Industrial Hygiene Assessments

A company must have a biosafety program in place in accordance with OSHA 29 9 CFR 1910.1030 if workers are expected to come into contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials (OPIM) as a result of doing their job duties. Our bloodborne pathogens services include:

• Conduct an employee risk assessment to bloodborne pathogen agents
• Perform biosafety audits
• Develop a written safety program
• Identify and make recommendations for workplace practices and engineering controls
• Assist in hazard labeling
• Conduct employee refresher training
• Conduct infectious disease (Ebola virus) training

The purpose of compressed gas and breathing air quality testing is to protect workers from contamination who use supplied-air respirators for working environments (i.e., manufacturing clean rooms, paint spraying and sandblasting). It also protects against environments that manufacture food, pharmaceutical and related products.

Contamination may occur because Carbon monoxide and/or hydrocarbons can be drawn into the compressor intake from nearby operations (e.g. forklifts, delivery trucks, process exhausts). In addition, repairs, maintenance and other activities can introduce contaminants (e.g. oil, solvents) into the respirator system.

Testing is required to demonstrate compliance with the OSHA standard 29 CFR 1910.134(i). As specified in the regulation, compressed breathing air shall meet at least the requirements for Grade D breathing air described in ANSI/Compressed Gas Association Commodity Specification for Air, G-7.1-1989. Companies test to confirm that the compressed air is free of air contaminants such as carbon monoxide, oil and particulates and odors. PHASE Associates guarantees OSHA 1910.134 CGA G7.1 Grade D Commodity Specification for Air.

The laboratory that we work with for the test kits and laboratory results is TRI Air Testing, Inc. and they are AIHA Accredited Laboratory and ANSI/ISO/ASQ 9001-2008 & ISO 17025-2005 Compliant. This laboratory is well known for their third-party analytical testing specializing in respirator supplied breathing air and compressed air used in mechanical equipment/processing.

An effective ergonomics program will overall increase your company’s profitability. Improving workplace ergonomics can increase worker satisfaction and employee productivity while minimizing the risk of injury and disability. We provide assessments and evaluations to ensure the equipment and processes are properly engineered for maximum operator health, safety, comfort, and production.

We can identify hazardous ergonomic work practices or conditions at your work site. We will evaluate to develop practical solutions, and create simple and cost effective recommendations. Our ergonomics assessments service includes:

• Workplace injury assessment
• Workstation risk evaluation
• Job design and tool evaluation
• Quantifying biomechanical contributing factors
• Ergonomic training
• Development of ergonomic program and team

We have numerous subject experts and highly qualified staff in the industrial hygiene, safety, indoor air quality areas. These individuals have served as technical experts supporting the plaintiff or defense for case evaluation, testimony for deposition and trial, consultation, and research.

Conduct measurements and airborne sampling to determine personnel exposures to airborne chemicals. Identify airborne exposure hazards and compare to the OSHA standards and other occupational safety and health guidelines.

• Potent compound exposure monitoring
• Containment testing for potent compounds
• Occupational exposure banding (OEB)

Experts in Diacetyl  and all other compounds.

The OSHA Hazard Communication Standard of 1983 (29 CFR 1910.1200) has been historically changed in 2012. The revised Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) are bringing the United States into alignment with the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS), further improving safety and health protections for America’s workers.

The HCS will be fully implemented in 2016 and benefit workers by reducing confusion about chemical hazards in the workplace, facilitating safety training and improving understanding of hazards, especially for low literacy workers. OSHA’s standard will classify chemicals according to their health and physical hazards, and establish consistent labels and safety data sheets for all chemicals made in the United States and imported from abroad.

The HCS now gives workers the right to know and the right to understand.

Our qualified team of professionals will do the following:

• Identify hazardous chemicals
• Develop proper inventory control procedures (including Safety Data Sheets) and warning labeling.
• Provide onsite employee training
• Developing a comprehensive OSHA complaint Chemical Hygiene Plan.

Heat stress is the overall heat burden on the body and should not be taken lightly. Several risk factors could lead to heat stress: high air temperatures, radiant heat sources, strenuous physical activities and high humidity levels indoors or outdoors.

As part of the industrial hygiene assessment, our industrial hygienist (IH) would conduct a heat stress survey to identify heat stress conditions using a WBGT meter to monitor the potential heat stress risk factors.

Perform face velocity ventilation measurements for laboratory and other types of exhaust hoods. This also include face velocity and visual smoke dispersion testing of the local exhaust hoods, recording this information and placing a completed inspection sticker on each tested hood. The purpose of each hood will be noted, along with factors that may affect the performance of the hood. Measurements will be by an anemometer or similar instrument using a 6 or 8 point traverse method.

Exposure to loud and sustain noise can have long term effects to hearing which can eventually lead to hearing loss. In response, OSHA and NIOSH have set legal limits on noise exposure in the workplace. These limits are based on a worker’s time weighted average over an 8-hour day.

Our industrial hygienists have many years of experience in providing noise exposure evaluations, surveys and controls for both industrial and community sources. Our noise exposure surveys include:

• Determine employee exposure by conducting personal noise dosimetry and sound level survey, sampling and mapping.
• Develop and Hearing Control Program if noise levels exceed OSHA exposure levels.
• Evaluate and implement engineering and administrative controls.
• Assist with the selection and design of hearing protection devices.
• Set up a hearing protection training program.
• Conduct community noise surveys and recommendations for corrective actions for following the local municipal noise codes.
• Establishment of ear protection at risk noise areas.

Non-ionizing radiation assessments includes a physical walk-through surveys and field monitoring surveys to evaluate ultraviolet radiation, radio frequency fields and electric and magnetic field (EMF).

We assist companies with their OSHA VPP applications and prepare them for the required on-site audit. Our staff have firsthand experience with the OSHA VPP program as they have assisted their own employers prior to joining PHASE Associates in addition to assisting our clients.

We can perform PPE hazard assessments for all protective equipment devices (i.e., respirator fit testing) and prepare the written assessment. We also evaluate types of personal protective equipment to purchase and use according to the hazards identified.

The major revisions in 2012 to the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) 29 CFR 1910.1200(g) has had an immense effect on MSDS to the point that MSDS is now referred to Safety Data Sheets (SDS) and compliance is effective as of June 1, 2015.

The HCS will require new SDSs to be in an uniform format. The information contained in the SDS is largely the same as the MSDS, except now the SDSs are required to be uniform format, presented in a consistent user-friendly, 16-section format.

PHASE Associates has been actively engaged in keeping up-to-date with the change in the Hazard Communication Standard as well as the deadline dates for companies to be compliant. PHASE Associates can assist all or parts of the new development of SDS as well as your Hazard Communication program. We will take your raw material ingredients and develop health and safety precautions and other information to produce an accurate and comprehensible SDS. We can also provide Hazard Communications training.

Industrial hygiene assessments can include a review of your facility or construction/demolition site to ensure compliance with Federal, State or Municipal government regulations. An audit can also identify areas and provide you with a realistic and practical plan of action to fix any problem or resolve governmental compliance or facility-related issues. We use a team of experts in safety and industrial hygiene with real term prudent and practical solutions. We can tailor the safety and health audit to focus on OSHA compliance following their library of A to Z regulations.

• Hexavalent Chromium
• Other metals (i.e., cadmium, lead, nickel, zinc and aluminum)