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Volume 46, No. 16

B.C. Reg. 315/2003

The British Columbia Gazette,

Part II

August 12, 2003

B.C. Reg. 315/2003, deposited July 30, 2003, pursuant to the WORKERS COMPENSATION

ACT [Section 225]. Regulation of the Workers' Compensation Board, dated July 15, 2003.

THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION BOARD OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

RE: Amendments to various sections of the Occupational Health and Safety

Regulation (B.C. Reg. 296/97, as amended), the Regulations for Agricultural

Operations (B.C. Reg. 146/93, as amended) and the Industrial Health and

Safety Regulation (B.C. Reg. 585/77, as amended), pertaining to occupational

exposure limits

WHEREAS: Pursuant to

section 225 (1) of the Workers Compensation

Act , R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 492 and amendments thereto (" Act "), the Workers' Compensation Board ("WCB") may make regulations the WCB considers necessary or advisable in relation to occupational health and safety and occupational environment;

AND

WHEREAS: The Occupational Health and Safety Regulation

("OHSR") , the Regulations for Agricultural Operations ("RAO") and the

Industrial Health and Safety Regulation ("IHSR") contain requirements regarding a worker's exposure to chemical substances;

AND

WHEREAS: The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists ("ACGIH") is recognized worldwide as one of the leading bodies for establishing workplace occupational exposure limits;

AND

WHEREAS: The WCB, pursuant to its mandate under the Act, has proposed amendments to relevant sections of the

OHSR , RAO , and IHSR and has given notice of the proposed amendments and held a public hearing on the proposed amendments in accordance with

section 226 (1) of the Act;

AND

WHEREAS: The Board of Directors has considered the expertise, resources and review processes established by the ACGIH for the development and setting of Threshold Limit Values for chemical substances;

AND

WHEREAS: The Board of Directors, after due consideration of all presentations to the WCB, considers it necessary and advisable in accordance with the WCB's mandate under the Act in relation to occupational health and safety and occupational environment to amend sections of the

OHSR , RAO , and IHSR pertaining to occupational exposure limits;

AND

WHEREAS: Policy has been developed to provide exposure limits for chemical substances where it is determined that the adoption of the corresponding Threshold Limit Value, as developed by the ACGIH, is not appropriate or where it is determined that an exposure limit is required for a substance in absence of a corresponding Threshold Limit Value;

AND

WHEREAS: An internal review committee is recommended to facilitate an ongoing review of exposure limits provided for in policy and proposed new Threshold Limit Values developed by the ACGIH;

AND

WHEREAS: Pursuant to the Provincial Government's Regulatory Reform Policy, the Board of Directors has evaluated the proposed regulatory amendments according to the established regulatory criteria;

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RESOLVES THAT:

1. The regulatory amendments to various sections of the OHSR , RAO , and

IHSR as set out in Appendices A, B, and C are approved.

2. The statements under the heading POLICY in Item R5.48-1, as set out in Appendix D, are approved and the Item will be added to the

Prevention Manual .

3. The Director General of the Policy and Regulation Development Bureau will establish terms of reference for an internal review committee, which will be responsible for facilitating an ongoing review of exposure limits contained in policy and proposed new Threshold Limit Values as developed by the ACGIH.

4. The proposed structure of the internal review committee will be brought forward to the Board of Directors for approval and will be established on an annual basis.

5. The Regulatory Criteria Checklist in Appendix E is approved.

6. The above amendments to the OHSR , RAO , and IHSR will be deposited with the Registrar of Regulations in such form as may be required by the Registrar.

7. The above amendments to the OHSR , RAO , and IHSR come into force 90 days after their deposit under the

Regulations Act .

8. The amendment to the Prevention Manual is effective on the date the above noted regulatory amendments come into force.

DATED at Richmond, British Columbia, July 15, 2003. By the Workers' Compensation Board. — DOUGLAS J. ENNS, Chair, Board of Directors.

Appendix A

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RESOLVES THAT:

Section 1.1 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, B.C. Reg. 296/97, is amended by adding the following

definitions:

"mg/m 3 " means milligrams of a substance per cubic metre of air;

"ppm" means parts of a vapour or a gas per million parts of contaminated air by volume at a temperature of 25 degrees Celsius and an atmospheric pressure of 760 millimetres of mercury;

Section 4.42 (4) (

a) is amended by striking out "provided in Table 5.4 in

Part 5 (Chemical and Biological Substances)," and substituting "established by

section 5.48,".

Section 5.1 is amended

(

a) by striking out "8-hour exposure limit" and substituting "8-hour TWA limit",

(

b) by striking out "15-minute exposure limit" and substituting "short-term exposure limit" or "STEL",

(

c) by adding the following

definitions:

"ACGIH" means the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists publication entitled "Threshold Limit Values and Biological Exposure Indices", dated 2002, as amended from time to time;

"IARC" means the International Agency for Research on Cancer publication "Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans", as amended from time to time; , and

(

d) in the definition of carcinogen, by striking out "Table 5-4" and substituting "section 5.57 (1)".

Section 5.48 is repealed and the following is substituted:

Exposure limits

5.48 Except as otherwise determined by the board, the employer must ensure that no worker is exposed to a substance that exceeds the ceiling limit, short-term exposure limit, or 8-hour TWA limit prescribed by ACGIH.

Section 5.49 is repealed and the following substituted:

Excursion limits

5.49 If a substance referred to under

section 5.48 has an 8-hour TWA limit, the employer must, in addition to the requirement of

section 5.48, ensure that a worker's exposure to the substance does not exceed

(

a) three times the 8-hour TWA limit for more than a total of 30 minutes during the work period, and

(

b) five times the 8-hour TWA limit at any time.

