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A task‐based approach to assessing lead exposure among iron workers engaged in bridge rehabilitation
Author(s) -
Goldberg Mark,
Levin Stephen M.,
Doucette John T.,
Griffin Geraldine
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0274(199703)31:3<310::aid-ajim7>3.0.co;2-0
Subject(s) - task (project management) , occupational hygiene , rehabilitation , medicine , occupational exposure , lead exposure , exposure assessment , lead (geology) , interim , bridge (graph theory) , work (physics) , environmental health , occupational safety and health , physical therapy , engineering , pathology , surgery , mechanical engineering , cats , systems engineering , archaeology , geomorphology , geology , history
The assessment of worker exposures to airborne contaminants in the dynamic environment present at most construction sites poses considerable challenges to the industrial hygienist. In this study, we applied a task‐based approach to the assessment of lead exposure among structural steel iron workers engaged in a large, complex bridge rehabilitation project. We evaluated the usefulness of task‐based exposure data for the development of worker protection programs. Task‐specific and multitask samples were collected, and operation‐specific and 8‐hr time‐weighted averages were calculated. The task‐specific data showed significant differences in exposure levels among different tasks. Arithmetic mean exposures varied from 1,357 μg/m 3 lead for torch cutting and 989 μg/m 3 for scaling to 31 μg/m 3 for reaming and 4 μg/m 3 for drilling. Our task‐specific data were compared with the task‐based exposure levels presented by OSHA in its Lead Exposure in Construction‐Interim Final Rule (29 CFR 1926). There was good general agreement between our results and OSHA's reported data. Task‐based data were very useful in exposure assessment and much more precise than full‐shift and operation‐based measurements in guiding strategies for worker protection. These findings suggest that task‐based data should routinely be collected in evaluating exposure to lead and perhaps other toxic substances in construction work. Am. J. Ind. Med. 31:310–318, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.