Hazardous Substance Health Monitoring

Health monitoring (or Health Surveillance) is the monitoring of a worker to identify changes in their health status because of exposure to hazardous chemicals or asbestos through their working environment. It involves experienced doctors examining and supervising the health monitoring of your workers to see if the exposure to hazardous chemicals or asbestos at work is affecting their health. If you are not sure and need to discuss your concerns or workplace exposure please contact our Specialist Team for assistance.

The Sonic HealthPlus Specialist Services Team are available to discuss any concerns or questions regarding workplace exposure.

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Substances

Overview
Planning
Substances
Additional Risks

Overview

A person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) must ensure health monitoring is provided to a worker if the worker:

is carrying out ongoing work using, handling, generating or storing hazardous chemicals, and there is a significant risk to the worker’s health because of exposure to a hazardous chemical listed in Schedule 14 to the WHS Regulations
is carrying out ongoing work using, handling, generating or storing hazardous chemicals and there is a significant risk the worker will be exposed to hazardous chemicals other than those listed in Schedule 14 and either:
- valid techniques are available to detect the effect on the worker’s health, or
- a valid way of determining exposure is available and it is uncertain on reasonable grounds whether exposure has resulted in the biological exposure standard being exceeded
commences or is conducting lead risk work, or
is carrying out licensed asbestos removal or other asbestos related work.

The PCBU has a duty to determine ‘significant risk’ and to decide if a program of health monitoring is necessary. Significant risk decisions are made taking into consideration the likelihood of exposure to a hazardous chemical in conjunction with the known health effects of the chemical. Consultation with a health monitoring doctor may be needed to determine if testing for exposure to the chemical being used is available to monitor potential effects on a worker’s health status.

The PCBU, in consultation with the health monitoring doctor, should consider instigating a health monitoring program for chemicals with severe known health effects, for example chemicals that are known, or are presumed to be, carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to human reproduction, respiratory or skin sensitisers or those with other known severe toxic effects.

The health monitoring doctor will choose the best way to monitor your worker’s health and may use more than one way to monitor your worker’s health. They will choose the best way by looking at:

the regulatory requirements under the model WHS laws
the type of chemical involved
the way your worker is exposed
the level of exposure
if the work environment includes control methods or equipment to reduce the exposure, and
if it is possible to use a proactive way to monitor adverse health effects.

Proactive health monitoring means monitoring your workers before they develop symptoms. This includes checking the level of a chemical or substance in your worker’s blood or urine. Proactive monitoring is preferable to monitoring symptoms after they have developed.

Planning a Health Monitoring Program

It is the responsibility of the PCBU to determine whether or not the risk to workers is significant and whether or not health monitoring is required. However, the PCBU may need to seek expert advice, for example from an Occupational Physician.

For chemicals listed in Schedule 14 to the WHS Regulations, a significant risk is considered to be one where a worker’s health is adversely affected by exposure to the hazardous chemical. For other hazardous chemicals, including lead and asbestos different tests for deciding health monitoring apply.

In deciding if risk is significant, you should consider:

The nature and severity of the hazard for each hazardous chemical taking into account:

the classification of the chemical according to the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) for example irritant, sensitiser, carcinogen, acute toxicant
the form of the chemical in workplace processes for example solid, granulated, dust, mist, fume, and
the route of entry by which the chemical can adversely affect health for example inhalation, ingestion, skin contact and absorption

The degree of exposure to workers, taking account of:

where in the workplace the chemicals are used, handled, stored or generated
who could be exposed and at what levels or concentrations exposure could occur
the quantities and concentrations (pure or dilute) of chemicals being used, handled, stored or generated
standard work practices, procedures and control measures
the way individual workers carry out their daily tasks
whether existing control measures adequately control exposure, and
how often and for how long exposure is likely to occur.

If you have determined there is significant risk, you can provide us with this information leading to this decision or if you are unable to determine the level of risk you can contact us to assist. We have a team of highly qualified specialist Occupational and Environmental Physicians and Senior Registrars with expertise in this field of medicine.

Substance which require Health Monitoring

The information below is taken from regulation 436 (asbestos) and Schedule 14 to the WHS Regulations.

Acrylonitrile

Arsenic (inorganic)

Asbestos

Benzene

Cadmium

Chromium (inorganic)

Creosote

Isocyanates

Lead (inorganic)

Mercury (inorganic)

4,4’-Methylene bis(2-chloroaniline) (MOCA)

Organophosphate pesticides

Pentachlorophenol (PCP)

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH)

Silica, crystalline

Thallium

Vinyl chloride

Some hazardous chemicals which may require health monitoring:

Below are some examples of hazardous chemicals and testing methods which are not listed in schedule 14 of the WHS Regulations where you may wish to consider implementing a health monitoring program for your workers.

Antimony

Arsenic (inorganic) - Urinary inorganic arsenic by speciation (inorganic arsenic plus methylated metabolites)

Benzene - urinary S-phenylmercapturic acid (s-PMA)

Beryllium

Butanone (methyl ethyl ketone, MEK)

Carbon disulphide

Chromium (inorganic) - Urinary chromium

Cobalt

Creosote - Urinary 1-hydroxypyrene

Cyclophosphamide

Dichloromethane

Ethyl benzene

Fluorides (including soluble fluorides and aluminium fluoride)

Isocyanates - Urinary isocyanate metabolite

4-methylpentan-2-one (methyl isobutyl ketone) MIBK

Nickel

Organophosphate pesticides

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH)

Styrene

Tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene)

Toluene

Trichloroethylene

Vinyl chloride - Annual liver function tests (AST, ALT, GGT, ALP, and bilirubin)

Uranium

Xylene

Occupational Noise

Work-related noise-induced hearing loss is a preventable but irreversible condition that affects many Australian workers.

Between 28–32% of the Australian workforce is likely to work in an environment where they are exposed to loud noise at work.

Noise-related injuries are most common in the manufacturing and construction industries with technicians and trades workers, machinery operators, drivers and labourers most exposed.

Learn more

Ionising Radiation

The system of radiation protection deals with exposure to radiation in three classes: occupational, medical and public.

Occupational exposures are incurred at work and principally as a result of working directly with radiation. Medical exposure is principally the exposure of patients as part of their medical diagnosis or treatment. Public exposure covers all other exposures arising from practices; that is, all exposures that are neither occupational nor medical.

Learn more

Enquire about Hazardous Substance Health Monitoring

COVID-19 UPDATE: All persons attending a medical appointment at a Sonic HealthPlus clinic will be required to complete a COVID-19 Triage Assessment form. If you are not vaccinated or fully vaccinated, we will need to undertake a risk assessment, which may include Rapid Antigen Testing.

Please note: Patients who attend for their medical assessment presenting with flu-like symptoms or have recently travelled from a COVID hotspot may be turned away.