Table 2 Measured data from various Norwegian offshore installations on benzene (ppm), mineral oil mist and oil vapour (mg/m3), dust (mg/m3), asbestos (fibres/cm3), refractory ceramic fibres (fibres/cm3), tetrachloroethylene (mg/m3) and formaldehyde (mg/m3).
| Agent | Sample type | Comment | n (b) | AM (SD) | GM (GSD) | Range | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benzene | P | Deck | 29 (10) | 0.17 (0.51) | 0.010 (14) | <LOD–2.6 | Sampling in process and drilling sections of 12 installations representing four oil companies in 1994 (n = 123), 1995 (n = 14), 1996 (n = 9), 2002 (n = 48) and 2003 (n = 173). Sampling method: 3M dosimeter 3500 (n = 344, 23 samples were missing information), 12 h sampling time. Analysis: GC. Measurements below detection limit were set to LOD/√219 |
| P | Process | 204 (101) | 0.036 (0.097) | 0.008 (5.3) | <LOD–0.97 | ||
| P | Laboratory | 40 (13) | 0.012 (0.019) | 0.006 (3.7) | <LOD–0.11 | ||
| P | Mechanic | 78 (37) | 0.006 (0.011) | 0.002 (4.5) | <LOD–0.08 | ||
| P | Electrician | 16 (4) | 0.015 (0.017) | 0.006 (5.9) | <LOD–0.05 | ||
| Total | 367 (165) | 0.037 (0.099) | 0.007 (5.7) | <LOD–2.6 | |||
| Mineral oil | S/P | Oil mist, turbine rooms | 24 | 0.21 (0.29) | 0.095 (4.2) | 0.010–1.3 | Turbine rooms at three installations (1992–3 and 2002). Two personal samples, the rest are stationary. Sampling method: filter/coal tar tube in series. Analysis: FTIR/GC |
| S/P | Oil vapour, turbine rooms | 51 (13) | 4.7 (20) | 0.41 (5.3) | <LOD–120 | ||
| P* | Oil mist, low‐aromatic mud | 90 (5) | 4.3 (9.8) | 0.65 (6.3) | <LOD‐48 | Previously published12 personal samples of exposure to oil mist and oil vapour in mud‐handling areas on Norwegian offshore drilling facilities. The low‐aromatic mineral oil samples have been taken in 1989–97 and in 2000, while the non‐aromatic mineral oil samples were in 1998–2004. Sampling method: Filter/coal tar tube in series, 2 h sampling time. Analysis: FTIR/GC. Measurements below detection limit: LOD/√219 | |
| P* | Oil mist, non‐aromatic mud | 228 (5) | 0.54 (0.68) | 0.39 (2.1) | <LOD‐8.0 | ||
| P* | Oil vapour, low‐aromatic mud | 94 (2) | 36 (33) | 21 (4.0) | <LOD‐164 | ||
| P* | Oil vapour, non‐aromatic mud | 233 | 16 (17) | 9.8 (3.0) | 0.30–122 | ||
| Dust | S | Total dust | 19 | 1.6 (2.3) | 0.74 (3.2) | 0.18–9.6 | Dust sampling when mixing dry drilling mud chemicals at the mud mixing areas of four offshore installations with a sack‐cutting machine (1999, 2002 and 2004). Sampling method: dust track (direct measurements) (n = 5) or personal air monitoring pumps with 0.8 μm cellulose acetate filter (n = 23). Analysis: gravimetric |
| P | Total dust | 5 | 12 (9.4) | 8.9 (2.4) | 2.8–27 | ||
| P | Respirable dust | 4 | 0.20 (0.091) | 0.18 (1.6) | 0.10–0.32 | ||
| Asbestos | S | Above brake drum | U | 0.03 | Stationary samples of asbestos fibres on the drilling floor at one installation in 1988. Exposure caused by asbestos‐containing brake bands. Analysis by electron microscope proved that the samples contained asbestos fibres. The composition of the brake lining was: 41% asbestos, 28% rayon and cotton, 21% binding agent, 9% brass chip | ||
| S | Other samples, brake dust | U | 0.02 | ||||
| S | Clearing | 23 (16) | 1.8×10−4 (1.9×10−4) | 1.3×10−4 (2.11) | <LOD–8.0×10−4 | Clearing of asbestos on an installation in 1995. Sampling method: personal air monitoring pumps with 0.8 μm cellulose acetate filter. Analysis: manual fibre counts. Measurements below detection limit: LOD/√219 | |
| RCFs | P | Pipe | 6 | 0.86 (0.25) | 0.82 (1.4) | 0.43–1.2 | A sampling report from an installation in 1991 reports personal exposure levels when working with a RCFs product. Firstly, installing pipe insulation; secondly, installing insulation on a gas cooler's cooling tube and, thirdly, removal of insulation. Sampling method: personal air monitoring pumps with filter. Analysis: manually fibre count |
| P | Gas cooler | 4 | 0.18 (0.15) | 0.12 (3.0) | 0.03–0.38 | ||
| P | Removal | 4 | 0.093 (0.045) | 0.08 (2.0) | 0.003–0.12 | ||
| Formaldehyde | P | 6 | 0.13 (0.09) | 0.10 (3.8) | 0.06–0.29 | Merged results from two reports. One from 1999 where sampling was done when filling biocide during water injection on an installation and a second report sampling work at a biocide unit on another installation (2000). Sampling method: GMD Systems dosimeters. Analysis: HPLC | |
| S | 10 | 0.21 (0.15) | 0.25 (0.15) | 0.05–0.53 | |||
| Tetrachloro‐ethylene | P | Long term (360 min) | 13 | 6.7 (1.9) | 6.9 (1.3) | 4.2–11 | Personal samples in a laundry room when running a dry‐cleaning unit on a drilling rig in 1990. Sampling method: coal tar tube, pump. Analysis: GC |
| P | Short term (10 min) | 4 | 69 (63) | 50 (2.1) | 28–177 |
AM, arithmetic mean; b, number of measurements below limit of detection; FTIR, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy; GC, gas chromatography; GM, geometric mean; GSD, geometric standard deviation; HPLC, high‐performance liquid chromatography; LOD, limit of detection; n, number of measurements; P, personal samples; RCFs, refractory ceramic fibres; S, stationary samples; SD, standard deviation; U, unknown number of measurements.
*Previously published results.12