Unit
1 discussion
In many organizations there are no
full-time industrial hygiene positions. However, most organizations will have a
full-time safety position. The safety officer will typically not have extensive
training or experience in industrial hygiene. Discuss how you believe a safety
officer at the plant level should approach industrial hygiene needs at the
facility level. Where do you believe the safety officer can obtain help with
the industrial hygiene needs?
Unit
2 discussion
Bradford Hill’s criteria for causation are
commonly used to evaluate the relationship between exposure to a chemical and a
specific health effect. Using the six criteria, offer your opinion regarding
the strength of the relationship between exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke
and lung cancer.
Unit
3 discussion
Only the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) permissible exposure limits (PELs) are legally
enforceable in the United States. Some of the OSHA PELs are based upon outdated
toxicology studies and may not be protective enough. The American Conference of
Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) publishes threshold limit values
(TLVs). Many of the TLVs are much more stringent than the corresponding OSHA
PELs based on more recent studies and the fact that the TLVs can be updated
much more frequently than the PELs. The National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health (NIOSH) also publishes guidelines called recommended exposure
limits (RELs). OSHA is not allowed to use TLVs or RELs specifically to issue
citations. Discuss how you believe an industrial hygienist should approach the
use of PELs, TLVs, and RELs in controlling exposures at a workplace.
Optional: Explain how you would recommend
controlling exposures for a chemical when no occupational exposure limit (OEL)
has been established.
Unit
4 discussion
Choose a chemical or biological hazard that
is present at a facility where you have worked or that you are familiar with.
Discuss the properties of the hazard that would affect the exposure potential
in an occupational setting. Summarize the potential health effects associated
with the hazard. Based on the information you learned in this unit, how would
you go about ensuring that the health effects on the facility were properly
mitigated if you were an industrial hygienist or safety officer?
Unit
5 discussion
Take a few moments to think about the
facility where you are currently employed or one where you were employed in the
past. Do you feel that the facility you are thinking about does (or did) enough
to protect its workers from chemical or biological hazards? Why, or why not? If
you feel that the facility does (or did) enough, discuss the protections that
are (or were) employed? If you feel that the facility does not (or did not) do
enough, how could they improve their protection strategy?
Unit
6 discussion
As discussed in the Unit VI Lesson, the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a final
ergonomics program standard on November 14, 2000, which took effect January 16,
2001. Congress passed Senate Joint Resolution 6, which rescinded the original
ergonomics rule that, under the Congressional Review Act, prohibited OSHA from
issuing a rule that is substantially the same as the former one. Since 2001,
OSHA has issued several ergonomics guidelines for some specific industries, and
OSHA can cite ergonomic hazards only under the General Duty Clause.
What are your thoughts about the way
Congress rescinded the original ergonomics rule and how OSHA currently
regulates ergonomic hazards in the workplace?
Unit
7 discussion
Each year, there are several explosions in
industry that are related to combustible dusts. Many of the incidents include
fatalities. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) does not
have a specific combustible dust standard. Combustible dusts found in grain
handling facilities are covered by 29 CFR 1910.272. Under the new Hazard
Communication Standard (HCS), OSHA included combustible dusts as a separate
hazard class but did not include a definition for combustible dusts. Discuss a
combustible dust hazard that may be present at a work location with which you
are familiar. If you are not familiar with a potential combustible dust hazard,
research a combustible dust hazard online. In your discussion, include ideas for
evaluating the combustible dust hazard. In your response to other students in
the course, offer them some ideas that they may not have thought of for
evaluating the hazard.
Unit
8 discussion
The Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) has established a hierarchy of controls for reducing
risks associated with hazards at workplaces. You can view OSHA’s hierarchy of
controls at the following link: https://www.osha.gov/dte/grant_materials/fy10/sh-20839-10/hierarchy_of_controls.pdf.
Choose one level of the hierarchy, and discuss a control method with which you
are familiar. Summarize the positive and negative attributes of the control
method you chose, and suggest the difficulties one might expect to encounter
while implementing the control method. In addition, discuss how well you feel
the material presented in this course has prepared you for the workplace.
