In addition to being a practical risk assessment tool, the designers wanted it to function as an educational tool, and that it should explore novel methods for exposure data collection and use. The development of the tool was a community-based, tri-partite effort of the local OHS regulator, construction employers, and exposure scientists. Using additional information entered by the user, the on-line tool generates an “exposure control plan” or ECP, a legally regulated document for those undertaking work potentially exposing workers to RCS particulate. The tool estimates both uncontrolled and controlled task-based exposure concentrations. Users describe the RCS-dust generating task they will perform, and associated control measures. It was designed to be usable by end-users with varying expertise, including non-OHS experts. The design followed standard web conventions and features so that no specialized training is required for its use. The model was embedded in an adaptive web-based application that can be run on common platforms.

The tool described here was based on a continually-updatable RCS exposure database, and a predictive regression model based on the database to generate exposure risk estimates. It was motivated by the introduction of new OHS regulation in British Columbia that allowed for the substitution of exposure measurement data with “objective air monitoring data” collected at “equivalent work operations.” This allowance encouraged the introduction of quantitative risk assessment in a notoriously challenging work environment but it was concluded that without assistance, the typical construction employer would struggle to identify, extract, and interpret validate objective data. We describe the development and implementation of a novel, on-line risk assessment tool for respirable crystalline silica (RCS) exposure for use in the construction sector.

Coal Hollow by Melanie Light