I Worked For A Company That Had 5 Cnc Laser Welding Station That Welded 3 Shifts 5 Days A Week. I Was The New Guy And They Had Me Do All The Maintenance On Them. I Was Instructed In Writing To Use Compressed Air To Clean-out The Filters Which Collected All The Exhaust From The Stainless Steel Welders. Also The Overhead Roof Top Air Handlers Air Filters For The 40,000 Sq Ft Area Clogged Every Two Weeks Exposing Everyone That Breathed The Air There. I Did Not Know Of The Dangers Of This Hexavalent Crhomium 6 Until The Company Tested Only 6 Workers, My Self Included. 2 Week After Testing They Stopped The Entire Operation Of Welding, Stating Theirs No Work, And Over A Month Has Gone By And The Still Will Not Release To Me The Results/ Exposure Amounts Results To Me. My Question How Can I Obtain This Test Results That I'm Entitled To. Can An Employer Expose Anyone Without Informing You That You Are Being Exposed Whats There Liability. Hexavalent Is Considered In The Same Category As Arsenic, But Is A Slower Death. 8 Of 100 Overexposed Will Die Over A Long Period Of Time. I Know If I Secretly Gave Someone Arsenic I Would Be Arrested. I Feel Wronged In A Big Way They Should Of Told Me On Day One Of The Dangers. What Can I Do.

Please do not capitalize each word. It makes your post very hard to read.

Who did the test?

A few operators and myself. osha's rule states that they must test workers and an individual that is likely to be the most overexposed and they picked me. I'm not an operator, I'm in maintenance. i do not stand right next to the units and only go to that area occasionally they picked me because they figured i was the one most likely to be over-exposed.

I love to learn new things. Today I learned that hexavalent chromium VI was the chemical at issue with Erin Brockovich.

The OSHA general industry standard for the chemical (there are different standards for some specific industries, such as shipyards and I have no idea what the differences might be):

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/hexavalentchromium/hex_regulatory_text.html

You should have been informed during orientation about the general hazards and what information is available for you to review (such as MSDS's). It is really, really difficult to give detailed briefings on all chemical hazards in a workplace (it could take weeks!).

The OSHA regs about employee access:

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=10027

Who did the test?
my employer hired an outside agency for the testing. i questioned the individual that did the testing while he was mounting air pumps near my nose and mouth about what they are exactly testing for, he was vary reluctant to tell me anything but, he finally said only chromium and that he will not send me any results by law the company i work for has to give them to me. i investigated this toxic substance on the Internet myself.

If he only told you chromium, how did you get to the Hex. Chrom. 6?

i investigated this toxic substance on the Internet myself.

There are toxic substances in most work places. Some are more hazardous than others. If you read the OSHA standard, you will see that companies don't need to do much if the exposure does not exceed certain limits. If the testing shows low levels, the monitoring frequency can be reduced.

Still, you have a right to see your test results.

I Worked For A Company That Had 5 Cnc Laser Welding Station That Welded 3 Shifts 5 Days A Week. I Was The New Guy And They Had Me Do All The Maintenance On Them. I Was Instructed In Writing To Use Compressed Air To Clean-out The Filters Which Collected All The Exhaust From The Stainless Steel Welders. Also The Overhead Roof Top Air Handlers Air Filters For The 40,000 Sq Ft Area Clogged Every Two Weeks Exposing Everyone That Breathed The Air There. I Did Not Know Of The Dangers Of This Hexavalent Crhomium 6 Until The Company Tested Only 6 Workers, My Self Included. 2 Week After Testing They Stopped The Entire Operation Of Welding, Stating Theirs No Work, And Over A Month Has Gone By And The Still Will Not Release To Me The Results/ Exposure Amounts Results To Me. My Question How Can I Obtain This Test Results That I'm Entitled To. Can An Employer Expose Anyone Without Informing You That You Are Being Exposed Whats There Liability. Hexavalent Is Considered In The Same Category As Arsenic, But Is A Slower Death. 8 Of 100 Overexposed Will Die Over A Long Period Of Time. I Know If I Secretly Gave Someone Arsenic I Would Be Arrested. I Feel Wronged In A Big Way They Should Of Told Me On Day One Of The Dangers. What Can I Do.


(a) Under federal law, the employer MUST have Material Data Sheets available for employees to review at any time on every material used in the workplace. Those sheets will show you the toxicity (if any) of the materials you are working with and what the safe exposure levels are. If your employer does not have those, then contact OSHA and file a complaint.

