Industrial hygiene, also known as Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety (OEHS), is the scientific discipline dedicated to the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of environmental factors or stresses in or from the workplace which may present an unacceptable health risk to workers or those in the nearby community. The stressors may include chemical substances, biologic agents, physical stressors, or radiological elements to which workers or the community may be exposed. The core competencies of ToxStrategies — exposure assessment, toxicology, chemistry, engineering, risk assessment, and risk communication — are critical aspects of industrial hygiene.
ToxStrategies experts have decades of experience in occupational risk assessment and have worked in nearly every industry sector to assist companies in developing and maintaining programs that provide healthy work environments. Our scientists have also conducted original research to characterize the potential for risk to workers and develop solutions for minimizing the risk. ToxStrategies capabilities include:
Chemical Hazard Assessment
- Systematic reviews of published literature to identify robust studies for hazard assessments
- Classification using United Nation’s Globally Harmonized System (GHS); Amended TSCA; REACH; OSHA HazCom; Classification, Labeling and Packaging of Substances and Mixtures (CLP); and other relevant regulations
- Nanomaterial toxicity evaluation
- Occupational exposure level (OEL) evaluation and development
- Occupational exposure banding
- In vivo and in vitro study design for substances with insufficient toxicity data sets
- Quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) and read-across evaluations for substances with insufficient toxicity data sets
Exposure Assessment
- Qualitative and semi-quantitative approaches
- Identification and evaluation of various exposure scenarios to prioritize risk assessments
- Conceptual exposure model and identification of conditions of use
- Development of similar exposure groups to maximize value of data measurements
- Critical analysis of existing data sets to characterize worker exposure and support risk assessments
- Observational studies of workers to derive exposure factors
- Quantitative approaches
- Design, review, and analysis of biomonitoring studies to characterize cumulative exposures
- Mathematical modeling and exposure simulation studies to predict or retrospectively assess chemical exposures
- Physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling to quantify the relationship between exposure and toxicological response
- Sampling and monitoring
- On-site sampling or review of data to assess exposure to chemicals and biological substances
- On-site or critical review of indoor air quality assessment to evaluate impacts from the built environment to building occupants
Risk Management
- Evaluate hierarchy of controls, including elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative measures, and personal protective equipment (PPE)
- Development and assessment of industrial hygiene programs such as PPE, Hazard Communication, and chemical-specific OSHA programs
- Recommendations for and evaluation of ventilation controls
- Assessment and development of occupational health monitoring programs such as medical surveillance
Development and evaluation of employee training materials
Risk Communication
- Safety Data Sheet (SDS) review and warnings assessments for change in classification and/or labeling of products
- Employee and community meetings to discuss risk assessment findings
- Expertise in regulatory compliance, including OSHA, Amended TSCA, and California Proposition 65