GAS DETECTION & MONITORING | SHAWCITY CLEAN AIR? SURE THING


Indoor air quality must be monitored to protect workers’ respiratory health. Shawcity highlights the dangers that may be lurking in every breath you take.


Shawcity Ltd. is a specialist provider of monitoring instrumentation for health and safety, occupational hygiene and environmental monitoring across a wide range of industries. We offer instruments for gas detection, air quality, dust, sound, noise, vibration and heat stress. Within this remit, indoor air quality is increasingly a pressing issue for many industries, particularly with regard to Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).


TOXIC GASES AND DUST VOCs are often associated with Sick Building Syndrome. Within the indoor environment they constitute the principal class of contaminants that can be found, consisting of a complex mixture of between 50 and 300 different types of compounds.


The sources of most VOCs are products used in construction, finishing and cleaning products such as paints, adhesives, sealants, flooring, processed woods and surface finishings. Other sources include furniture, office electronics, personal care/hygiene products and other such materials brought into a building by its occupants. It is also possible for VOC contaminants to be drawn in from the outdoor environment, especially if a building is near roads or industrial activities.


The specific components of interest are recognised as particulates, inorganic gases and organic vapours. Particulates contain polyaromatic hydrocarbons, metaliferous abrasion particles, sulfates and silicates; inorganic gases include oxides of nitrogen, sulphur and carbon; and there is an expansive list of organic compounds, which includes highly toxic compounds such as benzene, butadiene and formaldehyde.


HEALTH EFFECTS The health effects of many volatile organics are still not fully understood, but in general it is known that the quantity, toxicity and length of time of exposure result in different outcomes. These effects are often associated with


40


symptoms of irritation to eyes, nose and throat, headaches, dizziness, visual disorders and memory impairment.


Little is yet known about the health effects found in public/commercial buildings when mixtures of VOCs are present, but continuing research by private organisations and public bodies is helping to understand the risks posed.


INDOOR ENVIRONMENTS Indoor environment studies have shown that the ambient total VOC concentration ranges from 0.2 to 5 milligrams per cubic metre of air (mg/ m3), with a number reporting some environments reaching up to 25mg/ m3. European Community target


guideline values of between 0.2 – 0.3mg/m3 have been discussed.


Within the UK, the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM) has set out guideline values for VOCs, semi VOCs and aldehydes. Further to this, BREEAM sets limits on gases – including CO, CO2


well as particles (mass concentration and size distribution). These are taken post-construction but pre-occupancy so that air quality can be confirmed before a building is put into use.


, NO, NO2 , SO2


DIESEL FUME CANCER RISK Furthermore, with the classification of diesel fume as a major cancer risk (International Agency for Research on Cancer, World Health Organisation) in 2012, diesel fume within enclosed spaces and indoor environments has come into sharp focus. This was reinforced by the Health and Safety Executive’s guidance note INDG 286 “Diesel Engine Exhaust Emissions” in the same year. This now requires any employer under the COSHH regulations to make a “suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks” and “prevent or adequately control the exposure”.


THE BEST MONITORING


TECHNOLOGY As the UK’s leading supplier of monitoring instrumentation, Shawcity has been working alongside a wide range of customers to provide both the expertise and equipment to monitor VOCs, toxic gases and dusts. To enable us to provide the widest range of monitoring solutions, we offer the best available technology from market leaders such as TSI, Sensidyne, Ion Science and Rae Systems.


For more information, please email info@shawcity.co.uk or call the team on 01367 899419.


www.shawcity.co.uk Be sure. Be safe GAS DETECTION & MONITORING | TOMORROW’S HEALTH & SAFETY YEARBOOK 2015/16 – as


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68