Medical Surveillance Programs

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. 

Medical surveillance programs are designed to accomplish the following goals ... 

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 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. 

The deficiencies revealed during the audit indicated that some of the medical surveillance programs were not site specific. The SSHAP should he written to ensure that workers are tested for not only general physical health, hut also for those substances that they might he exposed to during work activities. Besides the lack of specificity, it appears that execution of... 

Medical surveillance program The evaluation of an employee s health status, performed on a regular periodic basis by a health professional, to detect problems associated wnth exposure to health haz-... 

The American Textile Industry Involvement with cotton dust as a workplace hazard began over ten years ago with Industry studies to determine whether the Industry had such an Illness problem. Then followed major dust removal and ventlllatlon efforts. The Industry developed a work practices and medical surveillance program which was presented to OSHA. 

Related in part to these work practices developments, the mills also instituted medical surveillance programs designed to identify those few individuals with a cotton dust sensitivity so that they might be considered for assignment outside the yarn processing areas( 3). 

Ongoing medical surveillance What are the costs and administrative requirements to provide annual physicals and maintain medical surveillance programs ... 

The goal of employee health monitoring is to ensure that measures to protect the employee from workplace hazards are effective by carrying out medical surveillance programs for the early detection of adverse health effects. The types of chemical or physical hazards encountered determine the nature of the medical surveillance or health monitoring programs. 

Advances in biotechnological diagnostic techniques are likely to provide more sensitive methods of detecting very low levels of exposure to some chemicals. As these new techniques become commercially available, the PMCD should consider adding them to the medical surveillance program. 

Recommendation 6a. The Army should provide summary facility and cross-facility statistics annually on the outcomes of key medical surveillance programs, such as programs for exposures to chemical agents and heat stress. 

U.S. Army. 2000c. Medical Surveillance Program. Revision 6, Change 1, March 9, 2000. Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. U.S. Army Program Manager for Chemical Demilitarization. 

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