Industrial Hygiene: A comprehensive exposure assessment report. Asbestos exposure World Trade Center disaster
Since September 11, 2001, the outdoor environment around the World Trade Center (WTC) site and nearby areas has been expansively monitored by Acme Industrial Hygiene Consultants and health agencies. As a consultant there have taken samples of air, dust, water, river residues, and drinking water and examined them for the existence of pollutants that could posture a health risk to answer workers at the WTC site, headquarter workers, and local populaces.

Sampling?

Everyone from Acme Industrial Hygiene collected bulk samples of fallen dust. This was all done by using a paper scoop, bulk samples were then reserved from numerous outdoor sites (e.g. car hood, window ledge, park bench) in addition to one indoor location, all of which seemed uninterrupted ever since the fall of the towers, as evaluated by the presence of a suave even layer of dust and the…...

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References

Biello, D. (2015, April 21). What Was in the World Trade Center Plume? . Retrieved from Scientific American:  http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-was-in-the-world-trade-center-plume/ 

Kazan-Allen, L. (2012, April 21). Asbestos at the WTC. Retrieved from International Band Asbestos Secretariat: http://ibasecretariat.org/lka_world_trade_center.php

Milloy, S. (2015, April 21). Asbestos Could Have Saved WTC Lives. Retrieved from Fox News:  http://www.foxnews.com/story/2001/09/14/asbestos-could-have-saved-wtc-lives/ 

Milloy, S.J. (2015, April 21). Asbestos Fireproofing Might Have Prevented World Trade Center Collapse. Retrieved from  https://cei.org/op-eds-and-articles/asbestos-fireproofing-might-have-prevented-world-trade-center-collapse

The Environmental Manager will know exactly what systems we are equipped to deal with and how to best implement them in our institution.
If we need to hire third-party waste management experts including off-campus toilets and perhaps even showers then our Environmental Manager will tell us so and therefore, he or she is thoroughly in charge of issues related to waste management. I would suggest that the Environmental Manager create his or her own team of support personnel. Only a department manager can determine what traits or characteristics to look for in support members.

One of the more immediate concerns would be the initial cleanup effort. I would need to create a team of individuals dedicated to providing the best possible cleanup service, from sanitizing air vents to scrubbing floors. Moreover, our technicians would need to assess the post-cleanup environment to determine whether it was safe for working and operating after…...

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References

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Informational Booklet on Industrial Hygiene. U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved online July 9, 2008 at  http://www.osha.gov/ Publications/OSHA3143/OSHA3143.htm#How%20do

Personal Protective Equipment Plan." University of Rochester. Retrieved July 9, 2008 at http://www.safety.rochester.edu/ih/ppeplan2.html

Industrial Hygiene
Indoor air quality testing is necessary to ensure that the air in working environments is free from pollutants, or that if there are pollutants that workers can take the precautions necessary to protect themselves. This paper will examine the air quality readings from the test site, outlining the issues that may be present.

The first thing to consider is the role that humidity plays in air quality testing. It has been established that humidity is a factor in air quality perception. Furthermore, both temperature and humidity have been established as key variables in emissions from things like paints and varnishes, from which emissions are greater under conditions of higher humidity (Haghighat & De Bellis, 1998). In this test, relative humidity was a moderate 62-78%, getting high but still not at very high levels.

With the first reading, carbon dioxide, OSHA guidelines does not issue specific air quality standards (OSHA, 2015). Carbon…...

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Reference

Golden, R. (2011). Identifying an indoor air exposure limit for formaldehyde considering both irritation and cancer hazards. Critical Reviews in Toxicology. Vol. 41 (8) 672-721.

Haghighat, F. & De Bellis, L. (1998). Material emission rates: Literature review, and the impact of indoor air temperature and relative humidity. Building and Environment. Vol. 33 (5) 261-277.

MBL. (2015). Airborne fungal spores exposure limits. Mold & Bacteria Consulting Laboratories. Retrieved November 13, 2015 from  http://www.moldbacteria.com/mold/airborne-fungal-spores-exposure-limits.html 

MDH (2015). Carbon dioxide (CO2). Minnesota Department of Health. Retrieved November 13, 2015 from  http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/indoorair/co2/

911 Recovery
Health and Safety Plan for 911 Recovery Operations:

Lessons Learned

Recommendations on Industrial Hygiene

According to the Office of Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), industrial hygiene (IH) is of utmost importance to any work site. By definition, IH encompasses the science and art "devoted to the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of 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 the citizens of the community."

