Plog and Quinlan (2012) defines the Threshold Limit Values (TLV) as occupational exposure limits set by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists. The Time Weighted Average TLV is an airborne concentration of a gas or particle to which most workers can be exposed on a daily basis for a working lifetime without adverse effect. According to Plog and Quinlan (2012) they state that each and every time an industrial hygienist works with a chemical, the industrial hygienist needs to understand the hazards posed by the chemical in order to perform a proper risk assessment. The industrial hygienist possibly will discover that the material is flammable, or explosive, or may react with common substances such as water or air. Another
The National Safety Council reported in the 2011 injury facts that nine out of then deaths in the United States occurred off the job (NSC, 2011). A large amount of these deaths, nearly 13%, occurred due to poisoning at home. The safety and health principle of safe chemical handling can apply to personal conduct at home because at any given time there are multiple chemicals in households in the kitchen, laundry room and garage. Knowing how to safely handle, use and store these chemicals is a must for any person. Keeping them out of children’s reach and ensuring they are stored in well ventilated, climate controlled environments are every bit as necessary at home as they are in the workplace. Safe chemical handling applies to the workplace is various ways such as Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) and measuring exposure levels (Asfahl & Rieske, 2010).
It is important to assess health and safety risks in order to reduce or eliminate them. Risk assessments are vitally important in order to protect the health and safety of both you and the individual’s you support. You should always check that a risk assessment has been carried out before you undertake any task in order for you to follow the steps identified and reduce any risk posed. There are many regulations that require risks
Chemical hazards in the construction may develop from dust, fumes, fibers and liquids. They can be emitted by welding, spraying paint and using solvents. There also are hazards found in materials such as asbestos, lead, silica, cadmium and carbon monoxide. At the construction site, workers might be exposed to chemicals by breathing them in, ingestion and absorption through the eyes or skin. Chemicals at the construction work sites can cause headaches, eye irritation, dizziness, faintness, sleepiness and thus affect judgment and coordination.
OSHA adopts a standard to protect staff who are might be exposed to methylene chloride, a substance generally utilized as a part of industrial procedures, including paint stripping, pharmaceutical assembling and metal cleaning and degreasing. Exposure to methylene chloride favors the existence of tumor; affects the heart and causes skin and eye irritation.
Health and safety training includes the review of responsibilities, the knowledge of policy settings, videos, interaction with OSHA, and review of the surroundings in the workplace. Many factories and organizations in general have gone to great lengths to make employees aware of their surroundings and what they are dealing with every day. The government organization OSHA has implemented rules in posting of all dangerous or non dangerous chemicals and materials in the organization’s workplace. The MSDS books and charts have helped instruct employees in the dangers of certain chemicals and how to deal with the handling and cleanup of these dangerous chemicals and materials. The MSDS charts and books let the employees find certain numbers to call to assist them in case of an accident. The training of employees in the use and understanding of where to find these charts and books have been very advantageous. Other standards are also very useful. The ANSI/ASQC have
Workers exposed to the hazard of working with it should read the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) of the chemical so that they can take adequate precautions.
Process hazards such as toxic fumes, welding flash, lasers, dust, coolant, high-pressure water jet, unguarded abrasive wheel etc.
In order to ensure a safe productive work environment at _________________, this chemical and hazardous materials health and safety training program will introduce. This training program will cover the regulations and standards, accidents and their effects, and hazard analysis/prevention and safety management. In addition, this program will highlight accident causation theories to introduce or refresh the theories to all employees of _________________. By the conclusion of this program, all participants should have working knowledge of the hazard chemical possess, the laws and standards governing the use of chemicals, how to assess a safe work environment evolving chemical, and theories on why accidents occur.
The industrial hygienist reduces or prevents workplace hazards (Calmbacher, 2012). He does this by using environmental monitoring and analytical methods in ascertaining the extent of exposure to potential health hazards, including death. From there, he determines the engineering and work practice controls to contain or reduce these hazards. An industrial hygienist is a scientist or engineer who is sworn to protect the health and safety of workers and the community as well (AHIA, 2012). His responsibilities span the control and reduction of risks to those who respond to disasters and other emergency response teams (ANSI, 2006). He does this by identifying all possible emergencies and hazards; coordinating response plans; and forming technical links with medical specialists, response personnel, and the media as regards public concerns, such as safe air quality and drinking water. He is also responsible for establishing safe and effective work practices for response teams, determining the appropriate protective
If you manufacture, import or supply hazardous chemicals that are used, or are likely to be used, in workplaces you should refer to the Codes of Practice for:
Understanding the results of any evaluation is always important for all safety professional. The air sampling preformed in this research showed that workers who perform maintenance and folding paper functions within the facility were found to have the highest exposure. In addition, maintenance workers and cutting machine operators were found to have the concentration in their urine in the post work evaluation. With a time weighted average of 8 hours, worker in the maintenance department were measured at an average of 25.7. Workers in the folding paper role were exposed, on average, to an air concentration of 26.3. Meanwhile, maintenance workers had a urine concentration average of 3 and cutting machine operators had a concentration average of 1.1 followed closely by folding paper workers of a average concentration of 1. By reviewing these results from the evaluation, it helps safety professional to identify areas of high exposure so
Industrial hygiene will be assessed during the Hazard Risk Assessment for all new equipment and or
In this report I will be conducting a safety inspection on my study area at home. I have identified six hazards and filled out an inspection checklist aswell as a table explaining the hazard, the risk, any recommendations, timeframe, records, monitoring and measuring and training. I conducted this inspection on the seventh of June 2010.
Risk is defined by the EPA as “the chance of harmful effects to human health or to ecological systems resulting from exposure to an environmental stressor” (EPA, 2012). The scenario provides us with some basic information about the employee’s tasks. The first is to replenish various engine and mechanical fluids, in order to do this he has to work with substances such as petrochemicals, organic vapors, engine oil, solvents and other decomposition products than can pose a health risk overtime. This is why it is important to make sure that engineering and administrative controls are in place. As well it is necessary to make sure that the employee is educated about safe work practices and precautions and good hygienic practices.
As reported by the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Dr. John Howard, the challenge of industrial hygiene is always to ensure the safety of workers. However, changing technologies and times cause new challenges in workplace safety. Howard claims that “future industrial hygienists will be asked to solve problems of broader and deeper scope” (Rutkowski, p. 1). This is due to new manufacturing technologies like 3-D printing, sensor technologies and robotics. With advances in machinery and kinds of machines, Howard says this will cause a radical shift for industrial hygienists.