(b) If you and your co-workers feel you are being exposed to toxic substances, your employer is not providing required PPE (personal protective equipment) when working with toxic substances (respirators, gloves, safety glasses, etc.), or the results of the air sampling tests aren't being released, contact OSHA and file a complaint.

Hexavalent Chromium 6 is a toxic substance. Your employer should be doing everything they can to eliminate any raw materials or coatings containing Hex 6 from their workplace.

Thank-you.

First i would like to thank everyone for their responses and taking the time to read about my problems, including all of the jokers out there, (keeping them coming, you make me laugh).

let me try to clarify a few things. chromium is consumed by everyone. its in our soil and ends up in our food and water, and in the right amounts is OK. hexavalent chromium 6 is a by product of welding metals, especially when welding stainless steel metals together. when metals are fused together it creates smoke, fumes. smoke and fumes that contain a deadly substance identified as hexavalent chromium 6 that is deadly.when inhaled this substance will make holes in your septum, the cartilage in your nose. cause sores in your breathing passages and will destroy the cilia in your breathing passages and will eventually give you lung cancer. 8 of 100 persons overexposed will die eventually. its one of only a few substances classified as one that will kill-you over time when inhaled.

so once again when a company designs and creates these welding centers sub-standard and not in conformance with OSHA regulations, to save money but makes about 100 thou a day and knows people are breathing in these toxic fumes, but don't care. may-be they are uneducated low paid easily replaced workers. and when a company knows that these welding centers are exposing individuals, but don't care?????????????? to save money. money that they have plenty of.??????????

OSHA has just reclassified the exposure limits within a 8 hour period for workers to a much lower level, because it is now known to kill, in a half as----attempt to help common workers. and did this with this in mind, that employers will have to place some of their profits into restructuring these welding operations that some can not afford, but most can. just with those considerations did not lower exposure limits enough, and a major class action suit has commenced stating that because of OSHA considerations of employers thousands will die each year, and because it is now known to be so deadly exposure limits should be even lower.

a company that does not, and did not follow OHSA's rules when building and then while operating, exposing human beings to toxic fumes that kill. whats the liability.

a company that does not, and did not follow OHSA's rules when building and then while operating, exposing human beings to toxic fumes that kill. whats the liability.

Obviously, the employer has liability under their worker's compensation insurance for occupational illnesses, including whatever your State mandates as a WC death benefit. The other liability is substantial fines and penalties from OSHA, which can be VERY substantial depending on the situation.

Lastly, there are a few cases where company owners have been criminally prosecuted and sentenced to long jail terms where it was proven they knowingly exposed employees to toxic substances that resulted in severe injury or death. There is a landmark criminal case involving an employer that exposed employees to mercury fumes, even though they knew this was toxic, which resulted in the death of several employees. To the best of my recollection, the company owners and several of the top managers went to jail for second degree murder.

thanks. can you let me know of the case or cases, names and or numbers, please. it will make for some interesting reading and or possible preparation for myself.

Max,
I understand your concerns, however, your fears are probably not well placed in this situation. Most of the concerns with Hexavalent Chromium are based on the substance in a liquid chemical form, like a spray on coating, or a dip tank. The chromium you may have been exposed to would be in a fume from welding. That might be a real concern if you are working in an unventilated shop, but you stated yourself that the shop is ventilated and that you cleaned out the filters from the system. In most cases, the respirable fraction of the dust from these filters would be infinitesimal and unlikely to cause you any harm.

Also, since the only welding process that would have exposed anyone to this substance is welding stainless steel or nonferrous chromium alloys, you would really have to know what was being welded at the time to develop any suspicions. Your employer did the right thing by having your breathing zone tested for chromium if they suspected that there might be a problem. It generally takes 6-8 weeks to get results back from a testing lab, and you should receive a letter to tell you about your exposure and any possible potential health effects.

Hope this helps some,
Lyn

thanks. can you let me know of the case or cases, names and or numbers, please. it will make for some interesting reading and or possible preparation for myself.

Sorry but I've long since forgotten the particulars. You may want to do some research on-line or at a law library. A law librarian can help you find the case cites.

Hexavalent chromium 6 is deadly. It will make your insides rot with cancer, and fall out of your body.

Your action plan:
1. Ask for your results (very nicely)
2. If they don't give them to you, start looking for another job, because you can bet your sweet britches you will be fired soon after...and of course....CALL OSHA.