Transcript WORKPLACE EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT AND FIELD …

OVERVIEW OF INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE
UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON
DOWNTOWN CAMPUS
FALL 2014
DEFINITION
Industrial Hygiene (IH) is that science devoted to
the anticipation, recognition, measurement,
evaluation, and control of adverse stresses or
agents which could cause sickness and impaired
health among workers and the community. The
basic goal of IH is to promote a safe and healthful
work environment.
IH FOCUS
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Hazardous agents in workplace
Health effects associated with
excessive exposures
OELs for each agent
Workforce organization and staffing
Significant sources of exposure; tasks
and work procedures involved
Control measures
IH ELEMENTS
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Anticipation
Recognition
Evaluation
Control
RECOGNITION
Requires knowledge and understanding of
workplace environmental stresses and effects on
health of the worker; hazard potential of materials
is determined by toxicity and also conditions of
use.
RECOGNITION
Detailed information to be obtained regarding
types of hazardous materials used, type of job
operation, worker exposures and patterns, levels
of air contaminants, exposure duration, control
measures, etc. Consult product information
including MSDSs.
TOXICITY VS. HAZARD
• Toxicity is the capacity of a material to
produce injury or harm when the chemical
has reached a sufficient concentration at a
certain site in the human body.
• Hazard is the probability that this
concentration win the body will occur;
affected by many factor/elements.
DEGREE OF HAZARD
• Nature of material
• Intensity of exposure
• Duration of exposure
EVALUATION
Involves monitoring and analytical methods required
to detect the extent of exposure; decision-making
process resulting in an opinion on the degree of
health hazard that exists; extent of potential health
hazards based on comparisons of environmental
measurements
with
current
governmental
regulations and recommended guidelines.
EVALUATION
• Air sampling can be involved.
• Breathing zone exposures are preferred.
• Air volume sampled must be sufficient to permit
a representative determination of the
contaminant to properly compare the results
with the PEL and/or TLV.
CONTROL
Involves the reduction of environmental stresses
to levels that the worker can tolerate without
impairment of health or productivity; various
general control methods employed.
CONTROL METHODS
• Engineering – remove the hazard; should be
considered first.
• Administrative – reduce exposures through
scheduling; also included is employee training; not
generally favored.
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – use should
be secondary to engineering.
ENGINEERING CONTROLS
• Substitution
• Change in process
• Isolation
• Enclosure
• Wet methods
• Ventilation
• General
• Dilution
ADMINISTRATIVE CONTROLS
Examples:
• Arranging work schedules and the related duration
of exposure to limit employee exposures to health
hazards.
• Transferring employees at PELs to an environment
where no additional exposure will be experienced.
• Housekeeping
ADMINISTRATIVE CONTROLS
Administrative controls must be designed only by
knowledgeable health and safety professionals,
and used cautiously. Not as satisfactory as
engineering controls and have been criticized as a
means of spreading exposures instead of reducing
or eliminating the exposure.
PPE
PPE may be used to protect the worker when it is
not feasible to render the working environment
completely safe. This is considered a secondary
control method to engineering and administrative
controls and should be used as a last resort.
EFFECTIVE IH PROGRAM
Applies knowledge to the anticipation and
recognition of health hazards arising out of work
operations and processes, evaluation and
measurement of the magnitude of the hazard
based on past experience and study, and control
of the hazards.
POTENTIAL HAZARDS
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Chemical
Physical
Biological
Ergonomic
CHEMICAL HAZARDS
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Hydrocarbons
Solvents
Oil Mist
Dust (Total and Respirable)
Crystalline Silica
Formaldehyde
Carbon Monoxide
Airborne Fibers
CHEMICAL HAZARDS
• Various forms – vapors, gases, dusts,
fumes, mists, or by skin contact
• Degree of risk depends on magnitude and
duration of exposure
• Hazard identification through use of MSDSs
PHYSICAL HAZARDS
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Noise
Radiation
- Ionizing
- Non-ionizing
Lighting
Heat/Cold Stress
Pressure Extremes
BIOLOGICAL HAZARDS
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Bioaerosols
Surface/Bulk Contamination
Tuberculosis
Bloodborne Pathogens
Indoor Air Quality Issues
ERGONOMIC HAZARDS
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Musculoskeletal Disorders
Cumulative Trauma Disorders
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Material Handling/Lifting
Workplace Design Considerations
OTHER HAZARDS
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Confined Spaces
Waste Management
Lab Health and Safety
Emergency Planning
FEDERAL REGULATIONS
Occupational Safety and Health Act
Enacted on December 29, 1970
Effective on April 28, 1971
Purpose: “assure so far as possible every working
man and woman in the nation safe and healthful
working conditions and to preserve out human
resources.”
