ABSTRACT
This chapter defines the term occupational hygiene, the principles of risk management and the difference between hazard and risk. It provides an introduction to toxicology, the concept of dose, exposure and epidemiology. The chapter explains occupational exposure standards and biological exposure indices and their uses shown with some practical examples. Several workers in a restaurant have reported headaches and feeling drowsy when they serve customers through a driveway window. The occupational hygiene hazard was identified as the gas carbon monoxide, a chemical asphyxiant which is released from motor vehicles. Effective identification, evaluation and control can manage occupational hygiene hazards. The concept of risk assessment lies core to Australia's occupational health and safety legislative framework. Aerosols and mists refer to liquid droplets that are suspended in the air. A simplified example of mist is fog. Vapours can best be explained as molecules or atoms that escape from the surface of a liquid.
