Heavy Fuel Oils Exposure
IOM has been awarded a programme of research to investigate typical dermal exposures to heavy fuel oils (HFO). CONCAWE (the petrochemical industry association) is funding this research in order provide its members with improved exposure with regard to heavy fuels.
Heavy fuel oils are used in a variety of industries such as electrical power generation and engineering, and it may also be used as fuel for example in ships. We shall therefore be investigating the dermal exposure to HFO in a variety of industrial sectors throughout the United Kingdom.
In order to give users of any chemical substance appropriate health and safety advice, knowledge of the exposure of workers under normal working conditions is required. Therefore the aim of this study is to collect this information and increase our understanding of dermal exposure to HFO. This will aid the various industrial sectors to improve their health and safety with regard to heavy fuel oils.
This programme of research is composed of three distinct sections.
- Firstly we will measure normal dermal exposure to HFO. Dermal sampling will be performed on volunteers employed in selected companies from a range of industrial sectors. The dermal samples will be chemically analysed to quantify exposure to HFO.
- Secondly we will undertake a telephone survey of companies using heavy fuel oils. The aim of this survey is to gain an insight into the protection the companies provide their employees, the frequency with which the employees are in contact with the substance and the estimated exposure levels.
- The exposure model DREAM will be used in conjunction with the site visit data and also the information gained from the telephone survey to estimate exposure across industries and tasks.
IOM is therefore seeking companies who are willing to participate in the telephone survey and companies who are willing to participate in the site visits, (thereby allowing us to measure the dermal exposure of their workers). All data and information will be treated as confidential and all data presented in a manner such that no company shall be able to be identified.