Industrial Hygiene Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Industrial Hygiene - Essay Example An exposure to the level above the limit is a violation of the law and can lead to the company’s closure or fine. However, it has been noted that an employee may be exposed to a hazardous materials at a level of about 2/3 of the allowable limit, but still show symptoms consistent with the exposure to the material. This paper explores this issue in terms of exposure limits, absorbed dose, sampling, analysis, and other individual factors. As earlier stated, the OSHA did establish an Occupational Exposure Limit (OEL) to ensure that workers are not exposed to too much chemicals that may be dangerous for their health. OEL refers to an allowable intensity of hazardous chemicals at the workplace over a given period of time. The limit of exposure is expressed on a time-weighted average (TWA) of 8 hours. It can also be expressed on a short-term average limit (STEL) of 15 or 30 minutes of exposure, which is the concentration level to which an employee can be exposed to the chemicals without showing any signs of the hazardous chemicals (Nims, 1999). Therefore, an employee exposed to hazardous chemicals of about 2/3 of the allowable limit implies an exposure to the chemicals for a period within the limit permitted by the OSHA. Despite the exposure being within the allowable limit, an employee can still show signs consistent with the exposure to the hazardous materials when the dosage absorbed within the limit is high. This is because there are certain chemicals that are very poisonous and any slight contact with such materials will manifest itself on the employee either through irritation, swellings, breathing problems just to name but a few. In addition, an employee may still show the symptoms of exposure to the materials despite not exceeding the allowable limits when the exposure to the dosage of the chemical has been gradual thereby resulting into high accumulation of the hazardous chemicals in the body. When such occurs, definitely the worker will