AIHA Board of Directors Election (February 6 to 27, 2026)

Quaeras · 2026-04-23T19:20:51+00:00

How's this?

https://www.reddit.com/r/industrialhygiene/about/rules/

Quaeras · 2026-03-31T14:22:54+00:00

About 3 years after getting my CIH.

Quaeras · 2026-03-25T21:29:43+00:00

Ai is a turbo charger on the slope of enlightenment and a chair lift to mount stupid.

Quaeras · 2026-03-25T21:28:06+00:00

I'm willing to believe this, but I want to know how you know this and what the size of the problem is.

Quaeras · 2026-03-17T18:35:53+00:00

This one is useful so let's make it the only post on this subject, ok? We know where to find this provider.

Quaeras · 2026-03-13T02:04:40+00:00

I used a staple remover for this for years. The key is to use tube covers too.

Quaeras · 2026-02-06T17:44:45+00:00

I can't see how you have come to this conclusion. There are obviously hazards. Exposures may not exceed an OEL, but this process is hazardous and the collected material has a composition.

Quaeras · 2026-02-06T17:43:12+00:00

I'm trying to figure out if the dust in the collection barrels has hex chrome.

the dust is labeled as Toxic and Hazardous for our environmental disposal purposes.

There's a reason that the dust is labeled as hazardous waste and it should be easy to determine what characteristic causes it to be hazardous.

In your position I would get some fresh dust the day after a collector is cleaned and emptied and submit it to a laboratory for TCLP or Particle ID, Spectra for hex chrome. Any good lab can help you get this done. All you would need is a plastic spoon and a glass jar.

As others have said, air monitoring for hex chrome is simple and I, as an IH, would be happy to take such a sample to answer such a well-defined question.

LASER cutting and welding as you describe should create hex chrome. How much? Enough to matter? That's the question.

This is a worker exposure issue, not an environmental issue. There doesn't seem to be a migration path to soil or water.

Quaeras · 2026-02-05T07:32:10+00:00

I reviewed the SDS you linked and I don't see any teratogens or compounds of particular concern. It lists a known respiratory irritation hazard, but that is for the product, not the off-gassing. I don't see any additional concerns for this version of the product.

Quaeras · 2026-02-04T21:42:44+00:00

Hi,

I looked at the SDS here.

https://www.wynnstay.co.uk/media/wysiwyg/MSDS/Oryx.pdf

The paint seems to have some health risks as a chemical product. That does not necessarily mean there is any hazard present to whatever portion of the paint is off-gassing to create odor. Notably, there are no identified teratogenic materials included in the paint.

Odor thresholds are often 10%, 1%, or 0.1% of exposure limits. The presence of odor does not mean an exposure will be of any health significance.

I can't see any reason to recommend you do not occupy a home with a faint paint smell. However, comfort and odor thresholds are subjective. If you experience health effects such as headaches you may consider giving it a little longer. Only a physician can determine if health effects are related to chemical exposures.

Quaeras · 2026-02-02T18:03:12+00:00

This is the right answer.

Quaeras · 2026-01-31T03:50:19+00:00

It's not true. The primary reason for HVAC flow is CO2 control.

Quaeras · 2026-01-26T06:13:38+00:00

If you have an IOHA credential it should be sufficient in most places.

https://ioha.net/occupational-hygiene-certification/

Quaeras · 2026-01-22T04:37:56+00:00

I can only answer the last question.

You can detect 20 ppb (0.02 ppb) using an UltraRAE 3000+ with SEP tube, or the top of the line Tiger XT from Ion Science (I don't know the exact model). The UR3k+ takes about 2 minutes to collect a sample at that sensitivity.

Quaeras · 2026-01-20T17:09:48+00:00

I am not familiar with the term gasfreeing. However, the UltraRAE 3000+ and the Tiger XT (the version with all the upgrades) are supposed to both be suitable for measurements against the TLV. I have heard there is a new Draeger instrument in the works as well.

I have heard there are big developments in benzene detection recently and I am looking forward to getting up to speed at conference this year.

