Managing Industrial Hygiene Exposures at Offshore Oil and Gas Platforms

Introduction
Offshore Oil&Gas platforms are much like land-based Oil&Gas installation, only extremer. Many of the H&S concerns found offshore can be greater, with severer consequences for failure, when operations shift to a floating or seabed-founded environment. These differences mean that IH issues may be magnified when it comes to offshore operations.

Methods
Assessing offshore environment IH risks, and developing a well-considered plan of action to manage them has many benefits, i.e.: long-term reduction of illness/injury, better employee morale or reduced liability exposure. Some offshore aspects amplify IH-related risks, experience indicates that: isolation and distance, small spaces and tight confines, and overall stressful environment are three of the major differences that must be taken into account.

Results
Now, there is awareness that: IH is not as much about emergency plans but provide for employees’ long-term health and wellbeing and the importance of the IH risk assessments and plans (some of the larger Oil&Gas companies have well-developed it yet). However, where many companies fall short in their IH obligations offshore is often around detailed and systematic assessments of IH risks. The result may be increased: employee injuries, or latent health conditions and bad reputation for the company, which makes the already-difficult task of recruiting skilled employees to work offshore, even more challenging.

Discussion
While the offshore environment contains many unique IH risks, the steps for their managing are no different from other work environments, particularly the use of qualitative IH Risk Assessments. This tool evaluates the risk of exposure to chemical and physical hazards in the workplace and set the priority of action by identifying the most serious ones. It goes beyond routine observation-based occupational exposure assessments to systematically review the workplace hazards. The result is a safer workplace, which leads to greater employee confidence in their employers’ willingness and ability to help safeguard their H&S.