A UAW retiree who worked for 30 years at GM--first in Pontiac and then in Flint, Mich.--recently learned from his doctor that his medical complaints may be linked to workplace exposure to dangerous chemicals.

So he sent a letter to the UAW Health and Safety Dept. asking how he can find out the names of the chemicals he was exposed to while he worked.

The UAW Health and Safety Department often hears similar questions.

By combining your rights under OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard and Access to Medical and Exposure Records Standard with your knowledge and experience, you might track down these work exposures.

The UAW campaigned for these standards, testified in favor of strong language before OSHA, and then bargained for implementation. So it’s important that current and former employees use them fully. First, your doctor has to diagnose your medical condition to determine if there is any possible chemical explanation.

Second, make a list of all the jobs and departments you were assigned to, emphasizing those you held longest. The following information could be crucial:

• The approximate dates you held the jobs.
• The product or process.
• Any manufacturers’ names or product names for the materials you used.
• Whether you saw dust, mist, or smoke in the air.
• Whether your skin became wet or dirty with the job’s chemicals.
• Whether you smelled or experienced a taste of anything related to the process.
• Any symptoms you may have experienced while doing the job.
• Whether you or fellow workers reported problems to each other or to plant medical.

Next, try to remember your hazard communication training.

Under the HazCom standard (29 CFR 1910.1200), your employer was required to inform you of the labeling system for chemicals in your work area, how to obtain a material safety data sheet (MSDS) listing the chemical ingredients of the materials, health effects and preventive measures, and to train you about the health effects, ways of recognizing exposure, and the health protections.

The training was to be given on the effective date of the standard, on first assignment to a work area with exposures to chemicals, and when a new chemical hazard is introduced or a new hazard of an existing chemical becomes known.

Your employer is also required to obtain a copy of the MSDS and retain it.

If you don’t remember any of this, you may not have received the training and your employer may have violated the HazCom standard.

Now, you are ready to exercise your rights under the access to medical and exposure records standard (29 CFR 1910.1020).

To get this information, send a letter to the plant manager or labor relations director at your facility or former facility.

Your employer must provide you a copy of each air sampling or other environmental test which related to your chemical exposure, material safety data sheets, and any analysis or health study based on medical and exposure records.

These must also be provided to your designated representative or union representative.

In addition, you are entitled to the results of any medical examination or test to determine health effects of occupational exposures.

This information must be provided within 15 working days of your request, and the first copy is free. Failure to provide a timely copy is an OSHA violation subject to citation and penalty.

You don’t need an attorney to file such a request, and you don’t need to have filed a compensation claim.

Figuring out the relationship between your diagnosis, if any, and your chemical exposures will require more work. But the real work can’t begin without the basic information.