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Toxic Gas Exposure Limits and Alarm Levels, Portable Gas Detection
Toxic Gas Exposure Limits and Alarm Levels, Portable Gas Detection
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Alarm Levels
It is important to note that whereas portable gas detection instruments measure and alarm at the TWA levels, instantaneous alarms set at the same
numerical values of the 8hr TWA are included to provide early warning of an exposure to dangerous gas concentrations. Workers are often under
risk of gas exposure in situations where atmospheres cannot be controlled, such as in confined space entry applications where alarming at TWA
values would be inappropriate.
The following data has been extracted from EH40 and OSHA (see below, check for the latest figures on the appropriate website, see Note 2) for some
common toxic gases:
Note 1: NO, NO2 and SO2 TWA levels were subject to temporary Chemical Hazard Alert Notices (CHAN’s) issued by the UK Health and Safety
Executive. Chemicals Hazard Alert Notices (CHANS) have been suspended. Those seeking advice on substances for which a CHAN had previously
been issued should follow the same approach as they would for any other hazardous substance, e.g. apply the CHIP and COSHH regulations.
Note 2: You must perform your own risk assessment to ensure alarms are set to appropriate levels for your application. EH40 and the risk
assessment process available on the HSE website may be used as a guide to assess your risk. Other local requirements and assessment processes
such as the OSHA guide lines may also be required dependant on your local legislation and practices.
Threshold Limit Values (TLVs) are exposure guidelines developed by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH).
They are not legally enforceable, but because they are updated regularly, they represent good professional practice. They are expressed as follows:-
TLV-TWA- Time-Weighted Average: The time-weighted average concentration for a normal 8 hour work day and a 40 hour work week, to which
nearly all workers may be repeatedly exposed, day after day, without adverse effect.
TLV-STEL - Short Term Exposure Limit: a 15 minute time-weighted average exposure which should not be exceeded at any time during a work day
even if the 8 hr TWA is within the TLV. Exposures at the STEL should not be repeated more than 4 times a day and there should be at least 60
minutes between successive exposures at the STEL.
*TLV-C- Ceiling: the concentration that should not be exceeded during any part of the working exposure.