Abstract

The monitoring of worker exposure to airborne fibres is governed by the Regulation respecting occupational health and safety and the Safety Code for the construction industry. Exposure is measured by counters using an optical microscope-based fibre-counting technique. To compensate for the significant variability inherent in the analysis method, laboratories must participate in a strict quality control program designed to verify and confirm counter efficiency.

An inter-laboratory program, established by the IRSST in 1992, made it possible to collect some 33,000 results from various industries and continually document the different fibre counting parameters.

This activity will provide an overview of the IRSST’s quality control program for fibre counting. By highlighting determinants that may contribute to the variability of fibre counting, the results will be useful to all participants and the scientific community involved in developing quality control programs.