Federal Agency Investigating Sand-Blasting Hazards

Now, though, questions have been raised about whether those who do blasting with ground-up coal or copper slag may be unwittingly exposing themselves to toxic contaminants that could damage their health.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration says coal and copper slag contain traces of highly toxic beryllium, arsenic and other contaminants. Federal regulators are investigating whether manufacturers of the blasting grit have provided adequate notice that users could be inhaling potentially harmful substances.

"When these abrasives are used in blasting, measured exposure levels to workers could exceed OSHA permissible exposure limits," OSHA spokesman Jesse Lawder said. Federal regulations require listing harmful substances in "material safety data sheets" which are supposed to alert employees to the risks involved with products they're dealing with in the workplace.

Area companies involved with the coal and copper slags said they follow federal rules in manufacturing and selling the material. And companies that use the slag to prepare surfaces for painting say their workers are protected with safety gear.

Officials with Opta Minerals Inc., a Canada-based company with a copper slag processing plant in East Baltimore, and for Harsco Corp., based in Camp Hill, Pa., said their slag-based blasting media, which are sold and used in shipyards and other businesses in the Baltimore area, are free of harmful levels of impurities. They said their companies have not been contacted by OSHA about why they don't list beryllium or other toxic contaminants in their product documentation.

Cary B. Lynch, vice president of General Ship Repair Corp. on Key Highway, said his shipyard has shifted to using mainly high-pressure water blasting to prepare ships' hulls for painting, but still uses copper slag to blast some steel surfaces.

"Our blasters use air-fed respirators when sand blasting," Lynch said. "All of the information we have seen shows the copper slag is not hazardous."

Arsenic and beryllium both occur naturally in soil and rocks, and they're found at low levels in the slag or waste products left over after burning coal or processing copper ore. Long-term or repeated exposure over years to the toxic inorganic form of arsenic has been linked to cancer of the bladder, lungs and other parts of the body. Beryllium is carcinogenic as well, but inhaling small amounts of the metal dust also can cause chronic beryllium disease, a pneumonia-like condition involving breathing difficulty, weakness and possible heart problems.

OSHA's statement pledging an investigation came after a public appeal last month from the nonprofit group Public Citizen, which contended that manufacturers of abrasives are violating federal rules requiring disclosure to workers of toxic chemicals in products they're working with.

Public Citizen's letter to OSHA said studies have shown that people working with coal-slag abrasives are exposed to levels of beryllium that far exceed OSHA safety limits. Justin Feldman, the group's worker health and safety advocate, said that while beryllium levels are lower in blasting with copper slag, tests show they are still twice OSHA's limit.

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-02-26/health/bs-gr-slag-beryllium-20120226_1_slag-beryllium-copper