By John Howard, MD

The Occupational Environment: Its Evaluation, Control, and Management, 3rd edition ______________________________iii
I am pleased that the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA

) has published the

Third Edition of The Occupational EnvironmentIts Evaluation, Control, and Management,
first published by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in 1973.
Once again, The Occupational Environment will serve as a primary and comprehensive refer-
ence for occupational and environmental health practitioners and students throughout the
world.
Today, we in the occupational safety and health community are challenged by having to
know about, and respond to, hazards and risks that were largely unanticipated 40 years ago
when the Occupational Safety and Health Act was enacted into law. Indeed, 40 years ago, an
industrial hygiene practitioner might have had command of the entire body of knowledge in
occupational hygiene without reliance on reference texts. Now, that achievement is only for
the very few. The scope of risks in the occupational environment has multiplied and even the
historical ones have become more complex to control. Now, most of us need to rely on a com-
prehensive resource like The Occupational Environment.
The Third Edition of The Occupational Environment: Its Evaluation, Control, and
Management will assist professionals to address todays critical issues by including updated
and new chapters on air contaminants, risk assessment, sampling, occupational exposure
limits, biological monitoring, engineered nanoparticles, prevention through design, interna-
tionalization of hazard communication, and many other topics of interest. The ultimate
achievement of The Occupational Environment will be in making the occupational environ-
ment as safe and healthful as it can be for the protection of workers.
I would especially like to acknowledge the contributions of the many expert chapter con-
tributors, the editor, and the work of the AIHA, in developing the Third Edition. All of your
efforts will help to ensure that the occupational and environmental health practitioners of
now and of the future will be able to achieve the highest level of skill to address old and new
problems in the occupational environment.
John Howard, MD
Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
September 2011
Foreword
Copyright AIHA For personal use only. Do not distribute.
The Occupational Environment: Its Evaluation, Control, and Management, 3rd edition _______________________________v
By Daniel H. Anna, PhD, CIH, CSP
Since the publication of the Second Edition of The Occupational Environment: Its Evaluation,
Control, and Management in 2003, the role of the industrial hygienist has continued to evolve
and expand. The scope of responsibilities for most industrial hygienists now includes at least
some aspects of safety, environmental, sustainability, quality, security, emergency response,
or part of another ancillary discipline. But, even with all of these changes, one thing has
remained constant the need for qualified, trained professionals who can anticipate, recog-
nize, evaluate, and control potential health hazards that arise in and from the workplace.
The increasing reliance on technology, the expanding world of nanotechnology, the continu-
ing globalization of business and industry, and the changing definition of workplace all
contribute to the complexities of potential exposures and the challenges of assessing risk of
exposure. Terms like exposure risk assessment and management have become part of the
language used to describe traditional industrial hygiene responsibilities to a broader interna-
tional audience.
The evolution of the profession played a role in the development of this edition, and, in
turn, hopefully the revised content will play a significant role in preparing IHs for success in
the continually evolving work environment. It was essential to incorporate changes because
this book serves as a primary textbook for courses that help to prepare future IH, EHS and
other related professionals. Beyond the classroom, this book has traditionally served as a
fundamental reference for a broad range of topics within the scope of IH related competen-
cies. But with the increasing complexities of the profession and the increasing scope of com-
petencies required to protect worker health, this book can only serve as the starting point for
many of the topics presented. In many chapters, the authors have added recommended
resources to consult for additional information.
Nearly 120 authors contributed to this edition. New chapters were added to address nan-
otechnology, professional ethics, IH issues in construction, and the AIHA

