What is the calculated TWA? What would you tell plant management in terms of exposure to toluene and compliance with the PEL?

Note: All concentrations are in parts contaminant per million parts of air or milligrams of contaminant per cubic meter of air.

Air Sampling Problem: You are an industrial hygienist that is conducting personal sampling on a worker who is overseeing a production process involving use of toluene (Note: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has established a Permissible Exposure Limit of 200 parts per million (ppm)). You are able to measure the following exposures:

500 ppm for 1 hour

100 ppm for 4 hours

225 ppm for 3 hours

What is the calculated TWA? What would you tell plant management in terms of exposure to toluene and compliance with the PEL?

 

There is a 200 word minimum for both essays, and the below textbook must be used as a reference source:

 

Haight, J. M. (Ed.). (2012). Recognition, evaluation, and control of workplace health hazards. Des Plaines, IL: American Society of Safety Engineers.