SIST EN 689:2018

Workplace exposure - Measurement of exposure by inhalation to chemical agents - Strategy for testing compliance with occupational exposure limit values

This European standard specifies a strategy to perform representative measurements of exposure by inhalation to chemical agents in order to demonstrate the compliance with occupational exposure limit values.

Exposition am Arbeitsplatz - Messung der Exposition durch Einatmung chemischer Arbeitsstoffe - Strategie zur Überprüfung der Einhaltung von Arbeitsplatzgrenzwerten

Diese Europäische Norm legt eine Strategie zur Durchführung repräsentativer Expositionsmessungen in Bezug auf die Inhalation chemischer Arbeitsstoffe fest, um die Einhaltung von Beurteilungsmaßstäben (OELVs) nachweisen zu können.
Diese Europäische Norm ist nicht anwendbar auf OELVs mit Referenzdauer von weniger als 15 min.

Exposition sur les lieux de travail - Mesurage de l'exposition par inhalation d'agents chimiques - Stratégie pour vérifier la conformité à des valeurs limites d'exposition professionnelle

La présente Norme européenne spécifie une stratégie pour effectuer des mesurages représentatifs de l’exposition par inhalation à des agents chimiques afin de démontrer la conformité aux valeurs limites d’exposition professionnelle (VLEP).
La présente Norme européenne n’est pas applicable aux VLEP dont les périodes de référence sont inférieures à 15 min.

Izpostavljenost na delovnem mestu - Merjenje izpostavljenosti pri vdihavanju kemičnih agensov - Strategija preskušanja skladnosti z mejnimi vrednostmi za poklicno izpostavljenost

Ta evropski standard določa strategijo za izvajanje reprezentativnih meritev izpostavljenosti kemičnim snovem zaradi vdihavanja z namenom dokazovanja skladnosti z mejnimi vrednostmi za poklicno izpostavljenost.

General Information

• Status: Withdrawn
• Public Enquiry End Date: 01-Aug-2016
• Publication Date: 13-Jun-2018
• Withdrawal Date: 16-Jun-2019
• ICS: 13.040.30 - Workplace atmospheres
• Technical Committee: KAZ - Air quality
• Current Stage: 9900 - Withdrawal (Adopted Project)
• Start Date: 13-Jun-2019
• Due Date: 06-Jul-2019
• Completion Date: 17-Jun-2019
• Ref Project: EN 689:2018 - Workplace exposure - Measurement of exposure by inhalation to chemical agents - Strategy for testing compliance with occupational exposure limit values

Relations

• Replaced By: SIST EN 689:2018+AC:2019 - Workplace exposure - Measurement of exposure by inhalation to chemical agents - Strategy for testing compliance with occupational exposure limit values
• Effective Date: 01-Jul-2019
• Replaces: SIST EN 689:1998 - Workplace atmospheres - Guidance for the assessment of exposure by inhalation to chemical agents for comparison with limit values and measurement strategy
• Effective Date: 01-Jul-2018

Standards Content (Sample)

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
SIST EN 689:2018
01-julij-2018
1DGRPHãþD
SIST EN 689:1998
,]SRVWDYOMHQRVWQDGHORYQHPPHVWX0HUMHQMHL]SRVWDYOMHQRVWLSULYGLKDYDQMX
NHPLþQLKDJHQVRY6WUDWHJLMDSUHVNXãDQMDVNODGQRVWL]PHMQLPLYUHGQRVWPL]D
SRNOLFQRL]SRVWDYOMHQRVW
Workplace exposure - Measurement of exposure by inhalation to chemical agents -
Strategy for testing compliance with occupational exposure limit values
Exposition am Arbeitsplatz - Messung der Exposition durch Einatmung chemischer

Arbeitsstoffe - Strategie zur Überprüfung der Einhaltung von Arbeitsplatzgrenzwerten

Exposition sur les lieux de travail - Mesurage de l'exposition par inhalation d'agents

chimiques - Stratégie pour vérifier la conformité à des valeurs limites d'exposition

professionnelle
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN 689:2018
ICS:
13.040.30 Kakovost zraka na delovnem Workplace atmospheres
mestu
SIST EN 689:2018 en,fr,de

