Having a few adjustable web belts purchased from a surplus store on hand will allow you to place your pumps on employees who are not wearing belts. Once the employee who is to be monitored has been briefed, he can be outfitted with the sampling train. They should also be instructed not to fiddle with the equipment and to seek you out if they encounter any type of problem with it. You should generally explain why sampling is being performed and provide a brief explanation of how the equipment works, that it will remain with them for the entire shift and that they should continue to go about their normal activities wearing the equipment. If this is not possible, you could briefly explain the process to each individual before you outfit him or her with the sampling equipment. If you hold regular safety meetings, that forum may be a good venue to demonstrate the equipment and explain the sampling process to a number of employees at the same time. Once you decide who you are going to sample, you will need to explain the sampling protocol to them so they know what's going on and why you are doing it. However, this sampling must include employees expected to have the highest cadmium exposure.īriefing Employees. For example, where several employees perform the same job tasks on the same shift in the same area and the length, duration and level of cadmium exposures are similar, a representative fraction of employees may be sampled. Other standards such as cadmium, afford more flexibility. Some standards, such as arsenic, establish rigorous requirements stipulating that full-shift samples for at least seven continuous hours be obtained for each job classification for each shift in each work area. ![]() By being prepared, I can swoop in quickly, brief the employee on the sampling process if I have not already done so, place the sampling equipment, complete the missing fields such as the employee's name on my data collection form, and fill in the time the pump was turned on and description of what the employee was doing during the sampling period. It is much more convenient to perform these tasks at a desk rather than fumbling with a clipboard in the middle of a plant where there may be leaking steam lines or grease and who knows what else dripping down from an overhead crane.ĭoing as many tasks as possible before arriving at the sampling location allows me to devote full attention to what I am doing and minimizes the disruption caused by my presence. For example, known data fields such as the date, sample number, pump number and flow rate can be completed in the office. The sample is labeled and as much of the data collection sheet as possible filled out before heading to the field. Personally, I find it more convenient to have the sampling train assembled ahead of time. ![]() Alternatively, you could carry the pump and media to the field and put the sampling train together as you are placing equipment on the person to be sampled. Once the sampling train is assembled, you are ready to go to the plant area. The media is fitted with a small holder with a clip that allows it to be attached to the employee's collar in the breathing zone. The appropriate collection media for the substance of interest will be specified by the laboratory methods manual and will be a sorbent tube or a filter, depending on whether you are collecting gases and vapors or particulates. In performing air sampling in the field, the first step is to assemble a sampling train consisting of a calibrated personal sampling pump connected by a piece of plastic tubing to the collection media.
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