FAQ

It is simply a wording difference. In the southern hemisphere the industry is called occupational hygiene, while in the northern hemisphere it is called industrial hygiene.

Calibration is simply the comparison of instrument performance to a standard of known precision. The purpose is to detect and eliminate inaccuracies. Properly calibrated equipment gives confidence that our measurements are true to a certain level of accuracy..

A professional industrial hygienist will measure air quality in two key areas: a worker’s breathing zone and the ambient air in a given physical area. The resultant approach to improving air quality is three-tiered: Eliminate or reduce particles and fumes through engineering controls.

Conventionally, the “breathing zone” is defined as the zone within a 0.3 m (or 10 inches) radius of a worker’s nose and mouth, and it has been generally assumed that a contaminant in the breathing zone is homogeneous and its concentration is equivalent to the concentration inhaled by the worker.

An occupational hygiene assessment can be desktop and/or field based. It involves identifying a hazard, determining a risk to the workers, and providing advice to manage the risk using the hierarchy of controls.

Testing should be carried out using calibrated instruments that can calculate the time-weighted average (TWA) exposure. The time-weighted average accounts for the varying exposure throughout the course of a shift, an 8-hour workday, and a 40-hour workweek. Tests should be run according to set parameters, which may include short-term testing or testing that runs for the length of the employee’s shift.

There are several considerations when undertaking an occupational hygiene assessment. These include but are not restricted to:

• Whether to go to site or not
• If all workers are exposed in the same way
• If the hazards are based upon the processes used, or the ways the workers interact with the environment
• The legislative environment in which the business is operating
• Different assessments in different states
• If anyone is immediately at risk which would require operations to stop

Noise exposure is an example of a common occupational hygiene hazard. Noise affects lots of industries and workplaces. It applies to lots of different workplaces, and it can apply in unexpected ways. For example, changing the layout of a factory or workspace could reflect noise completely differently resulting in the noise being projected into a different area of the workplace.

Please provide the following information to our Occupational Hygienists:

• Your contact details
• The nature and identification of the suspected hazard (chemical, biological or physical)
• How long has the hazard been present for?
• Where the hazard is located?
• Are there any suspected or known health effects?
• Whether there are any special requirements/considerations that Robson’s need to know about (i.e. special PPE or clothing/footwear requirements to visit your workplace, public place or home)
• Have there been any reported injuries or complaints?
• What questions do you want answered?
• What outcomes are you hoping to achieve?

When engaging an occupational hygienist safety, knowhow and experience are key. It’s important to choose a reputable provider, that you can rely on to deliver on your project’s objectives and trust to work to the highest standards of Australian safety. Make sure you choose an occupational hygienist with relevant industry qualifications and licenses.

Asbestos is a fibrous mineral, composed mainly of silica, that occurs naturally in the environment. It is mined, processed and then used as an ingredient in the manufacture of many building components.

The fibers that are formed are microscopic in size, up to 300 times smaller than the diameter of human hair. These very small fibers, once released from a building material matrix, can become suspended in air for many hours or days. If inhaled these fibers can reach the alveoli sacks in your lungs. Once there they cannot be expelled. They become trapped in your lung tissues and your body will form scar tissue around them, or possibly produce cancer. The build up of scar tissue in your lungs is referred to as asbestosis. Your lungs cannot get enough oxygen to the blood when it has a lot of scar tissue in it. Also, if cancer cells form around these lodged fibers, then you have lung cancer which can spread and be deadly. A third asbestos illness, mesothelioma, is a rare type of cancer but is very deadly.