2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

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SIST EN 689:2018
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SIST EN 689:2018
EN 689
EUROPEAN STANDARD
NORME EUROPÉENNE
May 2018
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
ICS 13.040.30 Supersedes EN 689:1995
English Version
Workplace exposure - Measurement of exposure by
inhalation to chemical agents - Strategy for testing
compliance with occupational exposure limit values

Exposition sur les lieux de travail - Mesurage de Exposition am Arbeitsplatz - Messung der Exposition

l'exposition par inhalation d'agents chimiques - durch Einatmung chemischer Arbeitsstoffe - Strategie

Stratégie pour vérifier la conformité à des valeurs zur Überprüfung der Einhaltung von

limites d'exposition professionnelle Arbeitsplatzgrenzwerten
This European Standard was approved by CEN on 2 March 2018.

CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this

European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references

concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CEN

member.

This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by

translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management

Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,

Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania,

Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,

Turkey and United Kingdom.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION
EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG
CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels

© 2018 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. EN 689:2018 E

worldwide for CEN national Members.
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SIST EN 689:2018
EN 689:2018 (E)
Contents Page

European foreword ....................................................................................................................................................... 4

Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................... 5

1 Scope .................................................................................................................................................................... 6

2 Normative references .................................................................................................................................... 6

3 Terms and definitions and abbreviations .............................................................................................. 6

3.1 Terms and definitions ................................................................................................................................... 6

3.2 Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................................... 7

4 General ................................................................................................................................................................ 7

5 Occupational exposure assessment.......................................................................................................... 9

5.1 Basic characterization ................................................................................................................................... 9

5.1.1 General ................................................................................................................................................................ 9

5.1.2 Identification of chemical agents and other information required .............................................. 9

5.1.3 Review of workplace factors .................................................................................................................... 10

5.1.4 Estimation of exposure .............................................................................................................................. 10

5.1.5 Decisions ......................................................................................................................................................... 11

5.2 Sampling strategy......................................................................................................................................... 11

5.2.1 Constitution of Similar Exposure Groups (SEGs) .............................................................................. 11

5.2.2 Specifying the measuring procedure .................................................................................................... 12

5.3 Performing exposure measurements ................................................................................................... 13

5.4 Validation of results and SEGs ................................................................................................................. 13

5.4.1 General ............................................................................................................................................................. 13

5.4.2 Validation of measurement results ....................................................................................................... 13

5.4.3 Validation of SEGs ........................................................................................................................................ 14

5.5 Comparison of results with OELVs ......................................................................................................... 14

5.5.1 General ............................................................................................................................................................. 14

5.5.2 Preliminary test ............................................................................................................................................ 15

5.5.3 Statistical test ................................................................................................................................................ 15

6 Report ............................................................................................................................................................... 16

7 Periodic reassessment ............................................................................................................................... 16

Annex A (informative) Assessment of exposure ............................................................................................ 18

A.1 General ............................................................................................................................................................. 18

A.2 Workplaces with constant conditions .................................................................................................. 20

A.3 Shortened exposure at workplaces with constant working conditions ................................... 20

A.4 Workplaces involving occasional exposure ....................................................................................... 20

A.5 Stationary workplaces with irregular exposure ............................................................................... 21

A.6 Workers who move from a workplace to another with irregular exposure .......................... 21

A.7 Workplaces with unpredictable, constantly changing exposure ................................................ 22

A.8 Outdoor workplaces .................................................................................................................................... 22

A.9 Underground workplaces ......................................................................................................................... 22

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EN 689:2018 (E)

Annex B (informative) Occupational exposure limit values for compliance testing ......................... 24

Annex C (informative) Simultaneous workplace exposure to several chemical agents .................. 26

C.1 General ............................................................................................................................................................. 26

C.2 Tier 1: Exposure index (I ) ........................................................................................................................ 26

C.3 Tier 2: Additive effect exposure index (I ) ......................................................................................... 27

C.4 Other approaches ......................................................................................................................................... 28

Annex D (informative) Exposure profile and sampling duration............................................................. 29

D.1 General ............................................................................................................................................................. 29

D.2 Measurement for testing compliance with 8 h- OELV ..................................................................... 29

D.3 Measurement for testing compliance with short-term limit value ............................................ 34

Annex E (informative) Check of exposure measurements distribution, and identification of

exceptional exposure within the SEG .................................................................................................... 35

E.1 General ............................................................................................................................................................. 35

E.2 Graphical method ......................................................................................................................................... 35

E.2.1 Principle ........................................................................................................................................................... 35

E.2.2 Plotting ............................................................................................................................................................. 36

E.2.3 Example ............................................................................................................................................................ 36

E.2.4 Examples of SEGs requiring further consideration .......................................................................... 37

E.2.4.1 General ............................................................................................................................................................. 37

E.2.4.2 SEG consisting of two groups .................................................................................................................... 38

E.2.4.3 Some individuals with exceptional exposure ..................................................................................... 39

E.2.4.4 Distributions appearing to be not lognormal. .................................................................................... 40

E.3 Statistical methods for the validation of SEGs .................................................................................... 41

Annex F (informative) Testing compliance with OELVs .............................................................................. 42

F.1 General ............................................................................................................................................................. 42

F.2 SEG compliance test for at least six exposure measurements ...................................................... 42

F.3 Decision ............................................................................................................................................................ 43

Annex G (informative) Exposure calculation with a work shift longer than 8h .................................. 45

Annex H (informative) Exposure below the limit of quantification ........................................................ 46

H.1 General ............................................................................................................................................................. 46

H.2 Principle ........................................................................................................................................................... 46

H.3 Example ............................................................................................................................................................ 46

H.4 Uncertainty ..................................................................................................................................................... 49

H.5 Software ........................................................................................................................................................... 50

Annex I (informative) Interval for periodic measurements ...................................................................... 51

Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................................. 53

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SIST EN 689:2018
EN 689:2018 (E)
European foreword

This document (EN 689:2018) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 137 “Assessment of

workplace exposure to chemical and biological agents”, the secretariat of which is held by DIN.

This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an

identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by November 2018, and conflicting national standards

shall be withdrawn at the latest by November 2018.

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of

patent rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

This document supersedes EN 689:1995.

According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organisations of the

following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,

Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,

France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta,

Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,

Turkey and the United Kingdom.
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SIST EN 689:2018
EN 689:2018 (E)
Introduction

This European Standard deals with the measurement of exposure to chemical agents in workplace

atmospheres, and in particular with measurement strategy for comparing workers' exposure by

inhalation with occupational exposure limit values (OELVs). Other parts of management of exposure of

workers are not dealt with in detail in this European Standard.

Within this European Standard, compliance means that workers’ time weighted average workplace

exposure is below an OELV with a corresponding reference period. OELVs include legal values and

other numerical criteria (see Annex B).

Representative measurement of workplace exposure to chemical agents is difficult, because of the

variability of exposure. Processes and products affecting exposure are numerous. Different workplace

conditions can correspond to different generation rates, can involve a variety of chemical agents and

can therefore present specific exposure conditions. Exposure can be affected by the distance of the

exposed workers from emission sources; and parameters such as emission intensity, ventilation,

climatic conditions, seasonal variations and the controls applied can also have a very marked influence.

The spatial and temporal variabilities of exposure conditions are further enhanced by workers'

practices and activities themselves.

The sampling equipment introduces its own limitations, and the analytical steps add further difficulties

and uncertainties.

This European Standard is applicable for measuring procedures that fulfil the requirements of EN 482.

If a measuring procedure does not fulfil these requirements some parts of the procedure described in

this European Standard cannot be applied.

To assess the exposure of workers to chemicals and to state with certainty that it does not exceed the

OELVs (short-term or long-term) would require measurement of the exposure of every worker for

every working day. Unfortunately while this approach is possible for some agents such as ionizing

radiation, it is not feasible or practical for many chemical agents due to limitations of the measurement

techniques and costs.

