Industrial Health Hazards and Sampling Techniques Paper Example

Introduction

Industries expose workers to various risks and hazards such as chemical, physical and biological hazards (Lawley et al., 2012). These hazards compromise the health of the workers and affect their efficiency at work and health status. Biological and chemical hazards account for much of the risks industrial workers encounter.

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Chemical Hazards

Aerosols

Chemical agents that cause health risks come as aerosols and vapors. Aerosols are formed when there are particles, such as smoke, dispersed in the air surface (Linskens & Jackson, 2012). On the other hand, vapors are particles diffused in the air. In manufacturing plants and companies, there is smoke, an aerosol, as well as vapors such as chromic acid (Lehto & Landry, 2012). In most cases, smoke emitted from industrial machinery is the most significant chemical hazard to employees as well as the environment.

Determination of Aerosols

Physicochemical properties such as density characterize these two chemical agents. However, the determination techniques that distinguish them is quite different. In determining aerosols, analysis of the sizes of the particles come to light. Again, plume geometry alongside spray patterns also counts (Lehto & Landry, 2012).

Chemical Properties

These properties include molecular weight, pressure, density as well as the relative size (Tomasi et al., 2017). Molecular weight, for instance, accounts for the overall weight of an aerosol particle, and the same case applies to density. Thes factors have distinct implications on the various routes of exposure. Aerosols stand a chance of entering the internal body systems through the respiratory system, particularly lung tissues, and the pores on the skin. It occurs that the relative sizes of the aerosol particles must be smaller than the pores for them to penetrate. Highly dense and molecular weight aerosols do not pass through such pore. In most cases, they move slowly through the air and end up blocking the pores. For instance, if an aerosol is over 20 micrometers, the standard size of a skin pore, it does not enter through that pore. Again, if it is not lightweight, it will take longer to move to the pores and diffuse through the mucous membranes of the airways. The converse of this is true.

Vapors

Vapors are fumes emitted when a liquid substance transitions into a gaseous state. In industries, the most common hazardous fumes that employees encounter are acids such as chromic acid (Lehto & Landry, 2012). The danger of long-term exposure to this gas, whether in high or low concentrations, causes fatality to the respiratory system. This is evidenced by scarring of the lungs in most cases.

Determination of Vapors

To determine whether vapors are biological or chemical, physicochemical properties form the backbone of the analysis. In this determination, subjects touching on the molecular weight, density as well as chemical composition come to light. None of these items have a biological profile. If anything, these parameters are deployed in biological processes to explain specific phenomena.

Chemical Properties

Characterized by the kinetic theory, vapors exhibit unique chemical properties to account for their state. They feature random motion in which individual particular randomly bounce on one another to elucidate movement due to the increased kinetic energy. Other properties of the gas include the relative molecular weight, density, and size (Lehto & Landry, 2012). The gas is highly motile, and this suggests that it has low molecular weight and density. Regarding size, the gas molecules are tremendously tiny, and as such, they diffuse in the air to completion.

Dermal Entry

Ideally, chronic gas does not penetrate the skin. This is because of the keratinized layer of the skin. However, its only chance of penetrating the skin materializes when there is a prick or cut on the skin surface (Lehto & Landry, 2012). Conversely, when in a liquid state, chronic acid can corrode the skin and enter through the skin. This phenomenon makes the dermis irrelevant to the subject except for compromised skin.

Medical Examination

Gases and aerosols mostly affect the airways. Thus, testing for their presence and health complications they yield require expertise. For effective results, tests on the lungs to establish their functionality is necessary. This is only realistic with the help of a medical doctor.

Biological Hazards

Biological hazards are living organisms, particularly microbes that inhabit industries, especially food-processing industries (Lawley et al., 2012). The fact that they are living organisms justifies their biological profile. This can be determined through culturing bacteria and fungi to establish their mechanisms of reproduction as well as survival in an environment like any other living organism.

Entry into the Body

There are various ways through which microbes, or rather; biological hazards gain entry into the human body. The most common way through which this happens is ingestions. Ingestion occurs when an individual, an employee, in this case, consumes food substances contaminated by a bacterium or a fungus. This results in acute infections that can be complicated if not well-managed (Lehto & Landry, 2012). However, they can also pass through the skin, enter through the mucous membranes or pricks on skin surfaces.

Conclusion

In industries, the most common types of hazards hail from biological and chemical sources. While chemical hazards bear characteristic chemical properties, biological do not. This difference translates to other differences, especially their mode of entry into the human body. Their confirmatory tests, as well as clinical manifestations of their effects, are also entirely different.

References

Lawley, R., Curtis, L., & Davis, J. (2012). The food safety hazard guidebook. Royal Society of Chemistry. Routledge. https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=RNBSlJfMAmMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=biological+chemical+hazards+in+industries&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjP87nBzY_gAhVxQRUIHUnQDSIQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=biological%20chemical%20hazards%20in%20industries&f=false

Lawley, R., Curtis, L., & Davis, J. (2012). The food safety hazard guidebook. Royal Society of Chemistry. Routledge. https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=RNBSlJfMAmMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=biological+chemical+hazards+in+industries&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjP87nBzY_gAhVxQRUIHUnQDSIQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=biological%20chemical%20hazards%20in%20industries&f=false

Lehto, M. R., & Landry, S. J. (2012). Introduction to Human Factors and Ergonomics for Engineers, Second Edition. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=KR31uMoIarUC&pg=PR23&dq=ntroduction+to+Human+factors+and+ergonomics+for+engineers,+second+edition%22+written+by+Letho+Landry&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjp4Yaku4_gAhWlTRUIHfQ2AI0Q6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&q=ntroduction%20to%20Human%20factors%20and%20ergonomics%20for%20engineers%2C%20second%20edition%22%20written%20by%20Letho%20Landry&f=false

Linskens, H. F., & Jackson, J. F. (2012). Alkaloids. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=6ZLsCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA167&dq=aerosol+and+vapor+differences&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwji-L2J0o_gAhWpVRUIHeHxDjQQ6AEIODAD#v=onepage&q=aerosol%20and%20vapor%20differences&f=false

Tomasi, C., Fuzzi, S., & Kokhanovsky, A. (2017). Atmospheric aerosols: Life cycles and effects on air quality and climate. Weinheim, Germany: Wiley-VCH, 2017. 2017. https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=5bCGDQAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=chemical+properties+of+aerosols&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjNuO6v14_gAhVrThUIHWkxD5gQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=chemical%20properties%20of%20aerosols&f=false