Introduction to INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE

1. Introductionto INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE OTI 501 Trainer Course in Occupational Safety and Health Hazards for General Industry

2. Industrial Hygiene • “that science or art devoted to the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of those environmental factors or stresses, arising in or from the workplace, that may cause sickness, impaired health and well-being, or significant discomfort and inefficiency among workers”

3. History • Circa 400 BC • lead toxicity in mining (Hippocrates) • 500 years later • Pliny the Elder, a Roman scholar • zinc and sulfur hazards • protective mask

4. History • 2nd Century AD • Galen • copper miners exposure to acid mists • 1473 • Ulrich Ellenbog • publication n occupational illness in gold miners

5. History • 1556 • Agricola, German scholar • diseases of coal miners • preventive measures • publication - De Re Metallica • 1700’s • Bernardino Ramazzini • father of industrial hygiene

6. OSH Act of 1970 • The purpose of the OSH Act is to “assure so far as possible every working, man and woman in the nation safe and healthful working conditions and to preserve our human resources.”

7. Environmental Factors or Stresses • Chemical hazards • gases, vapors, dusts, fumes, mists, and smoke • Physical hazards • non-ionizing and ionizing radiation, noise, vibration, extreme temperatures and pressures

8. Environmental Factors or Stresses • Ergonomic hazards • workstation design, repetitive motion, improper lifting/reaching, poor visual conditions • Biological hazards • insects, mold, yeast, fungi, bacteria, and viruses

9. Routes of Entry • Inhalation • airborne contaminants • Absorption • penetration through the skin • Ingestion • eating • drinking

10. OSHA Hierarchy of Control • Engineering controls • Work practice controls • Administrative controls • Personal protective equipment (PPE)

11. Types of Exposure • Acute • Short term period between exposure and onset of symptoms • Chronic • Long time period between exposure to an agent and the onset of symptoms

12. Types of Air Contaminants • Particulates • dusts, fumes, mists, and fibers • non respirable particles • > 10 m in diameter • respirable particles • < 10 m in diameter

13. Types of Air Contaminants • Fumes • volatilized solids condenses in cool air • < 1.0 m in diameter • hot vapor + air (reaction with) = oxide • Mists • suspended solid droplets • generated by a condensation of liquids from a vapors to a liquid state

14. Types of Air Contaminants • Fibers • solid, slender, elongated structures • length several times the diameter • Gases • formless fluids that expand to occupy a space • arc-welding, internal combustion engine exhaust air • Vapors • liquid changed to vapor • organic solvents

15. Units of Concentration • ppm • parts per million • mg/m3 • milligrams per cubic meter • mppcf • millions or a particle per cubic foot • f/cc • fibers per cubic centimeter

16. Exposure LimitsAir Contaminants • OSHA • Occupational Safety and Health Administration • NIOSH • National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health • ACGIH • American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists

17. Exposure LimitsAir Contaminants • OSHA • PEL • permissible exposure limit • NIOSH • REL • recommended exposure level • ACGIH • TLV • threshold limit value

18. Exposure LimitsAir Contaminants • OSHA • PEL, STEL, Ceiling • NIOSH • TWA, STEL, Ceiling • ACGIH • TWA, STEL, Ceiling

19. Exposure LimitsAir Contaminants • TWA • takes into account variable exposure through a full shift, 8 hour work day • STEL • limit of exposure during a short period, 15 minutes • CEILING • absolute maximum level of exposure not to be exceeded

20. Exposure LimitsAir Contaminants • Legally enforceable • OSHA PEL • OSHA AL (action level)

21. Air Contaminants • 29 CFR 1910.1000 • Table Z-1 • Substances with Limits Preceded by “C” - Ceiling Values • Table Z-2 • employee’s exposure to Table Z-1 contaminants shall not exceed exposure limits listed in Z-2 (TWA and ceiling concentrations) • Table Z-3 • Mineral Dusts

22. Hearing Conservation • 2.9 million workers experience 8-hours noise exposures > 90 bBA • 29 CFR 1910.95 • PEL • 90 dBA • 8 hours • engineering and administrative controls

23. Hearing Conservation Program • Mandatory • at an 8-hour TWA > 85 dBA • Exposure monitoring • Audiometric testing • Hearing protection • Employee training • Recordkeeping

24. Hearing Conservation Program • An effective program depends upon • employers • supervisors • employees • others

25. Bloodborne Pathogens • Bloodborne pathogens include • Hepatitis B • HIV • Others • 29 CFR 1910.1030 • describes actions employers must take to reduce risk of exposure in the workplace

26. Bloodborne Pathogens • 29 CFR 1910.1030 • Scope and application • all employees with occupational exposure to blood and other potentially infectious materials (OPIM) • Exposure control plan (ECP)

27. Bloodborne Pathogens • 29 CFR 1910.1030 - ECP • engineering and work practice controls • personal protective equipment • training • medical surveillance • Hepatitis B vaccinations • signs and labels • other provisions

28. Industrial Hygiene • ANTICIPATION • RECOGNITION • EVALUTION • CONTROL