Research Paper

Each student will research an industrial hygiene sampling event and develop a comprehensive exposure assessment report. Students can select from:

• Asbestos exposure from the World Trade Center disaster
• The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Assume that you work for Acme Industrial Hygiene Consultants and you are at an event conducting air samples. In your paper, you will discuss:

• What was going on during sampling?
• What was your sampling method?
• What are your results?

You are expected to use the AIHA Statistical Spreadsheet to assist you in analyzing the data. To access the spreadsheet please follow the following directions:

1. Go to www.aiha.org.
2. Click on the tab title "Get Involved" to search for "Exposure Assessment Strategies Committee."
3. Next, select "Volunteer Groups."
4. Click on "Exposure Assessment Strategies Committee."
5. Scroll down and select "New IHSTAT Macro Free Version."
6. Once you have loaded the excel document, make sure to click "Enable Editing" at the top of the spreadsheet.
7. Under the OEL section, insert the OEL for asbestos or benzene that you will use here.
8. Delete the existing date in the sheet, and enter the trailer sample dataset you choose.
9. As you populate the spreadsheet, the statistics will calculate, and the graphs will begin forming the picture of the exposure profile of the trailers.

To locate a tutorial on how to use the AIHA spreadsheet, please view the following video, Instructions for Using the AIHA Statistical Spreadsheet, located at https://youtu.be/v4JeQW0JF6k. (For a transcript for this video please click here.)

You will also need to discuss:

• The descriptive statistics for the dataset
• The number of samples above the OEL (if any)
• What the 95th percentile exposure level would be?
• What exposure category you would put the workers' exposure into (e.g., 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4)?

You will find that each data set has a number of samples broken down into different activities. Assume that each activity would be a different SEG. Select 1 or 2 SEGs for the purpose of your analysis and report.

If you choose to use the World Trade Center data, you can choose from either the Lower Manhattan Asbestos Data, or the Staten Island Asbestos Data. You can find the data at the following OSHA website: http://www.osha.gov/nyc-disaster/wtc.html

If you choose to use the Deepwater Horizon dataset, focus on the potential benzene exposure. You will also need to select one SEG / task for the purpose of your research (e.g., boat operators, beach cleanup). The dataset is very large and you will want to keep your research focused to a manageable level. It would be acceptable to select a few of the SEGs for comparison. For example, you could compare the boat operator's exposure to that of the beach cleanup crew. You can find the data on the OSHA website at the following address: http://www.osha.gov/oilspills/index_sampling.html

You will find that the AIHA spreadsheet does not allow you to enter a "non-detect" value of zero. There are various substitution techniques for estimating distribution parameters from datasets containing censored data: each censored datum is replaced with the (1) LOD, (2) half of the LOD, (3) or LOD divided by the square root of 2. Simple substitution (just using the actual LOD) works well when the percentage of LOD values is small. See Unit VIII Study Guide for more information.

An example report is provided to give you an idea of how to properly develop a comprehensive written report. Your report does not have to follow this exactly; it is provided as an example only. However, your report should address all 7 items listed above for full credit.

Your report should be a minimum of five pages in length. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations.