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1 Chemicals in the Food and Beverage Industry: An Introduction
1.6.1 Toxicological Sheets
Toxicological records refer to pure substances. Their structure follows a seven-part
standard plan (Ross and Godin 2016; Safe Work Australia 2012):
(1) Identification
(2) Features (uses, physical properties, chemical properties, storage containers)
(3) Fire and explosion
(4) Pathology and toxicology
(5) Regulations (occupational health and safety, environmental protection, protection of the population, transportation, etc.)
(6) Recommendations for storage, handling, and from a medical point of view
(7) Bibliography.
1.6.2 Occupational Exposure Limit Values
Occupational exposure limit (OEL) values are fixed concentration values of a hazardous chemical agent in the air that a person can tolerate for a specified time—during
an eight-hour workday (Fig. 1.3) without health risks, even if physiological reversible
changes may be sometimes tolerated (Japan Society for Occupational Health 2016).
These limits aim to protect workers against adverse effects related to medium- and
long-term regular exposure and for the duration of a working life to the chemical
agent considered. OEL is usually expressed in volume (ppm or part per million) or
in weight (mg/m
3 ).
OEL is a significant tool for risk assessment and management providing valuable
information for occupational safety and health activities related to hazardous substances. Employers must ensure that the exposure of their workers does not exceed
national limits.
Anyway, limit values are based on information on toxic properties of substances.
Information is drawn from industrial experience (isolated observations, epidemiological surveys concerning immediate or long-term toxic effects) and studies on laboratory animals. Interestingly, the amount of studies concerning the use of selected
chemicals (and related OEL values) in food and beverage industries has increased
in the last year, demonstrating that a chemical risk exists in this ambit. However,
workers are not immune to other effects, such as allergy phenomena. These values
have three technical categories (AISS 2016; Picot and Grenouillet 1994; Ziem and
Castleman 1989):
(1) The threshold limit value
1 (TLV
® ) or short-term exposure limit (STEL) which
applies for periods ≤15 min. It corresponds to an exposure measured over a
1 TLV ® is a trademark of the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists
(ACGIH ® ), https://www.acgih.org/.
1 Chemicals in the Food and Beverage Industry: An Introduction
1.6.1 Toxicological Sheets
Toxicological records refer to pure substances. Their structure follows a seven-part
standard plan (Ross and Godin 2016; Safe Work Australia 2012):
(1) Identification
(2) Features (uses, physical properties, chemical properties, storage containers)
(3) Fire and explosion
(4) Pathology and toxicology
(5) Regulations (occupational health and safety, environmental protection, protection of the population, transportation, etc.)
(6) Recommendations for storage, handling, and from a medical point of view
(7) Bibliography.
1.6.2 Occupational Exposure Limit Values
Occupational exposure limit (OEL) values are fixed concentration values of a hazardous chemical agent in the air that a person can tolerate for a specified time—during
an eight-hour workday (Fig. 1.3) without health risks, even if physiological reversible
changes may be sometimes tolerated (Japan Society for Occupational Health 2016).
These limits aim to protect workers against adverse effects related to medium- and
long-term regular exposure and for the duration of a working life to the chemical
agent considered. OEL is usually expressed in volume (ppm or part per million) or
in weight (mg/m
3 ).
OEL is a significant tool for risk assessment and management providing valuable
information for occupational safety and health activities related to hazardous substances. Employers must ensure that the exposure of their workers does not exceed
national limits.
Anyway, limit values are based on information on toxic properties of substances.
Information is drawn from industrial experience (isolated observations, epidemiological surveys concerning immediate or long-term toxic effects) and studies on laboratory animals. Interestingly, the amount of studies concerning the use of selected
chemicals (and related OEL values) in food and beverage industries has increased
in the last year, demonstrating that a chemical risk exists in this ambit. However,
workers are not immune to other effects, such as allergy phenomena. These values
have three technical categories (AISS 2016; Picot and Grenouillet 1994; Ziem and
Castleman 1989):
(1) The threshold limit value
1 (TLV
® ) or short-term exposure limit (STEL) which
applies for periods ≤15 min. It corresponds to an exposure measured over a
1 TLV ® is a trademark of the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists
(ACGIH ® ), https://www.acgih.org/.