitoring only after your exposure drops to or below the action level. However, whenever there is a change of equipment, process, control, or personnel or a new type of job is added at your workplace which may result in new or additional exposure to lead, your employer must perform additional monitoring.

(3) Methods of compliance—WAC 296-155-17611.

Your employer is required to assure that no employee is exposed to lead in excess of the PEL as an 8-hour TWA. The standard for lead in construction requires employers to institute engineering and work practice controls including administrative controls to the extent feasible to reduce employee exposure to lead. Where such controls are feasible but not adequate to reduce exposures below the PEL they must be used nonetheless to reduce exposures to the lowest level that can be accomplished by these means and then supplemented with appropriate respiratory protection.

Your employer is required to develop and implement a written compliance program prior to the commencement of any job where employee exposures may reach the PEL as an 8-hour TWA. The standard identifies the various elements that must be included in the plan. For example, employers are required to include a description of operations in which lead is emitted, detailing other relevant information about the operation such as the type of equipment used, the type of material involved, employee job responsibilities, operating procedures and maintenance practices. In addition, your employer's compliance plan must specify the means that will be used to achieve compliance and, where engineering controls are required, include any engineering plans or studies that have been used to select the control methods. If administrative controls involving job rotation are used to reduce employee exposure to lead, the job rotation schedule must be included in the compliance plan. The plan must also detail the type of protective clothing and equipment, including respirator, housekeeping and hygiene practices that will be used to protect you from the adverse effects of exposure to lead.

The written compliance program must be made available, upon request, to affected employees and their designated representatives, and the director.

Finally, the plan must be reviewed and updated at least every 6 months to ensure it reflects the current status in exposure control.

(4) Respiratory protection—WAC 296-155-17613.

Your employer is required to select respirator from the types listed in Table I of the Respiratory Protection section of the standard (see WAC 296-155-17613). Any respirator chosen must be certified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) under the provisions of 42 C.F.R. part 84. This respirator selection table will enable your employer to choose a type of respirator that will give you a proper amount of protection based on your airborne lead exposure. Your employer may select a type of respirator that provides greater protection than that required by the standard; that is, one recommended for a higher concentration of lead than is present in your workplace. For example, a powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR) is much more protective than a typical negative pressure respirator, and may also be more comfortable to wear. A PAPR has a filter, cartridge, or canister to clean the air, and a power source which continuously blows filtered air into your breathing zone. Your employer might make a PAPR available to you to ease the burden of having to wear a respirator for long periods of time. The standard provides that you can obtain a PAPR upon request.

Your employer must also start a Respiratory Protection Program. This program must include written procedures for the proper selection, use, cleaning, storage, and maintenance of respirator.

Your employer must ensure that your respirator facepiece fits properly. Proper fit of a respirator facepiece is critical to your protection from airborne lead. Obtaining a proper fit on each employee may require your employer to make available several different types of respirator masks. To ensure that your respirator fits properly and that facepiece leakage is minimal, your employer must give you either a qualitative or quantitative fit test as specified in WAC 296-842-15005.

(5) Protective work clothing and equipment—WAC 296-155-17615.

If you are exposed to lead above the PEL as an 8-hour TWA, without regard to your use of a respirator, or if you are exposed to lead compounds such as lead arsenate or lead azide which can cause skin and eye irritation, your employer must provide you with protective work clothing and equipment appropriate for the hazard. If work clothing is provided, it must be provided in a clean and dry condition at least weekly, and daily if your airborne exposure to lead is greater than 200 µg/m3. Appropriate protective work clothing and equipment can include coveralls or similar full-body work clothing, gloves, hats, shoes or disposable shoe coverlets, and face shields or vented goggles. Your employer is required to provide all such equipment at no cost to you. In addition, your employer is responsible for providing repairs and replacement as necessary, and also is responsible for the cleaning, laundering or disposal of protective clothing and equipment.

The standard requires that your employer assure that you follow good work practices when you are working in areas where your exposure to lead may exceed the PEL. With respect to protective clothing and equipment, where appropriate, the following procedures should be observed prior to beginning work:

Workers should follow these procedures upon leaving the work area:

Workers should follow these procedures upon finishing work for the day (in addition to procedures described above):

If showers are available, take a shower and wash hair. If shower facilities are not available at the work site, shower immediately at home and wash hair.

(6) Housekeeping—WAC 296-155-17617.

