The state Department of Environmental Management, Department of Health, University of Rhode Island Center for Pollution Prevention, U.S. Department of Labor – Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the William M. Davies, Jr. Career and Technical High School have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to help Rhode Island’s auto body industry identify pollution prevention opportunities and address safety issues in their day-to-day operations. On-site training and off-site outreach activities will help Rhode Island’s auto body industry prevent environmental pollution and run safer, more cost-effective shops. The program provides training on the most advanced, cost-saving technology available to the auto body industry. Other services include compliance assistance, blood lead testing, sampling of environmental services for lead, and worker education.
DEM Director Jan H. Reitsma said that through partnerships such as this, the business community and the environment could benefit.
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“All the agencies and auto body shops involved in this collaborative effort share the same vision – cleaner, healthier work environments for auto body workers,” said Reitsma. “Our approach to meeting this challenge has the distinction of being both pro-environment and pro-business.”
DEM’s Pollution Prevention Program has been working with auto body shops throughout the state to identify environmental and health hazards. Data gathered from field audits and surveys, air monitoring, sanding residue testing, and blood testing have revealed health and safety concerns that need to be addressed by voluntary compliance and regulatory controls. For instance, a 1998 study of auto body workers’ clothes found sanding dust containing lead, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and nickel on repair technicians’ shirts.
The initiative creates a self-certification program for auto body owners, spray painters and technicians. DEM, with its partners will set standards on training requirements, hazardous waste, air quality, occupational exposure, and pollution prevention techniques that will allow the more than 350 licensed auto body shops in Rhode Island to determine their compliance status.
DEM has also developed a pollution prevention curriculum for auto body technicians and students that will be incorporated into course work at Davies.
