In this episode, Debbie Dietrich, Senior Vice President and Corporate Industrial Hygienist for SKC Inc. joins host Mark Reggers for the first of a two-part series on Exposure Monitoring.

Exposure monitoring is a quantitative measurement of environmental hazards to which workers may be exposed to. It is a critical component of any Occupational Hygiene program in the prevention of illness and the preservation of health. Assessments help determine the types of controls required to remove or reduce a range of workplace hazards to things like chemicals, noise, radiation or heat stress to safe and acceptable levels.

Guest Bio:

Debbie Dietrich (pictured left) is currently the Senior Vice President and Corporate Industrial Hygienist for SKC Inc. Debbie has been working with SKC Inc for over 30 years where she prepares and presents air sampling training programs and seminars for customers, employees and distributors. Debbie has also served as a Director on the National AIHA Board and as President of the Gulf Coast AIHA local section.

She has prepared a number of articles for professional journals and SKC publications and was the author of the chapter on ‘Sampling of Gases and Vapors’ in the AIHA ‘White Book’.

Debbie completed a Master of Science in Industrial Hygiene at the University of Texas in Houston and is Certified in Comprehensive Practice of Industrial Hygiene by ABIH.

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In this episode, part 1 of 2, Mark & Debbie discuss the following:

• What is exposure monitoring?
• How is exposure monitoring data used?
• Can exposure monitoring be undertaken for all chemicals and contaminants that may be found in the workplaces?
• How is monitoring done for chemicals where there is not a method?
• For chemicals where there is not a method how is a worker’s exposure or health risk assessed?
• Who is able to undertake exposure monitoring? Is it only occupational hygienists?
• What is a similar exposure group and how is this used in exposure monitoring?
• What type of equipment is used to perform exposure monitoring?
• What is the size and weight of this equipment?
• Where can listeners get more information on exposure monitoring?

With the widespread use of chemicals in industry, exposure to hazardous substances can be found in many workplaces that are detrimental to worker health and safety. Exposure monitoring is required under OH & S laws where there is a significant risk to due to using, handling, generating or storing hazardous chemicals. There are legal limits to the concentration of some of the chemical fumes that workers may be exposed to. For this reason, we need to know how much of the chemical the worker is actually breathing in to ensure their exposure is minimised to safe levels. Tune in as we look at exposure monitoring; what it is and how it’s performed.

Additional Resources:

• Podcast Transcript
• SafeWork Australia – Air Monitoring for airborne contaminants
• NIOSH – Exposure Assessment Programs
• NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods (NMAM) 5th Edition
• AIOH
• SKC Inc

Contact a 3M Safety Specialist at scienceofsafetyanz@mmm.com for more information.