May 18 – 23, 2013.
Colden Corporation is pleased to announce Senior Consultant Paul Webb‘s acceptance into the “Oil and Gas” podium session at the 2013 American Industrial Hygiene Conference & Expo (AIHce), May 18-23, 2013 in Montreal, Canada. Paul Webb, CIH, CSP, MPH, MBA, will speak on “Industrial Hygiene Assessment of Diesel Emissions (DE)”. The room number of the session will be announced closer to the conference date.
Abstract:
Situation/problem:
In June of 2012, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified diesel engine exhaust as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1), based on sufficient evidence that exposure is associated with an increased risk for lung cancer. In light of IARC’s position, organizations may want to take a closer look at employee DE exposure risk that arise from their operations.
Diesel emissions (DE) contain many potentially harmful contaminants. There is currently no regulatory standard addressing DE nor is there a standardized exposure assessment protocol. Sampling DE can be both an expensive and time-consuming effort with many possible sampling options. Elemental carbon has been used as an indicator of the presence of DE; however, this method is based on measuring the mass of elemental carbon. Recent improvements in DE control technology has greatly reduced the amount or mass of the particulate components of DE; as a result, mass-based measurement methods may underestimate risk.
Resolution:
The relative number of ultra-fine particles per volume of air is a more relevant metric for assessing the particulate component of DE. The gaseous component of DE is best represented by the measurement of nitrogen dioxide and formaldehyde.
Results:
Field measurements of DE over the past few years indicate that these three parameters provide a reliable indicator of DE exposure risk.
Lessons Learned:
This talk will review DE assessment options, present a simplified sampling protocol and discuss key actions to effectively manage DE exposure.
Author Block: P. Webb, Colden Corporation, Worcester, MA.