NIOSH Suggests Dust, Noise Controls for Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Facility
NIOSH recently published a new health hazard evaluation (HHE) report detailing the agency’s recommendations for controls at a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility (PDF). In October 2023, NIOSH staff visited the facility, which mostly prepared and packaged placebos for use in clinical trials, to assess employees’ exposures to dust and noise. Although the evaluators did not measure dust or noise levels exceeding the relevant occupational exposure limits, the report lists controls intended to help the employer maintain a safe workplace and address other hazards observed during the site visit.
To help reduce airborne dust, NIOSH recommends that employees stop using compressed air to blow dust and powder off clothing and to use compressed air as little as possible to clean equipment. Instead, NIOSH recommends that employees use a vacuum equipped with and certified for a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter. The report advises the employer to consult with an engineer to find ways to handle bulk powders in closed systems, rather than hand scooping from open containers, and to provide tables that adjust to different heights to reduce the distance powder is moved.
NIOSH staff measured the highest noise levels when employees used compressed air, so the report also recommends that workers stop using compressed air when manufacturing pharmaceuticals or packaging equipment. Employees should continue using hearing protection as long as compressed air remains in use and during other high-noise tasks. The employee responsible for bleeding nitrogen from a tank should wear both earplugs and earmuffs, the report states.
Several other safety issues NIOSH evaluators identified during their visit are also described in the report. For example, an unsecured overhead compressed air nozzle nearly struck an employee’s head, an employee was chewing gum in the room where pharmaceuticals were bottled, a worker used a rolling chair as a stepstool, another employee stood at the very top of a stepladder, and employees neglected to wear safety glasses or protective footwear in tasks that required them. The agency’s report details additional recommendations to prevent eating, drinking, and chewing gum in work areas; ensure proper use of stepladders; secure compressed air nozzles; and improve employees’ use of personal protective equipment through signs and written standard operating procedures.
The HHE report may be downloaded as a PDF from NIOSH’s HHE report library.
Related: Readers interested in powder handling in production may wish to read an article from the March 2018 Synergist that focuses on reducing the hazards of bulk powders in the agrochemical industry.