Monitoring Air Quality

A significant part of the Safety and Health Program entails monitoring air quality. When working on a hazardous operations site, workers are at high risk of exposure to airborne contaminants. Employers are responsible for monitoring air quality and identifying and quantifying contaminants to ensure the health and safety of workers at a hazardous work site. Monitoring also helps employers with the following tasks:

• Selecting PPE
• Determining where protection is needed
• Assessing the potential health effects of exposure to airborne contaminants
• Determining the need for specific medical monitoring

Before anyone enters a hazardous waste site, employers should conduct air-quality monitoring to evaluate any conditions that are immediately dangerous to life and health. Such conditions could include oxygen-deficient atmospheres and areas where toxic substance exposures are above permissible limits. Employers should also conduct air-quality monitoring periodically after a hazardous waste cleanup operation begins. During this time, employers should periodically evaluate employees to evaluate whether they have been exposed to hazardous substances in excess of the permissible exposure limits.

To learn more about Hazardous Waste visit our Hazardous Waste Safety Online Training web page.