Hazards surveillance

Biomonitoring for human health hazard surveillance typically involves collection of hair, expired air, bodily fluids (blood, urine, saliva, breast milk, semen), feces, epithelial scrapings, exfoliated cells, or, less frequently, tissue biopsies from people known or suspected of being exposed to potential chemical, physical, or biological hazards. These samples are analyzed for toxic chemicals, their metabolites, or biomarker responses. The most commonly used biomarkers in humans are those relating to DNA and chromosomal damage, because these effects contribute to cancer risk. Besides biomarkers of chemical exposure and effects, there are also human biomarkers of tumor formation and susceptibility to toxic... 

C. The certified poison center or system shall tabulate its experience for regional program evaluation and hazard surveillance on at least an annual basis. This criterion will be considered to be met if the center completes an annual report summarizing its own experience. 

The above approach comes from an industrial situation where a considerable amount of information was being generated, but not in fact for the purpose of hazard surveillance. The exploitation of similar sets of data along the lines suggested, even if less extensive should at least reveal factories, or processes in factories, that could be said to have a high index of suspicion. Unless some systematic approach along these lines is adopted many hazardous situations will persist to the detriment of the workers, particularly in the small factory. 

Hazard surveillance (gray) Equipment that scores between and including 6 and 11 points on the criteria s evaluation system is visually inspected on an annual basis during the hospital hazard surveillance rounds. 

When changes in work sites, processes, materials, and equipment occur, hazard can emerge. During any change process, hazard surveillance and self-inspections must become frequent. 

Major hazard aspects of the transport of dangerous substances 1991 Recommendations for training users of non-agricultural pesticides Health surveillance under COSHH. Guidance for employers Anaesthetic agents. Controlling exposure under COSHH Risk assessments of notified new substances... 

The hazardous materials technician shedl meet all of the objectives indicated for the Rrst Responder. In addition, that person shall meet the training and medical surveillance program requirements in accordance with Federal OSHA and EPA regulations. 

Outside support services (for example, medical surveillance laboratory analyses training consultants emergency response to incidents, injuries, fires, and hazardous materials incident responders or experts as required by site activities). 

A medical surveillance program is designed to protect the workers health. Given the limitations of industrial hygiene monitoring data and the many hazards involved in hazardous waste activities, medical surveillance data may provide the only indication that worker exposure to toxic substances has occurred. 

Medical monitoring and surveillance programs enable occupational health professionals to identify adverse health effects caused by exposure to hazardous substances and conditions and to discuss plans with site workers, industrial hygienists, safety professionals, and line management to prevent exposures and protect workers. These goals can be accomplished through two objectives ... 

Medical surveillance programs range from support contracts with local hospitals or physicians to full-scale on-site occupational health organizations that include physicians, nurses, and technicians who are employed by prime contractors. The option selected depends on the size of the project, the nature of the hazards involved, the capabilities of local facilities, and the resources available. 

Existing respiratory protection or hearing conservation programs can be referenced and integrated, as appropriate, into the site-specific medical surveillance program after worksite hazards have been considered. At some sites, workers are provided a fitness-for-duty card indicating their current medical status and the medical surveillance programs in which they participate [1]. 

HAZWOPER, related DOE, and the Army Corps of Engineers rules and requirements stipulate that employees involved in any of the following activities who have a reasonable possibility of exposure to hazardous substances or health hazards at specified levels (see 1910.120 [f [2]) should be included in a medical surveillance program ... 

L. A medical surveillance program must be in place to assess and monitor the health and fitness of employees. A medical surveillance program helps assess and monitor the health and fitness of employees working with hazardous substances. The contractors at Sites A, E, H, and K and one subcontractor at Site I appear to have established medical surveillance programs that with minor exceptions were consistent with HAZWOPER requirements. 

Healtli issues, most importantly, conttuninants in tlie workplace, have become OSHA s primary concern. Healtli haztu-ds are comple.v and difficult to define. Because of this, OSHA has been slow to implement healtli standards. To be complete, each standard requires medical surveillance, record keeping, monitoring, and physical reviews. On the other side of the ledger, safety hazards are aspects of the work environment tliat are e. pected to cause deatli or serious physical harm immediately or before tlie imminence of such danger can be eliminated. 

If the proplnt is double-base, it has been observed that even the most stable propints bleach methyl violet paper in much shorter periods than one year. Investigations conducted by P.F. Macy at Picatinny Arsenal (Ref 4) showed that diphenylamine-stabilized doublebase proplnts in service storage at about 30°, may be considered of satisfactory stability if they do not cause complete bleaching of 0.1 N methyl violet paper in one month or less. Such proplnts always show satisfactory stability when subjected to the 65.5° Surveillance Test. It was observed at the same time, that double-base proplnts which had deteriorated, but were not yet hazardous, took from 11 to 24 days to bleach methyl violet paper at 30°... 

Table 13.16 sets out the major waste disposal methods, and potential hazards from toxic waste deposition are indicated in Table 13.17. The range of precautions required at land tips depends upon the risk, e.g. the nature and degree of contamination and the work to be undertaken. It will, however, encompass personal protective equipment a high standard of personal hygiene enclosure, possibly pressurization, and regular cleaning of vehicle cabs vehicle washing facilities site security, and control of designated dirty areas. Air monitoring and medical surveillance may be required.

Emissions to groundwater - this is a separate section where all hazardous materials on List I or II (Table 3.4) and which may enter the groundwater need to be identified. Surveillance and control measures should be specified. An improvement programme to limit their use may be required. 

This paper focuses on issues which are relevant to all hazardous waste site investigations, remedial actions, and ongoing surveillance of cleaned sites. Some questions and concerns of field engineers and scientists are ... 

The HAZWOPER was developed to protect the health and safety of workers engaged in operations at hazardous waste sites, hazardous waste treatment facilities, and emergency response locations. HAZWOPER covers issues such as training, medical surveillance, and maximum exposure limits. 

NIOSH. 1977j. National occupational hazard survey. Vol. Ill Survey analysis and supplemental tables. Cincinnati, OH U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies. DHEW (NIOSH) Publication No. 78-114, 346. 

Chemical sensors are widely used to monitor hazardous and combustible gases [65]. Applications include safety control in industrial applications, surveillance of boilers and other devices which are operated with natural gas as well as more sophisticated areas like cooking control and odor determination [66]. 

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