The following is provided to assist persons in developing a written program for monitoring workplace contaminants at mines in British Columbia.

	Pursuant to Section 2.2.3 (1) of the Code, the mine manager shall establish a written program, acceptable to the Chief Inspector, for a qualified person to monitor workplace contaminants as often as is necessary to ensure that workers are not overexposed to chemical or physical agents. The applicable threshold limit values (TLV) are outlined in Part 2 and Table 2-1 of the Code.
	The physical and chemical agents to be monitored will depend upon the specific hazards present at a particular mine site. The written monitoring program should include the job classifications, job activities and locations to be monitored, as well the sampling frequency. The frequency of monitoring will depend on the number of workers in a particular exposure group and the geometric standard deviation (indicates the degree of variation in the data) of the historical data. If there is no historical data available because monitoring has not been conducted in the past, then an initial program must be carried out to obtain baseline exposure data. A summary outlining the statistical calculations required is available from the contact person shown below.
	It is important to remember that sampling data must be representative and therefore it must be obtained randomly. The sampling program should reflect the day-to-day average exposure of workers within an exposure group. Thus, sampling must not be limited to a particular season of the year, to a particular shift, or solely to co-operative workers who are willing to wear sampling equipment.
	Approved sampling methods for particular hazards are outlined in publications by the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and by various other organizations.
	The appropriateness of particular methods and the design of all aspects of the program can be reviewed with ministry staff. We are here to help you.

For more information, please contact Al Hoffman, Manager Occupational Health, Mining and Minerals Division
 

Last Updated April 20, 2006