OVERVIEW OF INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE

UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON DOWNTOWN CAMPUS

FALL 2013

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

1. Hazardous agents in workplace2. Health effects associated with

excessive exposures3. OELs for each agent4. Workforce organization and staffing5. Significant sources of exposure; tasks

and work procedures involved6. Control measures

IH ELEMENTS

• 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

• Chemical• Physical• Biological• Ergonomic

CHEMICAL HAZARDS

• 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

• Noise• Radiation

- Ionizing- Non-ionizing

• Lighting• Heat/Cold Stress• Pressure Extremes

BIOLOGICAL HAZARDS

• Bioaerosols• Surface/Bulk Contamination• Tuberculosis• Bloodborne Pathogens• Indoor Air Quality Issues

ERGONOMIC HAZARDS

• Musculoskeletal Disorders• Cumulative Trauma Disorders• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome• Material Handling/Lifting• Workplace Design Considerations

OTHER HAZARDS

• Confined Spaces• Waste Management• Lab Health and Safety• Emergency Planning

FEDERAL REGULATIONS

Occupational Safety and Health ActEnacted on December 29, 1970Effective 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

• 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

• 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

• 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-shift8-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

• Route of Entry • Concentration/Duration• Probability for Absorption• Rate of Generation of Airborne

Contaminants• Control Measures