Industrial Hygiene in Construction

On occasion, owners say they just want to do the minimum to be in compliance with OSHA. Most times this is due to lack of understanding.

For some rules OSHA’s standard is right on the money. Take, for instance, lead (leaded paint) exposure. They have specific rules and guidelines that, if followed, keep virtually everyone protected*. The trouble is that some of OSHA’s rules have not been updated since 1973. New research and industry practices have found these levels to be unsafe even at current standards and exposure limits (PELs).

So, how do you know if the OSHA standards are current?

The quick answer is, you don’t.

Good safety professionals and industrial hygienists study the standards, recommended guidelines, and occupational limits worldwide.  In the US, the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) provides the most current best practices. However, there are other methods and standards for specific hazards. ANSI, AIHA (although getting more dated due to lack of funding), European OELs (occupational exposure limits), and others.

It is rare that an employer knowingly exposes employees to a hazard. On the other hand, ignorance isn’t acceptable either….which might be the best reason for OSHA to be in existence. I wish they would spend more money on resources, information and training.  Consult your safety professional!

*recently there is some discussion about low level lead exposure to children

1. To better understand the levels of exposure(s).

•  avoid possible exposures to employees, document the non-exposure, show how safely you can perform the work

2. To save $.

• Avoid OSHA fines, worker compensation claims, avoid lawsuits, reduce liability

3. To go “Green”.

• reduce airborne emissions, remove harmful chemicals from the environment & employees, recycle & reuse emissions

4. To increase employee morale.

• investigate employee concerns, change environmental conditions to avoid exposures, increase employee involvement, reduce disgruntlement

5. Increase efficiency.

• doing the job right-the first time, less overhead, better prepared for the project and future projects

Here’s my top 10 recommendations as it relates to Construction Industrial Hygiene:

Did you know that there are two ways to get industrial hygiene sampling for free? I know, there’s always a catch, but below are my favorites.

1. OSHA

Obviously if you have an inspection and they perform air monitoring, you can use this information. Hang onto it! Get the field notes from the inspector so that, if necessary, you can reproduce these results. There is also (in some states with state-run plans) a separate division who can provide consultative air monitoring and/or assessments. I strongly urge employers to use this method. While your company is under consultation, they are under obligation to NOT allow an inspection (there are caveats).

2. Insurance carrier
   Your company’s insurance carrier can many times provide industrial hygiene services. This might come from your worker’s compensation carrier, your general liability carrier, and sometimes even your agent. If you have a legitimate concern and are able to wait to meet their schedule, this is a very attractive option.
3. The General Contractor
   If your GC has hired an IH consulting firm for a similar type process that you are performing, see if they will also take a sample on one of your employees.
4. Your Sub Contractor
   If you’ve hired a subcontractor to provide abatement for asbestos, or lead, request that they also perform a test on one of your employees. Sometimes even a sub-level tier will provide this as a courtesy.

I think the key to each of these is being nice. If you are a jerk, or attempt to strong-arm your GC or sub into this, it will never happen. In the safety world, most people want to help- that is why they got into this business in the first place.

Industrial hygienists are usually defined by the job functions they provide. Many of these activities overlap with safety, environmental, toxicology, compliance, scientific, mathematics, physics, medical, and sometimes legal.

The AIHA’s definition is (and I summarize):

• to recognize, evaluate and control environmental factors, elements, and stresses in the workplace which might affect the health of workers

Primarily the job functions include:

• investigating & examining workplace hazards
• training & educating employees on health risks in the workplace
• reviewing MSDS
• performing air monitoring to assess employee exposures
• making recommendations to control workplace hazards
• recommending personal protective equipment
• providing insight/counselling for an employer, or for employees on hazard risks

I don’t have a good “elevator pitch” when describing my work. It’s just too complicated. I usually start out with, “I sort of work with employers and employees in regards to safety & OSHA”. It’s a horrible intro and I wish I could get away from it. Unfortunately, most people know and understand OSHA. We need to do a better job of, 1.explaining what we do and, 2. educating people that there are more effective ways to protect employees than OSHA compliance.

I’ve also heard the jokes. IH = industrial hyenas. 

This is a big distinction when evaluating a workplace.

If you find an overexposure (or simply a real-exposure), then it is prudent, and expected, to look for employees with possible symptoms.

If employees have symptoms (especially those nondescript ones, like; nausea, dizzyness, and fatigue) it is much harder to say they have an exposure. You really can’t make that assumption without more information.

For example, if you have cancer, do you assume it is from all the bad food you ate during your lifetime? or, is from multiple factors? On the flip side, if you are a pile driver for 30 years and at the age of 60 you find that you have hearing loss, everyone assumes it’s from your job.

However, a lot of industrial hygiene work comes from “my employees have these symptoms”. The hard part is taking that information and determining if there is concern in the workplace.

There is high demand!

See EHS article, which summarizes the NIOSH findings on the future of EHS jobs.

Yahoo Finance  (look at #6, but the information is a bit off)

If you’re wondering what the heck IH’s do…

• Remember that this is a technical-based career….you have to like science, chemicals, or physics.
• an Oklahoma article
• the standard answer: AIHA,
• another source: industrial hygiene support.

It’s a great career that offers challenges, diversity (as opposed to the daily grind) and… sometimes, you even help people! (ha).