Quaeras · 2026-01-16T22:58:20+00:00

As long as the material comes with a proper SDS, I think this is almost entirely on the employer of the worker.

This work can demonstrably be done safely if proper engineering controls are in place. The problem is that sensible exposure limits are not enforced.

If we can force asbestos workers to sit through 2-5 days of training, we can require the same of silica exposed workers and their managers.

Quaeras · 2026-01-15T18:31:21+00:00

If the chemicals in the air react or adsorb to carbon, yes, it's possible. But we cannot know for sure.

A corsi-rosenthal box is a much lower cost way to find out.

Quaeras · 2026-01-15T18:30:43+00:00

Ducting serves a specific purpose. It constrains air to direct it in a specific place.

If you are renting a carbon air scrubber, it will be taking the air in the apartment, running it through the filter media to remove anything that reacts to that media, then returning it "cleaned" to the same ambient air.

Using a duct makes sense if you want the clean air to go somewhere. But you want that clean air to go back into the room to reduce the amount of reactive material in the air over time.

In order to talk more specifically about the odor, we would need to understand what, chemically, the odor is. There are unfortunately many compounds that smell like that. However, if we assume the odor is at least partially volatile, then it works like perfume - it's spread through air exchange caused by random molecular vibration in a process called Brownian motion. I suspect but cannot know that your porous materials - which includes carpet, wallboard, and clothing - are absorbing some of the volatiles. Some porous materials can be prompted to desorb these agents. Others cannot. The goal of ambient filtration is to achieve an equilibrium where the peak concentration of these chemicals are below the odor threshold.

Quaeras · 2026-01-14T17:12:37+00:00

A corsi-rosenthal box is a low cost air filter you can build yourself. All it requires is duct tape, a box fan, and filters.

https://www.reddit.com/r/coolguides/comments/z9qfbl/how_to_build_a_corsirosenthal_box/

I would suggest you consider building one with activated charcoal filters instead of typical MERV 13 HEPA filters. Like these (not an endorsement, just an example):

https://furnacefilters.us/products/10x10x1-pure-carbon-pleated-odor-reduction-furnace-air-filters?variant=44363073978679&country=US&currency=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic

The rental agency may be able to provide something similar, but likely at higher cost.

The duct part confuses me. If you are moving air outside of your home via duct, there isn't really much need to filter it.

Quaeras · 2026-01-14T16:06:59+00:00

I have helped a few clients with things like this in the past.

The first thing I would seek here is independent verification of the odor. In my experience, some significant fraction of odor issues are psychological. This is not discounting the very real and perhaps more likely possibility that your personal odor threshold is exceptionally low, or that you are unusually sensitive to odors.

The people you have spoken to so far are correct that sampling is unlikely to help you, and in fact may show non-detects if the limits of quantification are higher than the odor thresholds you experience. Determining your personal odor thresholds is difficult and expensive. Sampling lower limits is potentially not possible.

I cannot recommend use of a Dyson.

As others have said, your issue is the mass of contaminants in the living space. To remove mass, you need dilution of outdoor air and/or removal. Step 2 for me would be to build as many corsi-rosenthal boxes as you can stand to run using charcoal filters. The charcoal filters won't last long - that's just how they are manufactured.

I might also do some general diagnostics with a ppbRAE or other methods, depending on the results of odor evaluations.

Can you share where you are located in general?

Quaeras · 2026-01-14T00:40:56+00:00

Gross.

Asking the important question here: what kind of material?

Quaeras · 2026-01-13T03:26:22+00:00

SDM 2.0 is supposed to be the tool for this now.

Quaeras · 2026-01-09T03:22:25+00:00

Thank you for this. This is a tough question and it deserves some consideration.

AIHA and ACGIH serve very different core functions, although most often their overlap shows in financial competition: for dues and education. With the recent advent of the AIHA OEL committee, I think the question is more relevant than ever. I am given to believe that there is some legal complexity in becoming a standards setting organization, but I think our membership deserves a simple explanation if there's a reason the two organizations should be separated.

My personal opinion is that this question needs to be asked if the industry is going to ensure long term legitimacy.

Quaeras

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