Air monitoring as a field exists to fulfill multiple purposes and encompasses just as many areas of study:
- The purpose for conducting the monitoring involves identifying classifications of air contaminants and the nature of what makes them hazardous
- The ways in which the monitoring is carried out and what it is designed to target, as well as what machines are used to identify the air contaminants and carry out the process of air monitoring
- The knowledge, experience and qualifications of those involved in the monitoring process
Air monitoring for toxicants is often performed after it was determined that it would either need to satisfy a regulatory requirement, or there exists the possibility that a contamination has already occurred and an assessment must be conducted to determine the extent of the exposure. Assessment of hazards seek to identify and categorize chemical, physical and biological agents that could lead to injury, disease or death. The assessments of the hazards are designed to find out the following:
- The level of toxicity of the contaminant, as well as it’s risk factor for causing disease or injury to a human being
- The state of being or form of the contaminant, whether it be gaseous, aerosol or a vapor.
- The method of delivery to a person’s body, whether it be ingestion, inhalation or skin contact.
- Any additional hazards that are presented by the material, such as the possibility of an explosion or fire
- The amount that is most likely to be released into the air when a contamination scenario happens
- Assessing the effectiveness of procedures in place either for prevention or for minimization of the harmful contaminant’s impact on living beings, including engineering interventions, safe work practices and personal protective equipment
One example of a regulation regarding monitoring practices is the US Federal OSHA Benzene Standard. This standard outlines the procedures for workers handling benzene containing liquids that have a content of benzene greater than 0.1 percent, with the exception of situations in that are illustrated in the example that typically do not contain the risk of harmful levels of exposure. Since the US Federal OHSA Standard serves as a good indicator of “air quality sampling” procedures, we will refer to it as a standard of comparison in the series of following articles.