Solvent exposure in a printing shop

The main route is inhalation. Toluene and xylene are volatile, the room is small, the local exhaust has been removed, and solvent is poured from open buckets, so vapour concentrations can rise quickly. Dermal exposure is also significant because cotton gloves do not resist solvents and workers handle wet rollers. Ingestion is possible through contaminated hands, food or cigarettes.

The symptoms are consistent with acute solvent exposure: headaches, dizziness and sore throat are central-nervous-system and mucosal irritation effects. Nosebleeds suggest more significant mucosal irritation and should not be dismissed. Toluene and xylene can also cause dermatitis, liver and kidney effects, and prolonged exposure can affect the nervous system. Toluene has reproductive and developmental concerns, so the pregnant worker is a priority.

The situation is urgent because controls are absent and there is no air monitoring. The manager's comment that the smell is normal is not evidence of safety; odour is not a measure of exposure. The 'milk and vitamins' offer is not a control measure. Work should be modified immediately while monitoring and engineering controls are arranged. The workers should be informed of the risks and the symptoms should be assessed by an occupational physician.

First, substitute or reduce the hazard: use a water-based or less toxic cleaning agent if technically feasible, or a closed cleaning system. If substitution is not possible, enclose the cleaning operation and install local exhaust ventilation at the source, with a capture hood close to the rollers. General ventilation and the ceiling fan are not adequate substitutes. Limit the number of workers exposed and the time spent cleaning. Until engineering controls are working, provide nitrile or solvent-resistant gloves, aprons and fit-tested respirators as interim protection; cotton gloves should be withdrawn.

Air monitoring should use personal sampling for toluene and xylene over an 8-hour shift and short-term samples for cleaning tasks, compared with the applicable Mongolian occupational exposure limits. Biological monitoring can include urinary hippuric acid for toluene and methylhippuric acid for xylene, but hippuric acid is affected by diet, so results must be interpreted with that limitation. Samples should be taken at consistent times and with worker consent.

Medical surveillance should include baseline and periodic assessment of nervous-system symptoms, skin, liver function and respiratory irritation, by an occupational physician. The pregnant worker needs a specific risk assessment. Records should be kept confidential. The plan should be verified by repeat air monitoring after controls are installed, not just by asking workers whether they feel better.

The pregnant worker should not be treated as a problem to be removed, but as a worker entitled to a specific risk assessment. The employer should assess her exposure and, if a risk remains after controls, adjust her tasks, provide alternative work without loss of pay, or suspend her from the exposure in line with the applicable labour and social-insurance rules. She should be consulted, and her medical information should be kept confidential. She should not be singled out or penalised for raising the issue.

The manager's offer of milk and vitamins is not a control measure and should not be accepted as a response. It may create a false impression that the risk is being managed. The correct response is to reduce exposure at source, monitor the air, and provide health surveillance for all exposed workers. The workers should receive information and training in a language they understand, and they should be able to report symptoms without fear.

The OSH officer should document the advice, the exposure assessment, the controls required, and the manager's refusal if any. If the employer fails to act, the OSH officer should escalate internally and consider notifying the labor inspector. The ethical principle is that the employer must provide a safe workplace for all workers, including the most vulnerable, and must not shift the burden of prevention onto the worker's private behaviour.