Transcript WORKPLACE EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT AND FIELD …

INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE –
METHODS OF CONTROL
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 ELEMENTS
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Anticipation
Recognition
Evaluation
Control
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.
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.
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
• 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.”
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