Blood on the seats, blood on the glass and blood on the dashboard are the typical aftermath of an automotive collision. While it is obvious that someone suffered in the accident, more suffering could be destined for the car owner and the shop's detail people if proper precautions are not taken with cleanup.

The question is not so much lurking AIDS viruses (which do not last long in dried blood) as it is Hepatitis-B. The Hepatitis-B virus can last a long time in dried blood, creating a potential problem for workers handling stained glass or fabric. Proper protection and a proper disinfectant should be used to ensure the virus (which causes a liver disease which can be fatal) is removed from the vehicle in an environmentally safe manner.

How serious is the problem? Jack Walker of AutoWerkes Collision, Valparaiso, Ind., is one of 25 shop owners in Indiana working with the Department of Environmental Management (the state equivalent of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) to develop a set of guidelines for employee and environmental safety. Dried blood is only one of the areas they are assessing.

"The biggest issues the committee is working with involve ways to keep employees safe," he says. Respiratory protection is another good example. While most shops provide masks, Walker notes that it is important to monitor workers to be sure they are using the correct respirator for the job: sandblasting, welding and painting all require masks, but different equipment should be used for each.

When it comes to safety, not every shop will be positioned as well as Trotter & Sons Body Shop in Spartansburg, S.C. They built a new shop and were able to include a number of safety features - including drop floors to contain spills and an explosion-proof room - in the initial design. Owner Mike Trotter figures it cost him an extra $35,000 over the base cost of the shop to add the safety equipment. "It is a lot of money, and it will be a long time before I can recoup it," he says. However, he is relieved that he was able to do it from the start. "There hasn't been another shop built around here since I opened," he says. "They can't afford to spend that kind of money."

There are benefits, though, he jokingly remarks: If the city is ever bombed, he knows he can herd everyone into the solid concrete, explosion-proof mixing room and the crew will be safe. That room is required by Spartansburg city ordinance, not state law. "The city is tougher than the state," he says.

Trotter is also in good shape should the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issue new VOC (volatile organic compound) regulations on painting operations, as it is expected to do. "Our booth contains 98 percent of the VOCs that are emitted, so we are safe," he says.

Other Key Areas
Some other areas of safety remain question marks. Most shop owners are well aware of the need for care when disarming air bags. However, there have recently been several reports of people suffering from heavy skin rashes that they say were caused by the powder in which air bags are packed to ensure that they are ready to deploy when needed. It could be another area detail workers should be careful of - at least until they know they are not susceptible.

Likewise, shop workers may face toxic fumes and dust when heating or burning fiberglass and plastics. Many chemicals and primers are used and give off fumes in the welding process. Paint stripping and blasting jobs also create potentially threatening problems.

Glenn Earle, owner of Earle's Collision Repair Center, has his painters take an X-ray examination at a doctor's office before starting to work for the shop. "Every couple or three years, painters get a chest X-ray to be sure their lungs are okay," Earle says. "If they are starting to get worse, we can get on top of it right away." Earle has two shops in the Indianapolis area - one on the East side and one on the West side - and runs eight to 12 bays with a team of 25 to 30 workers. When an employee leaves, there is another X-ray exam. That way, both the shop's owner and the painter are working from a common set of information should there be any claims later on that the employee became ill due to conditions on the job. Earle recalls that one painter had to be let go because of deterioration which showed on the regular X-ray checkup. He got another job as an estimator, but at least was removed from the immediate paint vapor environment.

Responsible shop owners are aware that both health and safety issues are regulated (by both federal and state governments) and shops are subject to inspection. A few years ago, Dan Frohlich and John Mock, both Pittsburgh-area shop owners, actually volunteered for OSHA inspections. "We figured it was better to find out if we needed to do anything than it was to have them drop in for a surprise visit and be in trouble," Frohlich says. The program was run through a local community college, and both Frohlich's A.R.S. Auto- motive in Pittsburgh and Johnny Mock's Auto Body Shop in Turtle Creek came through in great shape.

