Occupational Health Solutions for Your Workplace

Elias Occupational Hygiene Consulting

Chemical Exposure Publications

Guidance for how you can establish chemical exposure limits

Funded by: Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba, 2010There is potential chemical exposure in a manufacturing plant

Author: John Elias

A guidance manual was developed to assist workplaces, with limited resources, to comply with the Manitoba Regulation and to protect the health of all workers.

Download Establishing Occupational Exposure Limits in your Workplace

Visit the Adjusting TLVs website

 

Medications can complicate chemical exposures

Presented at: The Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists, 2011

Authors: John Elias & Alison Reineke

Chemical exposure limits are designed as guidelines, and not as regulatory (specification) standards. As professionals, occupational hygienists must apply exposure limits to the specific situations in our workplaces. Among other things we must take into account age and health of workers. Related to these people factors is the use of prescribed medication and over-the-counter medication. Medications may contain the same chemicals as those found in the workplace.

Download Effects of Drugs on Chemical Exposures

 

Shift work can complicate workplace chemical exposures

Presented at: The American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exhibition, 2013

Authors: John Elias & Alison Reineke

The time of day a worker receives a chemical exposure may affect the different health symptoms being exhibited. Shift work is a growing reality and care must be taken with regards to chemical exposures. Learn how this may affect your workplace.

Download Shift Work and Workplace Exposures

 

Smoking can affect workplace chemical exposures

Presented at: The American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exhibition, 2014

Authors: John Elias & Alison Reineke

The chemicals in cigarette smoke can combine with workplace chemicals to create unexpected results, which may increase the toxicity of the workplace chemicals or create new unexpected toxic metabolites.

Download Smoking and TLVs

 

Adjustments for unusual work schedules

Presented at: Canadian Society of Safety Engineering – MB Chapter, 2014

Authors: John Elias & Alison Reineke

TLVs are not meant to protect all workers under all working conditions. One of the unusual working conditions where workers may not be protected by the TLVs is an unusual work schedule. Manitoba legislation requires employers to take this into account and make appropriate adjustments to workplace exposure levels. This is a guideline outlining the different methods of adjusting the TLVs in order to protect worker health when working different work schedules.

Download Adjustments for Unusual Work Schedules

We have provided a copy of the ToxicoKinetic OEL Extended Shift Adjust Excel Spreadsheet which has been reproduced with permission of T.W. Armstrong.

Download ToxicoKinetic OEL Extended Shift Adjust

 

An aging workforce can complicate workplace chemical exposures

Presented at: The 10th IOHA International Conference, London, 2015

Authors: John Elias & Alison Reineke

The workforce is slowly aging and adjustments to occupational exposure limits need to be made in order to handle this new reality. There is evidence that reduced pulmonary function, visual acuity, hearing, rates of metabolism, response to heat, and an increased incidence of chronic illnesses such as heart and kidney diseases, diabetes, and arthritis can alter an older worker’s response to workplace hazards.

Download TLVs and an Aging Workforce

 

Adjusting TLVs for reproductive and developmental health

Presented at: The American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exhibition, 2015

Authors: John Elias & Alison Reineke

The Industrial hygienists need guidelines for adjusting TLVs® for the pregnant worker in the workplace. Some TLVs® already take into account reproductive effects however many do not. Where no reproductive and developmental toxicity data is given, the following provides some information to assist in assessing occupational exposures during pregnancy.

Download Adjustments for Reproductive Health

 

Adjusting TLVs for sensitization

Presented at: The Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists, 2015

Authors: John Elias & Alison Reineke

The possibilities of having a sensitized worker in the workplace are significant given that 40-45% of the population can become sensitized. Sensitized workers, such as those with allergies or asthma do not fall into the category of “normal healthy workers” and the TLVs may not protect them. This presentation provides some guidance in the identification and protection of susceptible workers.

Download Adjustments for Sensitization

 

Adjusting TLVs for health

Presented at: The American Industrial Hygiene Association Conference and Exhibition, 2017

Authors: John Elias & Alison Reineke

The usual practice for the occupational hygienist is to investigate how conditions in the workplace affect worker’s health. Equally important is the investigation of how worker’s health can influence the individual’s reaction to environmental stresses. Exposure limits are set for “normal” healthy workers. Since the health of workers can have an effect on how they react to exposure to workplace chemicals, health status must be considered when assessing workplace risks.

Download Adjustments for Health

 

Anoesis – The Problem with Occupational Disease

Presented at: The American Industrial Hygiene Association Conference and Exhibition, 2020

Authors: John Elias

The headline reads “Workplace Safety and Health Deaths and Injuries Reach a New Low”. What’s not to like? The program works. Unfortunately, the data the program is based on uses occupational disease rates. This underestimates diseases in the workplace by one to two orders of magnitude. Newer methods such as attributable fractions and self-reporting provide a different data set to evaluate illness, disease, and our success in reducing them. This data set is work-related disease, any disease where work-related aspects increase the risk of disease together with other factors.

Download Anoesis The Problem with Occupational Disease Poster

Download Anoesis The Problem with Occupational Disease References

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