Routine Refinery & Plant Compliance Monitoring for Petrochemical Plants
Routine, ongoing worker exposure monitoring for operating refineries and petrochemical plants — benzene, H₂S, welding fume, hex chrome and silica analyzed in-house at our Houston lab. Built for periodic compliance and similar-exposure-group programs, with 1-day rush, same-day log-in and kits shipped to plants anywhere in the U.S.
Why Refineries & Plants Run Their IH Program With Us
Accredited & Defensible
AIHA-LAP accredited analysis, with NVLAP and PJLA accreditation on asbestos — data that holds up with OSHA, legal counsel and insurers.
In-House, No Send-Outs
Every analyte run under one roof — one chain of custody, consistent methods across your whole program, at every plant you operate.
Standing Accounts
Recurring monitoring runs on a standing account with reserved capacity, consistent reporting and one contact — across multiple sites if you need it.
1-Day Rush
Same-day log-in before 2 PM CST and rush to 1 business day when a result is time-sensitive.
Planning a scheduled shutdown instead?
This program is built for day-to-day, ongoing plant compliance monitoring. For a scheduled outage or shutdown that needs compressed, high-volume sampling, see our Turnaround & Shutdown Air Monitoring program instead.
Routine Exposure Monitoring for Operating Plants
Operating refineries and petrochemical plants run continuous industrial hygiene programs — periodic personal sampling by similar exposure group, area monitoring at process units, respiratory-protection-program support, and the recordkeeping OSHA expects year-round. AGT Labs is the accredited lab behind that routine work, analyzing every sample in-house in Houston.
This is the day-to-day, compliance side of plant IH. When a scheduled shutdown compresses months of maintenance into days, that high-volume work is handled through our dedicated petrochemical turnaround air monitoring program — a distinct service built for outage-scale volume and speed.
Refining runs coast to coast, and so does the program. We support operating plants anywhere in the United States — kits ship out, media comes back by courier or prepaid return label, and multi-site operators get one lab and directly comparable numbers across every location.
- Periodic benzene / BTEX personal monitoring by SEG
- H₂S and reactive-gas area and personal sampling
- Welding fume, metals and hexavalent chromium for maintenance hot work
- Respirable crystalline silica for blasting and refractory work
- Mercury vapor and catalyst-handling dust at gas processing and FCC units
- Asbestos, noise and heat stress program support
- Standing-account programs with consistent reporting
What We Analyze for Refineries & Petrochemical Plants
Every analyte below is run in-house under accreditation. Tap any card for the full method detail on our service pages.
Benzene & BTEX
NIOSH 1501 / OSHA 1028 — the defining refinery and petrochemical exposure.
View Service →H₂S & Reactive Gases
Ion chromatography for hydrogen sulfide and acid gases across sour-service units.
View Service →Mercury Vapor
CVAA analysis for mercury removal units, gas processing and instrument maintenance where legacy elemental mercury is present.
View Service →Asbestos (PLM/PCM)
Insulation, gaskets and legacy plant materials. NVLAP-accredited for bulk PLM; PJLA ISO/IEC 17025 accredited for both PLM and PCM.
View Service →Noise & Heat Stress
Dosimetry and WBGT for high-noise units and hot outdoor process areas.
View Service →Where the Exposures Sit in an Operating Plant
Routine monitoring is easier to scope when it's mapped to the unit. This is how a plant-wide SEG program typically breaks down.
| Process Unit / Operation | Dominant Exposures | Priority Analysis |
|---|---|---|
| Crude & vacuum units | Benzene/BTEX, H₂S, heat | Charcoal tube, IC, WBGT |
| Sour water & amine treating | H₂S, ammonia, benzene | Ion chromatography |
| FCC & catalyst handling | Catalyst dust, nickel/vanadium, silica | Gravimetric + ICP-AES |
| Coker & thermal units | PAH / coal tar pitch volatiles, coke dust | PAH analysis, gravimetric |
| Gas processing & mercury removal | Mercury vapor, H₂S, hydrocarbons | CVAA, ion chromatography |
| Maintenance & hot work | Welding fume, hex chrome, silica | ICP-AES, OSHA ID-215, XRD |
| Insulation & gasket work | Asbestos, respirable dust | PLM (NVLAP) / PCM (PJLA) |
| Compressors & fired heaters | Noise, heat stress | Dosimetry, WBGT |
Refinery Analytes & OSHA Exposure Limits
The regulated limits your monitoring program is measured against, and the method our lab runs for each. Note that several refinery exposures are governed by ceiling limits rather than 8-hour averages. These are federal standards and apply at every plant in every state.
