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INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE

  1.  Introduction
    1.  Employees shall be protected from environmental hazards during the course of their employment. Hazardous exposures that cause short-term adverse effects to health must be controlled.
    2.  Environmental health hazards may include conditions that cause legally compensable illness, or any conditions in the work environment that might impair the health of employees to the extent that they lose efficiency or lose time from work.
  2. Noise
    1.  Employees shall be protected from noise levels that might impair hearing. Permissible noise levels shall not exceed those listed in 29 CFR 1956.52, Table D-2 located on the following pages. Impact or impulse exposures shall not exceed 140 dB peak sound pressure level. Impact or impulse exposures of 140 dB shall be limited to 85 dB per eight hours a day. For each decrease of 10 dB in the peak sound pressure level, the number of impact of impulses exposures can be increased by a factor of ten (10). When employees are exposed to sound levels exceeding acceptable levels, feasible administrative or engineering controls shall be utilized to reduce exposures. If these controls fail to reduce sound levels to acceptable levels, personal protective equipment shall be issued and used.
  3.  Airborne Contaminants
    1.  Employees shall not be exposed to inhalation, skin absorption, ingestion, or contact with any materials or substances at or above the concentration allowed in the table of Threshold Limit Values in 29 CFR 1926.55 located on the following pages.
    2. Suitable administrative or engineering controls shall be implemented to control airborne contaminants at acceptable levels. This can be done with proper ventilation systems installed in accordance with the recommended practices in Industrial Ventilation.
  4. Toxic Materials
    1.  If we excavate toxic substances on a job, ALL WORK MUST CEASE. Then report it promptly to your supervisor.
  5. Solvents
    1.  The use of solvents is a dual hazard because they are both toxic and flammable. Controls shall be established that reduce the level of exposure to any acceptable level of exposure while preventing a build-up of flammable mixtures. In selecting a solvent, care should be taken to choose the solvents that are least toxic, flammable and volatile.
  6.  Non-Ionizing Radiation
    1. Non-ionizing radiation concerns the control of exposures to laser, microwaves, and ultraviolet light.
    2.  The effects of non-ionizing radiation are usually burns, especially to the eyes, which are susceptible to this type of radiation.
    3.  Control measures included shielding from harmful rays or arcs and adequate light filters to respect the eyes.

Noise Exposure Charts