Transcript 2005 Mines Safety Roadshow - Department of Mines and Petroleum

Please read this before using presentation

This presentation is based on content presented at the
2007 Mines Safety Roadshow held in October 2007

It is made available for non-commercial use (eg toolbox
meetings) subject to the condition that the PowerPoint file
is not altered without permission from Resources Safety

Supporting resources, such as brochures and posters, are
available from Resources Safety

For resources, information or clarification, please contact:
[email protected]
or visit
www.docep.wa.gov.au/ResourcesSafety
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Toolbox presentation:
Biological monitoring - assessing
exposure to hazardous substances
October 2007
Hazardous substances
Known as toxics, poisons, harmful chemicals, deleterious compounds
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Substances used directly in work activities
Adhesives, paints, cleaning agents
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Substances generated by work activities
Welding fumes, reaction products
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Naturally occurring substances
Dusts, silica, heavy metals
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Biological agents
Micro-organisms, toxins, allergens
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What do you know about them?
Dusts cause lung disease
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Irritation
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Asthma
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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
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Silicosis, asbestosis, fibrosis
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Lung cancers
Inorganic and organic solvents
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Irritant effects
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Sensitisation
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Carcinogenic
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What else is in the dust?
Heavy metals
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Arsenic (inorganic only for occupational exposure)
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Mercury (elemental)
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Lead (carbonate more easily absorbed than sulphides)
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Vanadium (as vanadium pentoxide V2O5)
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Cadmium
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Nickel
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Manganese
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Thallium
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Selenium
Native mercury. Source: www.dyet.com/mineral
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Arsenic
Inhaling high levels
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Acute exposures cause sore throat or irritated lungs
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Chronic exposures are linked with increased rates of lung and skin cancers
Ingesting very high levels
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Death or
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Nausea and vomiting, anaemia (WBC & RBC), abnormal heart rhythm,
damage to blood vessels, sensation of "pins and needles" in hands and feet
Skin contact
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Characteristic staining, corns, wart-like lesions, redness, swelling
Organic arsenic from seafood
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Less harmful
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Mercury
Nervous system is very sensitive to all forms of mercury
Permanent damage to the brain, kidneys, and developing foetus
Effects on brain functioning may include:
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irritability, shyness, tremors, changes in vision or hearing, memory problems
Short-term, high-level exposure may cause:
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lung damage, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, increases in blood pressure or
heart rate, skin rashes, eye irritation
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Lead
High, short-term (acute) exposures
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Headaches, tiredness, irritability, constipation, nausea, anaemia, hearing
loss, reproductive effects, decreased libido, impotence
Long-term (chronic) elevated exposures
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Kidney, nerve and brain damage, anaemia, hearing loss, reproductive
effects, decreased libido, impotence
Lead accumulates in the body with long-term storage
Developing foetuses and children highly susceptible
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Lower standards for women who can reproduce
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Vanadium (V2O5)
Major effects are on lungs, throat and eyes
Acute/chronic reversible effects
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Occupational asthma, lung irritation, coughing, wheezing, chest pain, runny
nose, and sore throat, mucosal staining
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Assessing the risk — when?
Exploration and scoping studies
Mining new orebodies
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Arsenopyrite, pyrite and mercury contamination
Implementing new processes that change mineral properties
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Addition of chemicals that cause redox reactions
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Use of heat in refining
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Concentration
Mine closure and site rehabilitation
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Assessing the risk — what is present?
Analyse using GC/MS, ICP
Is the hazardous substance present and in what proportion?
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Check the ore and each stage of the process
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Does it form fumes, vapours, dusts?
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Does anyone work in areas where the hazardous substance may be
inhaled or get on skin, eyes or into clothes?
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Assessing the exposure risk — how?
Personal exposure monitoring – how much can be inhaled?
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In the air, during work activities
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Dust settles, so also check surfaces
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Size does matter!
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Smaller particles stay airborne for longer
Smaller particles bypass the body’s defence system and travel deeper in
lungs
Smaller particles dissolve more easily, releasing hazardous substances
into the bloodstream
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Personal exposure monitoring
Measure actual exposures of everyone potentially exposed
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Different tasks, conditions and operating levels
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Individuals work differently
Exposure is dependent on weather conditions
Larger through-put leads to larger exposures
Higher work rates lead to greater exposures
Usual methods
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Inhalable and respirable dust samples
Gravimetric (weighing)
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Speciation (specific analysis to identify individual elements)
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Exposure standards
What is an exposure standard?
What does it mean to you?
Is it a safe level?
Is it when harm occurs?
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Exposure standards cont.
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Personal exposure monitoring
Occupational exposure standards (TWA, 8hr)
The occupational exposure standard represents an airborne
concentration that normally does not cause adverse health impacts
in most of the population when they are exposed to it for 8 hours
per day, 40 hours per week for a lifetime
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Adjust for extended shift length (based on toxicology)
Adjust for exposures to other metals that act synergistically
Consider an individual’s susceptibility
Review pre-placement baseline biological levels
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Assessing the risk — how?
Analyse using GC/MS, ICP – is it present and in what
proportion?
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In the ore and each stage of the process
Personal exposure monitoring – can it be inhaled?
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In the air, during work activities
Biological monitoring – is it getting into the body?
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Is it having any effect on cells, hormones or enzymes?
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Biological monitoring form
Mines Safety and Inspection Regulations 1995
3.28. Biological monitoring
(1) The principal employer and each employer
at a mine must ensure that biological monitoring
is carried out in respect of employees who
engage in specified occupational exposure
work at the mine, where there is a valid
biological monitoring procedure and a
reasonable likelihood that accepted values
might be exceeded.
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Biological monitoring
Useful:

