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Appendix: Guidelines for Minimizing Worker Exposure to the Monohalomethanes
It is recommended that methyl chloride, methyl bromide, and methyl iodide be regarded as potential occupational carcinogens and that methyl chloride be considered a potential occupational teratogen. This recommendation is based on the ability of these compounds to induce cancer in experimental animals and the ability of methyl chloride to induce teratogenicity in exposed mice. Consequently, appropriate engineering and work practice controls should be used to reduce worker exposure to the fullest extent feasible. The areas in which these monohalomethanes are produced or used should be restricted to only those workers who are essential to the process or operation. The guidelines and recommendations which follow are general in nature and should be adapted to specific situations as required.
Initial and periodic worker exposure surveys should be made by qualified industrial hygiene and engineering personnel. These surveys are necessary to determine the extent of worker exposure and to ensure that controls already in place are operational and effective. NIOSH's Occupational Exposure Sampling Strategy Manual may be helpful in developing appropriate strategies to monitor worker exposure to these monohalomethanes.56 The manual discusses how to determine the need for exposure measurements and to select sampling times.
Worker exposures should be estimated by 8-hour TWA and short-term (15-minute) exposures calculated from personal or breathing zone samples. Short-term samples should be taken during periods of maximum expected exposure by using all available knowledge of the work areas, procedures, and processes. Area and source measurements may be useful in identifying problem areas, processes, and operations.
Detailed descriptions of sampling and analysis techniques for methyl chloride, methyl bromide, and methyl iodide may be found in the NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods, Second Edition.57
Controlling Worker Exposure
Proper maintenance procedures, good housekeeping in the work area, and worker education are all vital aspects of a good control program. Workers should be informed of the materials to which they are exposed, the nature of their hazard, the methods for their control, and appropriate personal hygiene procedures. There are four basic methods of limiting worker ex