Occupational Health/Industrial Hygiene

Monitoring for exposure to OSHA-regulated chemicals and certain physical hazards (e.g. heat, noise) will be performed by the Industrial Hygienist when there is reason to believe that the exposure routinely exceeds established Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs) or other limits set forth in nationally recognized standards. For example, monitoring would be performed when:

• An employee reports that he or she is routinely exposed to an OSHA-regulated substance.
• An employee shows signs or symptoms of an exposure to a chemical or physical hazard.
• The Industrial Hygienist, other EHS staff member, or the employee's supervisor suspects an exposure.

If the concentration of a contaminant or level of a physical hazard is found to be over the Permissible Exposure Limit, the area will be monitored according to the standard for the substance(s) the employee may be exposed to. Monitoring will continue until corrective actions have reduced the hazard below the permitted limits, or the relevant standard indicates that it may be ended.

The employee will receive copies of all monitoring results within fifteen days of their receipt in EHS. Monitoring for chemical exposures will generally be performed using personal air samplers with appropriate absorbent media, unless the relevant standard dictates another method. Physical hazard monitoring will be performed using the appropriate instrumentation.