(MTP Ordinance No. 806, of April 13 of 2022)
Benzene
1. This Annex aims to regulate actions, responsibilities, and procedures for the prevention of occupational exposure to benzene, aiming to protect workers’ health, given that benzene is a proven carcinogen.
2. This Annex applies to all companies that produce, transport, store, use, or handle benzene and its liquid mixtures containing 1% (one percent) or more by volume, and those contracted by these companies, where applicable.
2.1. This Annex does not apply to the activities of storage, transportation, distribution, sale, and use of petroleum-derived fuels.
3. The use of benzene is prohibited from January 1, 1997, for any purpose, except in industries and laboratories that:
a) produce it;
b) use it in chemical synthesis processes;
c) use it in petroleum-derived fuels;
d) employ it in analysis or research work conducted in laboratories, where substitution is not possible.
3.1. (Revoked by SIT Ordinance No. 203, of January 28, 2011)
3.2. Companies that use benzene in activities not identified in item 3 and demonstrate the technical or economic infeasibility of its substitution must prove this when preparing the Occupational Exposure Prevention Program for Benzene (PPEOB).
3.3. (Revoked by SIT Ordinance No. 291, of December 8, 2011)
4. Companies that produce, transport, store, use, or handle benzene and its liquid mixtures containing 1% (one percent) or more by volume must register their establishments with the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DSST).
4.1. For the registration provided in item 4, the company must submit the following information to DSST:
a) company identification (name, address, CGC, business sector, and National Classification of Economic Activities – CNAE);
b) number of workers per establishment;
c) names of benzene suppliers, if applicable;
d) intended use of benzene;
e) average monthly processing quantity;
f) PPEOB base document.
4.1.1. Only completed and operational installations will be registered.
4.1.2. For the registration of companies and institutions that use benzene only in their laboratories, analysis processes, or research, where substitution is not possible, the request must be accompanied by a declaration signed by the company’s or institution’s legal and technical responsible persons, justifying the infeasibility of substitution.
4.1.2.1. The PPEOB of the laboratory of companies or institutions covered by subitem 4.1.2 must be kept available for inspection at the workplace, without needing to be sent to DSST.
4.2. Proof of registration must be presented when purchasing benzene from the supplier.
4.3. Benzene suppliers may only sell the product to registered companies.
4.4. Companies must maintain an updated list of companies contracted by them that operate in areas included in the characterization provided in the PPEOB for 10 (ten) years, containing:
- contractor identification;
- contract period;
- activity performed;
- number of workers.
4.5. Company or institution registration may be suspended in case of violation of benzene legislation, according to the procedures provided in a specific ordinance.
4.6. Changes in installations that involve modifications in the use of benzene and the average monthly processing quantity must be reported to DSST to update the company’s registration data.
5. Companies that produce, transport, store, use, or handle benzene in its liquid mixtures containing 1% (one percent) or more by volume must submit the PPEOB base document to DSST, along with the information provided in subitem 4.1.
5.1. (Revoked by SIT Ordinance No. 203, of January 28, 2011)
5.2. The PPEOB, prepared by the company, must represent the highest degree of commitment from its management to the principles and guidelines of preventing workers’ exposure to benzene, and must:
a) be formalized through an official administrative act by the highest-ranking managerial position;
b) designate a person responsible for the Program who will be accountable for it to public agencies, workers’ representatives specific to benzene, and the professional union of the category.
5.3. The PPEOB must list the employees responsible for its implementation, with their respective duties and competencies.
