Hazardous Substances

Hazardous substances – i.e. any liquid, gaseous or solid substances which pose a health or safety risk to employees – can be found in nearly all working environments. Everywhere in Europe, millions of employees come into contact with chemical and biological substances at their workplaces that could be harmful to them.

If the risks involved with the use of hazardous substances are not dealt with correctly, a variety of detrimental effects on the health of employees may develop. Such effects may range from minor eye or skin irritations to asthma, impairment of reproducibility or congenital disabilities to even cancer. Detrimental effects may be caused by brief, one-time exposure or by a large number of incidents of contact, and/or may be related to long-term accumulation of substances in the body.

Employers in the EU are required by law to protect their employees from the detrimental effects and/or damage caused by hazardous substances at the workplace. Employers are obligated to provide an assessment of the risk potentials and to take the appropriate remedial measures. The applicable legal provisions also govern the detection and identification of thousands of different registered substances on the EU market.

Source: www.osha.europa.eu/de/topics/ds

In Germany, the levels of the maximum admissible workplace concentration have been defined as mandatory for a number of hazardous substances in the room air in working environments. In addition, non-governmental guideline and orientation values provide a basis for orientation.
Measuring the concentration levels of hazardous substances is one of the prerequisites for identifying and assessing the exposure of employees and other individuals at workplaces and in the nearby environment.

Pollutants

The presence of pollutants in rooms and buildings is a highly delicate issue, and thus has been in the headlines of the daily press again and again for decades. This is not surprising, considering how unsettling it is to find out that there are relevant health risks in the privacy of one’s own home or in schools or work areas. In addition, a loss of trust and a tarnished public image may result from concealment and trivialization on the part of the individuals or organizations in charge.

When we are talking about pollutants today, we are referring to asbestos, PCB, PAH, PCP, lindane, DDT and other substances, which were originally much appreciated and desirable as components in a number of construction products due to their specific properties.

Unfortunately, people had to develop serious illnesses and die, before these substances/materials were recognized as harmful. In many cases, it took a long time before the physical mechanisms had been identified and use of these substances/materials was limited or banned. Legal regulations for remedial measures were drawn up.
Failure to take the necessary protective or remedial measures concerning pollutants in buildings is therefore no longer acceptable.

The detection, assessment and remediation of present pollutant levels, however, are highly complicated tasks that require comprehensive expertise from an officially recognized expert who can draw on extensive empirical knowledge.
Source: Gesamtverband Schadstoffsanierung (General Association for Remediation of Contaminated Areas) ; „Schadstoffe in Innenräumen und an Gebäuden“ (Pollutants in indoor areas and at buildings)

In private homes and in public areas, air measurements are often initiated as a result of individuals not feeling well or having even health complaints, and/or due to odors being noticed.

There are no comprehensive legally binding rules and standards in Germany (and Europe) for the quality of indoor air. However, there are a number of assessment criteria that are referred to by a number of authors, though using different terms (e.g. ‚guideline values‘, ‚orientation values‘, ‚target values‘, ‚precautionary values‘, ‚abnormal values‘). Moreover, their scientific deduction and legal significance vary considerably. As a basic principle, a distinction is made between toxicologically relevant values and statistically defined reference or background values.

Source: Announcement by the German Federal Environmental Agency, „Beurteilung von Innenraumluftkonzentrationen mittels Referenz- und Richtwerten“ (Assessment of indoor air concentrations by means of reference and guideline values)

Biological Substances

The negative effects of biological substances are becoming increasingly important and some cases have aroused intense media attention.

The adverse health and/or unhygienic/unaesthetic effects of

biological industrial substances in work areas (waste treatment, waste-water treatment, waste sorting, slaughterhouses, farms, etc.)
mold in apartments, public buildings and commercially used buildings
Innenraumallergenen
indoor allergens
bacterial influences
wood rot
pathogens released by pigeon droppings

can be very multifaceted.

They range from unpleasant odors, infestation of surfaces, possible skin diseases, syndromes, triggered allergies to serious infections and toxic effects.

For monitoring the exposure originating from the room air and for assessing the risk potential, so-called technical check values have been defined as binding only for work areas so far (there are no limit values at present).
With respect to the measurement of concentration levels in room air, merely reference and background values are available to serve as a basis for an assessment of the health-related effects.