Industrial Hygiene

Please see our website at 

industrialhygiene247.com

 We  offer a wide range of industrial hygiene services provided by one of  our experienced industrial hygiene associates or, if needed, by a board  Certified Industrial Hygienist, CIH (held by principal et al.). 
 

Our initial consultation is free and we are bound to follow the American  Board of Industrial Hygiene Canons of Ethical Conduct (see ethics  page).
 

The following Q/A may be helpful at this point:
 

Q.  What do IH's (industrial hygienists), do and what is important to know about it?
 

A.  People are familiar with the term "safety & health" but the  "health" part is often vague.  OSHA is not vague about it!  They have  industrial hygienists on their staff and usually 3 of the top 10 (often  the top 5!), citations involve hazard communication which involves  industrial hygiene exposure. 
 

Q. Do I really need an industrial hygienist, or IH evaluation of my (or my client's workplace)?
 

A. Often employers are unaware of, or just neglect, their need for IH  specialty services.  Often this is because nobody has been trained in  EH&S and/or federal occupational health requirements.  A small  number of claims, and the uncovered cause and/or lack of competence to  identify claims in the development stage related to occupational  exposure, often mask the need for an IH.  Unrealizing the potential  complexity and liability involved with IH-based claims can be  deleterious.  Industrial hygiene competence may get lumped in with a  "common sense" safety approach and leave the employer with greater  challenges in the end.  Industrial hygiene competence takes many years  and can not be practiced by a layman.
 

Q.  I have heard IH exposures are normally below the legal limits and  the burden of proof is on the employee to show there is a hazard anyway  right?
 

A.  Wrong!  Risk communication requires data or calculations about the  level of risk and/or the absence of risk which often can only be  performed by a qualified CIH (certified industrial hygienist).  Thinking  contaminant levels do not exist, or are likely to be below legal limits  is different than actually knowing it.  Once documentation is  completed, risk communication with employees moves forward with trust,  clarity and confidence.  Otherwise, you risk making a situation worse  unnecessarily.  Why not be sure early and prevent worse problems later.   
 

Q.  Why should the insurance agent, carrier or employer really be seriously concerned about IH exposures from their clients?
 

A. Unlike a point-in-time accident caused by a clearly evident safety  hazard (such as a slip and fall from poor housekeeping objects),  occupational health claims are normally caused by low undetected levels  (invisible and odorless!), of exposures occurring over a long period of  time (e.g., vapors, fumes, dust, etc.).  Therefore, identifying the  contaminant of exposure, or the cause of occupational disease, or both,  may not be detected (by employer or employee), until after a policy has  expired and while under another carrier's policy (but not past the  statute of limitations).  When this occurs, employer liability can  easily become complex requiring costly resources to understand, manage  and defend.  Holding an insured policy while employees are exposed to  federally regulated contaminants above documented healthy levels can  lead to serious liability.
 

This becomes even more significant when considering most worker's  compensation policies have a $500,000 limit for occupation disease.  So  even a single severe occupational claim (which disease claims tend to  be) can be very costly.  OSHA fines for egregious neglect of specific  occupational health standards (for which there are many), can add even  more to the employer's burden.  Finally, when these events do occur,  otherwise positive relationships between agents and carriers can sour  more easily - all because a simple IH evaluation was not adequately  made.
 

Occupational disease claims may arise much later after an employee has  quit and/or retired.  Without competently compiled exposure records, the  risk level may be too high for comfort.
 

Q. But what about most small businesses, or even safety supervisors,  agents and some carriers, who simply can not afford, or have the  expertise to focus on IH exposures?  
 

A.  GE integrates IH into its routine safety services (loss control  surveys, etc.) to minimize these normally infrequent (but potentially  severe) occupational health risks. In addition, because OSHA's most  frequent citation tends to be IH related (i.e., Hazard Communication  Standard), this service has additional value.
 

When you have a trusted and ethical resource like GE, you don't have to  worry about being sold a service you don't need.  We evaluate,  responsibly estimate, and respond to actual risk, not the perceived real  risk.  That's our reputation!
 

Call us for more information how we might integrate IH into your  existing loss control survey platform, or provide IH services to you or  your clients. 
 

