Exposure Monitoring/Air Sampling

DOE-EM-STD-5503-94

8.0. EXPOSURE MONITORING/AIR SAMPLING

8.1. BACKGROUND

Hazardous waste activities generate the potential for employee exposure to, and/or off-site

migration of, hazardous concentrations of airborne substances. This section provides the general

HASP guidance for the exposure monitoring/air sampling program and specific activities that

should take place during hazardous waste activities.

The overall objectives of the exposure monitoring/air sampling section are:

Describe the overall exposure monitoring and air sampling program by providing general

information about the purpose of the exposure monitoring and air sampling program,

regulatory requirements, and guidance documents; and

Identify the different components of the exposure monitoring/air sampling program,

including personnel qualifications, air contaminants, instrumentation, worker exposure,

level of protection, and offsite, perimeter, and meteorological monitoring, quality

assurance/quality control, and recordkeeping.

The objectives of exposure monitoring/air sampling are to accurately determine:

Exposure levels for site workers,

Work areas generating the most significant airborne contaminants,

Whether migration is occurring, and

Whether modified levels of protection or engineering controls are required.

This section of the HASP should be prepared in accordance with guidelines contained in the EPA

Standard Operating Safety Guides, June 1992; EPA, Office of Emergency and Remedial

Response, Air Surveillance for Hazardous Materials; and the NIOSH Manual of Analytical

Methods (latest edition).

8.2. GENERAL GUIDANCE

An exposure monitoring/air sampling program should be prepared and implemented to identify

and quantify airborne levels of potentially hazardous substances. Appropriate direct-reading

(i.e., real time) air monitoring and time-integrated (e.g., 8 hour time-weighted average, 15 minute

short term exposure limit) air sampling should be conducted in accordance with applicable

regulations (e.g., OSHA, EPA, State, NRC). Both direct-reading and time-integrated sampling

should be used to test for the presence of air contaminants. Compounds which are found by

time-integrated sampling, but are not detected by direct reading air monitors, may warrant

modification of both the monitoring program and the levels of protection.

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