Do furniture makers need dust extraction tests?

Yes. Wood dust is a hazardous chemical agent, and extraction systems that control it must be examined and tested at intervals not exceeding 24 months.

How should contractors plan monitoring for a refinery shutdown?

Do the risk assessment before mobilisation, using the task list, and book monitoring for the highest-risk tasks while they happen. Each contractor is responsible for its own employees' exposure.

Is benzene monitored by an AIA?

Benzene is a hazardous chemical agent, and the Regulations for Hazardous Chemical Agents, 2021 require monitoring by an approved inspection authority. Qualitas is a DEL AIA for hazardous chemical agents.

OCCUPATIONAL HYGIENE IN MOSSEL BAY AND GEORGE

Mossel Bay is home to a gas-to-liquids refinery and an offshore support port, while George is the Garden Route's centre for timber, furniture, manufacturing, food processing and healthcare.

Qualitas carries out occupational hygiene surveys for these employers: hazardous chemical agent monitoring, noise surveys, wood dust and welding fume monitoring, and LEV tests.

REACH OUT

Worker cutting steel with an angle grinder as sparks fly

WHERE WE WORK AROUND MOSSEL BAY

Mossel Bay

George

Hartenbos

Knysna

Oudtshoorn

Riversdale

Refining and fuel handling: hydrocarbon vapours, process chemicals, noise and heat, especially during maintenance and shutdowns.

Port, marine and offshore support: welding fume, coatings and noise.

Timber, sawmills and furniture manufacturing in George: wood dust, noise and dust extraction.

Food and beverage processing: noise, cold rooms and cleaning chemicals.

Hospitals and laboratories: biological agents and indoor air quality.

THE HAZARDS WE MEASURE HERE

Hydrocarbon vapours and process chemicals, welding fume and coatings, wood dust, noise from compressors, saws and production lines, and cold in food stores.

Interior of a large industrial warehouse with overhead cranes

INDUSTRIES WE SERVE

Foundry workers in protective gear pouring molten metal

WHY QUALITAS

Qualitas Occupational Consulting is a Department of Employment and Labour Approved Inspection Authority (AIA) and a SANAS-accredited (ISO/IEC 17020) inspection body for asbestos, lead, noise and hazardous chemical agents, and applies the same quality system to all its assessments.

Every assessment is led by Christo de Wet, an occupational hygienist registered with the Southern African Institute for Occupational Hygiene (SAIOH), with 15 years of experience.

We work nationwide, and Qualitas has also carried out assessments in Botswana and Kazakhstan. Travel is quoted upfront.

You receive a professional, audit-ready report that stands up to inspection by the Department of Employment and Labour.