Health and Hygiene

Detecting Health Risks in the Workplace Proactively.

Problem Statement

Even minimal contamination of the air with hazardous vapors, gases, or dusts can pose long-term health risks to employees.

To ensure safe working conditions, the legislator has issued workplace exposure limits (AGW) for hazardous substances. Employers and plant operators must ensure compliance with these limits through workplace measurements or other suitable methods.

• Industries: Automotive suppliers, Chemistry, Chemical fibers, Paints and varnishes, Plastics processors
• Analysis objectives: Quantification of hazardous substances, Hazard assessment
• Materials: Indoor air
• Analysis methods: Gas chromatography, Ion chromatography, Spectroscopy, Gravimetry
• Complementary Methods: IR Spectroscopy
• Related issues: Emission measurements, Volume flow measurements

Advantages

The working group involved in these measurement tasks consists of experienced environmental engineers.

Access to additional accredited partner laboratories of the Viridius Group enables a wide analytical range – especially important for complex problems.

Typical and frequently occurring pollutants such as solvents, aldehydes, aerosols, dusts including welding fumes can be determined without difficulty.

Should a measurement task exceed the standard metrological scope available at Analytik Service Obernburg, additional measurement possibilities arise through contact with external, accredited institutions. In such cases, after professional sampling by Analytik Service Obernburg, an external evaluation is commissioned.

If you are planning or already carrying out a work process in which hazardous substances are used or may arise, your mandatory hazard assessment must also document compliance with the workplace exposure limits.

Analytik Service Obernburg can support you both metrologically in data acquisition and through qualified consultation. If necessary, our safety department, which has its own in-house legal counsel, can also provide advice on safety-related or legal aspects.

Indoor Air Quality and Thermal Comfort According to DIN EN ISO 7730

Problem Statement

If employees feel uncomfortable at their workplace – especially in the office – this can significantly impair their performance, health, and satisfaction. The origin of such complaints often lies in the climatic conditions. Individual temperature perception varies greatly – depending on age, gender, or health status. Complaints about temperatures that are too cold or too warm, unpleasant drafts, or poor air quality are often triggers for workplace conflicts.

An important indicator for comfort is indoor air quality, particularly the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO₂). Excessively high CO₂ levels often lead to fatigue, concentration problems, or headaches. Furthermore, emissions from furniture, building materials, or technical equipment – such as formaldehyde – can pose health risks.

The challenge is to make subjective sensations measurable. The goal is to objectively capture the perceived “stuffy air.” For this purpose, physical parameters such as temperature, relative humidity, CO₂ content, and degree of turbulence are measured at the workplace and evaluated according to DIN EN ISO 7730.

• Industries: Chemical companies, Plastics processors, Automotive suppliers, Chemical fibers, Paints and varnishes
• Analysis objectives: Identification of disturbing factors, Comfort measurement
• Materials: Indoor air
• Analysis methods: Temperature determination, Turbulence degree measurement, Determination of relative humidity, CO₂ concentration in indoor spaces
• Related issues: Emission measurements, Volume flow measurements, Hazard assessment

Detecting Health Risks in the Workplace Proactively

Solution

Analytik Service Obernburg offers measurements that help evaluate the prevailing climatic conditions at the workplace. The objective measurement of thermal comfort according to DIN EN ISO 7730 provides the opportunity to resolve disputes regarding thermal discomfort in an objective manner. Parameters such as temperature, relative humidity, radiant temperature, air velocity, and several other factors like clothing and activity level are recorded.

Local discomforts such as drafts or the vertical air temperature difference can also be determined at the workplace. The CO2 content can also be determined. For example, the concentration of approximately 1000 ppm of CO2 at the workplace should not be exceeded. Should another problem with perceived air quality exist (odor, irritation, etc.), specific pollutants (e.g., from new furniture, new flooring, etc.) can also be investigated.

The evaluation of the measurement results indicates whether there is actually a disturbance of comfort or if the indoor climate is within the range recommended by the standard. If discomfort is indeed present, its cause can be investigated. Additionally, the client has the opportunity to develop individual solutions based on the results.

