Are your workshop controls doing the job?
Having extraction equipment installed is only part of controlling airborne exposure. It must suit the work, be maintained and be used correctly.
Your action this week: check the controls already in place.
Are exhaust extraction hoses connected when engines run? Is welding extraction positioned where the fumes are produced? Are spray booth filters maintained? Do workers understand how to use the equipment?
Air monitoring
Air monitoring is required where there is uncertainty, on reasonable grounds, about whether the applicable exposure standard or limit is exceeded, or where monitoring is necessary to determine whether there is a risk to health.
A suitably qualified occupational hygienist can assess exposure and advise on appropriate monitoring and controls.
Health monitoring
Health monitoring is a separate requirement. It may be required for ongoing work involving certain hazardous chemicals where there is a significant health risk, including some work involving isocyanates in two-pack coatings.
Neither air testing nor medical checks replace effective exposure controls.
Address problems when they are identified. Existing WHS duties apply now.
For assistance with your workplace obligations, contact the MTA NSW Employment Relations Team.
Need employment relations advice?
MTA NSW members can contact our Employment Relations and Legal Teams on:
[email protected]
or phone us on
02 9016 9000.
For businesses that are not currently members, our Membership Team can provide more information about MTA NSW and MTA ACT membership and the support available to members.
Please phone us on
02 9016 9000
or email
[email protected].