MODULE 12

Introduction to Industrial Hygiene

What is Industrial Hygiene?

Industrial hygiene is the science of
anticipating, recognizing, evaluating,
and controlling workplace conditions
that may cause workers' injury or illness.
Key factors:
Employee exposure to hazards
Control for hazards to protect workers
2

2006 TEEX

Steps to Protect Employees

Anticipate potential hazards

Recognize potential hazards
Evaluate exposure and risk
Control exposure and risk
(Not just for health hazards)

2006 TEEX

Hierarchy of Controls
1. Engineering controls: Remove hazard

Process change, Chemical substitution

Ventilation, Shielding, Guarding
Requires little or no employee action

2. Administrative controls: Manage

exposure

Worker rotation, Procedures, Training

Trench shoring, Controlled access areas
Requires employee action
2006 TEEX

Hierarchy of Controls
3. Personal protective equipment (PPE)

Respirators, Gloves, Boots, Clothing

Fall protection equipment, Hard hats
Requires individual employee action
Last line of defense, behind engineering
and administrative controls
Addressed in 29 CFR 1910 Subpart I

2006 TEEX

Chemical exposures in oil and

gas operations
What chemicals are used in oil and gas
operations?
How can employees be exposed?
What toxic effects do these chemicals
have?
How can employees be protected from
these effects?
6

2006 TEEX

29 CFR Subpart Z

Toxic and Hazardous Substances

29 CFR Subpart Z
1910.1000 Air Contaminants:
Includes Z tables: worker exposure limits
for specific listed substances
Employee exposure cannot exceed limits
Tables Z-1, Z-2, Z-3 each have their own
requirements

PEL = Permissible Exposure Limit

2006 TEEX

29 CFR Subpart Z
1910.1001-1096:
Specific regulations for individual
substances including:
asbestos (1910.1001);
lead (1910.1025);
bloodborne pathogens (1910.1030), and others

1910.1200 Hazard Communication

2006 TEEX

1910.1000(a) - Table Z-1

Derived from 1968 ACGIH TLVs
American Conference of Governmental
Industrial Hygienists
Threshold Limit Values
Levels thought to cause no significant
adverse health effects in the majority of the
community

CHECK

10

2006 TEEX

1910.1000(a) - Table Z-1

Lists common workplace chemicals
Two types of limits:
8-hour Time Weighted Average (TWA) or
Ceiling (C) limits

Employee exposure shall at no time

exceed a ceiling (C) exposure limit

11

2006 TEEX

1910.1000(a) - Table Z-1

8-hour Time Weighted Averages (TWA)
Employee exposure shall not exceed 8hour TWA in any 8-hour work shift of a 40hour work week
Calculations illustrated in (d)

Units:
Parts per million (ppm)
Milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m 3)
12

2006 TEEX

Table Z-1 Examples

Substance
Acetone
Carbon monoxide

8-hr TWA
1000 ppm
50 ppm

Chlorine
FOR EXAMPLE
Particulates
not
otherwise regulated
(PNOR)

Ceiling

1 ppm
15 mg/M3,
Total dust

Subtitles & Transitions

5 mg/M3,
Respirable
fraction

1910.1000(b) - Table Z-2

Adopted from ANSI standards
(American National Standards Institute)
Expanded standards developed for
some of the substances found in Z-2,
including:

14

Benzene 1910.1028
Cadmium 1910.1027
Formaldehyde 1910.1048
Methylene chloride 1910.1052
2006 TEEX

1910.1000(b) - Table Z-2

Table Z-2 expresses exposure limits as:
8-hour TWA
Ceiling
Peak

If a substance has both ceiling and peak

limits: peak = level never to be exceeded
Exposure levels over the ceiling but under the
peak must comply with margin notes in table
TWA must still not be exceeded
15

2006 TEEX

1910.1000(b) - Table Z-2

Examples
Substance

8-hr
TWA

Ceiling

Peak

Notes

Benzene

10 ppm

25 ppm

50 ppm

10 min

Hydrogen
sulfide

20 ppm

50 ppm

10 min

Styrene

100 ppm 200 ppm 600 ppm

5 min in
any 3 hrs

Toluene

200 ppm 300 ppm 500 ppm

10 min

16

2006 TEEX

1910.1000(c) - Table Z-3

8-hour TWA limits for forms of silica
Adopted from ACGIH TLVs

SiO2 : basic component of sand, granite

Quartz: 2nd most common mineral
Quartz sand (crystalline silica) used to
fracture rock formations in wells
Silica in barite, lignite, and bentonite
mud additives
17

