recently I was exposed to a chemical known as pcb it is known to cause all kinds of health risks I work as a lighting repair man and there was no personal protective equipment or a msds sheet for it now I have a rash that I am going to see a occupational doctor with it may turn out to be cancer I was not aware of its effects now I just want to know if I have a case or not and should I pro-sue it and should I see a doctor first or should i notify osha or what I cant really risk losing my job due to my infant son look up pcbs if you want and tell me what you think
thank you
Some exposures may not require a MSDS. For example the material in an old transformer would not require one, because you have no way of knowing what it is. In many cases it is just PCB contaminated oil. Now there are OSHA and TSCA rules about exposures to PCBs and the risk analysis needed. You can call your local OSHA office anonomously if you want to talk to them. You do need to tell them how you know about the exposure. What is the proof it is PCBs? If your employer knew and you showed them the rash, they should have told you to go to the doctor. PCB exposure is a chronic (long term impact) for the worst impacts, but you can get skin reactions, just like other synthetic oil.
To make a complaint you must give OSHA your name, but on the form you can request that the name not be revealed. You need to give them as much info as possible, not just “they are doing it wrong”. The problem comes when OSHA knows things when they investigate that only you could have told them, it can be easy for your employer to figure it out. Try to only give details that more people than you might know about (at least at first). Make sure you don’t make things up, guess, or embellish anything. You can also call your OSHA regional office to discuss the situation anonymously (third reference).
Posted on December 5th, 2008 by roy
Filed under: OSHA Training
Yes.
Get the results from your doctor, and ask his/her opinion about PCB.
If the doctor believes the condition is related to exposure, then it would be best to consult a lawyer before doing anything else.
References :
Some exposures may not require a MSDS. For example the material in an old transformer would not require one, because you have no way of knowing what it is. In many cases it is just PCB contaminated oil. Now there are OSHA and TSCA rules about exposures to PCBs and the risk analysis needed. You can call your local OSHA office anonomously if you want to talk to them. You do need to tell them how you know about the exposure. What is the proof it is PCBs? If your employer knew and you showed them the rash, they should have told you to go to the doctor. PCB exposure is a chronic (long term impact) for the worst impacts, but you can get skin reactions, just like other synthetic oil.
To make a complaint you must give OSHA your name, but on the form you can request that the name not be revealed. You need to give them as much info as possible, not just “they are doing it wrong”. The problem comes when OSHA knows things when they investigate that only you could have told them, it can be easy for your employer to figure it out. Try to only give details that more people than you might know about (at least at first). Make sure you don’t make things up, guess, or embellish anything. You can also call your OSHA regional office to discuss the situation anonymously (third reference).
References :
http://www.osha.gov/as/opa/worker/index….
http://www.osha.gov/pls/osha7/eComplaint...
http://www.osha.gov/html/RAmap.html