Section 5.50 (1) is amended by striking out "exposure" wherever it occurs and in each case substituting "TWA".

Section 5.51 is repealed and the following substituted:

Additive effects

5.51 If there is exposure to a mixture of 2 or more substances with established exposure limits which exhibit similar toxicological effects, the effects of such exposure must be considered additive unless it is known otherwise, and the additive exposure must not exceed 100% when calculated as follows:

AE = %EL 1 + %EL 2 + %EL n

where

(

a) AE is the calculated additive exposure to the mixture,

(b) %EL 1 is the measured exposure to component 1 of the mixture expressed as a percentage of its exposure limit,

(c) %EL 2 is the measured exposure to component 2 of the mixture expressed as a percentage of its exposure limit, and

(d) %EL n is the measured exposure to any additional components of the mixture expressed as a percentage of their respective exposure limits.

Section 5.55 (1) is amended by striking out "listed in Table 5-4" and substituting "established under

section 5.48".

Section 5.57 is repealed and the following substituted:

Designated substances

5.57

(1) If a substance identified in ACGIH or IARC by any of the following notations, abbreviations, or endnotes is present in the workplace, the employer must replace it, if practicable, with a material which reduces the risk to workers:

(

a) ACGIH A1 or A2, or IARC 1, 2A or 2B carcinogen,

(

b) reproductive critical effects,

(

c) sensitization critical effect or SEN notation, or

(

d) L endnote.

(2) If it is not practicable to substitute a material which reduces the risk to workers, in accordance with subsection (1), the employer must implement an exposure control plan to maintain workers' exposure as low as reasonably achievable below the exposure limit established under

section 5.48.

(3) The exposure control plan must meet the requirements of

section 5.54.

Section 5.58 (1) is repealed and the following substituted:.

Protective policy

5.58

(1) At any worksite where a worker is exposed to a substance which is identified in

section 5.57 (1) as having a reproductive critical effect, a sensitization critical effect or SEN notation, the employer must develop policy and procedures appropriate to the risk, which may include protective reassignment.

11 Table 5-1 (Recirculation of discharged air) following

section 5.70 is amended

(

a) in the first sentences opposite "Recirculation permitted without written approval" by striking out "exposure" wherever it occurs and in each case substituting "TWA",

(

b) in the third sentence opposite "Recirculation permitted without written approval" by striking out "A welding fume (including its ALARA designated components and its associated gases)" and substituting "A welding fume (including its components identified under

section 5.57(1))",

(

c) in the last sentence opposite "Recirculation permitted without written approval" by striking out "exposure" and substituting "8-hour TWA", and

(

d) in the sentence opposite "No recirculation permitted" by striking out "An ALARA substance" and substituting "A substance identified under

section 5.57(1)".

12 Table 5-4: Exposure limits and Designations, following

section 5.102, is repealed.

13 In

section 9.1, the definition of "harmful substance" is amended by striking out "listed in Table 5-4 in

Part 5 (Chemical and Biological Substances)" and substituting "referred to under

section 5.48".

Section 12.135 is amended by striking out "sensitizing agent" and substituting "sensitizing agent referred to in

section 5.57 (1),".

Section 30.8 (2) (

b) is amended by striking out "listed in Table 5-4 in

Part 5 (Chemical and Biological Substances)" and substituting "referred to under

section 5.57 (1)".

Section 31.32 is amended by striking out "in

Part 5 (Chemical and Biological Substances)" and substituting "established under

section 5.48".

17 The above amendments come into force 90 days after their deposit under the Regulations Act.

DATED at Richmond, British Columbia, July 15, 2003. By the Workers' Compensation Board. — DOUGLAS J. ENNS, Chair, Board of Directors.

Appendix B

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RESOLVES THAT:

Section 57 (

b) of the Regulations for Agricultural Operations, B.C. Reg. 146/93, is amended by striking out "18%" and substituting "19.5%".

Section 58 is repealed and the following substituted:

Ventilation and precleaning

58 If tests made under

section 57 indicate unsafe conditions, the employer must

(

a) ventilate or clean the confined space, or both, and then retest it to ensure that harmful substances are at or below the exposure limits established under

section 5.48 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, and

(

b) ensure that the oxygen concentration in the confined space is greater than 19.5% by volume before a worker enters or re-enters the confined space.

Section 85 is repealed and the following substituted:

When required

(1) If workers are or may be exposed to an atmosphere with less than 19.5% oxygen or to concentrations of air contaminants in excess of the exposure limits established under

section 5.48 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, mechanical means or engineering design must be used to prevent or to eliminate the hazardous exposure conditions.

(2) If

(

a) the prevention or elimination of the hazardous exposure conditions is not reasonably practicable, or

(

b) if the exposure results from temporary or emergency conditions only,

every worker who may be exposed must wear protective respiratory equipment.

4 The above amendments come into force 90 days after their deposit under the Regulations Act.

DATED at Richmond, British Columbia, July 15, 2003. By the Workers' Compensation Board. — DOUGLAS J. ENNS, Chair, Board of Directors.

Appendix C

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RESOLVES THAT:

Section 8.56 (3) (

a) of the Industrial Health and Safety Regulation, B.C. Reg. 585/77, is repealed and the following substituted:

(

a) the substances have an exposure limit greater than 1.0

mg/m 3 as established under

section 5.48 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, and

2 Appendices A and B are repealed.

3 The above amendments come into force 90 days after their deposit under the Regulations Act.

DATED at Richmond, British Columbia, July 15, 2003. By the Workers' Compensation Board. — DOUGLAS J. ENNS, Chair, Board of Directors.

Copyright © 2003: Queen's Printer, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada