Air Monitoring - Testing & Monitoring Instruments

Initial site characterization may provide circumstantial information about known hazards. For example, a former paint manufacturing site will likely contain products and byproducts of the paint manufacturing process. Materials known to be hazardous in paint manufacturing are amply documented and can be assumed to be present. However, this information shouldn't be assumed to be comprehensive or accurate. At hazardous waste sites, unknown and multiple contaminants are the rule rather than the exception. Therefore, testing is required.

Of the four major routes chemical take into the human body - inhalation (breathing), absorption (skin contact), ingestion (eating), and injection - inhalation is the most common. Airborne contaminants are a special risk category for workers at hazardous waste sites. Workers can choose not to touch or ingest workplace chemicals, but they cannot prevent inhalation if not outfitted with appropriate PPE. Furthermore, airborne contaminants are often undetectable. Therefore, testing and monitoring of air quality at hazardous waste sites is an integral component of initial site characterization and ongoing monitoring protocols.

Testing for airborne contaminants takes one or both of the following forms:

• On-site use of direct-reading instruments
• Laboratory analysis of air samples

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