Basic Calculations for Occupational Safety and Environmental Health Professionals - Mathematics and Statistics for the Environment - page 391

facilities or machines, destruction or spoiling of raw materials, and creation of delay. In the
insurance business, loss connotes dollar loss, and we have seen underwriters who write it
as LO$$ to make that point.
Lower explosive limit (LEL) —The minimum concentration of a flammable gas in air required
for ignition in the presence of an ignition source; listed as a percent by volume in air.
Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) —Chemical information sheets provided by the chemical
manufacturer that include such information as chemical and physical characteristics; long-
and short-term health hazards; spill control procedures; personal protective equipment
(PPE) to be used when handling the chemical; reactivity with other chemicals; incom-
patibility with other chemicals; and manufacturer's name, address, and phone number.
Employee access to and understanding of MSDS are important parts of the HAZCOM
program.
Medical monitoring —The initial medical exam of a worker, followed by periodic exams. The
purpose of medical monitoring is to assess workers' health, determine their fitness to wear
personal protective equipment, and maintain records of their health.
Metabolic heat —Produced within a body as a result of activity that burns energy.
Mists —Minute liquid droplets suspended in air.
Molds —The most typical forms of fungus found on earth, comprising approximately 25% of
the earth's biomass (McNeel and Kreutzer, 1996).
Monitoring —Periodic or continuous surveillance or testing to determine the level of compli-
ance with statutory requirements and/or pollutant levels in various media or in humans,
animals, or other living things.
Mycotoxins —Some molds are able to produce mycotoxins, natural organic compounds that
are capable of initiating a toxic response in vertebrates (McNeel and Kreutzer, 1996).
Nonionizing radiation —Radiation on the electromagnet spectrum that has a frequency of 10 15
or less and a wavelength in meters of 3 × 10 -7 .
Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) —A federal law passed in 1970 to ensure, so
far as possible, that every working man and woman in the nation has safe and healthful
working conditions. To achieve this goal, the Act authorizes several functions, such as
encouraging safety and health programs in the workplace and encouraging labor-manage-
ment cooperation in health and safety issues.
OSHA Form 300 —Log and Summary of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses; formerly
OSHA Form 200.
Oxidation —When a substance either gains oxygen or loses hydrogen or electrons in a chemi-
cal reaction; a chemical treatment method.
Oxidizer —Also known as an oxidizing agent, a substance that oxidizes another substance.
Oxidizers are a category of hazardous materials that may assist in the production of fire by
readily yielding oxygen.
Oxygen-deficient atmospheres —The legal definition of an atmosphere where the oxygen con-
centration is less than 19.5% by volume of air.
Particulate matter —Substances (such as diesel soot and combustion products resulting from
the burning of wood) released directly into the air; any minute, separate particle of liquid
or solid material.
Performance standards —OSHA regulation standards that list the ultimate goal of compli-
ance but do not explain exactly how compliance is to be accomplished. Compliance is
usually based on accomplishing the act or process in the safest manner possible, based on
experience (past performance).
Permissible exposure limit (PEL) —The time-weighted average concentration of an airborne
contaminant that a healthy worker may be exposed to 8-hours per day or 40-hours per
week without suffering any adverse health effects. Established by legal means and enforce-
able by OSHA.