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TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES1. Industrial hygiene personnel shall demonstrate an expert level knowledge of healthstressors that may be found in the workplace and the community.a. Discuss the following types of health stressors and provide examples of hazardsthat may be anticipated: Chemical Biological PhysicalChemicalThe following is taken from the National Safety Council, Fundamentals of IndustrialHygiene.The majority of occupational health hazards arise from inhaling chemical agents in the formof vapors, gases, dusts, fumes, and mists, or by skin contact with these materials. The degreeof risk of handling a given substance depends on the magnitude and duration of exposure.To recognize occupational factors or stresses, a health and safety professional must firstknow about the chemicals used as raw materials and the nature of the products and byproducts manufactured. This sometimes requires great effort. The required information canbe obtained from the material safety data sheet (MSDS) that must be supplied by thechemical manufacturer or importer for all hazardous materials under the Occupational Safetyand Health Administration (OSHA) hazard communication standard.Many industrial materials such as resins and polymers are relatively inert and nontoxic undernormal conditions of use, but when heated or machined, they may decompose to form highlytoxic by-products. Information about these hazardous products and by-products must also beincluded in the company’s hazard communication program.Breathing of some materials can irritate the upper respiratory tract or the terminal passages ofthe lungs and the air sacs, depending on the solubility of the material. Contact of irritantswith the skin surface can produce various kinds of dermatitis.The presence of excessive amount of biologically inert gases can dilute the atmosphericoxygen below the level required to maintain the normal blood saturation value for oxygenand disturb cellular processes. Other gases and vapors can prevent the blood from carryingoxygen to the tissues or interfere with its transfer from the blood to the tissue, thus producingchemical asphyxia or suffocation. Carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide are examples ofchemical asphyxiants.Some substances may affect the central nervous system and brain to produce narcosis oranesthesia. In varying degrees, many solvents have these effects. Substances are oftenclassified, according to the major reaction they produce, as asphyxiants, systemic toxins,pneumoconiosis-producing agents, carcinogens, and irritant gases.3

BiologicalBiological stressors represent a distinct category of hazards. Unlike chemical or physicalhazards, biological stressors (1) grow, reproduce, and die, (2) disperse both actively andpassively, (3) interact with other biological populations in the ecosystem, and (4) evolve.Therefore, biological stressors as diverse as human pathogens (e.g., Salmonella and Bacillusanthracis), plant and animal pathogens (e.g., Asian soybean rust and avian influenza virus),and invasive species (e.g., Mediterranean fruit fly and kudzu) share many common features.The distinction between risk assessment for biological stressors and chemical risk assessmentmay be overstated, however, and a number of parallels can be drawn. For example, pathogeninactivation is analogous to chemical sequestration, and a population of invasive cells in thebody is analogous to a population of invasive species in the environment. To date, however,the practice of risk assessment for biological stressors has not adopted conventions assimplifying assumptions to the extent that they are generally applied in the more mature fieldof chemical risk assessment. As with risk assessment in other fields, managing the tensionbetween complexity and utility is likely to remain an ongoing challenge for the emergingfield of risk assessment for biological stressors.Title 29 CFR 1910.1030 defines bloodborne pathogens as pathogenic microorganisms thatare present in human blood and can cause disease in humans. These pathogens include, butare not limited to, hepatitis B virus and human immunodeficiency virus.Each employer having an employee(s) with occupational exposure shall establish a writtenexposure control plan designed to eliminate or minimize employee exposure. Occupationalexposure means reasonably anticipated skin, eye, mucous membrane, or parenteral contactwith blood or other potentially infectious materials that may result from the performance ofan employee’s duties. Each employer who has an employee(s) with occupational exposureshall prepare an exposure determination. Engineering and work practice controls shall beused to eliminate or minimize employee exposure. Where occupational exposure remainsafter institution of these controls, personal protective equipment (PPE) shall also be used.When there is occupational exposure, the employer shall provide, at no cost to the employee,appropriate PPE such as, but not limited to, gloves, gowns, and laboratory coats; face shields/masks and eye protection; and mouthpieces, resuscitation bags, pocket masks, or otherventilation devices. PPE will be considered appropriate only if it does not permit blood orother potentially infectious materials to pass through or to reach the employee’s workclothes, street clothes, undergarments, skin, eyes, mouth, or other mucous membranes undernormal conditions of use and for the duration of time the protective equipment will be used.The risk and precautions for level A laboratories are described by agent in table 1.4

