Environmental

Monitoring

Albert L. Asprec, M.D., M.O.H.

OBJECTIVE:

To monitor hazards in the workplace:

Qualitatively

Quantitatively
Environmental monitoring is carried out to
evaluate occupational hazards
• Physical hazards

• Chemical hazards

• Biological hazards
Three Basic
Components
1. Identify
2. Evaluate
3. Control
 IDENTIFICATION

To recognize the hazard in the

workplace environment & monitor
their effects on the health of the
worker.
 EVALUATION
Determining, based on standards,
if a level is hazardous or not
MONITORING (Identifying)
Is a systematic, continuous,
or repetitive health related
observation activity
designed to quantify
substances / changes in
man or his workplace
 CONTROL
• Engineering control
• Administrative
control
• Personal protective
Equipment
To identify the hazards,
you need data
SOURCES OF DATA
1. Walk-Through Survey
2. Chemical Inventory
3. Process & Equipment Review
WALK-THROUGH SURVEY
Activity to pinpoint the location of
potential health hazards under
normal & abnormal conditions.
Workplace layout
Chemical
Inventory
MSDS - PSDS
Process Review
Equipment & Process Review
PURPOSE:
• To determine levels of exposure among
workers
• To assess the effectiveness of control
measures;
• To determine compliance with
regulations.
• To investigate complaints;
 MONITORING TYPES

1. Ambient Monitoring
2. Biological Monitoring
a) Exposure Monitoring
b) Effect Monitoring
3. Health Surveillance
Monitoring Types:

1. Biologic monitoring
2. Ambient monitoring
(environment, general)
 AMBIENT MONITORING

• Measures workplace exposure

• Harm may already come to subject
• Specific exposure routes measured
• May be used for legal basis
• Indirect gauge of equipment leak
 BIOLOGICAL MONITORING
• detects early health changes
• assesses effectiveness of PPE
• assesses individual variations in
absorption, metabolism & distribution
• measures all exposures, both
occupational & non-occupational routes
Biologic Monitoring
specimens
Blood
Urine
Exhaled air
Hair
Nails
Feces
Tissue
 GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

WHERE to sample:
Samples should be collected at or
near the workers breathing zone or
near the vicinity of the source
WHEN to sample should be collected
• during each shift
• pre- & post-shift
• single
• repeated.
WHOM to sample:
Sampling must be done to the most
highly exposed employee with
consideration of the
• ventilation booths
• air supply index
• open doors and windows
• size and shape of the work area.
HOW MANY samples depends on:

Purpose of the sampling

Minuteness of the air contaminants

Sensitivity, accuracy, & reproducibility
of the instruments
HOW LONG to sample depends on
• air currents within a room
• process variations
• change in work practice by an
operator
• variation in emission rate of a
contaminant
FREQUENCY OF MONITORING

• Pharmacologic half-life
• Toxicity
• Invasiveness of Test
• Expense
• Availability
 TYPES OF AIR SAMPLING

• Personal - breathing zone

• Area/general - taken at fixed
location in the work place
• Grab- asses concentration at a
particular point in time
• Integrated- combination
 FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED:
• Required accuracy & sensitivity of
equipment and sampling methods
• Reliability of laboratory techniques
& procedures
• Cost of monitoring
 EVALUATION
Determining, based on standards,
if a monitored value is hazardous
or not
Evaluate the Hazard
• OSHA standards

• NIOSH

• ACGIH

• OEL

• PEL

• TLV
Identification, measurement &
assessment of occupational hazards is
necessary, & the extent of the hazard
is compared against guidelines such
as exposure standards or threshold
limit values (TLV)
Threshold Limit Values:

TWA (Time Weighted Average)

STEL (Short Time Exposure Level)

C (Ceiling)
Examples of Monitoring Instruments
A. Physical agents
1. noise/sound
• sound survey meters

• sound level meters

• waveband analyzers

• audiometer
Dosimeter
Audiometry booth
2. light
• photometer
• illumination meter
Light Meter
Lux Meter
Refractometer
3. heat and stress
• heat stress monitor
Psychrometer
Barometer
Wet Bulb Globe Thermometer
Thermoanemometer
Thermometer probe
4. vibration
• vibration monitor meter
Vibration Analysis Meter
Han-heldd Vibration Meter
B. Chemical agents - gas/dust
contaminants
• indicator tubes
• stationary & personal samplers
Smoke Emission Tester
Indicator tubes for Gas monitoring
Filter cassettes for Dust monitoring
Indicator tube attached to Hand pump
Gas monitoring – Environmental Method
Gas monitoring – Personal Sampling Method
Personal
Sampling Pump
Sampling Pump
Calibrator
CO2 tester
Oxygen meter
ISOKINETIC STACK SAMPLER
ISOKINETIC STACK SAMPLER
FLUE GAS ANALYZER
Geiger counter
C. Biological agents
• microscope
• microbial samplers
Andersen Sampler
Luminator
Electron Microscope
Spirometer
D. Other equipment
• atomic absorption spectrophotometer
• gas chromatograph
• U/V spectrophotometer
Liquid Chromatograph
Gas
Chromatograph