From this definition one can thus agree with the first sentence, namely that the fact that IH must be present at a work site and the fact that this is of utmost importance, and should never be ignored, especially in light of the fact of the consequences of such an action, which can have a negative impact on workers.

OSHA further states, in relation to recommendations on IH, that there…...

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Ground Zero Hazards (n.a.). (2011). 9-11 Research. Retrieved October 29, 2011, from .

OSHA Starts Random Inspections Near Ground Zero (n.a.). (2002). EHS Today. Retrieved October 29, 2011, from <  http://ehstoday.com/news/ehs_imp_35180/ >.

Navarro, M. (2011). Payments to 9/11 Workers are Slow to Start. New York Times. Retrieved Octboer 28, 2011, from .

Industrial Hygiene a Science or an Art?
Industrial hygiene basically entails the identification, evaluation, and control of environmental factors that threaten the health and safety of people in the community. Professionals in this sector who are commonly known as industrial hygienists develop necessary skills and competence for anticipating, identifying, evaluating, and controlling environmental hazards. Some of the major hazards examined and controlled by industrial hygienists include chemical agents, biological agent, physical agents, psychological factors, and ergonomic or safety issues. The nature of the roles and responsibilities of industrial hygienists has generated debates on whether this profession is a science or an art. This is also fueled by the fact that industrial hygiene has traditionally been viewed as a science and not an art.

From a personal viewpoint, industrial hygiene is both a science and an art despite of the conventional view of this profession as a science only. This profession is…...

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References

American Industrial Hygiene Association. (n.d.). What is Industrial Hygiene? Retrieved from School of Public Health -- The University of Minnesota website: http://www.enhs.umn.edu/prospective/files/whatisindustrialhygiene.pdf

National Institutes of Health. (n.d.). What is Industrial Hygiene? Retrieved from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website:  http://www.ors.od.nih.gov/sr/dohs/aboutDOHS/TAB/Pages/technical_branch_ih.aspx

Occupational Toxicology
Bakand, S., Hayes, A. & Deschakulthorn, F. (2012). Nanoparticles: A review of particle toxicology following inhalation exposure. Inhalation Toxicology. Vol. 24 (2) 125-135.

The article can be found at the following URL: http://www.tums.ac.ir/1391/11/28/Nano%20Inh%20Tox%2008958378.2012.pdf-sh-bakand-2013-02-16-10-35.pdf

This article discusses one of the emerging issues in inhalation toxicology, which is nanoparticles. The authors note from the outset that the "rapid expansion of nanotechnology" is going to result in a spike in nanoparticles that can infiltrate the lungs of workers, and that it is important to understand the implications of this increase. The authors have done a review of the literature on the subject, and determined that there are links between exposure to ambient ultrafine particles and increased morbidity and mortality. They note that nanoparticles are more likely to be more toxic than larger particles as well, because nanoparticles can be inhaled more deeply into the lungs.

There are several implications for this research, given the expected…...

adiation is a workplace hazard, and there are two types of radiation that are of concern to industrial hygienists. Ionizing radiation is radiation that will ionize an atom, so for example x-rays or gamma rays. Non-ionizing radiation is a different category and includes ultraviolet radiation, infrared, static fields, radio frequencies and extremely low frequency fields (AIHA, 2014).
Karipidis et al. (2007) discuss the relationship between ionizing and non-ionizing radiation and glioma, which is a malignant cancer of the glial tissue in the nervous system. Gliomas represent 80% of malignant brain tumors, and the exact cause of gliomas is not known. There are suspicions among researchers, however, that radiation is a key causal factor, and that has implications for occupational health. The article in question was published in the journal Occupational Medicine, which is one of the journals that publishes articles pertaining to industrial hygiene. This is a valuable area of study…...

