工业卫生评估
Industrial hygiene is more than just hand washing; it’s the science for evaluating and controlling workplace stressors or contaminants. While hand washing is just one control used to prevent exposure to workplace contaminants, there are many others used to prevent exposures to keep employees safe and healthy.
我们经常从想要向其过程引入新化学品的设施的呼叫。此时，雇主应评估员工曝光。当新化学品被引入工作场所时，安全数据表（SDSS）提供有关化学物质的危险，性质和处理的信息。在许多情况下，SDSS可能推荐呼吸系统保护，这可能会提示主管提供这种保护以防止任何不利的健康影响。虽然主管可能具有最佳意图，但在许多情况下，可能不是必要的，并且只有需要在工程控制不可行时使用呼吸系统保护。工业卫生评估可用于确定需要哪些具体保护，并且还可以在必要时以该订单确定工程控制，行政控制和个人防护设备（PPE）。
One type of assessment that should be performed is aqualitativeindustrial hygiene assessment. Qualitative industrial hygiene assessments are used to evaluate potential risk to employees from workplace stressors such as radiation, noise, vibration, heat, cold, chemical contaminants or biological pathogens. A qualitative assessment typically includes employee interviews, a document and process review and will look at chemicals used, the various processes performed, building layout or equipment, specifications on hazard controls and the equipment itself. Based on this type of assessment, the processes or areas of a facility can be ranked according to the risk or potential for employee exposure and the hazards associated with the various chemicals. Qualitative assessments do not require any exposure monitoring; however, they are used to identify workplace stressors and to determine if monitoring should be performed to verify potential personal exposures.
A定量industrial hygiene assessment uses exposure monitoring to determine if exposures are acceptable. This assessment may be performed for physical hazards such as noise, radiation, hot and cold temperatures. Exposure monitoring is also used to determine workplace exposures to air contaminants. The analytical data received during a quantitative assessment is compared to exposure limits to determine if the employee exposures are acceptable or not. Additionally, this data can be used to determine the need for engineering controls and PPE.
The personal or area exposure monitoring is performed using a variety of methods. For physical hazards such as temperature and humidity, a direct reading meter is typically used, and the data is either logged manually or data logged in the instrument. Chemical exposure monitoring is usually collected with pre- and post-calibrated pumps set to a specific flow rate and chemical-specific sampling media, or, if you are lucky, some analytes can be sampled using a badge. Personal noise assessments are performed with a noise dosimeter (dose meter) that logs the noise levels over a set amount of time (typically 8 hours). In addition to noise dosimetry, a sound pressure level (SPL) survey can conducted with a sound level meter to determine SPLs at various locations throughout the facility. The SPL information can be used to determine areas where hearing protection may be needed.
工程控制
These assessments are not always the final step, however. As mentioned, engineering controls are the best method to control exposures, followed by administrative controls, and finally PPE. If the hazard can be engineered to an acceptable level (or eliminated), the human component to safety can be removed. If you are left to rely on employees remembering to wear their PPE, and wear it correctly, there is still much room left for potential errors. Engineering controls will effectively put a barrier between the worker and the hazard, which could like look like ventilation systems for paint booths. Please read our blog,Minimizing Worker Exposures with Engineering Controls， 想要查询更多的信息。
这些评估和相关的工作场所潜在危害的监测和调查与您在工作场所的范围内保护员工的保护有关。然而，请记住，也需要一个最小 - 评估人类健康和工作场所以外的环境的保护。这是空中允许和遵守等问题对您的设施的运营，目标和员工健康成为重要性的问题。
Join us with several of our in-house experts, Sally Perry, Conan Read and Nick Foreman on May 27, 2021 for a live webinar, Navigating the Invisible World of Air: Exposure Assessments to Permitting. We will discuss the various types of environmental permitting and compliance and industrial hygiene related air projects that might apply to your facility and what type of information you will want to have at your disposal for each.