INDOOR AIR QUALITY

 

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·       OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE LIMITS

·       VENTILATION

Ø    Local exhaust

Ø    Make-up air

Ø    Design

Ø    Maintenance

·       SMOKING

 

 

OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE LIMITS

The concentration of contaminants in the air must be kept as low as possible. Worker exposure to a hazardous substance must not exceed the exposure limit adopted by ACGIH and set out in the 1997 Threshold Limit Values for Chemical Substances and Physical Agents and Biological Exposure Indices. The table below is excerpted from the ACGIH publication, and contains some common hazardous substances and their exposure limits. (Occupational Health and Safety Regulation 1165/96, 26)

 

 

Chemical name

8-hour

exposure limit

15-minute

exposure limit

Ceiling

Acetic acid

10 ppm

15 ppm

--

Acetone

500 ppm

750 ppm

--

Ammonia

25 ppm

35 ppm

--

Carbon black

3.5 mg/m3

--

--

Carbon dioxide

5,000 ppm

30,000 ppm

--

Carbon monoxide

25 ppm

--

--

Ethyl acetate

400 ppm

--

--

Formaldehyde

--

--

0.3 ppm

Hydrogen sulfide

10 ppm

15 ppm

--

Hydroquinone

2 mg/m3

--

--

Isopropyl alcohol

400 ppm

500 ppm

--

Sulfur dioxide

2 ppm

5 ppm

--

 

 

VENTILATION

The employer must make suitable provisions for ensuring that there is circulation of clean air, adequate ventilation and that impurities are removed from the workplace. (Occupational Health and Safety Regulation 1165/96, 11)

 

Local exhaust

Whenever practicable, local exhaust ventilation must be installed close to the source of a contaminant to prevent it from entering the workplace. (Occupational Health and Safety Regulation 1165/96, 11)

 

Make-up air

The ventilation system must provide sufficient fresh air to replace all the air exhausted. (Occupational Health and Safety Regulation 1165/96, 11)

 

Design

All impurities exhausted from the workplace must be prevented from re-entering the workplace. (Occupational Health and Safety Regulation 1165/96, 11)

 

Maintenance

The employer must ensure that all parts of the ventilation system are maintained, that louvers are regularly cleaned and that ventilation openings are always free of obstruction or source of contamination. (Occupational Health and Safety Regulation 1165/96, 11)

 

SMOKING

An employer must post clearly visible signs that inform all employees in a workplace that smoking is prohibited in all work spaces except in designated smoking areas and of the location of all the rooms and areas which are designated smoking areas. (Smoke-Free Environment Regulations 54/05, 3)

 

A designated smoking room in a workplace must be ventilated by an independent mechanical ventilation system. The system must be maintained and monitored, and maintenance records must be kept for at least 2 years. (Smoke-Free Environment Regulations 54/05, 6)

 

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