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References

AIHA.org (2014). Nonionizing radiation overview. American Industrial Hygiene Association. Retrieved November 28, 2015 from  https://www.google.com.au/search?q=ionizing+and+non-ionizing+radiation&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&gws_rd=cr&ei=zIZZVqWzBOfGmAWV9ZEg#q=ionizing+and+non-ionizing+radiation+industrial+hygiene 

Karipidis, K., Benke, G., Sim, M., Kauppinen, T. & Giles, G. (2007). Occupational exposure to ionizing and non-ionizing radiation and the risk of glioma. Occupational Medicine. Vol. 57 (7) 518-524. Retrieved November 28, 2015 from  http://occmed.oxfordjournals.org/content/57/7/518.full

OSHA Technical Manual. I have not yet discussed this resource, but it is actually one of the foundational resources for the industrial hygiene practice. The specific article (SectionV, Chapter 3) outlines lead exposures in the construction industry. Lead is an airborne exposure risk. The article begins by defining an acceptable level of lead exposure, which is 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air (50 µg/m3). The OSHA approach to lead exposure is outlined -- it groups tasks into three categories that relate to their risk of lead exposure.
The article then discusses the hierarchy of controls. Engineering controls such as ventilation are at the top of the hierarchy, if the problem cannot be eliminated outright. Ventilation removes the airborne hazard, thereby reducing the exposure level. OSHA recommends other remedies such as using a less hazardous material, change in process equipment, or a change in process all as potential means of…...

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References

OSHA Technical Manual. Retrieved December 6, 2015 from  https://www.osha.gov/dts/osta/otm/otm_v/otm_v_3.html

Industrial Hygiene
The American Industrial Hygiene Association publishes a number of different resources regarding the practice of industrial hygiene. Sometimes these resources are available only for the organization's membership, such as the Synergist, and an academic journal; however, a practitioner of industrial hygiene should be a member. That said, there are still publications available for those who are not members.

One such free publication is the report "Demonstrating the business value of industrial hygiene." This report, which was published in 2008, makes the business case for industrial hygiene. In doing so, it highlights that industrial hygiene is something that affects the entire business and therefore is the responsibility of everybody involved in the business. One of the issues that the report intends to deal with is the competition from other countries where worker safety protections maybe are not that good. The business case that is often made is that such protections needlessly…...

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References

AIHA (2008). Demonstrating the business value of industrial hygiene. American Industrial Hygiene Association. Retrieved December 22, 2015 from https://www.aiha.org/votp_new/pdf/votp_report.pdf

Self-awareness is a major key to promoting ergonomics in the workplace, because only through self-awareness can an individual realize that he or she is sitting, standing, moving, or working according to ergonomic principles. Ergonomics applies also to product design and engineering. For example, new machinery is being designed according to well-researched principles of ergonomics. Similarly, office equipment, from chairs to computer keyboards, are also being redesigned with worker safety in mind. Through using ergonomically-designed equipment, individuals can avoid problems related to repetitive strain and stress.
One of the major issues related to industrial safety management is the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). PPE reduces employee exposure to hazardous chemicals, fumes, and materials. Development of PPE occurs according to scientific research. Discovering which items or situations are hazardous is the first step toward the development of protective equipment. PPE can be designed for any body part, and applies especially to…...

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Works Cited

Material Safety Data Sheet: Infectious Substances." Public Health Agency of Canada. Online at  http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/msds-ftss/msds132e.html 

Personal Protective Equipment." OSHA. United States Department of Labor. PDF file available online at  http://www.osha.gov/ SLTC/personalprotectiveequipment/solutions.html.

What's Industrial Hygiene?" AIHA. Online at  http://www.aiha.org/aboutAIHA/html/ih-info.htm .

benefit analysis that typically goes into decisions about sampling in industrial hygiene. The authors describe that there are two different main types of sampling -- active and passive. These come with different advantages and disadvantages, one of which is cost. Some others are the amount of time and effort required, and the accuracy of the sampling technique. The authors focus on the cost. Often, the sampling cost is viewed as an up-front cost, but of course this is not the entire picture -- in many cases discovering and addressing a problem early saves a lot of money. So the full cost-benefit picture needs to be taken into consideration when determining the optimal sampling technique.
The authors compared five passive monitors and one active monitor under a number of different scenarios. They found that overall the passive monitors had a better cost-benefit. They were in particular cheaper than the active monitor.…...

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References

Nothstein, G, Hahne, R. & Spence, M. (2000). Evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of various passive monitors and active monitors for industrial hygiene sampling. American Industrial Hygiene Sampling Association Journal. Vol. 61 (1) 64-68.

Economic Benefit of Complying to Safety and Health egulations
This paper provides a summary of the journal article titled "A Health Impact Assessment of California's Proposed Cap-and-Trade egulations." (Maxwell, Paul, & Linda, 2012, p e 52). The paper reveals the health benefits that the communities and organizations derive from the application of the cap-and -- trade health regulation in California. The paper further discusses the application of the principle for the economic benefits of different organizations across the state.

