Detailed Work Analysis for Control of Exposure to Airborne Contaminants in the Workplace

Measures with the aim of reducing exposure to airborne pollutants at workplaces are often expensive, so instituting those measures with maximum efficacy is of the utmost importance. Four different industrial operations—the lamination of waste water tanks made from glass fiber reinforced polyester plastic, spray painting of kitchen cabinet doors, carpentry, and stone crushing—were studied to ascertain the importance of variations in exposure to priorities for detailed countermeasures. The PIMEX® method, based on the measurement of exposure with direct-reading instruments combined with video filming, was used for data acquisition. The data acquired from the four workplaces were subjected to detailed exposure analysis. The exposure analysis concentrated on the variation in exposure and the relative contributions made by the different work steps. The reported method for data processing shows the great importance of brief, heavy exposure to total exposure. Detailed analysis of the recorded video film made it possible to identify critical work steps. The data analysis disclosed the extent to which countermeasures for critical work steps were able to reduce exposure. The factual information obtained with this method can be used when exposure is heavy and action is necessary.