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Industrial Hygiene

Industrial hygiene refers to the conditions that workers are exposed when performing a given task at their workplace. It also refers to the engineering controls and worker practices used to protect workers from adverse exposure conditions.

 

The Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) addresses worker exposure to many airborne contaminants in several regulations, including:

 

  • O. Reg. 490/09 – Designated Substances

  • Regulation 833 – Control of Exposure to Biological or Chemical Agents

  • O. Reg. 278/05 – Designated Substance – Asbestos on Construction Projects and in Buildings and Repair Operations 

 

The first two of the above-cited regulations include similar wording, generally requiring that an employer take all necessary measures and procedures by means of engineering controls, and hygiene and work practices, to ensure that a worker’s exposure to airborne contaminants specified in the regulations does not exceed certain concentrations.

 

Our industrial hygiene services provide assessments and recommendations that address indoor air quality in a variety of workplace environments. Our assessments generally fall into two categories:

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  1. Assessments of worker exposure conditions to a known hazard during industrial or manufacturing  activities; and,

  2. Assessments of workplaces with 'Sick Building Syndrome'–a broad term for adverse health conditions that one or more occupants associate with being inside a building or at a particular workspace, and the source of the conditions is not readily apparent.

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'Sick building syndrome' is a broad term for adverse health conditions reported by one or more occupants, which they associate with being in a building or at a particular workspace. There is no defined list of conditions associated with sick building syndrome, however possible symptoms include​ breathing difficulties, allergy-like symptoms (such as sneezing, or dry and itchy skin). What is common is the sufferers will associate the symptoms with a particular working environment, and the symptoms will reportedly reside once the worker leaves the environment.

  What we do?

 

  • Perform air testing for lead, silica, other particulates, vapours, and gases to inform employers of concentrations of airborne contaminants in a given work environment.

  • Perform personal worker exposure monitoring to determine exposure concentrations for specific work activities.

  • Provide recommendations for work practices and use of engineering controls.

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Why have an industrial hygiene assessment?

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  • The information provides employers a record of exposure concentrations for a given task

  • It helps employers select appropriate masks for workers

  • It helps employers establish control programs regarding “designated substances” or other contaminants in the workplace.

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Mail: PO Box 43220

        Mississauga, Ontario

        L5B 4A7

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Tel: 905-955-8538

© 2024 by Brickquill Inc.

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