5.4. The PPEOB, in addition to the requirements in NR-01, must include: (Entire item amended by MTP Ordinance No. 806, of April 13, 2022)
- characterization of installations containing benzene or mixtures containing more than one percent by volume;
- assessment of benzene concentrations to verify occupational exposure and workplace surveillance, according to Annex IX (Assessment of Benzene Concentrations in Work Environments) of Instruction Normative – IN No. 2, dated November 8, 2021;
- health surveillance actions for own and third-party workers, according to Annex X (Health Surveillance of Workers in Preventing Occupational Exposure to Benzene) of Instruction Normative – IN No. 2, dated 2021;
- description of compliance with this annex and collective agreements related to benzene;
- procedures for archiving environmental assessment results provided in Annex IX (Assessment of Benzene Concentrations in Work Environments) of Instruction Normative – IN No. 02, dated 2021, for forty years;
- adaptation of respiratory protection to the Respiratory Protection Program, in accordance with Chapter II of MTP Ordinance No. 672, of November 8, 2021;
- definition of operational maintenance procedures, support activities, and work organization measures necessary to prevent occupational exposure to benzene. Maintenance procedures should describe emergency, routine, and predictive measures to minimize potential leaks or fugitive emissions;
- survey of all situations where high concentrations of benzene may occur, with qualitative and quantitative data contributing to workers’ occupational assessment;
- procedures for collective and individual protection of workers from benzene exposure risks in critical situations identified in the previous item, through measures such as work organization, appropriate signage, area isolation, specific training, appropriate ventilation, adequate respiratory protection, and protection to avoid skin contact;
- description of usual procedures in drainage, washing, purging of equipment, manual valve operation, transfers, cleaning, leak control, start-up, and shutdown operations requiring rigorous vapor emission control and prevention of direct worker contact with benzene;
- description of procedures and resources necessary to control emergency situations until normalcy is restored;
- detailed schedule of changes to be made in the company for preventing occupational exposure to benzene and adapting to the Technological Reference Value;
- relevant contractual requirements to adapt the activities of contracted companies to the contracting company’s Program; and
- specific protection procedures for work involving minors under eighteen years, pregnant or breastfeeding women.
6. The Technological Reference Value (TRV) refers to the concentration of benzene in the air considered technically feasible, defined in a tripartite negotiation process. The TRV should be considered as a reference for continuous improvement programs of workplace conditions. Compliance with the TRV is mandatory and does not exclude health risks.
6.1. The principle of continuous improvement acknowledges that benzene is a proven carcinogen for which there is no safe exposure limit. Continuous efforts should be made to find the most appropriate technology to avoid worker exposure to benzene.
6.2. For the purposes of this Annex, a category of TRV is defined: TRV-TWA, which corresponds to the time-weighted average concentration of benzene in the air for an eight-hour work shift, obtained in the workers’ breathing zone, individually or for Homogeneous Exposure Groups (GHE), as defined in Annex IX (Assessment of Benzene Concentrations in Work Environments) of Instruction Normative – IN No. 2, dated 2021. (Amended by MTP Ordinance No. 806, of April 13, 2022)
6.2.1. The Limit Concentration values (LC) to be used in Annex IX (Assessment of Benzene Concentrations in Work Environments) of Instruction Normative – IN No. 2, dated 2021, for calculating the Judgment Index “I,” are the TRV-TWA values established below. (Amended by MTP Ordinance No. 806, dated April 13, 2022)
7. The established TRV-TWA values are:
- 1.0 (one) ppm for companies covered by this Annex (except for steel companies, anhydrous alcohol producers, and those that must replace benzene from 01.01.97).
- 2.5 (two and a half) ppm for steel companies.
7.1. The conversion factor for benzene concentration from ppm to mg/m³ is: 1 ppm = 3.19 mg/m³ under conditions of 25º C, 101 kPa, or 1 atm.
7.2. The deadlines for companies to comply with the TRV-TWA will be agreed upon between worker, employer, and government representatives.
7.3. Situations considered high-risk or atypical must be mandatorily evaluated according to professional judgment criteria specified in the assessment report.
7.4. Environmental assessments must follow the provisions in Annex IX (Assessment of Benzene Concentrations in Work Environments) of Instruction Normative – IN No. 2, dated 2021. (Amended by MTP Ordinance No. 806, of April 13, 2022)
9. Health Surveillance is understood as the set of actions and procedures aimed at the earliest possible detection of harmful effects induced by benzene on workers’ health.
