The Workplace

The workplace environment can be divided into the following sections  

It comes down to these values. An employer s right to know who s/he is hiring stands in conflict with an individual s right to privacy. I wrote this paper because I value the right to privacy more. 

I also believe people should have the right to consume any substance they want (without limits), given that they are knowledgeable about that chemical. Employers, like anyone, have been affected by the Reefer Madness Movement. The government pushed massive amounts of misinformation throughout communities and schools, and employers are not informed enough yet to dictate what drugs will harm the workplace. 

The only effective way to select workers is to evaluate their performance on the job. 

Phil Smith summarizes an article in March 1990 Scientific American [SATC]  

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The limits for prolonged exposure are expressed as the threshold limit values. These are essentially acceptable concentrations in the workplace. There are three categories of threshold limit values ... 

While professional awareness has increased, there are still hindrances to universal access in the workplace. Today almost all companies have access to the Internet, but company policy may limit usage during business hours or on company equipment Also, many countries still face prohibitive online access charges, although free market competition will take care of that in time, and Canada s no-charge policy may well be the wave of the future ... 

In 1775 the British surgeon Sir Percivall Pott suggested that scrotal cancer in chim ney sweeps was caused by soot This was the first pro posal that cancer could be caused by chemicals present in the workplace... 

Continuous monitoring for the presence of fluorine gas in the workplace may be accompHshed using detectors available from Mine Safety Apphances (Pittsburgh, Pa.) or FIT (Exton, Pa.). 

A partial Hst of the hazards or conditions arising from the workplace (see also Plant safety) and with which industrial hygienists are concerned includes... 

E. E. Jones, Toxic Organic Vapors in the Workplace, Global, Denver, Colo., 1994. 

The conditions of these target appHcations are fulfihed by WORM-disks. Apart from data compression on a smah volume, WORM filing systems offer the advantage of fast access from the workplace at ah times, including a simplified document search and retrieval strategy. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulates the exposure to chemicals ia the workplace. From the poiat of view of the inorganic pigments iadustry, the limits estabUshed for lead and cadmium exposure are particularly important. A comprehensive lead standard adopted by OSHA ia 1978 has been successful ia reduciag the potential for lead contamination ia the workplace. 

Entry into Confined Spaces. In 1993 OSHA adopted a confined space entry rule (93) requiring employers to evaluate the workplace to (/) determine if it contains any confined spaces, (2) mark or identify such confined spaces, and (2) develop and implement a permit program for entry into such spaces. The program must include a permit system which specifies the steps to be taken to identify, evaluate, control, and monitor possible electrical, mechanical, and chemical ha2ards select and use equipment institute stand-by attendance and estabflsh communications. The reference standard (93) should be studied for details. 

The role of chemical technology in printing is also changing. Whereas a need exists for hard copy, whether for visual, legal, or historical reasons, the hard copy must meet new standards of performance, including visual and environmental. Many traditional printing processes have become unacceptable in the workplace, and are being replaced by processes that are water-based, dry, desktop, or in some other ways more convenient. 

The principal function of OSHA is the protection of people, eg, employees, visitors, and temporary help, in the workplace. Regional offices are in the same areas as those of the EPA (see Table 1). The principal law covered by OSHA is the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). 

Protective measures iavolve prompt detection and adequate ventilation. Continuous monitoring is recommended to signal an evacuation alarm if the workplace concentration exceeds 70 mg/m (50 ppm) and a warning alert if it is present at 15—70 mg/m (10—50 ppm). 

Talc is considered a nuisance dust and subject to regulation in the workplace by both the Occupational Health and Safety Administration and the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Eight-hour exposure limits for talc dust are two milligrams of talc per cubic meter. 

European Commission for these and other substances by nominated dates. The toxicological data and estimation of exposure will form the basis of risk analysis and deterrnination of the appropriate restriction and control of substances in the workplace (58). Restriction of the sales of dangerous substances and preparations to the general pubHc is enforced under Directive 76/769 EC (59). 

The handling of arsenic in the workplace should be in compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations the maximum permissible exposure limit for arsenic in the workplace is 10 p-g/m of air as deterrnined as an average over an 8-h period (33). 

In accordance with demonstrated differences between the various asbestos fiber types, the workplace regulation in many countries specifies different exposure limits for chrysotile and the amphiboles (45). Moreover, to alleviate estabHshed, or apprehended, risk from substitute fibers, the regulation often specifies maximum exposure limits for synthetic fibers (46) values of exposure limits adopted in leading industrial countries are coUected in Table 8. 

Table 8. Exposure Limits for Asbestos Fibers, Synthetic Mineral Fibers (SMF) and Nuisance Dust in the Workplace ...

Summary of Main features ofMshestosj Health Regulations at the Workplace, AlA Information Memorandum (AIM) No. 3/80, Asbestos International Association, Epson, Surrey, UK, Nov. 1990. 

Rapid, simple, quaUtative methods suitable for determining the presence of benzene in the workplace or surroundings have been utilized since the 1930s. Many early tests offered methods for detection of aromatics but were not specific for benzene. A straightforward test allowing selective detection of benzene involves nitration of a sample to y -dinitrobenzene and reaction of the resultant ether extract with an ethanoHc solution of sodium hydroxide and methyl ethyl ketone (2-butanone), followed by the addition of acetic acid to eliminate interferences from toluene and xylenes. Benzene imparts a persistent red color to the solution (87). The method is claimed to be sensitive to concentrations as low as 0.27 ppm benzene from 10 mL air samples. 

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