Health Surveillance

Question 1

PEHS

Answer 1

Pre employment health screening
Justifiable if:
1. The prospective employee requests it
2. Statutory Requirement
3. For safety critical roles
4. Where baseline tests are required for health surveillance

Question 2

Equality Act on PEHS

Answer 2

Outlaws PEHS before job offer is made except in specific circumstances.

Question 3

Any testing for PEHS

Answer 3

Prospective employees should be advised in advance in writing by HR of the pre-employment policy and in particular if any testing like drugs, alcohol, HEP B are to be done.

Question 4

Night Workers

Answer 4

Under Working Time Regulations, all night workers are to be offered and initial and annual health assessment. They don’t have to accept.

Question 5

Code of Practice

Answer 5

List of reasonable adjustments expected of all employers
Disabled employees are not entitled to more sick pay days unless reason for being off sick is employers failure to provide reasonable adjustments.

Question 6

Safety critical role

Answer 6

Needs risk assessment under Management of Health and Safety at Work Act 1999

Question 7

Access to Work Programme

Answer 7

Provides financial assistance towards extra costs of employing someone with a disability.
Run by DWP
Available to employed and self employed staff

Question 8

Biological Monitoring

Answer 8

Aims to determine if someone has been exposed to a hazard.
Integrates exposures from all routes.
Measurement and assessment of chemicals or their metabolites in exposed workers. Breath, urine, blood, skin.
Can measure chemicals itself or metabolite

Question 9

Biological Effect Monitoring

Answer 9

Measurement and assessment of early biological affect caused by absorption of chemicals in exposed workers
eg peak flow or lung function tests

Question 10

Organic Lead

Answer 10

From skin. More toxic.
Measure ALA in urine.
OEL of 0.10
Only suspension value.

Question 11

Inorganic Lead

Answer 11

Ingested
Measure FEP (free erythrocyte protoporphyrin in blood
OEL of 0.15
Has action and suspension value

Question 12

EH40

Answer 12

Occupational exposure limits. Lists all chemicals and WELS

Question 13

BMGV

Answer 13

Biological Monitoring Guidance Value
List available in HSE Publication
Non statutory except lead
Under this comes HGV and BGV

Question 14

Environmental Monitoring (air)

Answer 14

Measurement of airborne substances

Question 15

EH 42

Answer 15

Older HSE Guidance on monitoring strategies for toxic substances

Question 16

HSG 173

Answer 16

New HSE Guidance on monitoring strategies for toxic substances

Question 17

8 Steps to set up a health surveillance programme

Answer 17

1. Define the purpose of the programme
2. Appoint a competent person
3. Define the monitoring strategy
4. Consult with employees/representatives
5. Discuss and agree with the individual employees
6. Establish procedures for sample collection, storage, transportation, analysis and quality assurance
7. Procedures for feedback, interpretation of results
8. Acting on the results and evaluating the effectiveness of the programme

Question 18

High Specificity

Answer 18

Needed for HS - true negative in a person who doesn’t have disease.
May get more false positives leading to redeployment but this is better than false negatives

Question 19

Hierarchy of Controls and HS

Answer 19

HS is at the bottom

Question 20

SEQHS

Answer 20

Safe Effective Quality Occupational Health Services

Voluntary UK national quality standard for occupational health services

Question 21

Periodic Health Assessments

Answer 21

1. Subject to legal duty - eg vision screening under DSE

2. Not subject to legal duty - best practices eg. annual health checks of fire, rescue crews.

Question 22

Lead Action Level

Answer 22

If reached or exceeded the employer must carry out investigation, review control measures and take steps to reduced employees blood lead concentration
Only inorganic lead. Not organic lead.

Question 23

Suspension Lead Level

Answer 23

Normally taken off work which exposes them to lead to prevent risk of lead poisoning.

Question 24

Lead Surveillance

Answer 24

Legal requirement under control of lead at work regulations.
Can be done by blood or urine test
Can lead to dismissal - last resort
Different levels for those of child bearing age.

Question 25

Monitoring Styrene

Answer 25

Monitor metabolite mandelic acid

Question 26

Monitoring Benzene

Answer 26

Metabolite TTMA

Question 27

G 402

Answer 27

New guidance on respiratory surveillance

Question 28

MS 24

Answer 28

Guidance on skin surveillance

Question 29

HGV

Answer 29

Health Guidance Value (comes under BMGV)
Set at a level where there is no evidence that substance being monitored is likely to be injurious to health.
Regularly exceeding HGV does indicate that control of exposure may not be adequate.
Employers need to look at ways to reduce exposure.

Question 30

BGV

Answer 30

Benchmark guidance value (comes under BMGV)

Not health based. Practicable, achievable levels set at the 90th percentile of available biological monitoring results.

Question 31

Does Health Surveillace measure risk?

Answer 31

Doesn’t assess level of risk

Question 32

Audiometry Surveillance

Answer 32

Yearly for first 2 years, then every 3 years.

Question 33

Asbestos Licensed Work

Answer 33

2 yearly health surveillance

Question 34

Asbestos Non licensed work

Answer 34

3 yearly health surveillance.