Table 1. Risk and precautions for level A laboratoriesAgentBSLSpecimenExposure RiskRecommended Precautions forLevel A LaboratoriesSpecimen CultureHandling HandlingBacillusanthracis22Blood, skin lesionexudates, CSF,pleural fluidsputum, and rarelyurine and feces.Brucella 23Yersiniapestis422Blood, bonemarrow, CSF,tissue, semen andoccasionally urine.Toxin may bepresent in foodspecimens, clinicalmaterial (serum,gastric and feces),and environmentalsamples (soil,surface water).Toxin is extremelypoisonous.Skin lesion exdates,respiratorysecretions, CSF,blood, and urine.Tissues frominfected animals andfluids from infectedarthropods.Bubo fluid, blood,sputum, CSF, feces,and urine.Smallpox544VHF644Lesion fluid orcrusts, respiratorysecretions, or tissue.Blood, urine,respiratorysecretions, orsemen, and tissue.BSL2: Activitiesinvolving clinicalmaterial collectionand diagnosticquantities ofinfectious cultures.BSL2: Activitieslimited to collection,transport and platingof clinical material.BSL2: Activitieswith materialsknown or potentiallycontaining toxinmust be handled in abiological safetycabinet with a labcoat, disposablesurgical gloves, anda face shield.BLS2: Activitieslimited to collection,transport and platingof clinical material.BSL3: Activitieswith high potentialfor aerosol or dropletproduction.BSL2: Activitiesinvolving clinicalmaterial collectionand diagnosticquantities ofinfectious cultures.BSL4: Specimencollection/transportBSL3: Activitieswith high potentialfor aerosol or dropletproduction.BSL3: All activitiesinvolvingmanipulations ofcultures.BSL3: Activitieswith high potentialfor aerosol or dropletproduction.BSL3: All activitiesinvolvingmanipulations ofcultures.BSL4: Specimencollection/transportSource: CDC Microbiology Biosafety1.Laboratory-acquired brucellosis has occurred by sniffing cultures; aerosols generated by centrifugation;mouth pipetting; accidental parenteral inoculations; sprays into eyes, nose, and mouth; and by directcontact with clinical specimens.5

2.3.4.5.6.Exposure to toxin is the primary laboratory hazard since absorption can occur with direct contact with skin,eyes, or mucous membranes, including the respiratory tract. The toxic can be neutralized by 0.1 M sodiumhydroxide. C. botulinum is inactivated by 1:10 dilution of household bleach. Contact time is 20 minutes. Ifmaterial contains toxin and organisms, the spill must be sequentially treated with bleach and sodiumhydroxide for a total contact time of 40 minutes.Laboratory-acquired tularemia infection has been more commonly associated with cultures than withclinical materials/animals. Direct skin/mucous membrane contact with cultures; parenteral inoculation;ingestion; and aerosol exposure have resulted in infection.Special care should be taken to avoid the generation of aerosols.Ingestion, parenteral inoculation, and droplet or aerosol exposure of mucous membranes or broken skinwith infectious fluids or tissues are the primary hazards to laboratorians.Respiratory exposure to infections aerosols, mucous membrane exposure to infectious droplets, andaccidental parenteral inoculation are the primary hazards to laboratorians.PhysicalTitle 29 CFR 1910.95 states that when employees are subjected to sound levels exceedingthose listed in table 2, below, feasible administrative or engineering controls shall be utilized.If such controls fail to reduce sound levels to permissible limits as specified in table 2, PPEshall be provided and used to reduce sound levels so that they fall within the levels of thetable.Table 2. Permissible noise exposuresDuration per day(hours)Sound level, dBASlow Response864321½1½¼ or less90929597100102105110115Source: 29 CFR 1910.195The employer shall administer a continuing, effective hearing conservation programwhenever employee noise exposures equal or exceed an eight-hour time-weighted averagesound level of 85 decibels measured on the A scale (slow response) or, equivalently, a doseof 50 percent.According to 29 CFR 1926.54, employees working in areas where there exists a potentialexposure to direct or reflected laser light greater than 0.005 watts (5 milliwatts) shall beprovided with anti-laser eye protection devices. Areas in which lasers are used shall beposted with standard laser warning placards. Employees whose occupation or assignmentrequires exposure to laser beams shall be furnished suitable laser safety goggles which will6