Whether training, program writing, compliance audits, contaminant  monitoring, risk characterization or other general consulting we  guarantee the highest quality and care! 
 

Q. How can you help identify IH in my business so I can know when to call an IH?
 

A.  Some common industrial hygiene terms, issues, programs, laws or  concepts which a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) specialist should  be retained to consult about, and which could be related to serious  liability, (as of this writing), include:   
 

Industrial Hygiene Program Management
Industrial Hygiene Audits
See CFR 29 1910. 1000 Table Z for a long list of airborne exposure limits employers are responsible for
ISO 9000, 14000; ANSI Z-10
Hazard Communication (* see notes below)
Employee exposure/ medical records
Confined Spaces
Formaldehyde exposure
Styrene exposure
Sick Building Sydrome
Chinese Drywall
Mold
Asbestos
Silica
Carbon Monoxide
Second Hand Smoke
Radon
Fugitive Emissions
Metal Exposures (Cadmium, Lead, Nickel, Chromium, Cobalt, Manganese,  Mercury, Aluminum, Antimony, Thallium, Zinc, Arsenic, Beryllium,  Hexavalent Chromium, et al)
Solvents (Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Halogenated Hydrocarbons)
Benzene
Chloroform
Vinyl Chloride
Carcinogens & Suspected Carcinogens (*see notes below; Formalin,  Cadmium, Asbestos, Arsenic, Chlormethyl Ether, Chromates, Coal Tar  Distillates, Radiation, Nickel, )
Toxicology (Acute & Chronic Exposure & Effecits; Additive,  Synergistic, Antagonistic & Potentiating Effects; Carcinogens;  Threshold Values, NOEL, LOEL, Exposure Routes of Entry, Soluability,  Defense Mechanisms, Systemic Poisons, Irritants and Asphyxiants,
Pesticides (insecticides, fungicides & rodenticides
Antineoplastic Agents
Ethylene Oxide (ETO)
Compressed Gases
Noise Sampling, Control and Training
Hearing Conservation Program
Noise Inducted Hearing Loss
Federal Exposure Level Requirements (CFR 1910.1000 Table Z PELs / ACGIH TLVs, et al.)
General Duty Clause (1910.5a)
Welding Fumes
Personal Protective Equipment (Eye, Face, Lungs, Skin, Ear, Mouth, Head,  Foot, Hand, etc. ; Level A, B, C, D; Eye Wash & Showers)
Combustible Respirable and Nuisance Dusts
Respirator Selection, Fit Testing, Protection Factors, Cartridge Selection, Training, etc.
Heat Stress (Heat Strain, Stroke, Exhaustion, & Cramps)
Heat Measurements (Wet & Dry Bulb Globe, Radiant, Convection & Conduction; Metabolic and Work Loads)
General Radiation (X-ray, Gamma, Alpha, Beta)
Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs) & Extremely Low Frequency (ELFs) Exposure (near & far field)
Ultraviolet Radiation (UVA, UVB, UVC)
Infrared, Microwaves, Radio Frequency & Lasers
Ozone
Hierarchy of Controls: Elimination, Engineering Controls, Administrative Controls, Personal Protective Equipment
Indoor Air Quality (Comfort, Dilution, General & Local)
Ventilation Design, Testing & Performance (Fan, Duct, Hood, & Motor Selection)
Positive & Negative Pressure Rooms
Odor Thresholds & Chemical Warning Properties
Clean Rooms
Biological Safety Cabinets (Class I, II & III)
Laboratories (Bio-Safety Levels 1-4; OSHA Required Chemical Hygiene Plans)
Ergonomics (Office & Other Workstation Design, Repetitive Motion,  Cumulative Trauma, Carpal Tunnel, Productivity & Efficiency Issues,  Biomechanics, Vibration, Absenteeism, Worker Rotation, Administrative  Controls, et al)
Cold Stress (Raynaud's Syndrome, Hypothermia)
Illumination
Biological Hazards (Acute & Chronic Infections: Bacteria, Viruses,  Rickettsia, Chlamydia, Fungi; Parasitism: Protozoa, Helminths,  Arthropods; Toxic & Allergic Substances: Plants & Animals;  Nosocomial Hospital Infections; Viral Diseases; Viral Infections: HBV,  HAV, HCV, et al ; Fungal Disease:
