Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Annual education requirements Clinton complies with cotton dust standards The success of our cotton dust control pro gram depends on all employees working together. The cotton dust standard defines cot ton dust as any dust present in the air during handling or processing of cot ton, including ground-up leaves, stems, bract, soil and other organic substances. What we are concerned with, however, is that dust which is respirable, or small enough to enter the lungs since it is trapped in the nasal passages. The majority of people exposed to cotton dust do not show any reaction at all. While the exact number is unknown, studies conducted since the 1970s show that less than five percent of the people tested react abnormally to cotton dust exposure. These same tests show that almost all persons who react are smokers. This is an important point to remember if you smoke since it is well documented that smoking makes any respiratory problem more severe. To provide for uniform methods of measuring and controlling employee exposure, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has established standards for textiles that process cotton. A copy of the standard is available from Mack Parsons in our personnel of fice for reference at any time. The standard provides for specific measures to be taken in seven areas as follows: Exposure Monitoring Exposure monitoring determines the level of dust exposure in each process ing area of the plant. Dust levels at Clinton Mills are monitored by an instrument known as a vertical elutriator. This instrument collects and measures respirable cot ton dust over a six-hour period to deter mine eight-hour, time-weighted exposure. Measurements of dust levels throughout the plants are taken annual ly. Each employee is advised of the dust levels to which he is exposed and the results of the tests in each work area is available in writing. Engineering Controls Engineering controls to collect the dust before it can escape into the work area are important. The purpose of the engineering con trols is to collect the dust at the point where it is generated and then filter the dust out of the air so that the air is returned to the work area clean and dust-free. Work Practices Work practices have been im plemented to insure that generation of dust is minimized when handling the cotton. This part of our compliance plan to reduce the exposure to cotton dust is the part that involves each employee directly. A written work practices manual is available outlining specific work rules and procedures applicable to each employee’s individual work areas. These are simply a set of common sense rules which minimize your ex posure to cotton dust. A few of these rules, written in general terms, are: 1. Compressed air cleaning of ma chinery will be prohibited where alternative means are feasible. 2. Where compressed air cleaning is the only alternative, respirators are to be worn by those employees performing the “blown down”. All other employees not involved in the cleaning operation will be re quired to leave the work area. 3. Cleaning of floors or clothing with compressed air is also prohibited. 4. Floor sweeping will be done with brooms in a way that minimizes stirring up dust that may be settl ed on the floor. 5. When cleaning lint traps, waste should be kept as far away from the face as possible. 6. Where feasible, vacuum collec ting of waste may be done to avoid excessive handling of lint. 7. Another key part of work prac tices involves routine maintenance to assure that all dust collection and ventilation systems are in proper working order. Your assistant departmen tal superintendent will be pleas ed to review the work practices for each work area. Respirators Respirators are to used in areas where it is not possible to reduce the dust level below permissible levels and when using compressed air. Persons required to wear respirators will be given a choice of type, and will be properly instructed in their use by their assistant departmental superintendent. If you have any pro blems wearing a respirator, consult your assistant departmental super intendent. Employee Education and Training Employee education and training provides employees with information about the standard and what is being done to reduce exposure to cotton dust. This is repeated annually or more often by supervision. The Cloth Maker will publish periodically educational material for all employees. Medical Surveillance Our medical surveillance identifies those persons who react to cotton dust and provides corrective measures where necessary. Medical surveillance, or lung func tion testing, is available to all covered employees exposed to cotton dust. The purpose of these tests is to identify those persons who react to cotton dust so that protective measures can be taken. The tests are conducted at the beginning of the work week — depen ding on shift schedule. Employees are asked to blow into a machine called a spirometer to deter mine lung capacity and how much air one can exhale in one second. The test is done before going on the shift. After a minimum of four hours has elapsed, the employee is tested again. Results of the first test will be measured against standards to see how the employee compares to an average per son of similar age, height and sex. The purpose of the second test is to detect any change in your lung function during the shift. The breathing test will be repeated at least annually. You will advised if Clinton Mills detects any change in respiratory function. In some instances test results may require the employee to have a more detailed ex amination by a doctor. A medical questionaire is completed annually or more often for each employee exposed to cotton dust. This questionaire, along with your pulmonary function tests, will aid in detecting any abnormal breathing or respiratory problems. Employees have the privilege of see ing their medical or test records at any time, but they are otherwise confiden tial, except for authorized persons who have responsibility for administering the program. Three exposure levels or PELS have been established in the standards to cover all facilities where cotton dust may be found. The first category is for yarn manufacturing which includes operations from the opening of a bale of cotton through winding. The PEL for manufacturing is two-tenths milligram per cubic meter of air. The second category is slashing and weaving. The PEL is seventy-five hun dredths milligram per cubic meter of air. To get some idea of what these measurements mean, consider a typical home refrigerator that is emp ty. If we place two grains of salt on the shelf, that equates roughly with two- tenths milligrams of dust per cubic meter. Our cotton dust monitoring is conducted by Texcon, a leading consul tant in this field. Texcon is located in Greenville, S.C. The success of our cotton dust con trol program depends on all employees working together. We will do our part, but we are going to need your help and full cooperation to make the program effective. Employees have the privilege of seeing their medical or test records at any time, but they are otherwise confidential, except for authorized persons who have responsibility for administering the program. Cloth Maker ■ page 7