Initial or Baseline Industrial Hygiene Surveys

DOE-STD-6005-2001

A worker protection program that is fully implemented and consistent with DOE O 440.1A should

adequately protect the health of DOE and DOE contractor workers. It should also ensure the

collection, validation, and maintenance of appropriate industrial hygiene information at government-

owned or -leased facilities and operations.

An effective worker protection program encompasses the concept of prudent avoidance of worker

exposure to any occupational hazard. Prudent avoidance involves minimizing the number of

individuals at risk of exposure, minimizing individual worker's potential for exposure, and controlling

all exposures to chemical and physical agents within established occupational exposure limits and as

low as practical.

Sections 5.1 through 5.11, respectfully, address the 11 industrial hygiene program functional elements

identified in Attachments 1 and 2 of DOE O 440.1A. Section 6 presents unifying concepts for

requirements contained in other Orders that have a bearing on industrial hygiene practices. Section 7

provides some general guidance for applying industrial hygiene practices to non-routine, dynamic,

and/or transient work operations.

The technical terminology used in this standard is consistent with and sourced from Reference d.,

cited in Section 4.2., of this standard.

5.1

Initial or Baseline Industrial Hygiene Surveys

DOE and contractor line management are required to ensure that initial (or baseline) surveys

are conducted of all work areas or operations to identify and evaluate potential worker health

risks. [Reference: DOE O 440.1A, paragraph 4.I (2); Attachment 1, paragraph 5.a; and

Attachment 2, paragraph 18.a.]

An effective worker protection program needs to include documented initial and periodic

evaluations of all workplaces for the purposes of anticipating, identifying, evaluating, and

controlling occupational health hazards. Such evaluations should be comprehensive,

documented in accordance with Section 5.4, and should:

Describe the work or task performed

Identify the potentially exposed workers

Identify and describe potential sources of hazardous agents

Evaluate the controls used to prevent or minimize exposure

Assess the level(s) of exposure

Include a conclusion, with rationale, whether the identified agent(s), their use(s), and

the potential exposures they cause pose a hazard to workers (i.e., generate a positive or

negative exposure assessment)

Recommend additional controls for hazardous agents where necessary

Recommend the scope and frequency of further exposure monitoring, as appropriate.

Note: The minimum set of hazardous agents generally to be considered are those identified in

the ACGIH Threshold Limit Values for Chemical Substances and Physical Agents and

applicable Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations.

A comprehensive set of industrial hygiene evaluations, also known as the comprehensive

industrial hygiene survey, can be generated by a single survey effort covering all work areas

and operations or be the compilation of evaluations of these areas conducted over a period of