Epstien Environmental Resources, LLC



INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE / OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY REPRESENTATIVE PROJECT EXPERIENCE E2R brings 30+ years of industrial hygiene experience to a variety of industries, including steel manufacturing, aerospace, construction, chemical products and preparations, paints and pigments, and more, including: exposure assessments; OSHA compliance assistance; training; and program development, review, and improvement. E2R has assisted numerous clients with industrial hygiene exposure monitoring and development & review of written programs to help achieve compliance with OSHA (29 CFR) health standards including: Hexavalent chromium (1910.1026) Cadmium (1910.1027) Formaldehyde (1910.1048) Hazard Communication (1910.1200 and 1926.59) Lead (1910.1025 and 1926.62) Noise (1910.95 and 1926.52) Respiratory Protection (1910.134) Develop exposure monitoring strategies including qualitative exposure assessment, designation of similar exposure groups (SEGs), and assignment of appropriate exposure monitoring intervals Industrial hygiene consultant to large business jet manufacturer based in the southeastern US, providing: employee exposure assessments for metals, solvent vapors, and airborne particulate; training programs on indoor air quality, combustible dust awareness, and hands-on dust screening monitoring; combustible dust screening assessment review and edits of company indoor air quality policy Exposure assessment and area monitoring for various organic and inorganic solvents in the quality assurance laboratory at a chemical products manufacturer Cadmium exposure assessment for a pigment blending operation, including personal breathing zone air monitoring and also wipe sampling to determine the presence of surface contamination Respiratory protection program development & review, training, and quantitative and qualitative fit-testing per OSHA’s respiratory protection standard (1910.134) as well as specific provisions in pertinent health standards Medical surveillance and hearing conservation programs Exposure monitoring and resultant engineering control and work practice improvements recommended for torch-cutting in scrap metals recycling facilities Silica exposure monitoring in general industry and construction Consulted to a small, urban hospital, providing monitoring of ethylene oxide (EtO) exposures in the sterilization, processing and distribution area (both 8-hr time-weighted average and short-term “worst case” conditions); and chemical spill response services in the hospital’s MRI unit. As an industrial hygiene compliance officer for federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Barb Epstien conducted more than 250 worker exposure assessments in a variety of manufacturing, construction industry, and federal agency workplaces. These included foundries, welding and metal fabrication operations, automotive manufacturers, breweries, tanneries, paint manufacturing, abrasive blasting operations, electroplating, construction sites (both new construction and renovation), and others, to evaluate workplace health hazards and determine compliance with applicable OSHA regulations. “Wall-to-wall” industrial hygiene survey conducted at a large foundry to identify potential health hazards and determine compliance with applicable OSHA regulations. Investigation included coordination and communications with management and labor representatives, and sampling & analysis of a wide array of airborne contaminants and noise. Recommendations were made for improvement of existing health & safety programs. Construction exposure assessments during demolition of a roadway viaduct in a large urban area where workers were using acetylene torches to cut large sections of painted steel beams. Investigation was conducted in response to reports from a local hospital emergency room of workers with symptoms associated with acute lead poisoning. Breathing zone samples for airborne lead collected during torch cutting activities showed concentrations more than 16 times higher than the PEL for lead, thus debunking the concept of “natural ventilation” as an effective exposure control. Epstien Environmental Resources, LLC © 2008- 2012 All rights reserved. Site designed by Pink Plaid Design