Your employer must establish a housekeeping program sufficient to maintain all surfaces as free as practicable of accumulations of lead dust. Vacuuming is the preferred method of meeting this requirement, and the use of compressed air to clean floors and other surfaces is generally prohibited unless removal with compressed air is done in conjunction with ventilation systems designed to contain dispersal of the lead dust. Dry or wet sweeping, shoveling, or brushing may not be used except where vacuuming or other equally effective methods have been tried and do not work. Vacuums must be used equipped with a special filter called a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter and emptied in a manner which minimizes the reentry of lead into the workplace.

(7) Hygiene facilities and practices—WAC 296-155-17619.

The standard requires that hand washing facilities be provided where occupational exposure to lead occurs. In addition, change areas, showers (where feasible), and lunchrooms or eating areas are to be made available to workers exposed to lead above the PEL. Your employer must assure that except in these facilities, food and beverage is not present or consumed, tobacco products are not present or used, and cosmetics are not applied, where airborne exposures are above the PEL. Change rooms provided by your employer must be equipped with separate storage facilities for your protective clothing and equipment and street clothes to avoid cross-contamination. After showering, no required protective clothing or equipment worn during the shift may be worn home. It is important that contaminated clothing or equipment be removed in change areas and not be worn home or you will extend your exposure and expose your family since lead from your clothing can accumulate in your house, car, etc.

Lunchrooms or eating areas may not be entered with protective clothing or equipment unless surface dust has been removed by vacuuming, downdraft booth, or other cleaning method. Finally, workers exposed above the PEL must wash both their hands and faces prior to eating, drinking, smoking or applying cosmetics.

All of the facilities and hygiene practices just discussed are essential to minimize additional sources of lead absorption from inhalation or ingestion of lead that may accumulate on you, your clothes, or your possessions. Strict compliance with these provisions can virtually eliminate several sources of lead exposure which significantly contribute to excessive lead absorption.

(8) Medical surveillance—WAC 296-155-17621.

The medical surveillance program is part of the standard's comprehensive approach to the prevention of lead-related disease. Its purpose is to supplement the main thrust of the standard which is aimed at minimizing airborne concentrations of lead and sources of ingestion. Only medical surveillance can determine if the other provisions of the standard have affectively protected you as an individual. Compliance with the standard's provision will protect most workers from the adverse effects of lead exposure, but may not be satisfactory to protect individual workers:

In addition, control systems may fail, or hygiene and respirator programs may be inadequate. Periodic medical surveillance of individual workers will help detect those failures. Medical surveillance will also be important to protect your reproductive ability—regardless of whether you are a man or woman.

All medical surveillance required by the standard must be performed by or under the supervision of a licensed physician. The employer must provide required medical surveillance without cost to employees and at a reasonable time and place. The standard's medical surveillance program has two parts—periodic biological monitoring and medical examinations. Your employer's obligation to offer you medical surveillance is triggered by the results of the air monitoring program. Full medical surveillance must be made available to all employees who are or may be exposed to lead in excess of the action level for more than 30 days a year and whose blood lead level exceeds 40 µg/dl. Initial medical surveillance consisting of blood sampling and analysis for lead and zinc protoporphyrin must be provided to all employees exposed at any time (1 day) above the action level.

Biological monitoring under the standard must be provided at least every two months for the first 6 months and every 6 months thereafter until your blood lead level is below 40 µg/dl. A zinc protoporphyrin (ZPP) test is a very useful blood test which measures an adverse metabolic effect of lead on your body and is therefore an indicator of lead toxicity.

If your BLL exceeds 40 µg/dl the monitoring frequency must be increased from every 6 months to at least every two months and not reduced until two consecutive BLLs indicate a blood lead level below 40 µg/dl. Each time your BLL is determined to be over 40 µg/dl, your employer must notify you of this in writing within 5 working days of their receipt of the test results. The employer must also inform you that the standard requires temporary medical removal with economic protection when your BLL exceeds 50 µg/dl. (See Discussion of medical removal protection—WAC 296-155-17623.) Anytime your BLL exceeds 50 µg/dl your employer must make available to you within two weeks of receipt of these test results a second follow-up BLL test to confirm your BLL. If the two tests both exceed 50 µg/dl, and you are temporarily removed, then your employer must make successive BLL tests available to you on a monthly basis during the period of your removal.

Medical examinations beyond the initial one must be made available on an annual basis if your blood lead level exceeds 40 µg/dl at any time during the preceding year and you are being exposed above the airborne action level of 30 µg/m3 for 30 or more days per year. The initial examination will provide information to establish a baseline to which subsequent data can be compared.

