Industrial Hygiene Consulting Services

EnHealth’s certified industrial hygienist (CIH) will help your organization identify, evaluate, and control occupational health hazards to protect and enhance the health and safety of your employees. Our experts are located in the Twin Cities area but are capable of traveling throughout Minnesota.

 
 
 

Air Contaminants & Exposure Assessment

An air contaminant is a contaminant in the form of a fume, mist, gas, vapor, or dust and includes microorganisms. Air contaminants can present a significant risk to workers’ health and safety if exposure is likely to occur by inhalation. An exposure assessment is the process of identifying and quantifying these contaminants through reliable air sampling and analysis.

Common air contaminants include:

  • Welding fumes

  • Respirable dust

  • Crystalline silica

  • Carbon monoxide

  • Volatile organic carbons (VOCs)

  • Metal working fluids or oil mist

  • Mold/Bacteria/Allergens

 

Surface Contaminants & Testing

Surface wipe sampling for various hazardous agents has been employed in many occupational settings for evaluation of potential dermal exposure and health risk, source determination, quality of cleanliness, compliance, and others. Surface contamination may cause serious injury and permanent damage, and can also result in irritation, allergic response, chemical burns, and allergic contact dermatitis.

Common surface contaminates include:

  • Metals

  • Isocyanates

  • Mold, bacteria, and viruses (COVID-19)

  • Chemical residues

  • Corrosives (acids and bases)

 

Physical Hazard Assessments

Physical hazards are factors or conditions within the environment that can cause harm with contact. They can be classified as a type of occupational or environmental hazard.

Physical hazards assessments include:

  • Noise dosimetry

  • Sound level surveys

  • Ergonomic evaluations

  • Heat and cold stress assessments

  • Vibration monitoring

  • Radiation monitoring (ionizing and non-ionizing)

  • Machine guarding assessments

 

Hazard Control & Prevention

Organizations that proactively manage workplace hazards will protect the health and well being of their workers and create cost savings in a variety of areas, including lowering workers' compensation costs and medical expenses, avoiding OSHA penalties, and reducing costs to train replacement employees. Early hazard identification paired with effective controls, enables organizations to stay ahead of emerging workplace hazards and limit their regulatory and legal liabilities.

Typical hazard controls and prevention strategies EnHealth uses are:

  • Local exhaust ventilation (LEV)

  • Job safety analysis (JSA)

  • Prevention through design

  • Personal protection equipment (PPE)

  • Risk assessments