ADVANCEMENT OF THE SCIENCE
A Framework for Assessing Exposures to Multiple Hazards and Implications for Prioritizing Risks to Human Health, Safety, and the Environment
Ephraim Massawe, PhD Southeastern Louisiana University
scientific evaluation methods. If any hazards are found to be in excess of limits relative to the established voluntary or regulatory bind- ing occupational exposure limits (OELs), then recommendations in the form of control and management are presented. Unfortunately, not all hazards have OELs. When available, OELs are not always pro- tective enough to all employees or people in the community because of the assump- tions that underlie OELs. Furthermore, some hazards can have multiple eects on human health that complicate the process of exposure assessment. The complexity of a workplace—such as metal and metallurgi- cal industries—can be a prime candidate to showcase the use of tools to characterize and prioritize multiple hazards. Creating a comprehensive exposure assess- ment strategy for all tasks and hazards for the purpose of a management plan can be overwhelming. When confronted with these challenges, it is sometimes necessary to rely on limited information to assess and make informed professional judgments about expo- sure scenarios to multiple hazards on which management can derive protective strategies. A framework to characterize and prioritize multiple hazards can support management and improve the assessment of the exposure scenarios adequately, thereby protecting work- ers and the community. Background The metal and metallurgical industries operate worldwide with the primary objec- tive of making profits from the products they manufacture and supply. The products from these industries find wide applica- tions in automobile manufacturing, gas and oil pipelines, and domestic appliances.
Abstract Exposure assessment in the workplace or community is time-consuming and a lack of resources can mischaracterize risks to hu- man health, safety, and the environment. It is even more dicult when there are multiple hazards in operations where raw materials and the release of myriad chemicals with various health, safety, and environmental eects oc- cur. The challenge to practitioners is to ensure that hazards are anticipated, recognized, and evaluated and—where exposures are above exposure lim- its—management strategies are implemented to minimize or eliminate risks. Where resources are not available, limited exposure data should support professional judgment to characterize and prioritize risks. The aim of this study is to review and apply various approaches to assess multiple hazards and provide the basis for risk characterization and priori- tization. The prior work experience, knowledge and education, and scien- tific computational tools are described to understand exposures to multiple hazards relative to occupational exposure limits and risks. Although one industrial sector is used for illustrative purposes, the results are general- izable to other sectors and the general environment. Previous knowledge and education do not underscore the importance of walk-through audits. Further, informal and formal surveys, checklists, interviews, and structured questionnaires are useful tools to assess multiple hazards and their risks.
I ntroduction Exposure assessment is the process of identifying instances of human contact with chemicals, physical hazards, biologi- cal agents, or other hazards in the environ- ment (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [U.S. EPA], 2019). Implementing exposure assessment of multiple hazards for purposes of characterizing and prioritizing risks to human health, safety, and the environment can be time-consuming and could exceed available resources. This type of assessment
is particularly challenging due to the mul- tiple hazards that vary by processes, units, or by day and seasons—even more so for workplaces that rely on heavy equipment and machinery for their operations and processes. Some workplaces can produce and use large amounts of chemicals that are toxic and potentially lethal (International Labour Orga- nization, 2021). For public health and occu- pational safety and health practitioners, the challenge is to ensure that multiple hazards are assessed via anticipation, recognition, and
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