"They found a couple of minor things: the banister on the stairs to the second floor was fine for adults, but we needed a rail lower down which would protect a child," Frohlich recalls. OSHA also recommended a permanent eye-wash station affixed to a sink in one of the bathrooms. Like many other compliance issues, it was simply a matter of turning a couple of brass thumb-screws and the problem was solved. However, OSHA requirements call for a fixed station and, with a bit of work, A.R.S. was able to demonstrate compliance.

Pennsylvania has been quite active in policing shops, and a number of other states have put tough regulations in place as well. Texas and New Jersey are among them. The U.S. government is tightening things up, too. "Federal laws for OSHA will start looking like California's," predicts consultant Larry Scott of Scott Environmental Services, Anaheim, Calif. California certainly has the reputation of being tough - requiring daily records be kept of all sprays done and similar documentation of daily work processes.

"Regulation is like a football game," Scott says. "You can pretty much call a penalty on any player on every play. I don't know a single shop that is over the top."

As pesky as some shop owners find state and federal regulations, most are well founded and typically require only common sense for compliance.

Mike Trotter had to explosion-proof all of his lighting and all motors used in his shop. While he still uses incandescent and fluorescent lighting, the housing is designed to minimize the danger of explosion. In addition, he has installed a dry chemical fire extinguisher system in the shop. "I guess it will be worth it in the long run," Trotter says.

In Indiana, four counties (Lake and Porter in the Northwest, near Chicago; and Floyd and Clark in the Southeast, near Louisville) are under strict guidelines, subject to air quality guidelines in areas such as paint and paint gun regulations almost as strict as those in California.

Frohlich provides safety glasses in every work area. The glasses are attached to the equipment or to an equipment stand. All welding machines have goggles and each of the grinders has its own set of safety glasses.

The A.R.S. shop has designated areas for smoking, and they are well posted. Employees, insurance personnel and customers are expected to be aware of the smoking areas and to conform to the signs. This eliminates possible problems resulting from combining hot ashes and flammable liquids.

Every work stall has a set of jack stands. Jack stands are assigned to each stall and any vehicle that is not put on a mechanical lift has to be protected by the jack stands when off the ground.

Frohlich is careful to be sure that safety equipment is where it should be and is being used when required. "Management by walking around," is how Scott refers to it. While admitting that it is just another of the "million things" a shop owner must manage each day, he emphasizes that, if a shop owner will simply be observant, he or she can stop a lot of problems before they become problems.

"I've never seen an OSHA inspector," says Kelly Roe, owner of Carty's Collision Center, Ontario, Calif. Her solution to keeping things ship-shape: Emphasize safety to workers all the time.

Green Star Shops
In Pennsylvania, a program called ASA-Pennsylvania Green Star Shops focuses on keeping the environment clean. Tom Fadely, Fadely Enterprises Inc., York, Pa., headed the committee which set up guidelines that require participating shops to protect the environment. A range of car parts - from glass to glues to windshield washer fluid - are covered under the guidelines.

Antifreeze is toxic to humans and animals and has to be kept out of the ground water. ASA-Pennsylvania Green Star Shops recover, store and haul ethylene glycol to commercial disposal plants for recycling. Used oil and other crankcase fluids also are disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner under the program. Likewise, oil filters must be drained to remove residual oil and the metal part needs to be disposed of properly.

Many people do not realize that about 99.8 percent of an old battery is recyclable. The acid, lead plates and plastic casing are among the sections recovered and reused in recycling operations.

One important part of the program is recovery of Freon. Since air conditioners contain chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which are chlorine-based chemicals that destroy the Earth's protective ozone layer, participating shops recover and recycle Freon when air conditioning units are serviced. Likewise, VOC emissions from painting are controlled. Trotter worries about the impact VOC regulations will have on shops that have been in business for some time and have not installed the latest equipment.

While several of these areas are or will be mandated by law, well-run shops can ensure safety for its technicians and the environment by making certain practices second-nature such as being constantly aware that the asbestos compounds on clutches and brakes can pollute, or knowing about the proper disposal of greasy wiping cloths.

