Chemical Risk Assessment in the Workplace: TLV, VLA, and Safety
Classified in Medicine & Health
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**Chemical Risk Assessment in the Workplace**
Hygienic Evaluation
Methodology for detection and quantification of industrial pollutants and assessment of the risk for workers exposed to them.
- Environmental: Compare the actual exposure levels to theoretical allowable values.
- Biological: Determine the amount of pollutant or its metabolites in exposed workers.
Assessment Criteria
- Reference values
- United States (ACGIH)
- TLV (Threshold Limit Value)
- BEI (Biological Exposure Indices)
- Spain (INSHT)
- VLA (Environmental Limit Values)
- VLB (Biological Limit Values)
- United States (ACGIH)
- Maximum values allowed
- USA (OSHA)
- PEL (Permissible Exposure Limit)
- Spain (Current Legislation)
- Regulation of Troublesome, Unhealthy, Harmful, and Dangerous Activities
- Specific regulations (benzene, asbestos, lead, noise, vinyl chloride, radiation)
- USA (OSHA)
TLV - Threshold Limit Value
Values are proposed by the ACGIH for use by American industrial hygienists as guidelines for the control of hygiene risks.
TLV Definitions
- Average: 2ppm
- Ceiling
- Short periods
TLV-TWA: Concentration for a conventional 8-hour workday and 40-hour workweek, to which nearly all workers may be repeatedly exposed, day after day, without adverse effect.
TLV-C: Concentration that should not be exceeded during any part of the working exposure.
TLV-STEL: 15-minute time-weighted average exposure that should not be exceeded at any time during a workday.
VLA - Environmental Limit Values
Reference values for concentrations of pollutants proposed by the INSHT, equivalent to the TLV.
Types of VLA
- VLA-ED: Environmental value of daily exposure limit
- VLA-EC: Value of short-term exposure
- LD: Limits of deviation
Risk Assessment
% EMP = (Average Concentration / Limit Values) * (Exposure Time / 8) * 100
Chemical Risk
- There are more than 8 million chemicals.
- 100,000 are in common use (pharmaceuticals, pesticides, etc.).
- 1,000 new products enter the market every year.
- Between 300 and 400 million tons of hazardous waste are generated per year.