C8: NIOSH Special Topics: The Proposed Update to the NIOSH Exposure Assessment Strategy

Greater Columbus Convention Center 

Room: B 233 

CM Credit Hours: 1 

In 1977, NIOSH published the Occupational Exposure Sampling Strategies Manual (OESSM) to guide occupational hygienists in making decisions about the acceptability of exposures when compared to occupational exposure limits. The 1977 NIOSH strategy has several limitations that have long been recognized by practitioners. We present key features of a proposed new strategy that builds on the best features of two currently widely used strategies: the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) and the British-Dutch (BOHS-NvVA) strategies. The proposed strategy synthesizes information from mathematical exposure models, heuristics supplemented with checklists, and historical data trends with current workplace monitoring data embedded in a Bayesian statistical framework. Evaluation of the new strategy shows that it is more effective in identifying exposure scenarios that are clearly unacceptable compared to both the AIHA and the BOHS-NvVA strategies. It is also efficient in that it identifies such scenarios with a minimum number of measurements.

1. State at least two limitations in current exposure assessment strategies.
2. Describe (a) the framework of the proposed strategy and (b) its similarities and differences with the AIHA strategy.
3. Describe how the new strategy can better protect workers from hazardous exposures compared to current strategies.
 

Intermediate

Q&A

Corporation/Company

All Industries

Aerosols & Airborne Particulates

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Big Data