Included are establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing search, detection, navigation, guidance, aeronautical, and nautical systems and instruments. Important products of this industry are radar systems and equipment; sonar systems and equipment; navigation systems and equipment; countermeasures equipment; aircraft and missile control systems and equipment; flight and navigation sensors, transmitters, and displays; gyroscopes; airframe equipment instruments; and speed, pitch, and roll navigational instruments and systems.

There are establishments engaged in manufacturing laboratory apparatus and furniture. Important products of this industry include laboratory balances and scales, laboratory furnaces and ovens, laboratory centrifuges, and various components, parts, and accessories for laboratory apparatus. Laboratory instruments are classified elsewhere, generally in other industries of Industry Group 382.

This industry includes establishments that are primarily engaged in manufacturing temperature and related controls for heating and air-conditioning installations and refrigeration applications, which are electrically, electronically, or pneumatically actuated, and which measure and control variables such as temperature and humidity; and automatic regulators used as components of household appliances. Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing industrial process controls are classified in Industry 3823; those manufacturing motor control switches are classified in Industry 3625; those manufacturing switches for household appliances are classified in Industry 3643, and those manufacturing appliance timers are classified in Industry 3873.

Another group of establishments is primarily engaged in manufacturing industrial instruments and related products for measuring, displaying (indicating and/or recording), transmitting, and controlling process variables in manufacturing, energy conversion, and public service utilities. These instruments operate mechanically, pneumatically, electronically, or electrically to measure process variables, such as temperature, humidity, pressure, vacuum, combustion, flow, level, viscosity, density, acidity, alkalinity, specific gravity, gas, and liquid concentration, sequence, time interval, mechanical motion, and rotation. Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing electrical integrating meters are classified in Industry 3825; those manufacturing residential and commercial comfort controls are classified in Industry 3822; those manufacturing all liquid-in-glass and bimetal thermometers and glass hydrometers are classified in Industry 3829; those manufacturing recorder charts are classified in Industry Group 275, and those manufacturing analytical and optical instruments are classified in Industries 3826 and 3827.

Also included are establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing totalizing (registering) meters monitoring fluid flows, such as water meters and gas, meters; and producers of mechanical and electromechanical counters and associated metering devices. Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing electricity integrating meters and electronic frequency counters are classified in Industry 3825, and those manufacturing industrial process instruments are classified in Industry 3823.

Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing instruments for measuring the characteristics of electricity and electrical signals, such as voltmeters, ammeters, wattmeters, watt-hour meters, demand meters, and equipment for testing the electrical characteristics of electrical, radio, and communication circuits and of internal combustion engines. Establishments primarily engaged in the manufacturing of electronic checkout, monitoring, evaluating, and other electronic support equipments for electronic navigational, radar, and sonar systems are classified in Industry 3812, and those manufacturing similar equipment for communications systems classified in Industry Group 366. Within this general grouping are establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing laboratory instruments and instrumentation systems for chemical or physical analysis of the composition or concentration of samples of solid, fluid, gaseous, or composite material.

Included in this market segment are establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing laboratory instruments and instrumentation systems for chemical or physical analysis of the composition or concentration of samples of solid, fluid, gaseous, or composite material. Also, establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing instruments for monitoring and analyzing continuous samples from medical patients are classified in Industry 3845, and from an industrial process, streams are classified in Industry 3823.

A limited number of establishments are primarily engaged in manufacturing instruments and apparatus that measures an optical property and optically project, measure or magnify an image, such as binoculars, microscopes, prisms, and lenses. Included are establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing optical sighting and fire control equipment.

Within this group are establishments engaged in manufacturing measuring and controlling devices, not elsewhere classified, including meteorological instruments. Important products of this industry are physical properties testing equipment, nuclear radiation detection and monitoring instrumentation, aircraft engine instruments (except flight), and liquid-in-glass and bimetal thermometers. Also included in this industry are establishments engaged in manufacturing surveying and drafting instruments, such as alidades, transits, sextants, theodolites, slide rules, and T-squares. The most notable occupational health hazard within this group was the potential mercury vapor exposures in those manufacturers using thermometers with their instrumentation and controls. Included are establishments engaged in manufacturing medical, surgical, ophthalmic, and veterinary instruments and apparatus.

Some establishments are primarily engaged in manufacturing orthopedic, prosthetic, and surgical appliances and supplies, arch supports and other foot appliances; fracture appliances, elastic hosiery, abdominal supporters, braces, and trusses; bandages; surgical gauze and dressings; sutures; adhesive tapes and medicated plasters; and personal safety appliances and equipment. Other establishments are primarily engaged in manufacturing artificial teeth, dental metals, alloys, and amalgams, and a wide variety of equipment, instruments, and supplies used by dentists, dental laboratories, and dental colleges.

Also included in this group are establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing radiographic X-ray, fluoroscopic X-ray, and therapeutic X-ray apparatus and tubes for medical, industrial, research, and control applications, or in manufacturing other irradiation equipment, including gamma and beta-ray equipment. Establishments included are primarily engaged in manufacturing electromedical and electrotherapeutic apparatus such as lamp units for ultraviolet and infrared radiation are classified in Industry 3641.

Dental equipment and supply establishments are primarily engaged in manufacturing artificial teeth, dental metals, alloys, and amalgams, and a wide variety of equipment, instruments, and supplies used by dentists, dental laboratories, and dental colleges. Dental laboratories constructing artificial dentures, bridges, inlays, and other dental restorations on specifications from dentists are classified in Services, Industry 8072.

Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing: (1) photographic apparatus, equipment, parts, attachments, and accessories, such as still and motion picture camera and projection apparatus; photocopy and microfilm equipment; blueprinting and diazo type (white printing) apparatus and equipment; and other photographic equipment; and (2) sensitized film, paper, cloth, and plates, and prepared photographic chemicals for use therewith. Other establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing photographic paper stock (unsensitized), and paper mats, mounts, easels, and folders for photographic use, are classified in Major Group 26; those manufacturing photographic lenses are classified in Industry 3827; those manufacturing photographic glass are classified in Major Group 32; those manufacturing chemicals for technical purposes, not specifically prepared and packaged for use in photography, are classified in Major Group 28; and those manufacturing photographic flash, flood, enlarger, and projection lamp bulbs are classified in Industry 3641.

Finally, this group includes establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing clocks (including electric), watches, watchcases, mechanisms for clockwork operated devices, and clock and watch parts. This industry includes establishments primarily engaged in assembling clocks and watches from purchased movements and cases. Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing timeclocks are classified in Industry 3579; those manufacturing glass crystals are classified in Industry 3231, and those manufacturing plastics crystals are classified in Industry 3089

The following table represents only the potential occupational health concerns related to the entire wholesale trade for both durable and nondurable goods industry based on a job task or work activity, and any related OSHA standards for regulatory compliance. The information presented does not indicate or suggest a relative risk of exposure based on the location within the table nor provides any exposure information. Health risks associated with fatigue, working long hours, stress living away from home, and other psychosocial disorders are not addressed.

The focus of this information is to provide guidance to understand the occupational health hazards from chemical substances, physical and biological agents, radiological, ergonomic, and environmental hazards from exposure to plants and animals. Potential occupational health exposures in this industry were contrived from the OSHA Integrated Management Information System database between 1984 to 2020. There were only a few relevant NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluations identified in the literature between 1978 and 2020.

Photos courtesy of Getty Images.

Worker Exposure Profiles in Measuring, Analyzing and Controlling Instruments

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