Advantages

The subjective perception of uncomfortable environmental conditions is objectively assessed and documented.

Fig. 1: Possible influences on workplace comfort

Fig. 2: Measurement setup for comfort measurement

Determination and Monitoring of Air Quality

Problem Statement

During the production of plastics, by-products can arise or compounds may be involved whose release into the environment must be prevented. To avoid air pollution, legal regulations apply, which also define emission limit values. These include, for example, EC directives, regulations, or permits. To ensure compliance with these limit values, official measurements are regularly carried out at manufacturing companies.

• Industries: Chemical companies, Plastics processors, Automotive suppliers, Chemical fibers, Paints and varnishes
• Analysis objectives: Identification of disturbing factors, Comfort measurement
• Materials: Indoor air
• Analysis methods: Temperature determination, Turbulence degree measurement, Determination of relative humidity, CO₂ concentration in indoor spaces
• Related issues: Emission measurements, Volume flow measurements, Hazard assessment

Procedure

For the execution of emission measurements, there are regulations/standards according to VDI, TA-Luft, and DIN. To address the problem, the emission source must be assessed before measurement, the correct measurement arrangement selected, and relevant data collected. It is important to consider the nature of the emitted substances. If gaseous substances are involved, measurements can be carried out continuously, for example, using infrared spectrometers or UV spectroscopy. In contrast, particles such as plastic dusts are collected using filters and then analytically evaluated (cf. Fig. 2).

Advantages

Analytik Service Obernburg GmbH, located in the Industrie Center Obernburg, possesses many years of expertise in emission and volume flow measurements in industrial environments. Measurements can be carried out promptly, and customer problems can be addressed through plant optimization and expert consultation.

Fig. 1: ASO-CL employees measuring gaseous emissions

Fig. 1: ASO-CL employees measuring gaseous emissions

Fig. 2: Measurement devices for the determination of emissions based on VDI 2066. The lower measurement setup in the image exemplifies a device for determining particulate substances.

Determination and Monitoring of Air Quality

Problem Statement

The industrial production of plastics is usually associated with the formation of by-products. Some of these by-products are gaseous and must be monitored at the workplace. Often, gases are collected before analysis by first adsorbing them onto a solid. Subsequently, the collected substance is extracted, possibly chemically modified (derivatized), and then its quantity is determined. However, such a measurement poses a particular challenge, as the composition and/or concentration of the adsorbed gases can change over time.

• Industries: Chemical companies, Plastics processors, Automotive suppliers, Chemical fibers, Paints and varnishes
• Analysis objectives: Quantification of hazardous substances, Hazard assessment
• Materials: Indoor air
• Analysis methods: Gas chromatography, Ion chromatography, Spectroscopy, Gravimetry
• Related issues: Emission measurements, Volume flow measurements

Procedure

At Analytik Service Obernburg, direct measurement of gaseous substances is preferred, as these are less prone to errors. Measurements can be carried out using various portable gas analyzers (e.g., a portable GC-PID, an FID device, or an FTIR gas analyzer).

A possible analysis procedure for a gaseous substance:

1. Collecting the substance by adsorption using a sampling pump on an adsorber tube
2. Extraction of the substance from the adsorbent
3. Derivatization to enable analysis
4. Analysis of the substance

Solutions

The FTIR gas analyzer detects gaseous compounds based on their absorption of infrared radiation.

The gaseous sample is drawn unchanged directly into the analyzer’s measuring cell via an internal pump.

This even allows for the simultaneous measurement of multiple components,

as each molecular structure possesses a unique combination of atoms and generates a specific infrared spectrum.

The device enables both identification and simultaneous quantitative analysis of gaseous substances.

Advantages

Measurements can be carried out near or at the emission source.

Through direct measurement (sample preparation is omitted) of the gaseous components, procedural errors are kept very low.

Furthermore, a direct concentration display enables a quick and targeted clarification of customer issues.

Fig. 2: FTIR Gas Analyzer Gasmet DX4015 including laptop for data recording.

Fig. 2: FTIR Gas Analyzer GASMET DX4015 including laptop for data recording.