Occupational Hygiene

Correct health and safely in the workplace is paramount for any successful business. Making sure employees are not exposed to hazards is important, at Envirochem we offer a full range of occupational hygiene services that ensure hazards are kept within the recommended guidelines. We offer many forms of air monitoring such as total inhalable dust, respirable dust, crystalline silica, welding fumes, volatile organic compounds, bioaerosols, isocyanates and formaldehydes along with other chemicals. As well as air quality we can carry out local exhaust ventilation (LEV) monitoring and face fit analysis.

To contact Envirochem regarding any of these services please fill in the attached form

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Air Pollution in London – What can we do?

It has been noted in recent news that London has exceeded its annual air pollution limit within recent years and millions of habitants are suffering from respiratory diseases such as asthma due to exposure to particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide and other pollutants. Some areas of London are the most polluted areas in Europe and air quality in and around the city have become a real health issue.

It is not just the air we breathe while out and about in the open that we must be concerned with but also the air we breathe while in the workplace. Poor air quality in offices, schools and other places of work has been associated with headaches, fatigue, trouble concentrating and irritation of the respiratory system. Factors such as poor ventilation, temperature control, humidity control and proximity to contaminants such as dust and bacteria can all contribute to health problems.

Envirochem offer services to help measure these contaminants and help to pinpoint where the pollution issues lie. Monitoring of airborne dust in the form of inhalable or respirable particulates, humidity, temperature and airborne bacteria (bioaerosols) are all types of testing and analysis Envirochem offer, both in the workplace and in the wider environment. Please contact us if you have any issues with air pollution in the workplace in London or anywhere else in the UK and we can help.

If you would like to contact Envirochem regarding any issue, please fill out the form below.

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Monitoring in Listed Buildings

Alongside the work Envirochem carry out on construction and demolition sites and other industries, we have recently been required to work at a grade 1 listed building in a historic town in Hampshire.

During installation of a new lift, contractors were concerned of the exposure of their employees to inhalable dust and potential metals released from the materials used to build this building back in 1090. After chemical testing of materials to be taken as waste in our UKAS accredited laboratory, it was discovered that a high lead content was found. This resulted in the need for a continued monitoring program while excavation works are carried out of the listed building.

Using our UKAS accredited procedure, Envirochem are carrying out static and personal monitoring for total inhalable dusts to ensure workplace exposure limits are not exceeded. We are also testing the exposed filters for lead content to monitor the levels of lead in dust released as a result of these excavation works.

Envirochem’s care and ethical approach ensure works in sensitive buildings are carried out in a careful, safe and sincere approach. If you require monitoring of any sort in a listed building or any other building or site, please contact Envirochem for more information using the form below

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Occupational Hygiene Within the Food Industry

As well as services we provide for industry monitoring involving the use of heavy machinery or chemical monitoring, the occupational hygiene team has a regular annual client who is based within the food industry.

The client provides products for well known leading fast food franchises, by completing a three stage production within their various premises. The annual monitoring consists of three visits to monitor each of the production processes to check for inhalable dust and bio-aerosols.

The first stage of primary production led us to monitor for bioaersols and inhalable dust which involves the machinery processes of slaughtering, to indicate the levels of which the employees are exposed to throughout the chain of process.

The secondary production covers the creation of various raw poultry products, in which the team monitored for inhalable dust. This monitoring set up was then repeated on the final visit during the further processing stage which involved making the final product ready to be, exported to the fast food chains. For each of these both static and personal monitors were set up to measure the average dust concentration around the area of the machine, and to measure the time weighed dust average concentration for the employees operating the machinery.

As an additional service we have booked in to test for noise levels from their various pieces of machinery. This is monitored through static monitoring around the equipment during the process to measure the decibels for equivalent continuous level (LAeq) and max level.

These services within this fast food industry business, along with the previous site visits can be used to determine if employees are exposed to levels of dust, noise or bio-aerosols above the EH40/2005 rev. 2011 limits and whether extra measures need to be put in place to prevent exposure.

If you would like to contact Envirochem regarding our occupational hygiene services, please fill out the attached form

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Plans to Build a New School on Contaminated Land

The proposed new school in the Sheffield area has been met with much debate. This is due to the plan to build it on land formerly used as landfill. Currently the plans consist of ventilation within the school to reduce the gas risks, as well as this further soil sampling being taken.

For the full story please click here

Envirochem offer gas monitoring and soil analysis, if you would like to enquire please fill in the attached form

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Explosion at Substation Releases Asbestos in Bridgwater

An explosion at an electrical substation in Bridgwater caused asbestos and oil to be released hampering firefighters efforts to control the blaze.

For the full story please click here

for information on asbestos surveys and testing please contact us below:

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Silica Dust – A Health Risk to Employees

Industries that use sand as part of the manufacturing procedure could expose employees to respirable crystalline silica (quartz, cristobalite, and/or tridymite). Of particular concern are industries where foundries utilize sand as part of the metal casting operation and blasting operations that make use of sand as the blast media. Fortunately, Envirochem are a UKAS accredited laboratory who can sample and analyse respirable dust and give an indication of the percentage of silica present and so determine whether dust levels exceed the workplace exposure limit of 4mg/m3 (Taken from HSE EH40/2005 Revised in 2011).

To enquire about our occupational hygiene services, please fill in the attached form:

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Envirochem’s Occupational Hygiene Service

Envirochem have recently visited a client based in Portsmouth to complete ammonia, amines and VOC emission analysis on three sets of air filters. They approached Envirochem because of occupational hygiene concerns from their colleagues complaining of headaches through the odour the filters were producing when in use. For the sampling, airbox pumps were set up for charcoal filter tubes to capture any VOC emissions and silica gel sorbent tube for amines. Any ammonia gas produced was captured using an impinger. The sampling took place during a normal run time for the filters and taken back to the lab to be analysed through IC and GC-MS.

The results from this study, along with the results from a previous emissions test can be used to determine if employees are exposed to high levels of harmful gases and whether extra measures need to be put in place to prevent exposure.

To contact Envirochem regarding our occupational Hygiene services, please fill in the attached form

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Formaldehyde leak in Stafford School

A school in Stafford has recently reopened after high levels of formaldehyde forced its closure back October 2015. Formaldehyde was initially detected after numerous pupils reported feeling unwell after discovery of the smell

Formaldehyde, which is found in materials used to make plywood and various types of insulation, is a colourless gas which has a strong odour. Exposure to formaldehyde can cause irritation to the nose, eyes and throat as well as being described as a carcinogenic substance by most health organisations.

For more information on the story, please see click here

Envirochem offers formaldehyde monitoring for both industrial and residential purposes, to enquire please fill in the form below.

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Explosive Gas Monitoring on Landfill Sites or For Developments Close to Landfill Sites

Flammable gases, such as methane, are often found in and near to landfill sites due to the decomposition of waste and migration of gases though soil. Methane, specifically, is an odourless gas which is flammable and is an asphyxiant gas. Gases such as methane pose a risk to enclosed spaces such as under floor voids and workers in poorly ventilated areas, as well as a fire/explosion risk to landfill sites themselves.

Envirochem offers monitoring for many types of gas including methane, sulphur dioxide, hydrogen sulphide and nitrogen oxides. Envirochem also offers many other kinds of occupational hygiene analysis and monitoring.

For more information or to make an enquiry please fill out the form below or contact us on 01329 287777

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