BG/BIA recommendations: "Maintenance work on passenger vehicles in workshops

Status:

completed 10/1999

Aims:

In the course of the various maintenance operations performed on passenger vehicles, employees may be exposed to a range of hazardous substances. In addition to components of engine emissions such as CO, CO2, NO, NO2 and diesel engine emissions, the hazardous substances also include solvents and dusts. The objective of this project was the drafting of BG/BIA recommendations for the measurement and assessment of hazards posed by hazardous substances at the workplace: procedure- and substance-oriented criteria for workplace monitoring (Technical Rules for Hazardous Substances TRGS 420, Appendix 2) for the description of working conditions which permit adherence to limit values and thus simplification of diagnosis and withdrawal from the surveillance scheme.

Activities/Methods:

Exposure measurements were performed at the affected workplaces in workshops for passenger vehicles within the scope of the BG hazardous substances measurement system (BGMG) and by the test bodies of the German Länder, the Federal Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) and Volkswagen AG.

Results:

The BG/BIA recommendations apply to motor vehicle workshops in which passenger vehicles are maintained, including body workshops for paint preparation. Paintwork itself does not fall within the scope of the recommendations. A condition for application of these recommendations is that effective capture and routing of engine exhaust gases to the open air is assured during any work performed with the engine running. Comprehensive measurements have shown the monitoring of CO as a reference component to be beneficial in view of the large number of hazardous substances in question. During the winter months in particular, predictions cannot be made regarding adherence to limit values. The impact situation should therefore be assessed by measurement of CO as the reference component. 20 ppm is proposed as a limit value for CO as a reference component. Where a value of 15 ppm CO is exceeded, the requirements for short-time values must also be examined. Recommendations are also made concerning structural, organizational and technical measures, and for a simplified measurement procedure.

Further informations:

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