8.1. These actions and procedures must follow the provisions in Annex X (Health Surveillance of Workers in Preventing Occupational Exposure to Benzene) of Instruction Normative – IN No. 2, dated 2021. (Amended by MTP Ordinance No. 806, of April 13, 2022)
9. Companies covered by this Annex, and those contracted by them, where applicable, must ensure the establishment of specific worker representation for benzene to monitor the development, implementation, and progress of the Occupational Exposure Prevention Program for Benzene.
9.1. The organization, establishment, responsibilities, and training of this representation will be agreed upon between worker and employer representatives.
10. Workers in companies covered by this Annex, and those contracted by them, with benzene exposure risk, must participate in training on precautions and preventive measures.
11. Areas, containers, equipment, and points with benzene exposure risk must be marked with the phrases – “Danger: Presence of Benzene – Health Risk,” and access to these areas must be restricted to authorized personnel.
12. Information on benzene health risks must be continuously available, with an updated “Benzene Safety Data Sheet” provided to workers.
13. Benzene suppliers, as well as manufacturers and suppliers of benzene-containing products, are responsible for appropriate labeling, highlighting the product’s carcinogenic action, in a manner easily understandable by workers and users, including mandatory usage instructions, health risks, related diseases, and appropriate control measures, in contrasting colors, legible and visible.
14. In the event of emergency situations, abnormal situations that may result in an unexpected benzene release exceeding the TRV-TWA, the following procedures must be adopted:
a) After the emergency, ensure that the involved area has returned to its previous condition through systematic monitoring. The type of monitoring should be evaluated depending on the situation;
b) If there are doubts about the area conditions, conduct a standardized set of environmental assessments in the locations and homogeneous exposure groups involved;
c) Emergency records should follow the outline below:
- description of the emergency – describe the conditions under which the emergency occurred, indicating:
- activity;
- location, date, and time of the emergency;
- causes of the emergency;
- planning for returning to normal;
- measures to avoid recurrence;
- actions taken regarding exposed workers.
15. The provisions established in the previous items, after the deadline for their application, are subject to immediate citation, without prior notification, falling under category “I-4” as specified in NR-28.
MISCELLANEOUS OPERATIONS
Maximum unhealthy condition
- Operations with cadmium and its compounds: extraction, treatment, alloy preparation, manufacturing and use of its compounds, cadmium welding, use in ultraviolet light photography, glass manufacturing, as an antioxidant in metal coatings, and other products.
- Operations with the following substances:
- Bis(chloromethyl) ether;
- Benzopyrene;
- Beryllium;
- Dimethylcarbamoyl chloride;
- 3,3′-dichlorobenzidine;
- Vinyl cyclohexane dioxide;
- Epichlorohydrin;
- Hexamethylphosphoramide;
- 4,4′-methylenebis(2-chloroaniline);
- 4,4′-methylenedianiline;
- Nitrosamines;
- Propane sultone;
- Beta-propiolactone;
- Thallium.
- Production of ammonium trioxide – roasting of nickel sulfide.
Medium unhealthy condition
- Spray application of aluminum paints.
- Manufacturing of aluminum powders (crushing and grinding).
- Manufacturing of emetine and ipecac powder.
- Manufacturing and handling of oxalic, nitric, sulfuric, hydrobromic, phosphoric, and picric acids.
- Spray metalizing.
- Operations with sugarcane bagasse in phases of high dust exposure.
- Operations with timbo.
- Electroplating operations: gold plating, silver plating, nickel plating, chromium plating, zinc plating, copper plating, aluminum anodizing.
- Telegraphy and radio telegraphy, handling Morse-type devices, and signal reception in headphones.
- Work with Thomas slag: removal, crushing, grinding, and packaging.
- Work involving dry scraping and burning of paints.
- Work in salt extraction (saltworks).
- Manufacturing and handling of caustic alkalis.
Minimum unhealthy condition
- Manufacturing and transportation of lime and cement in phases of high dust exposure.
- Loading, unloading, or removal of sulfur or sulfites in general, in bags or bulk.