Indoor Air Quality and Occupational Health and Safety

Legislation in Alberta

Background

• Workers desire healthy and comfortable working conditions. When these conditions are not met, job satisfaction, productivity and health may be compromised. Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) considers the indoor environment, including the makeup of the air and comfort factors such as temperature and relative humidity.

Background

• Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) legislation requires that workplaces be safe and healthy, but does not require that workplaces be comfortable; however, there are good reasons, such as enhanced staff morale and productivity, to exceed the minimum legislated requirements.

Background

When we think of IAQ issues we often just think of the chemical hazards; • CO • CO2• Ozone• PMs• Voc’s

• but other factors may be at play……..

Legislation

Does the Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Code apply to Indoor Air Quality?• Is it a work site ?• Are workers involved ?

• What legislative recourse do we have?

Legislation

The Act;

Alberta’s OHS Act requires employers to ensure the health and safety of workers at the work site. The OHS Regulation and Code under this Act have been established to define standards for protection from specific hazards.

Obligations of employers, workers, etc.

2(1)

Legislation

Part 2 Hazard Assessment, Elimination and Control• Are IAQ issues considered a workplace hazard?

• If an existing or potential hazard to workers is identified during a hazard assessment, an employer must take measures in accordance with this section.

• What action?  

Legislation

Part 4

16(1) Chemical Hazards, Biological Hazards and Harmful Substances• An employer must ensure that a worker’s

exposure to any substance listed in Schedule 1, Table 2 is kept as low as reasonably achievable.

• What is Schedule 1 Table 2 ?

Legislation

Legislation

What are OEL’s?• Based on the American Conference of Governmental

Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) Threshold Limit Values (TLV’s)

Legislation

Oel’s continued…..• Reviewed by a committee• Based on existing peer reviewed literature, from

toxicology, epidemiology, occupational medicine, and industrial hygiene.

• Level of exposure a typical worker can be exposed to without developing adverse health effects.

• Not fine lines between safe and dangerous exposures

• Adopted as the legal limits for exposure• Based on 8 hour work day for 40 years

Legislation

Scenario• Alberta OEL for CO=25 ppm

– Ok for children?– Individuals with pre-existing respiratory issues?– Other factors?

• This is the legal limit for office environments/work sites.

• Best practice vs legal minimum.– 1/10th of the OEL typically with CO we concede 5

ppm as it is pervasive.• http://capitalairshed.ca/edmonton-centre

Legislation

What are IAQ parameters for indoor air quality?• Regulations• Standards • Guidelines

We do not mandate in law what is and what is not acceptable for substances other than the limits required by the OEL’s

We do make recommendations;• 1/10th of the OEL• Other substance specific guidelines

Legislation

Legislation

Legislation

What if there is no OEL?

Part 4

16(3) If no occupational exposure limit is established for a harmful substance present at a work site, an employer must ensure that a worker’s exposure to that substance is kept as low as reasonably achievable.

• What is as low as reasonably achievable ?• Do most IAQ chemicals of concern have OELs?

Legislation

What is as low as reasonably practicable ?• At first glance “reasonably practicable” looks like

a pretty subjective way of determining someone’s guilt or innocence. However, “reasonably practicable” is a legally defined term that is assessed using the “reasonable person test”.

Legislation

• What would a dozen of your peers consider reasonable in a similar set of circumstances?

• Your peers would likely review what you did and compare it against what they do in their own operations. Some of them might do more, others less.

• The result would be a balanced and wise judgment that could be defended to others.

Legislation

Part 4• Potential worker exposure• 21(1) If a worker may be exposed to a harmful

substance at a work site, an employer must identify the health hazards associated with the exposure and assess the worker’s exposure.

• Define harmful substance………………

Legislation

Other parts;

Part 29, WHMIS;• Training and documentation for controlled

products, cleaners, disinfectants.• improperly stored controlled products?

Part 35, Biological Hazards;• ALARP exposure, policies and procedures

Best Practice

Indoor Air Quality Tool Kit• The goal of the Tool Kit is to help you understand typical

indoor air quality (IAQ) issues, and to suggest reasonable solutions to common problems.

Scenario

• A yoga studio has recently opened up in an industrial multi-unit complex with a host of other tenants including an auto body shop.

• The employees are complaining about the smell of paint, and report cold like symptoms associated with the onset of the odour.

Scenario

What do you think can be done?• Inspect the auto body shop and ensure they are

in compliance with schedule 1.• Inspect the yoga studio and ensure there are no

confounders.• Attempt to identify the source of entrainment,

(not our mandate).• Assess the workers? (not physicians).

Scenario

Where things get confusing;• The auto body shop is in compliance, workers are

wearing respiratory protective equipment when required and the paint booth is compliant with the code. They are not exposed to any chemicals above the OEL’s.

• The workers at the yoga studio continue to complain of health effects associated with the odour.

• The responsibility for ensuring the health and safety of the workers falls on the employer, in this case the yoga studio.

Scenario

The great conundrum,• How can the yoga studio as the employer minimize their

workers exposure when they are not the source of the hazard?

• What tools are available from a compliance

perspective?

These cases can spiral into a dark place!!

Moral

• When options are limited and the health effects are real the situation can become emotional.

• The best medicine is prevention, – Address worker concerns surrounding IAQ issues earlier

instead of later.– Even is exposures are below the OEL’s there may be resulting

health effects.– The OEL’s are only one tool for addressing chemical hazards

• Hazard assessment• ALARA

– Explore your tools for rectifying the situation!!

Resources

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)• http://

work.alberta.ca/documents/WHS-PUB_GH014.pdf

Indoor Air Quality Tool Kit• https://work.alberta.ca/documents/WHS-PUB_gh015.p

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