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Particulates and Gases
Published in W. David Yates, Safety Professional’s Reference and Study Guide, 2020
There are two standards that we need to reference before proceeding. The first standard is the permissible exposure limit or PEL, which is established by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), for each contaminant regulated. The PEL establishes the maximum exposure concentration to a contaminant that an employee can be exposed to in an 8-h workday. The OSHA PEL is the only standard that is enforceable by law. The second standard to be discussed is the threshold limit value or TLV, which is established by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienist (ACGIH). The TLV establishes the exposure time for various contaminants in an 8-h workday. The majority of contaminants having a TLV are consistent with the requirements of the PEL. However, for some contaminants listed, the exposure concentrations are more stringent than the PEL. This is primarily attributed to the fact that ACGIH does not consider the economic impact in establishing the standard. The TLV is not enforceable under the law. When faced with a conflict in the standards, it is strongly recommended that the safety professional adhere to the more stringent standard. This is in keeping with the philosophy of holding the safety and health of the employee paramount in any decision.
Protection from Chemicals in Special Situations: Large Chemical Operations, Hazardous Waste Site Cleanup, and Emergency Response
Published in Ronald Scott, of Industrial Hygiene, 2018
Periodic monitoring determines kinds and levels of hazardous materials in the air. A combination of engineering controls, work practices, and personal protective equipment must ensure that worker exposure to these chemicals is below established exposure levels (PEL, etc.). Employers determine procedures and locations for decontamination of workers and equipment in advance.
Particulates and Gases
Published in W. David Yates, Safety Professional’s, 2015
There are two standards that we need to reference before proceeding. The first standard is the Permissible Exposure Limit or PEL, which is established by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), for each contaminant regulated. The PEL establishes the maximum exposure concentration to a contaminant that an employee can be exposed to in an 8-h workday. The OSHA PEL is the only standard that is enforceable by law. The second standard to be discussed is the Threshold Limit Value or TLV, which is established by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienist (ACGIH). The TLV establishes the exposure time for various contaminants in an 8-h workday. The majority of contaminants having a TLV are consistent with the requirements of the PEL. However, for some contaminants listed, the exposure concentrations are more stringent than the PEL. This is primarily attributed to the fact that ACGIH does not consider the economic impact in establishing the standard. The TLV is not enforceable under the law. When faced with a conflict in the standards, it is strongly recommended that the safety professional adhere to the more stringent standard. This is in keeping with the philosophy of holding the safety and health of the employee paramount in any decision.
Determination of activated carbon fiber adsorption capacity for several common organic vapors: applications for respiratory protection
Published in Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 2021
Margaret Summers, Jonghwa Oh, Claudiu T. Lungu
Workers who are exposed to airborne cotaminants above permissible exposure limits (PELs) may require the use of respiratory protection. Based on the complexity of many workplace exposures, the use of both particulate and gas-phase respirators is often indicated (Plog, Niland, and Quinlan 1996). Exposure to a complex mix of airborne contaminants occurs in a variety of workplaces: these workplaces can include industrial settings in which workers are exposed to both volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and liquid aerosols that may result from the use of spray coatings, adhesives, and cleaning solvents; healthcare settings in which workers may be exposed to infectious aerosols, potent pharmaceutical compounds, VOC-containing surgical smoke, and vapor-phase disinfectants (Choi et al. 2018; Rozzi, Snyder, and Novak 2012); and a variety of law enforcement and first responder settings (Reinhardt and Broyles 2018).
Molecular adsorption studies of formaldehyde and methanol on novel twisted bilayer beta phosphorene sheets – a first-principles investigation
Published in Molecular Physics, 2021
V. Nagarajan, R. Chandiramouli
Formaldehyde (HCHO) is mainly used as bonding agents, solvents, adhesives, paints, synthetic fabrics, personal products, and cosmetics. It is also found in automobile exhaust. Moreover, the beneficial aspects of formaldehyde are many. Even though there is a lot of beneficial aspects, formaldehyde is highly toxic to humans and animals. The Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) according to OSHA is 0.75 parts per million (ppm) beyond this limit, it leads to coughing, burning sensations in the eyes, throat, and nose, wheezing, skin irritation, and nausea [26]. Methanol (CH3OH) is one of the substitutes for gasoline in automotive vehicles, rocket fuels, automotive antifreezes, and as a general solvent. The PEL for methanol is 200 ppm with regard to OSHA, exceeding the limit leads to eye irritation, skin irritation, and respiratory problems [27]. The volatile organic vapours such as formaldehyde and methanol vapours are detected by metal oxide materials [28–30]. However, nowadays 2D materials are also used as sensing elements to sense formaldehyde and methanol vapours [31–33]. In the proposed work, we deployed twisted bilayer β-phosphorene nanosheet (TB-PNS) as a base substrate to adsorb formaldehyde and methanol molecules.
Sources of error and variability in particulate matter sensor network measurements
Published in Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 2019
Christopher Zuidema, Larissa V. Stebounova, Sinan Sousan, Geb Thomas, Kirsten Koehler, Thomas M. Peters
Occupational exposure to particulate matter (PM) is responsible for increased morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and elevated risk of lung cancer in workers.[1–4] In the United States, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulates that a workplace maintains exposures below permissible exposure limits (PELs). For respirable particles not otherwise regulated, the PEL is 5 mg/m3 expressed as an 8-hr, time-weighted average (TWA).[5] The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH®) recommends an 8-hr, threshold limit value-TWA of 3 mg/m3 for respirable particles not otherwise specified.[6] These limits are almost 1,000 times higher than those applicable to ambient air, such as the 24-hr National Ambient Air Quality Standard for particulate matter smaller than 2.5 µm of 35 µg/m3.