Mapua Institute of Technology Department of Continuing Education (CCESC)

Industrial Hygiene
Basic Concepts of Industrial Hygiene Concerns of Industrial Hygiene I. Ha ard !ecognition II. Ha ard E"aluation III. Control of Ha ards

Christelle Jianne T. Zulueta #$%#%$&''%

Sfty%$$(B&

)e*ruary %%+ #$%,

Engr. Edward Ang -rofessor Introduction

)undamentally+ industrial hygiene is a*out the anticipation+ recognition+ e"aluation+ and control of the .or/place en"ironment. This is the thorough inspection of the .or/place for en"ironmental conditions that may ha"e ad"erse effects on health or upon the a*ility of indi"iduals to utmost efficiency and effecti"eness of their performance. To0ic su*stances and harmful physical agents in the .or/place and in the en"ironment are to *e carefully /ept under sur"eillance *ecause it may essentially cause sic/ness+ impaired health and .ell(*eing or in any degree of discomfort to the .or/ers or any mem*er of the community+ thus may compromise .or/ and day(to(day li"ing.

Brief History 1hy do .e need this2 1hy do .e care2 1ell+ the history+ or at least a *rief one of anything+ e"en the simplest thing is 3uite important *ecause it helps us understand .here something or someone originated+ started+ de"eloped+ flourished+ and e"ol"ed. It is essential for us to see ho. and .hy it e0ists or e0isted and e"entually a*sor* something good from it and impro"e for the future. The possi*ility of harm+ illnesses+ and .hatnot started since the "ery start of e"erything4s e0istence. Diseases resulting from e0posure to chemicals or physical agents ha"e e0isted e"er since people chose to use or handle materials .ith to0ic potential. In the far past+ causes .ere not al.ays recogni ed *ecause disco"eries .ere yet to *e made as years and years pass. Some of the earliest recorded occupational diseases .ere lead poisoning among miners *y Hippocrates+ , th century BCE+ 5inc and sulfur ha ards *y -liny the Elder+ 6rd century BCE. 7n %,86+ 9lrich Ellen*og+ a S.a*ian alchemist+ pu*lished a pamphlet on occupational diseases and in:uries among gold miners and smelters. He also .rote e0tensi"ely on the to0ic action of car*on mono0ide+ mercury+ lead+ and nitric acid. The ha ards associated recogni ed four hundred years Metallica (%<<') sho. some of ha ardous atmospheres. The .ith air*orne contaminants .ere already ago. The .oodcuts from ;gricola4s De !e the methods used to pro"ide "entilation in .oodcuts (also from De !e Metallica)

illustrate e0amples of protecti"e e3uipment used *y mine and smelter .or/ers. 1or/ers protected themsel"es from inhalation ha ards of mines and smelting operations *y using .hat .ould *e considered ( *y present( day standards = a crude respirator+ sometimes made from a goat4s *ladder. 7ne of the .or/ers in the image (in the presentation) appears to *e using a hand(held shield against the heat. The >)ather of 7ccupational Medicine?+ Bernardino !ama ini+ .rote a *oo/+ >De Mor*is ;rtificum? (Diseases of 1or/ers)+ creating the field of occupational medicine. -rotection such as the la.s or acts started to arri"e mostly during the %@$$s. ; fe. industrial hygienists started practicing in the early %&$$s. -hysicians sometimes sa. the industrial hygienists as a threat to their realm of e0pertise. Basic Concepts of Industrial Hygiene The *asic concepts of Industrial Hygiene are recognize+ evaluate+ and control. Health ha ards+ stresses+ and en"ironmental conditions and factors possi*le or e0istent in the .or/place are to *e identified and recogni ed in order to e"aluate the case+ so as to plan and ta/e action on ho. to deal .ith these and a"oid harm and other unfortunate e"ents through 3uantitati"e and 3ualitati"e measurements. ;fter determining the pro*lem+ control is to *e enforced. It is the application of correcti"e measures to eradicate the pro*lem and pre"ent future dilemmas.

Concerns of Industrial Hygiene The realm of industrial hygiene is the safety of the .or/place en"ironment for its .or/ers and yes+ itself. Basically+ the target of industrial hygiene is to promote the .ell(*eing of the .or/ers *ecause .ithout the .or/ers+ then no .or/ .ill *e done+ no .or/place+ thus+ no product+ nothing. To /no. the e0istence of something+ .ell+ you need to see+ feel+ hear+ smell+ or taste. In order to correct the .rong+ you need to reali e it is .rong. Aou4ll need to figure out the .hy+ ho.+ .hen+ .here+ and so on+ so

you can change it+ ma/e it *etter+ and /eep it from going .rong again. Industrial hygiene .or/s its po.ers foremost *y detecting+ measuring+ and e"aluation of the ha ards andBor the pro*lem. 1hen you4"e seen the cause of the effect+ you4ll then ha"e to plan and implement measures to fi0 and impro"e it. 1hen e"erything4s good and settled+ you can4t :ust put tape on the crac/ed .all. Aou can4t :ust put glue to the *ro/en chair *ecause you can4t :ust *e satisfied .ith temporary solution+ good(for(no. remedy. Sooner+ and most pro*a*ly not later+ it4ll collapse. So .hat you do after finding the pro*lem+ and getting the solution+ you conser"e and /eep it fi0ed+ *etter yet.. impro"ed. So that4s .hat industrial hygiene is all a*out. Aou find the ha ards and .hate"er stress and *ad condition the .or/place possesses+ you find a solution to fi0 and pre"ent future harm then implement it+ and of course you4ll ha"e to maintain its safety and peace. 1hen e"erything4s a(o/ay+ there .ill *e happy .or/ers+ happy economy+ happy life.

I. Hazard Recognition In ha ard recognition+ there are *asic procedures to understand and do. To actually /no. the pro*lem+ you ha"e to inspect+ to sur"ey+ to see+ so first thing to do is to conduct a .al/(through sur"ey to pinpoint the location of e0isting ha ards. Then there4s the determination of the process in"ol"ed. )or e0ample+ in our chemistry la*oratory classes *efore+ there are processes such as transfer of solid or li3uid chemicals+ heating+ mi0ing+ and .hatnot+ so from there+ safety precautions .ill *e created to pre"ent accidents and there .ill also *e solutions made in case people disregard the precautions *ecause they are stu**orn. !a. materials used and its *y( products are /no.n. )rom the e0ample+ the chemicals and e3uipments are /no.n to instruct ho. to deal .ith corrosi"e chemicals+ use the Bunsen *urner+ tilt the test tu*e .hen used in heating+ etc. Then of course+ there4s education. Aou can /no. all the safety tips and still not *e safe. 1hen you4re in the /itchen+ you /no. e"ery safety precaution *ut then you slipped so there you are .ith a *leeding head *ecause someone didn4t .ipe the spilled :uice. 7r you accidentally cut yourself *ecause someone didn4t put the /nife to its proper place.

;fter all of these procedures+ you still aren4t done. Aou4ll still need to conduct a regular safety inspection *ecause .ho /no.s .hen a little thing suddenly *rea/ and cause e"eryone to *e sic/.

II. Hazard Evaluation Determine. Determine ho. serious the ha ard is. !ate the le"el or magnitude *y using industrial hygiene instruments. ;naly e. There are e0isting standards to use for comparison of the samples that .ill help .ith the pro*lem and the formulation of its solution. Monitor. 1hen you see something+ is it considered a ha ard? There is a concept called 1or/ En"ironment Measurement. It is the direct measurement of ha ards+ en"ironmental stresses and their ha ardous effects on the .or/er4s health. Its purposes are to e"aluate ho. harmful an en"ironmental agent can *e+ predict the possi*le harm that ne. facilities+ processes+ and methods may cause+ *e cautious of the .or/ers4 e0posure to ha ards+ critici e the control measures made so fla.s and .ea/nesses may *e eradicated+ and of course+ maintenance for the sa/e of safety and comfort. III. Control of Hazards There are methods that may *e applied in order to enforce control in industrial hygiene. Engineering Control sets an engineer to out the ha ards *y engineering s/ills and concepts for e0ample+ initial design specifications+ and applying methods of su*stitution+ isolation or "entilation. The control of the >management? to ma/e schedules+ transfer of area+ and rules+ for e0ample+ to /eep them from the ha ard e0posure is called the ;dministrati"e Control. Then there4s the -ersonal -rotecti"e E3uipment .hich is the last resort. It is the usage of protecti"e clothing and gears such as mas/s+ helmet+ glo"es+ etc. to /eep one4s *ody safe from discomfort+ in:uries+ and diseases.

Reference

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Basic 7ccupational Safety and Health *y Engr. Ed.ard ;ng (pages <@(<&)

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; Brief History of Industrial Hygiene (-o.er-oint presentation *y 9nited States ;rmy -u*lic Health Command or 9S;-HC)