The strategy described in this European Standard gives a procedure for the employer or other

stakeholders to overcome the problem of variability and to use a relatively small number of

measurements to demonstrate with a high degree of confidence that workers are unlikely to be exposed

to concentrations exceeding the OELVs. To reduce the number of exposure measurements, and

therefore the cost of assessment, personal air samples are collected among workers within similar

exposure groups (SEGs). A single measurement or even several measurements below the limit value can

be insufficient to reliably demonstrate compliance without using a statistical test like the one proposed

in this European Standard.

Respiratory protective equipment (RPE) is used to reduce the amount of the chemical agent that is

inhaled by the worker. However, this European Standard does not take into account the use and

effectiveness of RPE in testing compliance with the OELV.

Before any measurements are performed, it is essential for an appraiser to conduct a basic

characterization in order to collect relevant information on workplace factors, and the available

information on exposure in the workplace concerned. This includes information on variation of

exposure with time of day and season of the year, so that the measurement is representative.

If the basic characterization shows that exposure is probably higher than the OELV, then it is

recommended to reduce exposure by risk management measures (RMM) before measurements are

planned for compliance testing.
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EN 689:2018 (E)
1 Scope

This European Standard specifies a strategy to perform representative measurements of exposure by

inhalation to chemical agents in order to demonstrate the compliance with occupational exposure limit

values (OELVs).

This European Standard is not applicable to OELVs with reference periods less than 15 min.

2 Normative references

The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content

constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For

undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.

EN 482, Workplace atmospheres — General requirements for the performance of procedures for the

measurement of chemical agents
EN 1540, Workplace exposure - Terminology
3 Terms and definitions and abbreviations
3.1 Terms and definitions

For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in EN 1540 and the following apply.

ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:

• IEC Electropedia: available at http://www.electropedia.org/
• ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp
3.1.1
appraiser

person who is sufficiently trained and experienced in occupational hygiene principles, working and

measurement techniques, to conduct the part of the assessment they are performing according to the

state of the art
Note 1 to entry: The appraiser may be supported by a team of qualified persons.
3.1.2
exposure profile

description of the exposure variations to a chemical agent in relation to the definable series of activities

from the periods under consideration
Note 1 to entry: See Annex D.
3.1.3
similar exposure group
SEG

group of workers having the same general exposure profile for the chemical agent(s) being studied

because of the similarity and frequency of the tasks performed, the materials and processes with which

they work, and the similarity of the way they perform the tasks
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EN 689:2018 (E)
3.2 Abbreviations
AM arithmetic mean
CAS chemical abstracts service
DMEL derived minimum effect level
DNEL derived no-effects level
EC number European community number
GSD geometric standard deviation
GM geometric mean
H hour
LOQ limit of quantification
OELV occupational exposure limit value
RPE respiratory protective equipment
RMM risk management measures
SD standard deviation
SEG similar exposure group
WS work shift
4 General

The assessment of occupational exposure to chemical agents based on air samples requires the

development of a strategy including different phases which shall be conducted by an appraiser.

The strategy consists of an initial workplace exposure assessment (described in Clauses 5 and 6) and

then periodic reassessment (see Clause 7). The initial workplace exposure assessment comprises

different phases:
— basic characterization of the workplaces;
— constitution of similar exposure groups;
— selection of a suitable measuring procedure;
— performing exposure measurements;
— validation of exposure measurement results and SEGs;
— comparison of results with OELVs;
— reporting of results.

The sampling strategy comprises the constitution of SEGs and the definition of measuring procedures. If

the initial workplace exposure assessment indicates non-compliance with OELVs for some SEGs, control

measures shall be implemented and a new initial workplace exposure assessment shall be conducted.

Following the initial workplace exposure assessment, periodic reassessments shall be conducted. When

significant changes occur at the workplace that may affect exposure conditions, the appraiser shall

decide whether a new initial workplace exposure assessment shall be conducted.
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EN 689:2018 (E)

Figure 1 gives a schematic overview of the procedures described in this European Standard.

Figure 1 —Schematic overview of the strategy
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EN 689:2018 (E)
5 Occupational exposure assessment
5.1 Basic characterization
5.1.1 General

Prior to exposure measurements, the workplace and the related exposure profile under consideration

shall be considered.
The basic characterization of exposure determinants is in three steps:
— identification of chemical agents and other information required;
— review of workplace factors;
— estimation of exposure.

