Industrial/occupational exposure

Occupational and environmental exposure to chemicals can take place both indoors and outdoors. Occupational exposure is caused by the chemicals that are used and produced indoors in industrial plants, whereas nonoccupa-tional (and occupational nonindustrial) indoor exposure is mainly caused by products. Toluene in printing plants and styrene in the reinforced plastic industry are typical examples of the two types of industrial occupational exposures. Products containing styrene polymers may release the styrene monomer into indoor air in the nonindustrial environment for a long time. Formaldehyde is another typical indoor pollutant. The source of formaldehyde is the resins used in the production process. During accidents, occupational and environmental exposures may occur simultaneously. Years ago, dioxin was formed as a byproduct of production of phenoxy acid herbicides. An explosion in a factory in... 

Glass fibres (see Man-made mineral fibres) Glass manufacturing industry, occupational exposures in Glasswool (see Man-made mineral fibres) 58, 347 (1993)... 

Glass manufacturing industry, occupational exposures in Glasswool (see Man-made mineral fibres)... 

N. C. Hawkins, S. K. Norwood, and J. C. R.oAi, A Strategy for Occupational Exposure Assessment, American Industrial Hygiene Association, Fairfax, Va., 1991. 

American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH), Guide to Occupational Exposure Values, 1992, pp. 1489—1493. 

The toxicity of a substance is its capacity to cause injury once inside the body. The main modes of entry into the body by chemicals in industry are inhalation, ingestion and absorption through the skin. Gases, vapours, mists, dusts, fumes and aerosols can be inhaled and they can also affect the skin, eyes and mucous membranes. Ingestion is rare although possible as a result of poor personal hygiene, subconscious hand-to-mouth contact, or accidents. The skin can be affected directly by contact with the chemicals, even when intact, but its permeability to certain substances also offers a route into the body. Chemicals accorded a skin notation in the list of Occupational Exposure Limits (see Table 5.12) are listed in Table 5.2. Exposure may also arise via skin lesions. 

Dry cleaning (occupational exposures in) (Vol. 63 1995) Printing processes (occupational exposures in) (Vol. 65 1996) Textile manufacturing industry (work in) (Vol. 48 1990)... 

Thus, there is a clear need to establish the relationship between the health effects of hazardous chemical agents in the environment and the level of occupational exposure to the body by means of an occupational exposure limit, in which a reference figure for the concentration of a chemical agent is set. In fact, occupational exposure limits (OELs) have been a feature of the industrialized world since the early 1950s. They were introduced, primarily in the United States, at a time when measures to prevent occupational diseases were considered more beneficial than compensating victims, and in this sense OELs have played an important part in the control of occupational illnesses. 

R. Niemela, E. Priha, and P. Heikkila, Trends of formaldehyde exposure m industries. Occup. Hyg. Risk Manag. Occup. Haz. 4, 31-46, 1997. 

The National Occupational Exposure Survey (NOES), conducted by NIOSH from 1980 to 1983, estimated that 3,205 workers in the agricultural services industry were exposed to endosulfan in the workplace in 1980 (NIOSH 1984). The NOES database does not contain information on the frequency, concentration, or duration of exposure of workers to any chemicals the survey provides only estimates of the number of workers potentially exposed to chemicals in the workplace. 

Shipman AJ, Whim BP. 1980. Occupational exposure to trichloroethylene in metal cleaning processes and to tetrachloroethylene in the drycleaning industry in the U K. Ann Occup Hyg 23 197-204. 

The complex pattern of human exposure to environmental N-nitroso compounds is summarized. Recent results are given in three areas, where a significant reduction of human exposure has been achieved after elucidation of its causes 1, N-Nitrosodimethylamine in beer. 2, Volatile N-nitrosamines in baby nipples and pacifiers and 3. occupational exposure in the rubber industry. 

The easiest means for assessing occupational exposure hazards associated with materials used in a process is through the use of Permissible or Occupational Exposure Limits (OEL or PEL) which go by a variety of names for example, TLV (U.S. - American Conference of Government Industrial Hygienists), MAK (Germany), or individual company established values. Occupational exposure limits are usually set based on a combination of the inherent toxicological hazard of a chemical and a series of safety factors such as intraspecies variability in test results, nature and severity of the effect, adequacy and quality of... 

During refueling, the respective concentrations were 1.64, 1.33, 0.78, 0.19, and 6.34 mBq/m3 (44.3, 35.9, 21,5.1, and 171 fCi/m3). The derived air concentration recommended by the ICRP for occupational exposure is 80.0 mBq/m3 (2,200 fCi/m3). In 1997, the French radiation protection office conducted monitoring (24-hour urine analysis/whole body activity measurements) of workers in the non-nuclear energy field (i.e., nuclear medicine, research laboratories, and non-nuclear industries) to ascertain the occupational intake of radionuclides (De Vathaire et al. 1998). 241Am was not detected in samples from any of the 37 workers who worked with the isotope. 

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