Cap-and-Trade egulations in California

The authors argue that a climate change can have health effects on workers and people, and one of the causes of the climate change is the greenhouse emission that increases exposure to extreme weather conditions and heat, which can consequently lead to the distribution of air pollution, vector-borne disease, exposure to ultraviolet radiations, and increase illness within the work environment. In response the health effects of the climate changes and…...

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Reference

Chan, D.W.M. & Hung, T.W. (2015).An empirical survey of perceived benefits by implementing the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme (MBIS) in Hong Kong. Facilities, 33 (5/6): 337-366.

Maxwell, J. R. Paul, E. & Linda, R. (2012). A Health Impact Assessment of California's Proposed Cap-and-Trade Regulations. American Journal of Public Health. 102. (9): e52-8.

Ethical Misconduct Among Industrial Hygienists in England by Burgess and Mullen (2002). There are a lot of codes of ethics published for ethical hygienists, but surprisingly few articles discussing ethics in the profession. In this article, the authors note that "failure to behave ethically might have serious and possibly fatal consequences," highlighting the need for a greater level of discussion with respect to ethics in the profession. The authors conducted a survey of 43 industrial hygienists, and found that 33 of them had witnessed ethical misconduct.
The authors provided with their survey nine different categories of ethical misconduct, thereby making clear the definition of the term. Some that were found to have occurred were data fabrication, failure to share credit on work, failure to protect confidentiality, criticizing the integrity of another hygienist for one's own gain, and plagiarism. Some of these could result in injury, but many violate the code…...

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References

ABIH (2007). American Board of Industrial Hygiene Code of Ethics. American Board of Industrial Hygiene. Retrieved October 23, 2015 from  http://www.abih.org/sites/default/files/downloads/ABIHCodeofEthics.pdf 

Burgess, G. & Mullen, D. (2002). Observations of ethical misconduct among industrial hygienists in England. AIHA Journal. 63 (2002) 151-155.

Industrial Hygiene
Being that it is an operation that is being conducted in an industrial area, and in an industry that dealt with compressed gas, it is critical that all the safety measures are taken into account in a categorical and safe manner in the bid to re-enter the after the terrible hurricane. For instance there are various experts who are present and I would recommend that their individual expertise be put to use in the recovery process. First, the entire employees' body must be informed of the extent of the damage and the seriousness of the problem at hand and instructed not to venture into any area within the firm without the clearance and subsequent communication through a central communications office that they have to be informed of. I would also suggest to the Incident Commander to have a formal written process for the recovery of the firm. This will…...

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References

Biophica Inc., (2011). The "Chlorinated" Water Issue and the Water Ionization Alternative using

Colloidal Copper or Colloidal Silver Nanocrystal Ionization. Retrieved October 19, 2011 from  http://www.biophysica.com/chlorine.html 

Healthy Working Lives, (2010). Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Retrieved October 19,

2011 from  http://www.healthyworkinglives.com/advice/minimising-workplace-risks/ppe.aspx

Such equipment should be adequate to ensure personnel are protected from chemical exposure to the eyes, skin, and respiratory tract. PPE may be upgraded or downgraded by the site industrial hygienist, HSM, or qualified Site Safety Officer based upon site conditions and air monitoring results (Levin, et al., 2002)
Work practice and administrative controls

Administrative controls or work practice controls are changes in work procedures such as written safety policies, rules, supervision, schedules, and training with the aim of reducing the interval, frequency, and sternness of exposure to hazardous chemicals or situations. Workers who handle hazardous chemicals in the workplace should be familiar with the administrative controls required fewer than 29 CF 1910.1200, and the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard. This controls are perhaps most important, because they impact your people directly. On the one hand, they are the simplest, since all it takes is education. On the other hand, education about…...

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References

Annual report on 9/11 health (September, 2009). Retrieved on March 20, 2010 from  http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/pdf/2009_wtc_medical_working_group_annual_report.pdf 

Burright, D. et al., (1999). Evaluation guidelines for air sampling methods utilizing chromatographic analysis. OSHA Salt Lake Technical Center, U.S. Department of Labor: Salt Lake City, UT.

Harris, J.S., (ed.) (1997). Occupational medicine practice guidelines: Evaluation and management of common health problems and functional recovery in workers. The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Beverly, Mass.: OEM Press.

Levin, S. et al.,. (2002). Health effects of World Trade Center site workers. America Journal of Industrial Medicine 42:545 -- 547.