Vinyl Chloride Awareness

Who Should Take This Course?

Vinyl Chloride is a colorless gas with a mild, sweet odor that burns easily. It does not occur naturally and must be produced industrially for its commercial uses. It ranks in the top 20 chemicals for production volume with about 13 billion kilograms produced annually, the U.S. being the world’s largest manufacturer of the chemical. It is used primarily to make polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a familiar substance with many uses. Vinyl chloride is highly toxic, flammable, and carcinogenic. Vinyl chloride that is released by industry, or formed by the breakdown of other chlorinated chemicals, can enter the air and drinking water supplies, and is a common contaminant found near landfills; vinyl chloride has been found in more than one third of the most hazardous waste sites identified by the EPA and targeted for long-term federal clean up activities. It is also produced as a combustion product in tobacco smoke.

Vinyl Chloride is highly toxic. It is a human carcinogen with consistent evidence for liver cancer in all studies. Vinyl chloride exposure is associated with an increased risk of a rare form of liver cancer, as well as brain and lung cancers, lymphoma, and leukemia. Chronic exposure causes symptoms such as a narcotic effect and depression, decreased male libido, cardiac arrhythmias, and can lead to fatal respiratory failure and focused liver toxicity, as well as spontaneous abortion and birth defects. Vinyl chloride is also a mutagen, affecting the chromosomal structure of lymphocytes.

Objectives

The objective of this Vinyl Chloride Awareness course is to provide a general awareness of the risks and the regulatory requirements for protecting employees who work in the manufacture, reaction, packaging, repackaging, storage, handling, or use of vinyl chloride, as required by OSHA.

The course will also introduce students to the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations for Vinyl Chloride, Subpart Z, Toxic and Hazardous Substances - 29 CFR 1910.1017

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• Explain what vinyl chloride is;
• Describe where workers may encounter vinyl chloride;
• Understand the definitions and the hazards associated with vinyl chloride and exposure to it;
• Describe sources of non-occupational exposure to vinyl chloride;
• Describe the health effects of vinyl chloride exposure;
• Understanding the essentials of OSHA’s Vinyl Chloride Standard; and
• Identify and describe OSHA methods of conformance to prevent vinyl chloride exposure.

Exams

This course has one final exam based upon the material in the 3 course sections.

The exam consists of 10 questions selected at random from a larger pool of questions. A score of 70% or better is required to pass each exam. If a student does not pass the exam the first time, they may retake the exam as many times as necessary in order to pass.

Required Training

Each employee covered by the Vinyl Chloride Standard must be trained to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of at least the following:

• The nature of the health hazards from chronic exposure to vinyl chloride, including, specifically, the carcinogenic hazard;
• The specific nature of operations which could result in exposure to vinyl chloride in excess of the permissible limit and necessary protective steps;
• The purpose for, proper use, and limitations of respiratory protective devices;
• The fire hazard and acute toxicity of vinyl chloride, as well as the necessary protective steps against these hazards;
• The purpose for, and a description of, the monitoring program;
• Emergency procedures;
• Specific information to aid the employee in recognition of conditions which may result in the release of vinyl chloride; and
• A review of the Standard at the employee’s first training program and annually thereafter.

Additionally, workers must receive training, when required by OSHA standards, on the specific hazards of their job. Training Providers should be used to ensure credibility and augment a company’s training program. Therefore, in addition to the training provided by an outside party, a student should receive site-specific training supplied by their employer. This training should target the company’s unique approach to hazard prevention, including the use of site-specific equipment, health and safety policies, and emergency procedures. As a rule, this company-specific training should be well documented.

Mobile version

This course is available in HTML5, so it works in the browser on your smartphone or tablet. It only needs the most recent version of your device's web browser.

Tablets work much better than smartphones, simply due to their screen size. The newer the device, the better the result. The course will not work on the first generation iPad, nor older Android tablets.

Frequently asked questions