An initial medical examination to consist of blood sampling and analysis for lead and zinc protoporphyrin must also be made available (prior to assignment) for each employee being assigned for the first time to an area where the airborne concentration of lead equals or exceeds the action level at any time. In addition, a medical examination or consultation must be made available as soon as possible if you notify your employer that you are experiencing signs or symptoms commonly associated with lead poisoning or that you have difficulty breathing while wearing a respirator or during a respirator fit test. You must also be provided a medical examination or consultation if you notify your employer that you desire medical advice concerning the effects of current or past exposure to lead on your ability to procreate a healthy child.

Finally, appropriate follow-up medical examinations or consultations may also be provided for employees who have been temporarily removed from exposure under the medical removal protection provisions of the standard. (See subsection (9), below.)

The standard specifies the minimum content of preassignment and annual medical examinations. The content of other types of medical examinations and consultations is left up to the sound discretion of the examining physician. Preassignment and annual medical examinations must include:

In addition, at any time upon your request, a laboratory evaluation of male fertility will be made (microscopic examination of a sperm sample), or a pregnancy test will be given.

The standard does not require that you participate in any of the medical procedures, tests, etc. which your employer is required to make available to you. Medical surveillance can, however, play a very important role in protecting your health. You are strongly encouraged, therefore, to participate in a meaningful fashion. The standard contains a multiple physician review mechanism which will give you a chance to have a physician of your choice directly participate in the medical surveillance program. If you are dissatisfied with an examination by a physician chosen by your employer, you can select a second physician to conduct an independent analysis. The two doctors would attempt to resolve any differences of opinion, and select a third physician to resolve any firm dispute. Generally your employer will choose the physician who conducts medical surveillance under the lead standard-unless you and your employer can agree on the choice of a physician or physicians. Some companies and unions have agreed in advance, for example, to use certain independent medical laboratories or panels of physicians. Any of these arrangements are acceptable so long as required medical surveillance is made available to workers.

The standard requires your employer to provide certain information to a physician to aid in their examination of you. This information includes:

After a medical examination or consultation the physician must prepare a written report which must contain:

This last element must include a determination of whether you can wear a powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) if you are found unable to wear a negative pressure respirator.

The medical surveillance program of the lead standard may at some point in time serve to notify certain workers that they have acquired a disease or other adverse medical condition as a result of occupational lead exposure. If this is true, these workers might have legal rights to compensation from public agencies, their employers, firms that supply hazardous products to their employers, or other persons. Some states have laws, including worker compensation laws, that disallow a worker who learns of a job-related health impairment to sue, unless the worker sues within a short period of time after learning of the impairment. (This period of time may be a matter of months or years.) An attorney can be consulted about these possibilities. It should be stressed that DOSH is in no way trying to either encourage or discourage claims or lawsuits. However, since results of the standard's medical surveillance program can significantly affect the legal remedies of a worker who has acquired a job-related disease or impairment, it is proper for DOSH to make you aware of this.

The medical surveillance section of the standard also contains provisions dealing with chelation. Chelation is the use of certain drugs (administered in pill form or injected into the body) to reduce the amount of lead absorbed in body tissues. Experience accumulated by the medical and scientific communities has largely confirmed the effectiveness of this type of therapy for the treatment of very severe lead poisoning. On the other hand, it has also been established that there can be a long list of extremely harmful side effects associated with the use of chelating agents. The medical community has balanced the advantages and disadvantages resulting from the use of chelating agents in various circumstances and has established when the use of these agents is acceptable. The standard includes these accepted limitations due to a history of abuse of chelation therapy by some lead companies. The most widely used chelating agents are calcium disodium EDTA, (Ca Na2 EDTA), Calcium Disodium Versenate (Versenate), and d-penicillamine (penicillamine or Cupramine).

The standard prohibits "prophylactic chelation" of any employee by any person the employer retains, supervises or controls. "Prophylactic chelation" is the routine use of chelating or similarly acting drugs to prevent elevated blood levels in workers who are occupationally exposed to lead, or the use of these drugs to routinely lower blood lead levels to predesignated concentrations believed to be "safe." It should be emphasized that where an employer takes a worker who has no symptoms of lead poisoning and has chelation carried out by a physician (either inside or outside of a hospital) solely to reduce the worker's blood lead level, that will generally be considered prophylactic chelation. The use of a hospital and a physician does not mean that prophylactic chelation is not being performed. Routine chelation to prevent increased or reduce current blood lead levels is unacceptable whatever the setting.

The standard allows the use of "therapeutic" or "diagnostic" chelation if administered under the supervision of a licensed physician in a clinical setting with thorough and appropriate medical monitoring. Therapeutic chelation responds to severe lead poisoning where there are marked symptoms. Diagnostic chelation involved giving a patient a dose of the drug then collecting all urine excreted for some period of time as an aid to the diagnosis of lead poisoning.

In cases where the examining physician determines that chelation is appropriate, you must be notified in writing of this fact before such treatment. This will inform you of a potentially harmful treatment, and allow you to obtain a second opinion.

(9) Medical removal protection—WAC 296-155-17623.

Excessive lead absorption subjects you to increased risk of disease. Medical removal protection (MRP) is a means of protecting you when, for whatever reasons, other methods, such as engineering controls, work practices, and respirator, have failed to provide the protection you need. MRP involves the temporary removal of a worker from their regular job to a place of significantly lower exposure without any loss of earnings, seniority, or other employment rights or benefits. The purpose of this program is to cease further lead absorption and allow your body to naturally excrete lead which has previously been absorbed. Temporary medical removal can result from an elevated blood lead level, or a medical opinion. For up to 18 months, or for as long as the job the employee was removed from lasts, protection is provided as a result of either form of removal. The vast majority of removed workers, however, will return to their former jobs long before this 18 month period expires.

You may also be removed from exposure even if your blood lead level is below 50 µ/dl if a final medical determination indicates that you temporarily need reduced lead exposure for medical reasons. If the physician who is implementing your employers medical program makes a final written opinion recommending your removal or other special protective measures, your employer must implement the physician's recommendation. If you are removed in this manner, you may only be returned when the doctor indicates that it is safe for you to do so.

The standard does not give specific instructions dealing with what an employer must do with a removed worker. Your job assignment upon removal is a matter for you, your employer and your union (if any) to work out consistent with existing procedures for job assignments. Each removal must be accomplished in a manner consistent with existing collective bargaining relationships. Your employer is given broad discretion to implement temporary removals so long as no attempt is made to override existing agreements. Similarly, a removed worker is provided no right to veto an employer's choice which satisfies the standard.

In most cases, employers will likely transfer removed employees to other jobs with sufficiently low lead exposure. Alternatively, a worker's hours may be reduced so that the time weighted average exposure is reduced, or they may be temporarily laid off if no other alternative is feasible.

In all of these situation, MRP benefits must be provided during the period of removal—i.e., you continue to receive the same earnings, seniority, and other rights and benefits you would have had if you had not been removed. Earnings includes more than just your base wage; it includes overtime, shift differentials, incentives, and other compensation you would have earned if you had not been removed. During the period of removal you must also be provided with appropriate follow-up medical surveillance. If you were removed because your blood lead level was too high, you must be provided with a monthly blood test. If a medical opinion caused your removal, you must be provided medical tests or examinations that the doctor believes to be appropriate. If you do not participate in this follow up medical surveillance, you may lose your eligibility for MRP benefits.

When you are medically eligible to return to your former job, your employer must return you to your "former job status." This means that you are entitled to the position, wages, benefits, etc., you would have had if you had not been removed. If you would still be in your old job if no removal had occurred that is where you go back. If not, you are returned consistent with whatever job assignment discretion your employer would have had if no removal had occurred. MRP only seeks to maintain your rights, not expand them or diminish them.

If you are removed under MRP and you are also eligible for worker compensation or other compensation for lost wages, your employer's MRP benefits obligation is reduced by the amount that you actually receive from these other sources. This is also true if you obtain other employment during the time you are laid off with MRP benefits.

The standard also covers situations where an employer voluntarily removes a worker from exposure to lead due to the effects of lead on the employee's medical condition, even though the standard does not require removal. In these situations MRP benefits must still be provided as though the standard required removal. Finally, it is important to note that in all cases where removal is required, respirator cannot be used as a substitute. Respirator may be used before removal becomes necessary, but not as an alternative to a transfer to a low exposure job, or to a lay-off with MRP benefits.

(10) Employee information and training—WAC 296-155-17625.

Your employer is required to provide an information and training program for all employees exposed to lead above the action level or who may suffer skin or eye irritation from lead compounds such as lead arsenate or lead azide. The program must train these employees regarding the specific hazards associated with their work environment, protective measures which can be taken, including the contents of any compliance plan in effect, the danger of lead to their bodies (including their reproductive systems), and their rights under the standard. All employees must be trained prior to initial assignment to areas where there is a possibility of exposure over the action level.

This training program must also be provided at least annually thereafter unless further exposure above the action level will not occur.

(11) Signs—WAC 296-155-17627.

