Occupational Hygiene has been defined as:

"The discipline of anticipating, recognising, evaluating and controlling health hazards in the working environment with the objective of protecting worker health and well-being and safeguarding the community at large."

Anticipating

• Identifying potential hazards in the workplace

Recognising

• Identifying the threat a potential hazard poses, e.g. chemical agent, physical agent, biological agent, ergonomic factor or psychosocial factors

Evaluating

• Measuring the personal exposure of the worker to the hazard, with assessment to published occupational limits (e.g. EH40)

Controlling

• Minimising the worker's exposure, usually through preventative measures

How Important is Occupational Hygiene?

This can be illustrated by comparing statistics. In the UK,

• Number of deaths due to work activities is about 250 per year
• Deaths due to road traffic accidents about 2,500 per year
• Deaths due to work related cancer and respiratory disease is estimated at 13,000 per year

Examples of airborne workplace hazard substances/processes include:

Crystalline silica

• Quarrying, brick and tile manufacture, ceramic manufacture, sandblasting and glass manufacture

Machine-made mineral fibre

• Thermal and acoustic insulation, asbestos

Welding fume

• Airborne gases and fine metal particles

Isocyanates

• Polyurethane, foam, solvent, adhesive, varnish and paint manufacture

Wood dust

• Machining or cutting

Pharmaceuticals

• Specific hazards from potent compounds

Petroleum products

• Lubricating oils, aromatic extracts, gas and fuel oils

Mining - mineral and metal extraction

• Coal dust, asbestos, arsenic, silica

Metal use and refining

• Cadmium, lead, chromium

Biological

• Legionella, bacteria, viral, fungal spores

How can SKC help?

SKC's relationship with the science of occupational hygiene is that we supply air sampling equipment, enabling the recognition and evaluation of a potential chemical (gas/vapour/solid) or biological hazard to be measured qualitatively and quantitatively, and monitored again after control measures have been put in place to evaluate their effectiveness. Although SKC offer predominantly air sampling equipment we also have a range of complimentary products for skin/dermal and surface sampling, environmental sampling, noise monitoring and hand-arm vibration monitoring.

SKC Ltd has a number of international distributors. The interactive map below can help you find the nearest distributor to your location. Click on one of the blue markers for contact details of that distributor. Use the zoom/navigation controls (on the right of the map window below) to view your local area in more detail. There is also a full list of the distributors by country below the map with links to the distributor websites and telephone numbers.

SKC Authorised Service Centres have been assessed as competent to maintain, repair and calibrate SKC products on behalf of SKC Ltd.

A range of product guides to assist in deciding which product is most suitable for your application.

We provide a range of help and support tools for air sampling, from the simple "What is Air Sampling Intro" and Glossary through to specific sample setup guides and application-specific information, including articles, videos and product selection guides, and our widely-used and helpful Hazard Search.