Consultants such as Scott, whose main work area is in California and Arizona, will come into a shop, put together a good safety and inspection plan in writing, and look around the shop to be sure things are satisfactory. This is not an extremely expensive process. Generally, the cost for the manual, inspection and training program in a 15-person shop will run around $300. Eventually, the cost should be recovered in lower accident insurance costs, fewer hassles with inspectors and related savings.

There's no good way to get a handle on the potential savings, but they are not apt to be instant. With all of the other day-to-day concerns of shop owners, it is likely it will take two to three years before everything is under control. The payback probably starts in the fourth or fifth year.

Having a written manual and a policy in place shows that a shop is trying to do the right thing. "A shop still can have a hard time if an employee complains," Scott admits, but at least the shop owner can show that the business has a safety program, has done training and has exercised due diligence. The bottom line is that such a program is a good part of any risk management program.

Ventilated Sanders Help Control Dusts

Airborne dusts produced from sanding may contain hazardous substances, such as lead and chromium from surface coatings and abrasives from sanding discs, that are harmful to the lungs and nervous systems of workers. Dust concentrations may also exceed OSHA standards.

Effective control of worker exposure to dusts from sanding operations on auto body surfaces has been achieved by use of ventilated mechanical sanders.

Rotary/orbital and straight line/reciprocating sanders, equipped with high velocity, low volume (HVLV) local exhaust ventilation as part of the tool's design, are recommended because they have been shown to be effective in reducing total dust concentrations during the sanding of body filling compounds. HVLV ventilated sanders have cut total dust concentrations to one-tenth the levels produced using unventilated sanders.

Increased costs from sanders equipped with HVLV ventilation is minor compared with nonventilated sanders. The amount of air used in the ventilated systems is also relatively low. Use of ventilated sanders can be enhanced by making them convenient to use, for example, by installing retractable, flexible hosing attached to a central vacuum system. Although initial costs for this system - including an air mover, air cleaners and duct work - can be substantial, the system will help eliminate expensive repaints, shorten cleanup time and extend sandpaper life.

For a free copy of the report "Evaluation of Ventilated Sanders in the Autobody Repair Industry," call the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) at (800) 356-4674.
Source: NIOSH

Control of Paint Overspray

Hazardous components of paint spray include metals such as lead and chromium, polyisocyanates, and liquid organic solvents. From exposure to paint, autobody workers may develop nervous disorders; skin and eye irritation; respiratory sensitization; asthma; and reduced lung function.

Effective control of worker exposure to paint overspray requires the proper selection of spray painting equipment, a properly designed and ventilated spray painting booth, and personal protective equipment. Formal training and maintenance programs will help ensure that all equipment operates properly. Three types of control are recommended:

Spray painting guns - High volume, low pressure (HVLP) spray painting guns are recommended instead of conventional gravity or siphon-feed spray guns because HVLP guns cut paint overspray concentrations in half. HVLP guns transfer paint more efficiently and can reduce paint usage.

Paint booth ventilation - Downdraft ventilation spray painting booths are recommended instead of crossdraft or semi-downdraft ventilation booths. Properly operated downdraft booths produce lower concentrations of paint overspray compared to the other two types of booths. Downdraft booths produce a cleaner paint job that requires less buffing.

Respiratory protection - Properly used and maintained HVLP spray painting guns and downdraft booths will greatly reduce paint overspray concentrations, but they will not completely eliminate overspray from the air workers breathe. Therefore, personal respiratory protective equipment is also recommended and a respiratory protection program that contains all elements required by the OSHA standard (such as worker evaluation, selection of appropriate air-purifying or supplied-air respirators, fit-testing, training, and maintenance) will be needed to fully protect workers from this hazard.

For a free copy of the report "Control of Paint Overspray in Autobody Repair Shops," call the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) at (800) 356-4674.
Source: NIOSH

Curt Harler is a contributing editor based in Strongsville, Ohio.

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