Air monitoring should be conducted in a workplace under which conditions?

• A. Only after a major incident
• B. As a routine practice regardless of hazard
• C. When there is potential exposure to airborne hazards, during initial assessments, and for periodic verification of controls
• D. Never

Answer: (C)

Air monitoring is used to determine how much workers are exposed to airborne hazards and to ensure controls are protecting them. It should be performed whenever there is potential exposure to airborne hazards, and it serves two essential purposes in the safety program. First, during the initial hazard assessment, monitoring helps identify which contaminants may be present, at what levels, and what controls are needed. Second, it is used on a periodic basis to verify that the implemented controls—such as ventilation, enclosures, work practices, and PPE—continue to keep exposures below acceptable limits. Monitoring may also be conducted when processes or materials change or when new tasks are introduced, to confirm that protection remains effective. This approach avoids relying on incidents alone or doing monitoring only when it’s convenient, and it supports maintaining regulatory and internal safety standards.