Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act No. 85 of 1993)

Regulations

Regulations for Hazardous Chemical Agents, 2020

Annexures

Annexure 3 : Hazardous Chemical Agent Guidelines

Guidance on medical surveillance and biological monitoring

Biological monitoring

Objectives and uses of biological exposure monitoring
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28.The main objective of biological monitoring is to provide a complementary technique to air monitoring when air sampling techniques alone may not give a reliable indication of exposure. Hence, it may be particularly useful in the following ways:

 

(a) to detect and determine absorption via the skin or gastrointestinal system, in addition to that by inhalation;

 

(b) to test the efficacy of personal protective equipment and monitor work practices;

 

(c) to compliment air monitoring in circumstances when work practices are not normal, such as abnormally long or variable working hours or very strenuous work (high breathing rates = increased chemical intake);

 

(d) to detect non-occupational exposures;

 

(e) to assess total body burden;

 

(f) to reconstruct past exposure in the absence of other exposure measurements for chemicals with long half-lives; and

 

(g) to assess the effectiveness of medical removal procedures when indicated for certain chemicals (e.g. arsenic).