The standard requires that the following warning sign be posted in work areas where the exposure to lead exceeds the PEL:

Prior to June 1, 2016, you may use the following legend in lieu of that specified above:

(12) Recordkeeping—WAC 296-155-17629.

Your employer is required to keep all records of exposure monitoring for airborne lead. These records must include the name and job classification of employees measured, details of the sampling and analytical techniques, the results of this sampling, and the type of respiratory protection being worn by the person sampled. Such records are to be retained for at least 30 years. Your employer is also required to keep all records of biological monitoring and medical examination results. These records must include the names of the employees, the physician's written opinion, and a copy of the results of the examination. Medical records must be preserved and maintained for the duration of employment plus 30 years. However, if the employee's duration of employment is less than one year, the employer need not retain that employee's medical records beyond the period of employment if they are provided to the employee upon termination of employment.

Recordkeeping is also required if you are temporarily removed from your job under the medical removal protection program. This record must include your name and Social Security number, the date of your removal and return, how the removal was or is being accomplished, and whether or not the reason for the removal was an elevated blood lead level. Your employer is required to keep each medical removal record only for as long as the duration of an employee's employment.

The standard requires that if you request to see or copy environmental monitoring, blood lead level monitoring, or medical removal records, they must be made available to you or to a representative that you authorize. Your union also has access to these records. Medical records other than BLL's must also be provided upon request to you, to your physician or to any other person whom you may specifically designate. Your union does not have access to your personal medical records unless you authorize their access.

(13) Observation of monitoring—WAC 296-155-17631.

When air monitoring for lead is performed at your workplace as required by this standard, your employer must allow you or someone you designate to act as an observer of the monitoring. Observers are entitled to an explanation of the measurement procedure, and to record the results obtained. Since results will not normally be available at the time of the monitoring, observers are entitled to record or receive the results of the monitoring when returned by the laboratory. Your employer is required to provide the observer with any personal protective devices required to be worn by employees working in the area that is being monitored. The employer must require the observer to wear all such equipment and to comply with all other applicable safety and health procedures.

(14) Startup date—WAC 296-155-17635.

Employer obligations under the standard begin as of that date with full implementation of engineering controls as soon as possible but no later than within four months, and all other provisions completed as soon as possible, but no later than within two months from the effective date.

(15) For additional information.

(a) A copy of the standard for lead in construction can be obtained free of charge by calling or writing to the department of labor and industries, Post Office Box 44620, Mailstop 44620, Olympia, Washington 98504-4620: Telephone (360) 956-5527.

(b) Additional information about the standard, its enforcement, and your employer's compliance can be obtained from the nearest office listed in your telephone directory under the state of Washington, department of labor and industries.

(1) Introduction.

The primary purpose of the Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act of 1973 is to assure, so far as possible, safe and healthful working conditions for every working person. The occupational health standard for lead in construction is designed to protect workers exposed to inorganic lead including metallic lead, all inorganic lead compounds and organic lead soaps.

Under this standard occupational exposure to inorganic lead is to be limited to 50 µg/m3 (micrograms per cubic meter) based on an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA). This permissible exposure limit (PEL) must be achieved through a combination of engineering, work practice and administrative controls to the extent feasible. Where these controls are in place but are found not to reduce employee exposures to or below the PEL, they must be used nonetheless, and supplemented with respirators to meet the 50 µg/m3 exposure limit.

The standard also provides for a program of biological monitoring for employees exposed to lead above the action level at any time, and additional medical surveillance for all employees exposed to levels of inorganic lead above 30 µg/m3 (TWA) for more than 30 days per year and whose BLL exceeds 40 µg/dl.

The purpose of this document is to outline the medical surveillance provisions of the standard for inorganic lead in construction, and to provide further information to the physician regarding the examination and evaluation of workers exposed to inorganic lead.

Subsection (2) provides a detailed description of the monitoring procedure including the required frequency of blood testing for exposed workers, provisions for medical removal protection (MRP), the recommended right of the employee to a second medical opinion, and notification and recordkeeping requirements of the employer. A discussion of the requirements for respirator use and respirator monitoring and DOSH's position on prophylactic chelation therapy are also included in this subsection.

Subsection (3) discusses the toxic effects and clinical manifestations of lead poisoning and effects of lead intoxication on enzymatic pathways in heme synthesis. The adverse effects on both male and female reproductive capacity and on the fetus are also discussed.

Subsection (4) outlines the recommended medical evaluation of the worker exposed to inorganic lead, including details of the medical history, physical examination, and recommended laboratory tests, which are based on the toxic effects of lead as discussed in subsection (3).