protect for the specific wavelength of the laser and be of optical density adequate for theenergy involved.Lasers are classified in categories 1 (safe) to 4 (dangerous). Most precautions apply to Class3b and 4 lasers. The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH)provides threshold limit values (TLVs) for lasers, while ANSI Z136.1, American NationalStandard for the Safe Use of Lasers, provides more detailed guidance on acceptable practicesto provide safety. DOE O 420.2B, Safety of Accelerator Facilities, states that although eyeinjury from nonionizing radiation is generally the primary hazard, laser systems can presentelectrical and chemical hazards as well. In addition to the nonionizing radiation hazard,electrical hazards are associated with the high-voltage power supplies used in many lasersystems. In particular, Class 4 lasers often use large power supplies that carry an appreciablerisk of electrocution, especially in maintenance and adjustment procedures. Chemical hazardscan be associated with halogen and dye lasers, as well as with radiation decomposition.Electromagnetic radiation is restricted to that portion of the spectrum commonly defined asthe radio frequency (RF) region, which includes the microwave frequency region. DOEG 420.2-1, Accelerator Facility Safety Implementation Guide for DOE O 420.2B, Safety ofAccelerator Facilities, states that to avoid exposure of persons to unacceptable levels of RFfields, engineered control measures, such as shielding, prevention of wave guide leakage,enclosures, interlocks preventing accidental energizing of circuits, and dummy loadterminations, should be given first consideration over any use of PPE. Where exposure inexcess of the limits is possible, RF leakage tests should be conducted when the system is firstoperated and after modifications that might result in changes to the leakage. Area RFmonitors are appropriate when RF energy can be expected in occupied areas. The ACGIHspecifies guidelines for personnel protection in the form of TLVs. Use of the ACGIHguidelines in their most current form for RF and microwave fields is required as part ofworker protection management for DOE contractor employees.b. Describe how the following sources of information can be used to assist in theanticipation of health stressors: Standards Regulations Standard texts and references Material safety data sheet (MSDS) of materials in site inventoriesStandardsThe following is taken from DOE G 252.1-1.As defined in Public Law (PL) 104-113, technical standards are “performance-based ordesign-specific technical specifications and related management system practices” that aredeveloped and adopted by voluntary consensus standards bodies. The Office of Managementand Budget (OMB), Circular No. A-119 expands the PL 104-113 definition of standards toinclude (1) common and repeated use of rules, conditions, guidelines, or characteristics forproducts or related processes and production methods, and related management systemspractices; and (2) the definition of terms; classification of components; delineation ofprocedures; specification of dimensions, materials, performance, designs, or operations;7

measurement of quality and quantity in describing materials, processes, products, systems,services, or practices; test methods and sampling procedures; or descriptions of fit andmeasurements of size or strength.DOE describes technical standards in a manner similar to OMB A-119; that is, as aprescribed set of criteria concerned with classification of components; delineation ofprocedures; specification of materials, products, performance, design, or operations; anddefinitions of terms or measurements of quality and quantity in describing materials,products, systems, services, or practices.The most common topics for DOE technical standards are related to nuclear technology andenvironment, safety, and health aspects of nuclear technology, such as design, construction,maintenance, operational standards, performance, management systems, component andfacility classification, common practices, and technical specifications. Still others includedecommissioning, information management, training, standardized procedures, projectmanagement, services, and product specifications.RegulationsThe following is taken from the U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA, Informational Booklet onIndustrial Hygiene.Under the Occupational Safety

23. Industrial hygiene personnel shall demonstrate a working level knowledge of the interrelationship between quality assurance programs and industrial hygiene. 150 24. Industrial hygiene personnel sh