Corporate

 Workplace Safety & Prevention Services  | 14 Knowing the limits in occupational hygiene Summit Veterinary Pharmacy made its entry into the market over 20 years ago by introducing unique dosage and dosage forms in the development of prescriptions for veterinarians and pet owners. In 2019, they demonstrated that their commitment to blazing trails extends to health and safety, too. Operations Manager, George Libarian and the leadership team at Summit don't believe in doing things a certain way because that's how they've always been done. Libarian says that, although they aren't required to do so, Summit benchmarks itself beyond applicable standards. "We always strive to do more for the sake of the staff and new products." Since many of the substances in the veterinary compound medications industry aren't used on humans, exposure limits may or may not exist. And because they are rare, and may or may not be hazardous, Summit decided to conduct a risk assessment of their chemical hazards and then prioritized testing based on the risk assessment results. Having worked together on many initiatives, including health and safety awareness, supervisory training, working from heights training and health & safety program development/auditing, Summit naturally contacted WSPS for occupational hygiene support. WSPS Occupational Hygiene Consultant Craig Fairclough explains, "This wasn't work they had to do. They went above and beyond best practices." Since the substances in question were so unique, and these were novel scenarios, there were no testing methodologies or exposure limits available. However, WSPS was able to connect Libarian and his team with alternate sources to obtain the information to prepare for and conduct the testing. When WSPS didn't have the answers, they were able to tap into their extensive network to find someone who did, says Libarian "WSPS helped us conduct the assessments as well as understand the results and the measures needed to reduce occupational exposures." Based on the findings of this occupational hygiene initiative, Summit can make more informed decisions on engineering control design. Libarian says the team at WSPS have become trusted advisors who are helping Summit achieve its goals. "When we hit hurdles, we will continue to turn to WSPS for support." OCCUPATIONAL HYGIENE

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