| Hazard | OSHA Limit | Lab Method | Sample Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benzene | 1 ppm TWA (STEL 5 ppm) | NIOSH 1501 / OSHA 1028 | Charcoal tube, personal |
| Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) | 20 ppm ceiling (ACGIH TLV 1 ppm TWA · 5 ppm STEL) | Ion chromatography | Treated filter / bubbler |
| Hexavalent chromium | 5 µg/m³ TWA (AL 2.5 µg/m³) | OSHA ID-215 | PVC filter, personal |
| Respirable crystalline silica | 50 µg/m³ TWA (AL 25 µg/m³) | XRD (NIOSH 7500 / OSHA ID-142) | Cyclone + PVC filter |
| Manganese (welding fume) | 5 mg/m³ ceiling · ACGIH TLV 0.02 mg/m³ respirable · NIOSH REL 1 mg/m³ TWA | ICP-AES | MCE filter, personal |
| PAH / coal tar pitch volatiles | 0.2 mg/m³ TWA (benzene-soluble fraction) | PAH analysis | PTFE filter + sorbent |
| Mercury vapor | 0.1 mg/m³ ceiling (ACGIH TLV 0.025 mg/m³ TWA) | CVAA | Hopcalite sorbent tube |
| Catalyst & process dust (PNOR) | 15 mg/m³ total · 5 mg/m³ respirable TWA | Gravimetric (NIOSH 0500 / 0600) | PVC filter, personal |
| Asbestos | 0.1 f/cc TWA · 1.0 f/cc / 30 min | PCM (NIOSH 7400) / PLM | MCE filter / bulk |
| Noise | 90 dBA TWA (action level 85 dBA) | Personal dosimetry (1910.95) | Dosimeter, full shift |
Turnaround Times & Sample Kits
From kit request to final report — rush options and what ships to your plant.
Program & Kit Support
- Pre-labeled sampling media (tubes, filters, cyclones)
- Calibrated pump loaner program for qualifying accounts
- Chain of Custody form, pre-filled with your info
- Kits ship to any U.S. plant with a prepaid return label
- Same-day courier pickup across the Houston / Gulf Coast area
- Standing-account setup for recurring and multi-site monitoring
- Results delivered via secure online portal
From Sample Collection to Final Report
Set Up the Program
Share your SEGs and sampling plan. We set up a standing account and reserved capacity.
Kits & Pumps
Pre-labeled kits and loaner pumps ship to your plant HSE team, wherever the plant is.
Sample & Ship
Collect on schedule; media logs in same day if received before 2 PM CST.
Analysis & QA
AIHA-LAP accredited in-house analysis, senior-analyst QA before release.
Report
Consistent reporting on the secure portal, compared against OSHA limits.
Who Relies on AGT for Refinery IH Testing
Refinery HSE Departments
Company industrial hygienists running periodic compliance and SEG monitoring across process units.
Petrochemical Plants
Olefins, aromatics and derivatives units needing benzene, VOC, metals and reactive-gas exposure data.
IH & Safety Consultants
Third-party consultants who need an accredited lab partner with fast, consistent turnaround.
Maintenance & Contractors
Hot-work, blasting and mechanical crews needing welding fume, hex chrome and silica monitoring.
Midstream & Terminals
Tank farms, terminals and gathering facilities with benzene and H₂S exposure concerns.
Turnaround Planning Teams
Planning a shutdown? See our turnaround air monitoring program.
Refinery & Petrochemical IH Testing — FAQ
What routine industrial hygiene testing do refineries need?
Is this different from turnaround air monitoring?
How fast is analysis and can you set up a standing account?
Do you supply sampling media and pumps?
Can you support plants outside Texas and the Gulf Coast?
Do you test mercury and catalyst dust exposure at refineries?
Do you also test refinery products?
Which plants do you cover across the Gulf Coast?
Set Up Your Refinery IH Program or Request a Quote
AIHA-LAP accredited · benzene · H₂S · welding fume · hex chrome · silica · mercury · PAH · asbestos · 1-day rush · standing-account pricing for recurring monitoring at plants anywhere in the U.S.