All the information collected during the basic characterization shall be used to:

— decide whether measurements are necessary or not (see 5.1.4);
— constitute the different SEGs.

Use of exposure monitoring devices able to give an instant feedback to the user, either as a single or a

continuous reading (so called direct-reading instruments), can give valuable information about

approximate exposure level, the exposure pattern, and spatial, time and worker variability of the

exposure.
5.1.2 Identification of chemical agents and other information required

The preparation of a list of all chemical agents in the workplace and the relevant information concerned

is an essential first step to the identification of the potential for hazardous exposure. The safety data

sheets and other available information are useful to establish the list. The list shall include any of the

following:

— raw materials, primary products, impurities, intermediates, final products, reaction and process

products and by-products, etc;

— the individual chemical agents, identified with chemical registration numbers (e.g. CAS#, EC#);

— hazardous properties, classification and labelling;
— appropriate OELVs depending on the goal of the assessment (see Annex B);

— whether dermal and oral exposure of the chemical agents is relevant (this European Standard only

deals with measuring inhalation exposure, but knowledge of other routes can be important in the

management of exposure);

— additional information such as amount used, vapour pressure, temperature, saturation

concentration, dustiness, etc.
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EN 689:2018 (E)
5.1.3 Review of workplace factors

The work processes and procedures shall be evaluated to gauge the exposure and the exposure profile

to chemical agents by a detailed review of workplace factors, such as:

— work organization: activity, task, job title, work shift system, job functions, etc.;

— processes and techniques (type of processes, temperature, pressure, etc.);
— workplace layout and configuration, including confined spaces, open air, etc.;
— safety precautions and procedures (restricted area, etc.);
— cleanliness and tidiness of workplace;

— ventilation installations and other forms of engineering control and any information on their

performance;
— emission sources and locations of high concentrations ;

— periods, frequencies and durations of exposure taking into account variation of exposure with time

of day and season of the year;
— work load;
— worker behaviour, or
— activity or production rate indicators.
5.1.4 Estimation of exposure

The appraiser shall collect available information to allow reliable estimates of the exposure of the

workers. Annex A gives guidance on this.
Possible sources of information include:

— earlier measurement results in this workplace, including from direct-reading instruments;

— measurement results from comparable installations or work processes (databases, literature, etc.);

— calculations based on relevant quantitative information;
— exposure modelling.

A decision that an exposure is much lower than the OELV should be made, for example in the following

cases:

— the release capability is low because of the working conditions and the substance properties (e.g.

low vapour pressure, high boiling point with low processing temperature, low dust-forming

behaviour);
— the operational conditions cannot give rise to the formation of aerosols;
— only small quantities are used;

— only low emissions are possible, for example because of small source surfaces or short activity

duration (<15 min).
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EN 689:2018 (E)
The estimates shall be used to make a decision in 5.1.5.

The estimates shall also be used to verify whether the sampling and analysis techniques that are

proposed for the measurements are adequate.
5.1.5 Decisions
The results of basic characterization lead to one of the following decisions:

— the exposure is higher than the OELV (non-compliance); then the appraiser shall report this (see

Clause 6) and advise on a programme to reduce exposures, using RMM, before making

measurements to test compliance;

— the exposure is well below the OELV (compliance); then the appraiser shall decide if measurements

are necessary or not. If measurements are unnecessary, the appraiser shall report this (see

Clause 6) and advise on a reassessment (see Clause 7);

— the available information on exposure is insufficient to decide on compliance with the OELV; then

the appraiser shall continue to develop a sampling plan (see 5.2).
5.2 Sampling strategy
5.2.1 Constitution of Similar Exposure Groups (SEGs)

In practice it is usually not possible to measure the exposure of each worker during each working day.

In order to obtain quantitative data from exposure measurements that allows assessment of compliance

with OELVs, an effective approach shall be taken that allows the most efficient use of resources.

This approach, based on the observation of working conditions, permits measurement of exp

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