Assignment
1.) Welding fumes are a common occupational exposure. Several different welding fumes can cause similar adverse health effects. Personal sampling of a welding operation at a manufacturing facility produced the following 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA) results for individual metal fumes. Please see attached document for sampling results.
Briefly summarize the primary health effects associated with overexposure to each type of metal fume, including both acute and chronic health effects. Explain what analytical methods you would use for evaluating health hazards in the workplace.
Identify the types of metal fumes that would produce similar health effects on an exposed worker. Assume that each listed metal can cause respiratory irritation. Use the equation in 1910.1000(d)(2)(i) to calculate the equivalent exposure (in relation to OSHA PELS) for the metal fumes with similar health effects based on the "Result" column in the table above. Discuss whether you believe any of the individual metal fume exposures or the combined exposure exceeds an OSHA PEL or an ACGIH TLV.
Your homework assignment should be a minimum of two pages in length.
2.) Choose an operation for a workplace where you once worked or with which you are familiar where either chemical hazards or noise exposures were present. If you have never worked in a location where chemical hazards or noise are present, read about some examples on OSHA's website and choose one that interests you. Complete the following tasks in a minimum two-page (500 word) essay:
• Summarize the steps you would take to perform a hazard assessment of your chosen operation. Make sure you list the chemical hazards or noise hazards that are present using the example hazard assessment from OSHA's website or one with which you are already familiar.
• Discuss the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) for controlling occupational hazards in relation to the operation you chose.
• Choose one hazard that you identified. The hazard can be a chemical or noise hazard. Summarize how you would evaluate employee exposures to the hazard. Include information about any sampling method you would use, how many samples you would collect, the types of samples you would collect (e.g., personal or area, TWA or short-term), and to which standards you would apply the results.
• Assume there are several results indicating that employees are exposed to levels exceeding the applicable OSHAPEL. Using OSHA's Hierarchy of Controls, summarize the control methods you would employ to reduce the risk for employees to an acceptable level. Your summary should include examples from each level of OSHA's Hierarchy of Controls with a discussion of why you think the control would or would not be an effective method for reducing the exposure to an acceptable level.
• Discuss how you would evaluate the effectiveness of the control methods you chose, both in the short-term and for the next 5 years.
Your essay must be in APA format, and include a minimum of two sources.
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Metal Fume
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Result
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OSHA PEL
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ACGIH TLV
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Antimony
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0.05 mg/m3
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0.05 mg/m3
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0.05 mg/m3
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Beryllium
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0.00001 mg/m3
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0.002 mg/m3
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0.00005 mg/m3 (I)
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Cadmium
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0.025 mg/m3
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0.1 mg/m3
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0.01 mg/m3
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Chromium
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0.02 mg/m3
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1 mg/m3
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0.5 mg/m3
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Copper
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0.03 mg/m3
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0.1 mg/m3
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0.2 mg/m3
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Iron Oxide
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0.5 mg/m3
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10 mg/m3
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5 mg/m3 (R)
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Magnesium Oxide
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0.02 mg/m3
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15 mg/m3
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10 mg/m3
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Molybdenum
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0.003 mg/m3
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15 mg/m3
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10 mg/m3
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Nickel
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0.25 mg/m3
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1 mg/m3
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1.5 mg/m3 (I)
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Zinc Oxide
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0.3 mg/m3
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5 mg/m3
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2 mg/m3 (R)
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(R) Respirable fraction (I) Inhalable fraction