Occupational exposure databases are being used increasingly to characterize worker exposures in industries involving a variety of exposure scenarios. The glass and rock/slag segments of the synthetic vitreous fiber industry (in the United States) has developed a large (>14,000 samples) exposure database that can be used to estimate worker exposures based on industry sector, fiber type, product type, and job function. This article describes the development of this database as part of an industry-Occupational Safety and Health Administration collaborative Health and Safety Partnership Program and summarizes the findings and potential applications of the database.
The Health and Safety Partnership Program is a voluntary workplace safety program for workers involved in the manufacture, fabrication, installation, and removal of glass wool and mineral wool products. This article describes one element of this Partnership Program, the development of an occupational exposure database that characterizes exposures by fiber type, industry sector, product type, and job description. Approximately 6000 exposure samples are included in the database, most of which were collected over the past decade, making it the most extensive and recent exposure data set on record for glass wool and mineral wool. The development of this database, as well as the initial results for exposure measurements segmented by product type and/or job description, are described. The current database shows that most applications and uses of glass wool and mineral wool involve exposures below the voluntary 1 f/cc permissible exposure limit, although some specific product types and job descriptions involve average exposures approaching the 1 f/cc limit.
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