Blue Turtle Ltd

Industrial/Occupational Hygiene

Occupational Hygiene is a science that is sometimes described as an art. It comprises of anticipating, recognising and evaluating health hazards, controlling them and then finally confirming that the controls are effective.

Services:

• Personal Exposure Monitoring
• Air Quality Monitoring
• Workplace Noise Monitoring
• LEV Examination Testing
• Vibration Monitoring
• Health Risk Assessment

Personal Exposure Monitoring
Airborne hazardous substances present in the workplace can take the form of dust, fume, gas, aerosol, mists and fibres which can lead to ill health. Legal workplace exposure limits have been set by the UK government for a range of substances that needs to be adhered to to help prevent occupational illnesses from occurring. Personal Exposure Monitoring or Sampling is used to assess compliance.

Air Quality Monitoring
Good indoor air quality is essential to ensure the health and comfort of building occupants. There are many parameters that effect the air quality of a building such as contaminants, pollutants, air movement, temperature, and humidity. When the acceptable parameters of any of these are out with the desired range then building occupants can experience symptoms such as headaches, dry throats, sore eyes or encounter unpleasant odours. Poor air quality can be attributed to one or more sources.

Workplace Noise Monitoring
Damage to hearing is a major cause of industrial injury with an estimated cost to the NHS in managing it of £450 million per year (NHS England, March 2015). The 'Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005' came into effect on the 6th of April 2006, setting out clear noise exposure limits to help reduce the hearing loss caused by work activities, placing responsibilities on employers to ensure that their workforce are not exposed to levels beyond these limits.

LEV Examination and Testing
Employers have a legal duty to ensure that their Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) systems are thoroughly checked and examined on a regular basis. It must be fit for purpose by effectively capturing the contaminants that could otherwise pose a threat to employees health.

Vibration Monitoring Services
Regular and prolonged exposure to vibration can result in damage to the vascular and nervous systems resulting in disability. Vibration transmitted from tools, equipment and machinery can be transferred to persons using them causing long-term health effects.

Health Risk Assessment
Before you can demonstrate that health hazards are adequately controlled, you first need to identify them and then assess the risk associated with each.

The Health Risk Assessment process involves inspecting the workplace and observing all work activities carried out within it. Workers are generally grouped by job descriptions to establish similar health exposure profiles and interviews are carried out to gain a full understanding of the potential health hazards.