Industrial hygiene & control ms eva karpinski
Transcript of Industrial hygiene & control ms eva karpinski
Trinidad and Tobago National Safety Week April 28 – May 4, 2013
Recognition and Prevention of Occupational Diseases
Industrial Hygiene Perspective
Eva Karpinski, M.Sc., P.Eng.Industrial Hygiene Engineer
Occupational Health and Safety DivisionWorkplace Directorate
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Definition of Occupational Disease
Occupational disease – a disease associated with exposure to a chemical, physical, biological, ergonomic, or psychosocial hazard in a workplace.
Canadian Standard Association (CSA):
CSA Z795-03 Coding of Work Injury or Disease Information (not referenced in the COHSR)
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Workplace hazards which may cause occupational disease
Chemical hazards – dusts, fumes, smoke, aerosols, mists, gases and vapours
Physical hazards – noise, vibration, ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, thermal stresses
Biological hazards – bacteria, viruses, fungi, moulds, insects Ergonomic hazards – improperly designed tools/work areas, improper
lifting/reaching, repeated motions, mechanical vibrations Nanomaterials – materials with any external dimention in the nanoscale or
having internal structure or surface structure in the nanoscale (1 nm to 100 nm)
Psychosocial hazards – violence, bullying, harassment, other chronic stressors identified by workers
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Effects of exposure to hazardous substances
Acute effects – the ill-health effects caused by sudden one-time exposure to relatively high concentrations of hazardous substances. Most acute effects are over in a few minutes, hours, days or at most, in a few weeks. Recovery is complete (e.g. pulmonary edema) or there is a permanent disability or death (e.g. exposure to IDLH condition).
Chronic effects – the ill-health effects caused by repeated exposure to relatively low concentrations of hazardous substances or as long term effect of a short but severe exposure to a hazardous substance. Recovery is complete (e.g. tendonitis) or there is a permanent disability or death (e.g. pleural thickening, mesothelioma).
Latent period – the time from the first exposure to the disease development
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Routes of entry
Inhalation Skin absorption Ingestion Eyes
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Examples of occupational diseases
Asthma, e.g., caused or triggered by exposure to isocyanates Silicosis, caused by exposure to silica Hearing impairment caused by noise Tuberculosis, caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis Carpal tunnel syndrome, caused by repetitive motions combined
with extreme postures of the wrist and forceful exertions Mesothelioma, caused by exposure to asbestos
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Occupational diseases in Canada
Injuries Musculoskeletal system disorders continue to rank the highest but are
showing a sharp decline over the 11 year period. (It may be related to
increased knowledge of the importance of ergonomics.)
Note: Musculoskeletal system disorders have made up at least half of
occupational injuries every year in the 11 year period.
Infectious diseases peculiar to the intestines over the 11 year period
(15% increase from 2001 to 2011, peaking in 2010).
Other diseases seem to be trending downward.
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Fatalities
• Malignant neoplasms and tumors continue to rank the highest and are showing an upward trend. Note1: This disturbing trend is likely due to: – work practices in the past
– long latency periods – increased association of adverse health outcomes with work history– advances in occupational medicine
Note2: This trend is expected to peak within the next few years and then trend downwards
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Prevention of occupational disease
Primary prevention – preventing development of disease by taking necessary measures to eliminate or control worker exposure
Secondary prevention – early detection of disease, intervention and treatment to prevent from further development, e.g. medical surveillance
Tertiary prevention – medical management of established disease
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Primary prevention of occupational disease
Industrial hygiene elements include:
anticipation recognition evaluation control
of hazards which may cause illness, impaired health, or significant discomfort among workers.
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Recognition
In order to recognize a hazard it is necessary to:
study the process identify all the ingredients used and their quantities obtain their safety data sheets understand the chemistry involved identify and quantify all the products and by-products of the
process identify sources of contaminant generation
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• establish the toxicity of the hazardous substances and their limits of exposure
• study their physical properties
• determine the effectiveness of control measures already in place
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Evaluation
If a potential hazard to the health of a worker is identified, the next step is to evaluate the hazard.
At the evaluation stage, the following factors must be determined: the number of employees exposed and the duration of exposure the number of samples the type of samples and period of activity to be sampled
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• the concentration or level of the hazardous substance to which a worker is exposed
• whether this concentration or level of the hazardous substance is in excess of the occupational exposure limit for that hazardous substance, e.g., TLV
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Types of control measures
Source Elimination Substitution Source or process modification Automation Isolation/containment/enclosure Local exhaust ventilation
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Path• General ventilation
• Increased distance
Worker• Good work practices
• Operating procedures
• Job rotation/work scheduling
• Personal protective equipment
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Secondary prevention of occupational diseases
Employers may establish a medical surveillance program for the benefit of workers that includes:
medical examination (pre-employment, pre-placement, periodic)– history, e.g., previous exposure, smoking, signs and symptoms– physical examination
clinical tests, e.g., pulmonary function tests, chest x-ray, blood and urine tests action levels health education, e.g., personal cleanliness, hazards, discussion of examination
results record keeping
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Tertiary prevention of occupational diseases
Medical management of established disease
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Questions?
Thank you!