A medical‐surveillance program for hazardous‐waste activities and asbestos‐abatement operation for a consulting engineering firm

Abstract The establishment of a medical surveillance program to monitor and develop a baseline for personnel engaged in hazardous‐waste activities and asbestos‐abatement operations is discussed. Medical surveillance and monitoring of personnel employed in these industries are required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Hazardous‐waste and asbestos projects often result in employee exposure to unique hazardous substances requiring specific medical surveillance and monitoring. Developing a specific program for the protection of personnel conducting periodic site visits is costly and often ineffective. Personnel in this category are engineers, geologists, industrial hygienists, planners, surveyors and affiliated groups that are commonly employed by consulting engineering firms. In general, most of these personnel are primarily office‐based, but are responsible for conducting site visits, which usually involve inspections, progress meetin...