2006 TEEX

Health Effects of Silica

Silicosis
Irreversible but
preventable
Most commonly
associated with silica
dust

Other possible effects:

Lung cancer
Some auto-immune
diseases
18

(Scanning electron micrograph by William Jones, Ph.D., compliments of OSHA)

2006 TEEX

1910.1000(c) - Table Z-3

Substance
Crystalline Silica
(Respirable fraction)

10mg/m3
% Sio2 + 2

Amorphous

30mg/m3
% Sio2

Nuisance dust

15 mg/m3

Respirable dust
19

PEL

5 mg/m3
2006 TEEX

1910.1000(d) Computation
formulae
Time Weighted Average

E = (C1T1 + C2T2 + )/total time

Total time used = 8 hours
Example in 1910.1000(d)(1)(ii)
What about different work schedules?
Varies by chemical
Most chemicals: Worst 8 hours of shift
Lead: adjusted by hours worked
Interpretation Foulke letter, 1997

20

2006 TEEX

1910.1000(d) Computation
formulae
Exposure to Chemical Mixtures
Em = (C1/L1) + (C2/L2) + + (Cn/Ln)
If Em > 1, employee is overexposed

Assumptions:
Chemicals effects are additive
Dose is proportional to C T

21

2006 TEEX

1910.1000(e) To achieve
compliance
Administrative or engineering controls
first wherever feasible
When those are not feasible for full
compliance: protective equipment or
other protective measures
Equipment or technical measures must
be approved by competent industrial
hygienist or qualified person
Respirators: 1910.134
22

2006 TEEX

Chemical-Specific Standards

1910.1001 Asbestos
1910.1018 Inorganic Arsenic
1910.1025 Lead
1910.1026 Chromium (VI) (revised 2006)
1910.1027 Cadmium
1910.1028 Benzene
Oil and gas drilling, production, servicing exempt

1910.1029 Formaldehyde
23

2006 TEEX

1910.1020 Access to employee

exposure and medical records
Employees, representatives, and OSHA
have right of access
Preserved for 30 years, with exceptions
Employee consent for medical records
OSHA access order posted if
identifiable
Trade secrets
Employee information
24

2006 TEEX

1910.1030 Bloodborne
Pathogens
Occupational exposure:
Reasonably anticipated skin, eye, mucous
membrane, or parenteral contact
With blood or other potentially infectious
materials (OPIM) e.g. certain body fluids,
tissues

25

2006 TEEX

1910.1096 Ionizing radiation

OSHA standards cover NORM and
TENORM
Exposures must be kept within limits
even if sources are natural

26

2006 TEEX

1910.1201 Retention of DOT

markings, placards and labels
Retain markings on packages received
until clean enough to remove hazard
Freight container or vehicle retains
placards until materials removed
enough
Readily visible
Non-bulk packages not to be reshipped:
Hazard Communication labels OK
27

2006 TEEX

1910.1450 Hazardous chemicals

in laboratories
For laboratory use only
Supersedes other standards in Subpart
Z except:
PELs
Prohibition of eye and skin contact

Exposure monitoring and medical

surveillance for those over action levels
28

2006 TEEX

Other Standards and

Protective Measures

General Duty Clause

Recognized hazards may be cited
If there is no PEL:
Consensus or proprietary standards
ANSI, ACGIH, AIHA

Industry Best Practices

Manufacturer Recommendations (MSDS)

30

2006 TEEX

Biological Hazards
Potentially infectious material exposure
Contagious diseases e.g. influenza
Vector-borne diseases e.g. Malaria,
Lyme disease
Fungi e.g. mold, spores
Toxins e.g. endotoxin
Allergens / sensitizers e.g. pollen, red
cedar
31

2006 TEEX

Physical and Radiological

Hazards
Heat or cold (General Duty Clause)
Vibration (General Duty Clause)
Noise (1910 Subpart G)
Non-ionizing radiation (electromagnetic,
light) (1910 Subpart G)
Ionizing radiation

32

2006 TEEX

Other Standards
29 CFR 1926 Subpart D: Occupational
Health and Environmental Controls
Construction operations only

API RP 54
Noise rules allow for 12 hour shifts
Handling drilling fluid chemicals and
additives

33

2006 TEEX

Protective Measures
How are exposures to health hazards
evaluated on your site?
How are they controlled?

34

2006 TEEX