Diisocyanates are hazardous chemicals

Aug 29, 2023 | Resources

Diisocyanates are hazardous chemicals: New training requirements

Hans Kristian Brekken er kjemiker og produktutvikler Workplace Safety.

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. The European chemicals regulation REACH has now introduced requirements for 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 TDI (Toulene diisocyanate), are also classified as carcinogenic.

– 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.

New training requirements

Diisocyanates are found in a wide range of industrial products and the training requirement applies to several industries and occupational groups. By August 24, 2023, anyone using diisocyanates and diisocyanate-containing mixtures with a concentration of 0.1% (weight percentage) or more must have completed training in safe use. The Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority has set a number of requirements for the training and it must be documented.

– To ensure that employees receive good training, you should familiarize yourself with the requirements of the 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 substance register.

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 substance register 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.

Chapter 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.

– It can be challenging to find out if the components in chapter 3 include diisocyanates. I therefore recommend searching for the hazard statement EUH 204 in the chemical inventory, which will bring up all the safety data sheets that contain this hazard statement. EUH 204 tells you whether the product contains diisocyanates,” says Brekken.

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 minimize exposure. The employer must ensure that the correct personal protective equipment is used and that the premises have ventilation systems that minimize 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 now required of both employers and employees will mean a lot for the occupational health of those who work with this,” concludes Brekken.