OSHA ACT DUTIES
• Employers must furnish a place of employment
which is free from recognized hazards that are
causing or are likely to cause death or serious
harm to employees.
• Each employee shall comply with occupational
safety and health standards.
OSHA/NIOSH
OSHA is housed within the Department of Labor
(DOL). The OSHAct also established the National
Institute of Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH) which is located within the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). CDC is part
of the U.S. Public Health Service.
OSHA
OSHA empowered to promulgate safety and
health standard with technical advice from NIOSH.
OSHA can enter workplaces for investigation of
alleged violations of standards and to perform
routine inspections. Formal complaints can be
made by employees or their representatives.
OSHACT
• Right to issue citations and penalties
• Provide for employee walk-around surveys or
interviews during inspection
• Require employers to maintain accurate records
or exposures to potential hazardous materials
• Inform employees of monitoring results
NIOSH
• Principal federal agency engaged in occupational
health and safety research.
• Responsible for identifying hazards and making
recommendations for regulations such as RELs.
Also issues criteria documents and health hazard
alerts on various hazards and tests and certifies
respiratory protective equipment.
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
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AIHA
ACGIH
AAIH
ABIH
Development of common code of ethics.
CANONS OF CONDUCT
• Practice their profession following recognized
scientific principles with the realization that the
lives, health, and well-being of people may
depend upon their professional judgment and
that they are obligated to protect the health and
well-being of people.
CANONS OF CONDUCT
• Counsel affected parties factually regarding
potential health risks and precautions necessary
to avoid adverse health effects.
• Keep confidential personal and business
information obtained during the exercise of IH
activities, except when required by law or
overriding health and safety considerations.
CANONS OF CONDUCT
• Avoid circumstances where a compromise of
professional judgment or conflict of interest may
arise.
• Perform services only in the areas of their
competence.
• Act responsibly to uphold the integrity of the
profession.
OHS GOAL
Prevent occupational injury and illness by
anticipating, recognizing, evaluation, and controlling
occupational health and safety hazards.
VITAL COMPONENTS
• Effective health and safety program is the
commitment of Senior Management and Line
Management.
• Includes visible involvement; assignment of
authority as well as the responsibility to carry
out the health and safety program.
IH PROGRAM ELEMENTS
• Written Program/Policy Statement
• Hazard Recognition Procedures
• Hazard Evaluation and Exposure
Assessment
• Hazard Control
• Employee Training
• Employee Involvement
• Program Evaluation and Audit
• Recordkeeping
OST TEAM COMPONENTS
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Industrial Hygienist
Safety Professional
Occupational Health Nurse
Occupational Medicine
Physician
• Employees
• Senior Line Management
INDUSTRIAL HYGIENIST
Industrial Hygienists are occupational health
professionals concerned primarily with the control
of environmental stresses or occupational health
hazards that arise as a result of or during the
course of work.
SAFETY PROFESSIONAL
• Specialized knowledge in the physical and
social sciences
• Understand factors contributing accident
occurrence along with motivation, behavior
and communication to control safety hazards
• Potential combination of IH and Safety
positions due to relatively common
responsibilities
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH NURSE
• Key to delivery of comprehensive health care services
to workers
• Focused on promotion, protection, and restoration of
workers’ health within the context of the work
environment
• Critical link between employee’s health status, work
process, and the determination of employee ability to
do job.
• Case management approach to return injured
employees to work on a timely basis
OCCUPATIONAL PHYSICIAN
• Goal is to prevent occupational illness and when
illness occurs, to restore employee health within
the context of a health and safe workplace
• Regulations require medical surveillance
programs with specific criteria
• Determination of work-relatedness of disease
OTHER COMPONENTS
• Employee
• Safety and Health Committee
ROUTES OF ENTRY AND EXPOSURE PATHWAYS
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Inhalation
Ingestion
Skin or Eye Absorption
Injection
MONITORING
Measurement of exposure concentrations during
a given time period. Monitoring data are used to
help resolve, refine, or confirm the exposure
assessment.
Consideration of area vs. personal monitoring to
determine exposures.
OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE LIMITS
• OSHA PELs
• ACGIH TLVs
- TWA
- STEL
- Ceiling
- Skin
- Mixtures
MONITORING PERIODS
• Full-shift
8-hour Time Weighted Average (TWA)
• Short-Term Exposure Limits (STELs)
15-30 minute work tasks
• Ceiling Limits
30 minutes not to be exceeded
HEALTH HAZARD CONSIDERATIONS
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Route of Entry
Concentration/Duration
Probability for Absorption
Rate of Generation of Airborne
Contaminants
• Control Measures