Styrene exposure in the fiberglass fabrication industry in Washington State

A study was undertaken to identify methods used by the fiberglass fabrication industry in Washington State to reduce worker exposure to styrene vapor. All plants in Washington were surveyed to determine the number of employees, number of exposed employees, degree of exposure, amount of raw material used, type of engineering controls, effectiveness of engineering controls, and respiratory protection practices including personal protection. Data were collected during walk-through and sampling surveys to study approaches of industries of different sizes to the control of employee exposure to styrene vapor. There were approximately 1000 exposed employees in 31 plants with a total employment of 4300. Most plants were involved in boat building and repair, an industry with the highest exposure. In 12 selected plants a total of 592 air samples was collected. Approximately 40% of all samples indicated overexposure.