Occupational/Industrial Hygiene

Definitions
Definition 1 (International Occupational Hygiene Association By – Laws – *IOHA)
 Occupational Hygiene
It is the discipline of anticipating, recognizing, evaluating, and controlling health hazards
in the working environment with the objective of protecting worker health and well – being and
safeguarding the community at large.

Definition 2 (American Industrial Hygiene Association – **AIHA)

 Industrial Hygiene
Industrial Hygiene (IH) is a science and art devoted to the anticipation, recognition,
evaluation, control, and confirmation of protection from those environmental factors or stresses
arising in or from the workplace which may cause sickness, impaired health and well – being, or
significant discomfort among workers or among citizens of the community.

What is the difference between Industrial Hygiene and Occupational Hygiene?

 The term Industrial Hygiene originated in the USA while in other parts of the world it
is known as Occupational Hygiene.
 In some ways the term Occupational is a better description as health risks occur in
all places that people work such as offices, shops, hospitals and farms, not just in
places you would think of as industrial (e.g. warehouses, storage buildings, cyber
centers etc.).

Qualifications of an Industrial Hygienist:

A person having
 A college or university degree(s) in engineering, chemistry, physics, medicine or related
physical and biological sciences,
 Received specialized training in recognition, evaluation, and control of workplace
stressors and therefore achieved competence in industrial hygiene.
Basic Principles of Industrial Hygiene
1. Anticipation of potential health risks
2. Recognition of existing health hazards at the workplace
3. Evaluation of health risks
4. Control of unacceptable risks
Acronym: AREC

Anticipation of potential health risks

Best done
 In the design stage of a process or equipment or [planning stage where they’re still
figuring out factors that’s best done, and finding out loopholes and making sure
they’re taking care of as avoid]
 At the formulation stage of a new substance or chemical [figuring out the function or
chemical structure is important to prepare possible solutions and avoid hazards]
[Knowing the physical states of hazardous chemicals is an important factor in
understanding their health effects as their physical state determines how it may enter
the body. For example, a gas may enter the body by inhalation, whereas liquids may
be absorbed by the skin.]

Advantage: eliminates the need for review or redesigning, thus save high costs.

Basic information to consider:

 Characteristics of the process or equipment
 Physical and chemical properties of the formulation
 Adverse health effects from past experience and reported cases of occupational
diseases and poisoning

The process of anticipation is not easy and requires vast experience. Need to engage the
assistance of experts such as the industrial hygiene practitioner, toxicologist and occupational
health doctor.

Recognition of existing health hazards at the workplace

This may be achieved through
*The International Occupational Hygiene Association (IOHA) is an association of occupational hygiene organizations from across the world and represents the global
community of occupational hygienists. Since its creation in 1987, IOHA has grown to 34 member organizations, representing over 20,000 occupational hygienists worldwide.
** The American Industrial Hygiene Association is a 5016 non-profit organization, whose mission is "Creating knowledge to protect worker health." The American Industrial
Hygiene Association works to provide information and resources to Industrial Hygienists and Occupational Health professionals.
 a) Workplace inspection
i. Look at workplace environment, work processes, types of materials, and
equipment used
ii. Observe workers at work
b) Health surveillance and area monitoring
c) Workers health records
d) Review of past incident investigation reports
e) Discussion with the management and workers
Harmful factors that exist at the workplace:
Many workers may be exposed to a number of health hazards at work.
 Hazard recognition
i. Identifying factors or work processes that may be harmful to health.
[health risks at the workplace, such as heat, noise, dust, hazardous
chemicals, unsafe machines and psychological stress, cause
occupational diseases and can aggravate other health problems.
Conditions of employment, occupation and the position in the workplace
hierarchy also affect health.]
ii. Knowledge of the physiochemical properties of a material/substance, its
harmful effects to health and identification techniques are essential.
Health hazards encountered at work:
1. Chemical substances (e.g. bleach, ammonia, air fresheners, etc.) [risks
are associated with the use of chemicals] [Hazardous chemicals may
cause – ✓ Fire & Explosion ✓ Adverse health effects ✓ Damage to the
environment Forms of Chemicals • Dust, • Particles and smoke • Liquid
and mists • Gas and vapour Common Types 1. Solvents 2. Metals 3.
Acids and Bases 4. Pesticides]
2. Physical agents (e.g. temperature extremes, vibration, noise, laser
beams, radiation, and electricity) [excessive exposure to these hazards
may cause harm to our health]
3. Biological agents (e.g. bacteria [anthrax, e. coli, salmonella] viruses
[SARS, dengue fever, hepatitis A/B/C, chickenpox], fungi, other
microorganisms and their associated toxins) [intangible agents that can
seriously affect us]
 4. *Ergonomics (people in their working environment; e.g. improperly
adjusted workstations and chairs, frequent lifting, poor posture, using too
much force, especially if it's done frequently) [physical conditions that may
pose risk of injury to the musculoskeletal system, such as the muscles or
ligaments of the lower back, tendons or nerves of the hands/wrists, or
bones surrounding the knees, resulting in a musculoskeletal disorder
(MSD)]
5. Psychological factors (e.g. work-related stress, work-related bullying,
work-related violence, work-related fatigue, poor relationships with
colleagues and supervisors, shift work, sexual harassment) [tensions at
the workplace may disturb the concentration and mental health of the
worker]

