Ventilation Report

You are employed by Be Safe Consulting, Inc. (BSCI) as an entry level safety consultant. You report directly to Bob Sanders, the supervising Certified Safety Professional (CSP). BSCI has been contracted by Acme Manufacturing Co. to conduct a study to determine employee exposures to various particulates and gases. In addition, your company has been contracted to determine if the current ventilation systems that are in place are adequate to protect employees from an over exposure to these chemicals. After conducting a field assessment, prepare a written report that Bob Sanders can utilize to prepare a final comprehensive report for the Board of Directors. During your field investigation, you find the following field observations:

Welding Room

The company has six welding booths, or areas that are partitioned only for the use of welding curtains. The booth is open to mixing in the front and top. The company is worried about the welder’s exposure to iron oxide (PEL 10 mg/m³). For a valid sample, you must have a minimum of six hours of sampling (The remaining two hours of the work day is considered to be equal to or less than the sampled exposure. As a result of your air sampling over an eight-hour time period (i.e., the work schedule), you receive the following analytical report:

Name Location Conc. 1 Time 1 Conc. 2 Time 2 Conc. 3 Time 3
Anne Welding Booth #1 4.3 mg/m³ 150 min. 3.7 mg/m³ 150 min 2.2 mg/m³ 240 min
Frank Worldly Booth #2 2.1 mg/m³ 180 min 2.8 mg/m³ 120 min 3.1 mg/m³ 240 min
Jim Young Booth #3 1.7 mg/m³ 205 min 1.25 mg/m³ 125 min 1.03 mg/m³ 150 min
Betty Johnson Booth #4 12.8 mg/m³ 165 min 11.2 mg/m³ 72 min 9.8 mg/m³ 123 min
Jack Jones Booth #5 7.8 mg/m³ 190 min 14.2 mg/m³ 149 min 8.8 mg/m³ 140 min
Joey Apperton Booth #6 3.9 mg/m³ 155 min 4.6 mg/m³ 90 min 2.1 mg/m³ 46 min

Based on this information, determine the employee’s actual exposure to iron oxide, whether the samples were valid, and if not, why? Show your work either in the report or as an appendix.

During further evaluations of the welding booths, you determine that each booth utilizes a local exhaust system to remove the iron oxide and other contaminants prior to mixing with the breathing air. You take the following measurements:

Location Air Velocity (fpm) Work distance from exhaust opening (in inches) Duct Diameter (in inches) Flow Rate (cfm)
Booth #1 683 18 8 Unknown
Booth #2 Unknown 16 8 12,375
Booth #3 710 16 12 Unknown
Booth #4 184 26 8 Unknown
Booth #5 Unknown 22 8 9721
Booth #6 Unknown 18 12 11421

After taking the air samples for employee exposures to iron oxide, then measuring and calculating the performance of the local exhaust ventilation (paying particular attention to the specifics), what recommendations would you make to reduce the employee’s overexposure, if any, to the ventilation systems?

Hazardous Materials Storage Area

As part of your assessment, you have been asked to evaluate and determine if the hazardous materials storage area has adequate ventilation. In addition to the federal requirements, Acme’s insurance carrier requires that they have a minimum of 12 air changes per hour. In your evaluation, you collect the following information:

Area Width (ft.) Area Length (ft.) Area Height (ft.) Ventilation Supply #1 (volume-cfm) Ventilation Supply #1 (volume-cfm)
22 30 14 874 993

Determine if the current hazardous materials storage area is adequate and meets the requirements of Acme’s insurance carrier. What recommendations would you make to correct the discrepancies, if any?

Foundry Room

Acme has a foundry room, which is nearing the point of being outdated in terms of engineering controls. For example, one employee stands near an operation that has a canopy hood exhaust and routinely puts his face in the flow of the hood, causing him to inhale particulates and gases that are directly being drawn into the hood. Part of your evaluation is to make a recommendation for a new type of exhaust system. Which one would you recommend, and why?

Respond to the details in each section, and format your report in APA style. Include at least each of the following in your report for this unit:
 Introduction-briefly describe why the studies were performed (why you started the study).
 Report details-briefly discuss the details of the scenario (what you found from the study).
 Conclusions and recommendations-briefly describe your recommendations based on your findings (what you recommend to resolve any deficiencies).