Health & Safety Program

Table of Contents

It is very important for employers with employees who work in the metal removal fluid environment to set up and maintain a program for managing workplace health and safety for those employees. If employers do not set up such a program, they should have an effective alternative for managing employee occupational safety and health.

This guide and related standards may be the basis for such a program. Employers who have an existing health and safety program may integrate these elements into their programs.

The program must be appropriate to conditions in each workplace, such as the hazards to which employees are exposed and the number of employees there. The smaller the workplace, the simpler and more informal the program can be. The workplace plan should include other health and safety concerns, as appropriate.

What does the Health and Safety Plan consist of?

Each program should include the following core elements:

management leadership and employee participation

hazard assessment, including potential exposure to metal removal fluids

hazard prevention and control, such as through use of this guide and related standards

training, such as described in this guide

evaluation of program effectiveness

The employer should establish responsibilities for managers, supervisors and other employees for managing safety and health at the workplace as related to metal removal fluids. Managers, supervisors, and employees need authority, access to relevant information, and training appropriate to their safety and health responsibilities. It is also important to identify at least one individual to receive reports regarding workplace safety and health conditions.

The employer should provide opportunities for meaningful, effective communication between the employer and the employees about occupational safety and health matters regarding exposure to metal removal fluids and contaminants. Such opportunities would include

access to relevant information

employee involvement in areas such as assessing and controlling hazards

reporting job-related injuries and illnesses

evaluating the effectiveness of the program

The employer’s program must provide for the systematic, periodic identification of hazards related to employee exposure to MRFs and contaminants. Such systematic identification is carried out through

inspection of the workplace in which metal removal fluids are used or stored

review of relevant health and safety information

The employer should document hazard assessment and hazard control activities related to metal removal fluid employee exposures and should maintain such documentation as long as necessary to ensure that hazards are identified and controlled.

The employer should periodically evaluate the safety and health program as it applies to use of metal removal fluids to ensure that it is effective and appropriate to workplace conditions and revise the program, as necessary and in a timely manner, to correct any deficiencies revealed by the evaluation.