Diisocyanates: training requirements and safe use

Diisocyanates are hazardous chemicals: training requirements

Diisocyanates are a group of hazardous chemicals used in paints, varnishes and adhesives. Workers can suffer serious damage to their health after being exposed to products containing these chemicals. Since 24 August 2023, the European chemicals regulation REACH has required training in safe use.

Health challenges related to exposure

– “You can be exposed to diisocyanates through skin contact, inhalation or ingestion, and even small amounts can cause serious damage to your health,” explains Hans Kristian Brekken, a chemist with experience of laboratory work and HSE in the petroleum industry.

– What is dangerous about isocyanates is that they cannot be smelled until they are far above acceptable limit values. There is therefore a great risk of inhaling air containing the substance for a long time before you notice it yourself.

The most common symptoms of exposure are breathing problems, stuffy or runny nose, and irritating cough or nosebleeds. Some diisocyanates, such as toluene diisocyanate (TDI), are also suspected of causing cancer (Carc. 2).

– Exposure to diisocyanates is irritating and allergenic to the respiratory tract and can result in occupational asthma, which is one of the reasons why these chemicals have received so much attention. In Europe, many thousands of workers suffer from respiratory diseases every year because of this,” says Brekken.

Training requirements

Since 24 August 2023, all industrial and professional users of products containing 0.1 % by weight or more of monomeric diisocyanates must complete training before use (REACH Annex XVII, entry 74). The level of training depends on the use – spraying outside a ventilated booth, for example, requires the advanced level – and the training must be repeated at least every five years. Read the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority’s training requirements.

– To ensure that employees receive good training, you should familiarise yourself with the requirements of the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority and work with experts in the occupational health service to adapt the training to the company’s needs, Brekken recommends.

How to identify products containing diisocyanates

To find out if the products your company uses contain diisocyanates, consult the product’s safety data sheet in the chemical inventory.

Brekken is a product developer for the digital chemical inventory Workplace Safety and emphasises the importance of having an updated chemical inventory where you can easily look up safety data sheets.

– The chemical inventory is an important tool for collecting and finding information about products containing diisocyanates. The safety data sheet contains information about the product’s properties and what measures must be taken to handle the product safely,” explains Brekken.

Section 3 of the safety data sheet lists the components that make up the composition of the product, and here you can find out if the product contains diisocyanates, but this requires some expertise.

Products covered by the training requirement must carry the label statement “As from 24 August 2023 adequate training is required before industrial or professional use”. The statement EUH204 (“Contains isocyanates. May produce an allergic reaction.”) does not on its own show whether the training requirement applies, so check substance identity and concentration in the safety data sheet and ask the supplier if needed.

A safe working environment with diisocyanates

When working with chemicals, there is a requirement to consider the substitution of hazardous substances. This means replacing chemicals that are harmful to health with safer alternatives. This can be demanding for chemical products with diisocyanates, because there are currently not many satisfactory alternatives.

When the use of hazardous chemicals in the workplace cannot be avoided, it is therefore important that the employer implements good safety procedures and checklists with safety measures that minimise exposure. The employer must ensure that the correct personal protective equipment is used and that the premises have ventilation systems that minimise the presence of diisocyanates in the working atmosphere.

– There will always be a risk associated with working with hazardous chemicals. When you don’t know how to handle different chemicals, or how to protect yourself, this risk increases considerably.

– The fact that documented competence in the safe handling of diisocyanates is required of both employers and employees will mean a lot for the occupational health of those who work with this,” concludes Brekken.