Occupational hygiene survey

Sugimoto K, Seki Y, Goto S, et al. 1981. An occupational hygiene survey in a Chinese viscose rayon factory. Proceedings of the Tenth Asian Conference on Occupational Health, Singapore. Yol. 2, 455-459. 

A thorough occupational hygiene survey should be conducted and any potential risks eliminated or controlled. Noise, dust, vibration, ventilation, lighting, and similar hygiene risks all impact on employees. The workplace should be free from these hazards. 

Airborne solvent concentrations usually vary much with time. Although repeated random personal sampling is theoretically the optimal method for inhalation exposure assessment, it is very time-consuming and does not necessarily reveal the reasons for exposure. Often, occupational hygiene surveys are conducted only to make certain that the concentrations of air impurities are in compliance with flic OELs. Also, the European standard (EN 689/95) for occupational exposure assessment is primarily issued for this purpose. It would, however, be practical if the measurements conducted would also provide useful information for planning of remedial measures if flic measurements reveal those to be necessary. For this purpose, it is important to recognize flic difference between manual tasks and process industries. 

Data concerning occupational exposure levels of heptachlor are very limited. An industrial hygiene survey conducted in 1977 at the Velsicol Chemical Corporation, Memphis, Tennessee, a plant that manufactured heptachlor, detected heptachlor in workplace air at levels ranging from 0.025 to 0.202 mg/m (1.64-13.2 ppb) (Netzel 1981). Data from the National Occupational Exposure Survey (NOES) conducted by NIOSH from 1981 to 1983 were not available for heptachlor or heptachlor epoxide. 

Occupational exposure to nickel may occur by dermal contact or by inhalation of aerosols, dusts, fumes, or mists containing nickel. Dermal contact may also occur with nickel solutions, such as those used in electroplating, nickel salts, and nickel metal or alloys. Nickel-containing dust may be ingested where poor work practices exist or poor personal hygiene is practiced. A National Occupational Exposure Survey (NOES) conducted by NIOSH from 1981 to 1983 estimates that 727,240 workers are potentially exposed to some form of nickel metal, alloys, salts, or inorganic nickel compounds in the United States (NIOSH 1990). The form of nickel these workers were probably exposed to and the level of exposure for different industries and operations were reviewed by Warner (1984) and lARC (1990). 

The irritancy properties of isophorone have also been observed in humans exposed occupationally to isophorone. In an industrial hygiene survey, Kominsky (1981) reported that the eye and nose irritation complained of by a screen printer could have been caused by 4-minute exposure to 25.7 ppm isophorone, which was measured in the personal breathing zone while the worker was washing a screen. Lee and Frederick (1981) found that eye, respiratory, and skin irritation were among the complaints of 27/35 workers in a printing plant where isophorone and other solvents (xylene, methylene chloride, and toluene) were used. On the day of measurement, two of the screen printers were found to be exposed to 8-hour TWA concentrations of isophorone of 0.7 and 14 ppm, but it was not clear whether these two individuals were among the workers complaining of irritation. The odor threshold for isophorone in air has been reported to be 0.2 ppm (v/v) (Amoore and Hautala 1983). 

Bloom, T.F. Zey, J.N. (1990) Industrywide Studies Report of an Industrial Hygiene Survey at Monsanto Chemical Company, Addyston, Ohio (Report No. 84.12) Cincinnati, OH, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health... 

OSHA requires employers of workers who are occupationally exposed to 2-butoxyethanol to institute engineering controls and work practices to reduce employee exposure and maintain it at or below pennissible exposure limits (PEL). The PEL for 2-butoxyethanol is 50 ppm (OSHA 1974). Workers exposed to 2-butoxyethanol should wear personal protective equipment such as gloves, coveralls, and goggles to protect exposure to tire skin (OSHA 1974). NIOSH recommends that industrial hygiene surveys be completed at work places where airborne exposure to 2-butoxyethanol or 2-butoxyethanol acetate may occur (NIOSH 1990). If exposure levels are at or above one-half the recommended exposure limit (REL = 5 ppm), NIOSH recommends that a program of personal monitoring be instituted so that tlie exposure of each worker can be estimated. If exposure levels are at or greater than the REL, or if there is a potential for skin contact, NIOSH recommends that 2-butoxyacetic acid be measured in the urine of the workers. 

Zaebst DD. 1984. In-depth industrial hygiene survey report of Henredon Furniture Industries, Inc., Morganton, North Carolina. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations and Field Studies Industry Wide Studies Branch. Cincinnati, OH. 

NIOSH. 1986b. Industrial hygiene survey report, Parkway Products, Inc., Cincinnati, OH. Contract No. IWS-144.13. Cincinnati, OH National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Department of Health and Human Services. Document No. PB87-222360... 

The above questions require careful consideration in order to make the monitoring survey worthwhile. These questions have been dealt with in detail in a number of textbooks on occupational hygiene (Sadhra and Gardiner 1998). 

Vinyl Fluoride and Vinyl Bromide Industrial Hygiene Survey Report, Report for National Institute For Occupational Safety and Health, work performed by Tractor Jitco,... 

The report on a workplace occupational hygiene (hazardous substances) survey should include ... 

In the second survey, personal breathing zone samples are takenusing standard occupational hygiene procedures (e.g., NIOSH and OSHA methods). Data from the second survey are used to characterize the operation and to evaluate the need for airborne emission controls. 

This study reveals that 23.1% of companies had occupational hygiene and safety services and 17.9% had health services, all by external enterprises. Nevertheless regarding the health surveillance, about 91.6% of workers had a medical checkup in the last year. This could be an indicator of their concern with their own health. In a survey developed in Norway about half of the farmers have access to occupational health services (Svendsen et al., 2014). 

D. Hughes, A Literature Survey and Design Study of Fumecupboards and Fume-Dispersal Systems, Occupational Hygiene Monograph No. 4, Science Reviews Ltd (1987). (See note 3 for address.) 11. J. D. Cook and D. Hughes, Fumecupboards Revisited, HHSC Handbook No. 2, H. and H. Scientific Consultants Ltd, PO Box MT27, Leeds LSI 7 8QP, UK (1986). 

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