Occupational Exposure Hazards and Risk

Toxicity data are used to assess occupational exposure hazards associated with materials used in a process and are communicated through the use of Permissible or Occupational Exposure Limits (PEL or OEL). OELs are usually set based on a combination of the inherent toxicological hazard of a chemical and a series of safety factors such as intra-species variability in test results, the nature and severity of the effect, and the adequacy and quality of the information. OELs are set to protect workers under the general assumption that they are being exposed to any 

This approach enables the early identification of materials that appear on regulatory lists and/or whose use on a larger scale will be accompanied by the need for significant engineering or abatement controls to protect staff, property, and the environment, or in some cases may even be prohibited, all of which adds cost to a development program in terms of both time and money. 

This example shows the pros and cons of grouping and averaging scores and weighted hazard rankings. Averaging overall scores makes the process seem fairly green, but this may be masking particular hazards associated with specific 

7 Solvent Reactant Process Chemical Composite score (Geometric Mean) 7 

I High hazard materiai - seiection of iower hazard materiai recommended if substitution is not feasibie perform heaith risk assessment and adopt exposure control strategy to reduce health risks 

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ZIO does not give separate treatment to occupational health exposures. Hazards and risks pertaining to injuries and illnesses are treated as parts of a whole. Also, although no provision requiring access to certified professional resources exists in ZIO, applying many of the provisions in ZIO wiU require the counsel of highly qualified professionals. 

Within this guidance the term occupational exposure limit(s) refers to limits in the air of the workplace or biological limit values. In addition, for the purposes of this document exposure control means the full range of specific protection and prevention measures to be taken during use in order to minimize worker and environmental exposure. Engineering control measures that are needed to minimize exposure to, and risks associated with the hazards of, the substance or mixture should be included in this section. 

This policy establishes a process for evaluating occupational safety and health and environmental exposures when operational changes are made so as to control the internal risks during the change process and to avoid bringing new hazards and risks into the workplace. 

Although the prevention through design standard applies to occupational hazards and risks, the previously given definitions of acceptable risk and ALARP apply to all hazards-related exposures (fire protection, transportation safety, environmental safety, etc.). 

Kuiper J.I., Bloemhoff A., Leidelmeijer K., Damcn M., 2008. Exposure of workers to occupational hazards and risk related working conditions, 4th International Conference Working on Safety, WOS 2008, Iraklion, Crete. 

EL = emissions level ERA = Environmental Protection Agency HSDB = Hazardous Substances Data Bank lARC = International Agency for Research on Cancer IRIS = Integrated Risk Information System NIOSH = National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health OEL = occupational exposure limit OSHA = Occupational Safety and Health Administration PEL = permissible exposure limit RAC = reference air concentration REL = recommended exposure limit RCRA = Resource Conservation and Recovery Act RfD = reference dose TLV = threshold limit value TWA = time-weighted average WHO = World Health Organization... 

The approach to developing metrics for process safety is analogous to those that might be used to assess Occupational Exposure risk. One can cite as well several indices that have been developed as metrics for estimating and ranking the safety of a given process or chemical reaction, such as the DOW fire and explosion index,the Stoessel index ° for hazard assessment and classification of chemical reactions, the Inherent Safety Index, the Prototype Index for Inherent Safety, amongst others. ... 

The dangerous properties of acute toxicity, irritation, corrosivity, sensitisation, repeated-dose toxicity and CMR are evaluated in terms of their potential toxic effects to workers, consumers and man exposed indirectly via the environment, based on the use for each stage in the lifecycle of the substance from which exposure can occur. Risk assessment is also required if there are reasonable grounds for concern for potential hazardous properties, e.g., from positive in vitro mutagenicity tests or structural alerts. The risk assessment involves comparing the estimated occupational or consumer exposure levels with the exposure levels at which no adverse effects are anticipated. This may be a quantitative risk assessment, based on the ratio between the two values, or a qualitative evaluation. The principles of human health risk assessment are covered in detail by Illing (a.30) and more briefly in Chapter 7 of (73). 

Hydrocarbon based solvents have a valuable role in many industrial processes. However, a well-known hazard of many hydrocarbon solvents is their flammability, but they can also have damaging effects on the environment and harm human health. Emphasis is placed on the latter. Some of the ill health effects are described together with how solvents users can get information on these the UK approach to control, including the role of occupational exposure limits a comparison of UK limits with those in other EU Member States and finally a new approach taken by the UK Health Safety Executive to help companies control health risks. 6 refs. 

There are no occupational exposure limits for many hazardous substances which may require control of inhalation exposures. The necessary data and other resources required for setting such limits is restricted and unlikely to match the potential demand. A hazard categorisation scheme was, therefore, developed for application within the chemical industry. The scheme used readily-available information on toxicological endpoints to place hazardous substances into a limited range of hazard categories, expressed as Occupational Exposure Bands. These Bands could be used as a basis for risk assessment and the selection of appropriate control regimes. 10 refs. EUROPEAN COMMUNITY EUROPEAN UNION UK WESTERN EUROPE... 

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