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- HOME
- COVID-19 Resources
- SERVICES
- WORKPLACE OCCUPATIONAL RISK CONSULTING
- Audits
- Centre for Excellence in Asbestos Health Risk Management
- Chief Medical Advisor
- Contaminated Land Health Management
- Consultancy
- Drug and Alcohol Management Plans
- Expert Witness
- Fit for Duty
- Keynote Speaker
- Appointed Medical Advisor
- Occupational Hygiene
- Psychosocial Risk Management
- REMAP
- Respirator Fit Testing
- Risk Communication
- Training and Webinars
- EMPLOYMENT HEALTH ASSESSMENT
- Injury Management Services
- Pre Employment Assessment
- Cost Effective Health Risk Assessment
- Coal Mine Workers Health Scheme (CMWHS)
- Minerals Mines and Quarries Respiratory Health Surveillance
- Health Surveillance
- Altitude Assessment
- Rail Safety Worker Assessment
- Commerical Vehicle/Dangerous Goods
- Confined Space
- Order 43
- Drug and Alcohol Testing
- International Workforce
- Wellness assessment
- Exit health assessment
- WORKPLACE TELEMEDICINE
- ON-SITE
- WORKPLACE OCCUPATIONAL RISK CONSULTING
- About
- Contact
Contaminated Land Health Management
What is contamination?
Contamination of land or water is where any chemical substance or waste has been added at above ground level and has the potential to affect the environmental or people’s health in a negative way.
Due to the real potential for harm from contamination, the risks must be well understood and appropriately managed.
Where does it occur?
Contamination is a human activity and arises largely from an error in the management of chemical substances. Rarely, it is a deliberate act, with the sole aim of causing harm. Contaminated sites can occur anywhere, though they are typically found in areas which have been used for heavy industry or chemically intensive agriculture. It can also include residential properties.
Is there a risk to human health?
There are a number of potential health hazards that you need to be aware of and control properly, to help reduce the risk of ill health to your employees and visitors. Resile has unparalleled medical expertise to assist organisations in keeping their workforce healthy while conducting these activities.
Land that is contaminated contains substances in or under the land that are actually or potentially hazardous to health. Remediation is generally subject to an array of regulatory requirements, and also can be based on assessments of human health and where no legislated standards exist or where standards are advisory.
Whilst a chemical that is contaminating a site has the potential to affect an individual’s health, just being present alone does not automatically create a risk. The chemical must be at a high enough concentration, there must be a pathway for the chemical to enter the body, and the baseline health of the individual all play a vital role in determining the risk.
How do I know the health effects of the contamination?
We are often contacted by our clients to provide expert medical advice on the health effects that a hazardous substance poses to individuals or workers. At Resile we are unique in that we have Occupational Hygienists as part of our expert team, and we start with them. As experts in testing and management, our Hygienists determine the best sampling strategy to determine the exact location of the chemicals in question, and what the levels at those sites is.
When these levels are known, our Occupational Physicians apply the evidence base to determine the likely health affects. We also advise on the best health surveillance assessments for those exposed.
Chemicals that have been designed and manufactured can have a complex effect on the body, and it is important that the right advice is sought to ensure that the individuals don’t undergo testing that is unnecessary, or won’t accurately determine if any health effect has occurred. This can lead to people who are exposed feeling falsely safe.
Let us guide you
We understand that employers find this a complex area of health management and sadly, we often see that the advice that they are offered has no scientific basis. As Occupational and Environmental physicians, we are experts at designing the right surveillance regime for ensuring the health and safety of your workforce. As Specialist Physicians within the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, you can rest assured that you are receiving expertise that provides you legally defensible advice that a Generalist Practitioner or Allied Health Provider cannot.
Health Surveillance
Health Surveillance is a process for ongoing monitoring of individuals health when they are exposed to a hazardous substance at work. If there is going to be ongoing work at a contaminated site, there will be a need for ongoing health surveillance.
How can we assist?
Resile can help your organisation navigate through the complexities of health management. We do this by:
- Ensuring that you are meeting your statutory obligations (legal compliance)
- Appropriately managing potential risks to your employee’s health
- Reducing reputational and financial risks (the right advise first time)
- Minimising liabilities relating to exposure
To illustrate our expertise the following case study demonstrates how we assisted one organisation involved in environmental remediation projects with health surveillance.
CASE STUDY
A company remediating a contaminated site contacted us to request we provide biological testing on 22 employees who had commenced working on land that was contaminated by lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, poly cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and arsenic.
An Occupational and Environmental Physician contacted the company to obtain more information on the exposure, site, job tasks being performed by the employees, the duration the employees would be onsite, the type of PPE being worn by employees and to request hygiene reports. We also asked the contact for any other relevant reports regarding the contaminates at the site.
It took two days for the site to collect some of these details, they were able to provide us with information pertaining to:
- Number of employees at site and the job tasks each employee was performing.
- Type of PPE being worn by all employees.
- Duration each employee would be working at this site.
- Size and nature of the contaminate (from hygiene report)
- Atmospheric conditions
- Site risk assessment
Hygiene reports indicated that for all substances concentration levels were low when compared to the relevant exposure standard. No biological monitoring was required for any of the employees. We were able to explain to the client the limitations of biological monitoring in this context as the presence of certain substances within the body does not necessarily correlate with occupational exposure or symptoms or damage to health. Risk based health surveillance which may also involve biological monitoring, is used to monitor possible health effects that may arise following occupational exposures at concentrations above accepted exposure standards,
We were able to save the company $7,348 alone on biological testing, plus an additional $3,630 in unnecessary medical assessment for all workers.
The total cost for the Occupational Physician to review all material and provide written legally defensible recommendations was $ 2088 thus saving the company $8,970 in unnecessary testing.
To find out more about these services simply contact us on 3339 6000.
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