OSHA Requirements for Painting

• Some OSHA requirements regulate spray paint safety.spray image by Dragana Petrovic from Fotolia.com
  
  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is part of the U.S. Department of Labor. OSHA protects employees who perform work that could endanger their safety or health when not performed correctly. It regulates safety standards for painting to minimize the health risks of handling paints with toxic chemicals.
  
  

Respirators

• According to OSHA, employees who spray paint with unhealthy fumes should wear respirators, especially in confined spaces. Employees spraying toxic exterior paint or painting indoors with brushes should wear filter respirators. Employees who work with toxic paints on a regular basis at work should use respirators with air lines.
  
  

Fire Safety

• People are not allowed to have lighters, cigarettes, cigars or pipes near employees working with highly flammable paints, according to OSHA.
  
  

Explosive Solvents

• Some paints, especially those used in the shipyard industry, contain highly volatile chemicals with fumes that explode and catch on fire easily. If employees are using a paint with highly volatile fumes, the employer must provide enough ventilation to keep the amount of vapors in the air below 10 percent concentration of the lower explosive limit, according to OSHA. This type of ventilation usually means some sort of exhaust that sucks toxic and explosive fumes out of a confined space.
  
  

Protective Equipment

• When OSHA requirements for painting necessitate respirators or other protective gear, the employee may use gear that he or she owns. However, OSHA explains that the employer is responsible for checking protective gear and making sure it meets OSHA guidelines.
  
  

Lead Paints

• Many old paints, and even some new spray paints, contain lead, which poisons people. OSHA requires employers to limit employee's exposure to lead). Employees must not be exposed to more than fifty micrograms of lead per cubic meter of air in an eight-hour workday. They can wear respirators to limit lead exposure to make it legal for them to work near more lead.