Pop-Up 1J: How to Improve Basic Exposure Assessment Practices

Greater Columbus Convention Center 

Occupational hygienists work across a diverse range of industrial environments. In the course of their work, hygienists will need to assess and control worker exposure levels by deploying methods based on the science of risk management, exposure assessment and industrial safety. Hygienists will regularly make decisions relating to worker exposure based on professional judgement, usually in the absence of quantitative data and in the presence of high uncertainty. These factors have the potential to lead to heterogeneity between practitioners, bias, error, and practice variation in the form of departure from established guidelines or protocols.

This Pop-Up education session will provide an overview of a recent study that investigated professional judgement, decision making, and current exposure assessment approaches of occupational hygienists via an online survey that was completed by 189 occupational hygienists worldwide.

The results of this study suggest that practice variation in exposure assessment exists amongst occupational hygienists, with the primary findings being that hygienists use different strategies, and that deviations are largely driven by practical considerations like budget and site inspection findings. The responding hygienists identified opportunities to improve exposure assessment in the areas of randomized sampling, basic hazard identification, and task-based exposure monitoring.

Upon completion the participant will be able to explain why heterogeneity exists between occupational hygienists and how to improve basic exposure assessment practices. 

Introductory

Also part of the Virtual Program

Available as part of AIHA CONNECT OnDemand

Hazard Recognition/Exposure Assessment