Value Strategy.
Almost half of the chapters were written or revised by new authors. Most of the other chap-
ters had significant changes and updates to the content.
The most obvious physical difference in this edition is the split into two volumes. Many
users of the previous edition commented on the book being entirely too big to transport.
The decision to divide the book into two parts resulted from the user feedback and the fact
that this edition has too many pages to reliably bind into a single volume. Separating the
content was a tremendous challenge; countless iterations were considered. In the end the
chapters were grouped loosely around chemical hazards, physical hazards and manage-
ment/program aspects. Many of the relationships between chapter content and chapter loca-
tion have been maintained from the previous editions. Although this edition is provided in
two volumes, it should be considered a single book.
It is an honor to be associated with this edition, to be the first person to read all of the
chapters, and to know how many people will benefit from the wealth of information con-
tained in The Occupational Environment Its Evaluation, Control and Management.
Preface
Copyright AIHA For personal use only. Do not distribute.
The Occupational Environment: Its Evaluation, Control, and Management, 3rd edition ______________________________vii
The most significant contributions to this book came from nearly 120 authors that voluntarily
contributed chapters to this edition. Since the first edition of the AIHA Press version of The
Occupational Environment was published in 1997, this book has become a primary reference
for industrial hygienists and an essential textbook used in industrial hygiene and other EHS
academic programs. Without their willingness to share their expertise and time to write and
revise the technical chapters for this book, development of this outstanding resource for IH
and other EHS professionals would not have been possible. A sincere thank you is also
extended to the AIHA

Volunteer Groups, and countless AIHA

members and other affiliated

professionals who provided thorough technical reviews of the chapters. The peer review
process is an essential part of validating the technical content and, by default, the knowl-
edge base for the profession. A special thank you also goes out to the authors and editor of
the previous editions; they developed the framework for this and all future editions.
A few individuals from the AIHA

staff deserve individual recognition. Words cannot

describe the significant contributions Katie Robert made to this project, including, among her
other responsibilities, editing, formatting and preparing content for publication. Katie was
an outstanding colleague and friend throughout this project. She kept the project progress-
ing by using her amazing ability to balance nagging with an understanding about how my
day job sometimes interfered with progress. Jim Myers worked long hours on the layout of
the chapters and the design and overall appearance of the book. His work was especially
appreciated during the last few months prior to publication as the number of submitted
chapters increased and the deadlines shortened. Finally, thanks to Sheila Brown for assisting
with the editing of some chapters when the backlog in the queue started to build.
Most of the work on this edition occurred while I was a faculty member at Millersville
University. Thank you to the Faulty Grants Committee and the administration at Millersville
University for recognizing the significance of this publication and providing some release
time from my course load that allowed me to focus on this project. I also want to thank the
many students who provided input about the book from their perspective; their comments
helped shape many of the changes seen in this edition.
On a personal level, no one was more understanding about my time commitment to this
project than my wife Laura. She provided encouragement from the beginning and continued
support throughout the project, in spite of having to endure far too many stories, complaints,
and frustrated moments. And, my son Nik, whose entire life has occurred during this project,
has already said that he will be happy when there is nothing to review before we go play.
Acknowledgments
Copyright AIHA For personal use only. Do not distribute.
The Occupational Environment: Its Evaluation, Control, and Management, 3rd edition ______________________________ix
Daniel H. Anna, PhD, CIH, CSP
Dr. Anna is currently a Senior Industrial
Hygienist and Assistant Group Supervisor at
the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics
Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, MD. Prior to joining
APL, he spent nearly 15 years at Millersville
University (Millersville, PA), where he was a
Professor and Program Coordinator in the
Occupational Safety & Environmental Health
program. In addition, he has worked an indus-
trial hygienist in the petrochemical industry
and as an independent consultant. Dr. Anna
received a Bachelor of Science in Safety Science
from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, a
Master of Science in Industrial Hygiene from
Texas A&M University, and a PhD in Industrial
Health from the University of Michigan. Dr.
Anna is a Certified Industrial Hygienist and a
Certified Safety Professional. He has been an
active member of AIHA

since 1991. He is a
graduate of the inaugural Future Leaders
Institute in 2005, and has served in leadership
roles in the Central Pennsylvania Local Section,
on several AIHA

technical committees, and as

a Director and the Secretary on the AIHA

Board of Directors.
About the Editor
Copyright AIHA For personal use only. Do not distribute.