Aspergillosis, Histoplasmosis, et al.)
Biological
Medical Surveillance (preplacement and periodic, action level triggers,  baselines, federal requirements, biological monitoring, respiratory  exams, pulmonary function tests, occupational skin disease, occupational  infections, biological hazards and fungal disease)
Community Exposures
Community Right-to-Know (SARA Title III) Section 311, 312, 313, 322, Tier I, II, III, Toxic Release Inventory (TRI)
Local Emergency Response Planning Commitee (LEPC)
CERCLA
TSCA
National Ambient Air Quality Standards
Hazardous Waste / HazWoper
Occupational Epidemiology
Control Banding
Biological Exposure Indices (BEIs)
Emergency Response Planning Guidelines (ERPGs)
Workplace Environmental Exposure Limits (WEELs)
NIOSH Recommended Exposure Limits (RELs)
Contaminant Sampling & Controls (vapor, fume, gas, mist, smoke, dust, fibers)
Hazardous Trade & Task Evaluation (Blasting, Batteries, Degreasing,  Dry Cleaning, Electroplating, Foundries, Paper/Pulp, Petroleum,  Plastics, Pottery, Glass, Tanneries, Textiles, Welding, etc.)
Industrial Bronchitis
Extrinsic Allergic Alveolitis (Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis)
(e.g., Farmer's Lung, Mushroom Worker's Lung,, Humidifier Fever, et al.)
Pneumoconiosis
Metal and Polymer Fume Fever
Blood Borne Pathogens
Viral and Bacterial Infections (anthrax, newcastle disease, TB, legionnaire's disease, et al.)
Sampling Strategies (Analytical Instrumentation & Methods,  Calibration, Min. Volume Ranges, Standard Deviations and Coefficiency of  Variation Applications, Media, Personal or Area Sample Decisions,  UCL/LCL Calculations, et al)
Upper and Lower Explosive Limit Threshold Issues
Contaminant Generation Rates
Sensitizers (TDI, MDI, et al)
Chemical Irritants
Chemical Asphxiants
Reproductive Toxicology
Specific OSHA standards of general interest to industrial hygienists:
1903 - Inspections, Citations & Proposed Penalties
1904 - Recording and Reporting Occupational INjuries and Illnesses
1910.20 - Access to Employee Exposure and Medical Records
1910.94 - Ventilation
1910.95 - Occupational Noise Exposure
1910.96 - Ionizing Radiation
1910.97 - Non-Ionizing Radiation
1910.101-110 - Hazardous Materials
1910.120 - Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HazWoper)
1910.134 - Respiratory Protection
1910.1000 - Air Contaminants
1910.1001 - Standards for Specific Air Contaminants
1910.1200 - Hazard Communication
1910. 1450 - Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories
 

Notes:
1. 13 Carcinogens listed by OSHA include:
4-Nitrobiphenyl, Chemical Abstracts Service Register Number (CAS No.) 92933;  alpha-Naphthylamine, CAS No. 134327; methyl chloromethyl ether, CAS No. 107302;  3,3'-Dichlorobenzidine (and its salts) CAS No. 91941; bis-Chloromethyl ether, CAS No. 542881;  beta-Naphthylamine, CAS No. 91598; Benzidine, CAS No. 92875; 4-Aminodiphenyl, CAS No. 92671;  Ethyleneimine, CAS No. 151564; beta-Propiolactone, CAS No. 57578;  2-Acetylaminofluorene, CAS No. 53963; 4-Dimethylaminoazo-benzene, CAS  No. 60117; and N-Nitrosodimethylamine, CAS No. 62759.
 
2. There are over 100 substances either confirmed or suspected human  carcinogens, or confirmed animal carcinogens with unknown relevance to  humans (based on ACGIH's TLVs and BEIs publication as of this writing)
See updated ACGIH's TLV / BEI publication for details (including Documentation)
 

3. Twenty-nine substances which OSHA has specific comprehensive standards for include:
    - See CFR 29 1910. 1001-1052