Evaluation of health risks

Objectives of risk evaluation (assessment):
 To determine the level of worker exposure (high, medium or low) to health
hazards and the effectiveness of the existing control measures, and their
relationship to the risk of disease.
 To enable decisions to be made on additional control measures to bring the
health risks down to within PEL (Permissible Exposure Limit). [e.g. engineering
control to reduce airborne contaminants, worker training, health and
surveillance.]

Risk evaluation – what to look at?

risk = hazard x exposure, where:
hazard – magnitude of hazard and the potential adverse health effects from
possible routes of entry or contract.
exposure – chances of overexposure occurring by taking into account:
i. Characteristics of exposure
o Who are exposed (based on Job types and tasks performed)?
o How many are exposed?
o What are they exposed to?
o How are they exposed? [inhalation, skin absorption, ingestion]
ii. Level of exposure
*The International Occupational Hygiene Association (IOHA) is an association of occupational hygiene organizations from across the world and represents the global
community of occupational hygienists. Since its creation in 1987, IOHA has grown to 34 member organizations, representing over 20,000 occupational hygienists worldwide.
** The American Industrial Hygiene Association is a 5016 non-profit organization, whose mission is "Creating knowledge to protect worker health." The American Industrial
Hygiene Association works to provide information and resources to Industrial Hygienists and Occupational Health professionals.
 o Frequency of exposure – daily, weekly, monthly?
o Duration of exposure – by seconds, minutes, hours?
o Intensity of exposure – high, medium, low?
 Exposure intensity (Quantitative) – using equipment to measure the
intensity or magnitude of exposure [e.g. Field Sling Psychrometer]
 Exposure intensity (Qualitative) – using observation and professional
opinion

Risk conclusion is made after taking into account:

 Level of risk exposure (high, medium or low) based on qualitative or
quantitative assessment and rated against the industry accepted Permissible
Exposure Limits (PEL).
 The work practices, and personal factors (including individual susceptibility)
 The adequacy of existing control measures

Control of unacceptable risks/health risks

Principles of risk control
 Priorities the control measures at the source, not the worker.
o Controlled source means – a. controlled exposure, b. a hazard – free
environment
o It is easier to control processes, machinery, and equipment than to control
workers.
 Priorities the elimination of hazards, not the reduction of exposure.
o No hazard means no exposure
o Elimination of hazards is more effective
o Reduction of exposure is only recommended where it is not possible to
eliminate or isolate the hazard

 Controls should target below the permissible exposure limits.

o Risk is reduced if worker exposure is below the permissible limits
o Exposure beyond the permissible limits is harmful to worker health
o Violation of Regulations, if PEL is exceeded
  Controls should be as low as reasonably practicable, especially in cases where there
is no data on the permissible exposure limit.
o The risk of cancer or allergy exists even at low exposure levels
o Hazard free environment is still the best working environment
o Many chemicals do not have permissible exposure limits
 Use of personal protective equipment (PPE) as a last resort.

Hierarchy of risk controls

It is a list of protection strategies that are rated in order of priority from the best to
the worst.
o Elimination
o Substitution
o Isolation
o Engineering controls
o Administrative controls - Safe work practices and procedures
o Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Other methods to increase the levels of control on health risk at the workplace:
 Provide Information, instruction and training to workers
 Exposure monitoring
 Health surveillance
 First aid and emergency facilities
 Warning signals

*The International Occupational Hygiene Association (IOHA) is an association of occupational hygiene organizations from across the world and represents the global
community of occupational hygienists. Since its creation in 1987, IOHA has grown to 34 member organizations, representing over 20,000 occupational hygienists worldwide.
** The American Industrial Hygiene Association is a 5016 non-profit organization, whose mission is "Creating knowledge to protect worker health." The American Industrial
Hygiene Association works to provide information and resources to Industrial Hygienists and Occupational Health professionals.