to assist in the treatment of the affected worker following
accidental exposures
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for routine screening to assess if a hazardous substance has
entered the body and if it is accumulating to levels that may
cause damage
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to assess dose-dependent health effects
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Biological monitoring
cont.
Measures what gets in
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Additional absorption through incidental ingestion and skin uptake
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Differences in individual uptake (age related)
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Differences in individual behaviour (effort related, hygiene)
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Use and effectiveness of PPE
In body fluid or tissue (blood, urine, breath)
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Storage? Transport? Excretion?
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Variable half-life in soft tissue compared with central nervous
system (CNS) or bone
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When should you test?
Pre-placement health checks to identify whether an individual
will be OK to work in high-risk work
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High blood pressure, kidney disease — avoid work with heavy metals
Measure baseline levels before starting
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Test new starters after first month and then for two months later while
learning standard operating procedures
Increase frequency of testing based on exposure monitoring
and last test result
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New starters to high exposure risk work
Useful information about hazards
Training — do you really understand?
Supervision
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Watch and advise
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Do not accuse or label
Counselling following elevated levels
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Communicate by listening, discussing and making sure
It is your responsibility to yourself and your workmates!
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Ensure you understand your test results
Mines Safety and Inspection Regulations 1995
Subdivision C — Information on health surveillance
3.31. Medical practitioner to provide results of health assessment
The medical practitioner or approved person under whose supervision a health
assessment (including any biological monitoring) is carried out must —
(a) notify the employee of the results of the assessment and, if necessary, explain
those results; and
(b) notify the employer of the outcome of the assessment and advise on the need
for remedial action (if any).
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Biological monitoring standards
Known as the biological exposure index (BEI)
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Published annually by American Conference of Government
Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH)
BEI represents:
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Level of hazardous substance expected in biological material
(urine, blood, hair) following exposure to airborne concentration
equivalent to time-weighted average exposure standard
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Most people will be protected at this level
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Levels approaching BEI
Biological monitoring results within 10% of BEI indicate:
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Controls are not working
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Review all controls immediately
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Changes to process?
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Ventilation?
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Team and individual work practices?
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PPE:
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Correct type?
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Used properly?
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Adequate storage and maintenance? (Cleaning and replacing canisters)
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Levels above BEI?
Remove individual from further exposure and confirm test result
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Total 24-hour urine sample (mercury)
Seek medical advice
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Specific medical tests to identify damage (neurological - mercury)
Doctor to approve return to high-risk work
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Return level to be decided by doctor based on
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health status
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previous exposures
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Assessing the risk — how?
Analyse – is it present and in what proportion?
Personal exposure monitoring – can it be breathed?
Biological monitoring – is it getting into the body?
Health surveillance – is it doing any damage to health?
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MINEHEALTH — health assessment
Questionnaire
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HAZARDS
Symptoms and smoking status
dust
Lung function
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Airways and lung capacity
silica
Chest x-ray
Hearing test
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Noise-induced hearing loss
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Additional health assessment
Specific medical tests to detect damage commonly caused
by heavy metals:
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Neurological and neuro-behavioural tests
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Kidney and liver function testing
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Handwriting test to detect tremor
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Health protection
Ambient
monitoring
External
exposure
Chemicals:
In air,
soil,
water
Biological monitoring
Internal
exposure
Hazardous
substances,
metabolites
Biochemical
effects
Protein in urine,
DNA changes
Health
surveillance
Biological
effects
Cell changes
Disease
Poisoning!
Enzymes,
Enzyme levels
In blood,
urine, breath
Estimating the risk
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Occupational disease notification form
Mines Safety and Inspection Regulations 1995
3.39. Notice of occupational disease
If an employer at a mine receives advice from an
employee or a person on behalf of an employee
that the employee has an occupational disease,
the employer must, as soon as is practicable,
notify the Mines occupational physician in a form
approved for that purpose by the State mining
engineer that the employee has the disease.
Penalty: See regulation 17.1.
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Where can you find out more?
COMING SOON
Biological monitoring and risk-based health surveillance —
guideline
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General information and recommendations about:
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Biological monitoring
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Risk-based health surveillance
Recommended action levels to trigger:
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Risk assessment
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Additional testing
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Medical removal and health assessment
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Resources Safety
Personal exposure monitoring – CONTAM
Biological monitoring – MINEHEALTH
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State Mining Engineer may request results
Health surveillance – MINEHEALTH
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Initial and periodic health assessments
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Additional health assessments (risk-based)
Notification of occupational disease – MINEHEALTH
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MineHealth posters available online
or as hardcopies (contact Resources Safety)
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