Conducting a designated substance assessment & Hazard Assessment

Background: An Autobody shop has had a visit from a Ministry of Labour inspector (Ontario) who has issued an order because the shop does not have a designated substance assessment on file for the product used that contains isocyanates. Isocyanates are a component found in either the paint, clearcoat or the hardener for the clearcoat, which is usually the final product applied to protect the paint on the car. A quick search on the internet for the safety data sheets for the three should help determine which one or more contains the isocyanates. Concerns: Employees have complained of headaches only when spray painting. They paint with regular car paint and then apply a clearcoat finish. A quick inspection of the auto body shop reveals that minimal precautions were used to protect their health when repairing the car body and when spray painting. 1) Car body repair hazards – Employees were not wearing appropriate personal protective equipment when grinding, sanding, or welding to repair the body of cars, prior to spray painting the vehicle. Nor was specialized ventilation utilized when using a torch to melt the metal used for repairing sections of the car. The only protection they wore was a non-approved white, single elastic dust mask similar to those found at a dollar store. 2) Current spray painting operations – Employees use a room which had an exhaust fan mounted on an exterior wall to provide the air exchange for when they were doing any painting operations. They also wore half-mask respirators with organic vapour /acid mist cartridges with no pre-filters. The masks were left lying on the benches in the room when not in use. 3) The situation - The shop has contracted you to conduct a designated substance assessment for the use of isocyanates to be compliant with the MOL order. They have also asked you to perform a hazard assessment for the car repair area of the shop to determine the main hazards and to recommend improvements.