13 The anticipation of health hazards in new and proposed work
situations. The recognition of health hazards in existing work places.
The assessment of health risks in the workplace; through qualitative
assessments as well as quantitative exposure measurement surveys. The selection of appropriate control measures for health risks; this
requires a thorough working knowledge of measures such as elimination, substitution, local exhaust ventilation.
The development of bespoke control solutions for unique work activities; many work places require the modification and development
of control measures since off the shelf measures will not work adequately.
The investigation into the causes of work related ill health. Assistance with occupational health related activities such as health
surveillancebiological monitoring. Training and education; such as informing workers of the hazards
associated with their work and training them in the correct use of control measures.
Research activities into improved methods for recognition, evaluation and control of exposure.
The occupational hygienist can regularly work closely with environmentalists, safety personnel, medical practitioners, project managers, engineers from all
disciplines, food hygienists, local Government Officials, etc., to help reduce and control exposure to health hazards in the workplace.
1.1 History
Industrial diseases have been known about since Hippocrates ancient Greece. ca 400 BC there is even evidence to show that occupational
diseases were recognised by the ancient Egyptians. Over time the recognition of links between occupation and ill health has increased and the associations
strengthened. In parallel with this techniques were developed to evaluate and control the risks. The table below represents a selection of some of the
interesting and notable events in the development of occupational hygiene.
14 Ca 400 BC Hippocrates in ancient Greece first noted illness in mercury
sulphide workers. Ca 100 AD The roman Plutarch notes that:
“It is not just to expose non- criminals to the poisons of the mines
”. He also documents the use of bladder skins as a form of Respiratory Protective
Equipment to control dust exposure in the mines. Ca 1540
Paracelsus in Austria described lung diseases in mineworkers 1556
Agricola ca 1556 in Bohemia wrote “De Re Metallica” which
describes the diseases associated with miners as well as the use of ventilation and respiratory protective equipment to
control exposures to gases and dusts.
1700 Ramazzini, the father of industrial medicine, and Professor of
Medicine in Padua, wrote “De Morbis Artificum Diatriba”, the first formal study of industrial diseases. It was he who added an
addition to Hippocrates list of questions to patients when taking
a history, namely “what is your occupation”. 1750
onwards The Industrial revolution from the late 1700s through to the late
1800s led to increased urbanisation and industrialisation. This in turn led to more workers being exposed to increasing levels
of health risk.
1815 Sir Humphrey Davy develops the Davy Lamp which is a safety
lamp used in mines. The lamp is also used to detect the presence of combustible gases in mines. Interestingly the lamp
is later blamed for an increase in the number of accidents as it allows workers to continue working in more hazardous
atmospheres.
1833 First four factory inspectors appointed in the UK
1840s Charles Dickens novels and campaigning politicians such as
Lord Shatesbury, increases people ‟s awareness of poor
working conditions. 1855
In the UK certifying surgeons who previously certified age were instructed to certify that young persons were not
incapacitated for work by disease or bodily infirmity, and to investigate industrial accidents. Schilling.
1858 John Stenhouse introduces a charcoal impregnated mask to
control exposure to gases and vapours. 1889
Exposure limits are set for humidity and carbon dioxide in cotton mills in the UK. This in turn led to work the development
of Local Exhaust Ventilation rather than general ventilation. It also led to the development of monitoring devices in the form of
Indicator Tubes for carbon Dioxide.
1898 Thomas Legge was appointed to be the first Medical Inspector
of Factories. He did the first work in industry on lead poisoning, which was made a notifiable disease in 1899
1890s Haldane undertakes work on the toxicity of Carbon Monoxide
by exposing rats, mice and even himself to varying concentrations within
an “exposure chamber”. He used these
15 results to develop “dose v time” plots for severity and discomfort
of health effects. He introduces the use of small animals and in particular
Canaries as the first way of monitoring to give an indication of the levels of toxic gas.
1910 Alice Hamilton works in the US as the first Industrial toxicologist
pioneering the field of toxicology and occupational hygiene. 1917
During the first world war the urgency of the work in munitions factories led to poor working conditions. It is recognised that the
poor working conditions have a significant affect on productivity as well as health. The work of the “Health of Munitions Workers
Committee” laid the ground for many subsequent practices in
ergonomics, psychology, welfare and shift-work regimes.
1920-30s Industrial hygiene develops and grows in the USA in both the
Public Health Service PHS and large private companies. These developments lay the foundations for the creation of two
professional organisations
19389 The American Conference of Governmental Industrial
Hygienists ACGIH and the American Industrial Hygiene Association AIHA were formed. The first independent
professional organisations for industrialoccupational hygienists. IH numbers in USA grow rapidly during WWII to assist the war
effort.
1953 British Occupational Hygiene Society BOHS founded. Society
starts publishing Annals of Occupational Hygiene in 1958. 1960
Sherwood and Greenhalgh document the development of the first personal sampling pump and sampling head; the first
comparison between personal sampling and static sampling and the first observation of the possible effect of personal
sampling on the individual being sampled.
1970s Occupational Safety and Health Act in the USA and the Health
and Safety at Work Act in the UK lay the path for Risk Assessment performance based legislation.
198090s The practice of occupational hygiene grows widely in the USA,
UK, The Netherlands and Australia with legislation in these countries being introduced specifically to focus on chemical and
physical hazards
2000s The societies of 25 different countries are members of the
International Occupational Hygiene Association IOHA. Industrialisation in countries such as China and India increase
the need for Occupational hygiene. The development of modelling techniques for assessing
exposure.
16
1.2 The Importance of Occupational Hygiene
