Open AccessCRADA with Teledyne Electronic Technologies and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNL-096): The Exposure-to-Risk monitoring system. Final letter report
Author(s) -
Karla D. Thrall
Publication year - 1996
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/414256
Subject(s) - hazardous waste , occupational hygiene , health risk , risk assessment , environmental science , risk analysis (engineering) , physiologically based pharmacokinetic modelling , occupational exposure , health surveillance , environmental health , computer science , business , engineering , waste management , medicine , occupational safety and health , computer security , pathology , pharmacology , pharmacokinetics
The purpose of this project was to demonstrate the ``Exposure-to- Risk`` monitoring system in an actual occupational environment. The system is a unique combination of existing hardware with proprietary software to create an integrated means of assessing occupational exposures to volatile organic compounds. One component of this system utilizes a portable mass spectrometer developed by Teledyne Electronic Technologies. Integration of the system was accomplished under Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) funding. Commercialization of the system will take place following demonstration in an actual occupational environment, and will include, in part, Teledyne Electronic Technologies. The Exposure-to-Risk monitoring system will benefit DOE by overcoming present-day limitations in worker health protection monitoring. There are numerous sites within the` DOE complex where many different hazardous chemicals are used on a routine basis. These chemicals range from paint stripers and cleaning solvents to chemical warfare agents, each having its own degree of potential adverse health risk to a worker. Thus, a real concern for DOE is to ensure that a worker is properly monitored to assess any adverse health risk from exposure to potentially hazardous chemicals. With current industrial hygiene technologies, this is an arduous task. The Exposure-to-Risk monitoring system integrates a patented breath-inlet device connecting a subject`s exhaled breath directly with a field-portable mass spectrometer with physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling to estimate the target tissue dose following a chemical exposure. Estimation of the adverse health risk prediction follows from the exposure/dose calculation based on currently accepted methodologies. This new system can determine, in the field, the possible adverse health risks on a daily basis to an individual worker