Development of a Materials Sampling and Testing Safety Guide

Materials sampling and testing technicians work in laboratory, field, and plant site settings that present a wide range of occupational hazards. These hazards may include exposure to hazardous chemicals, airborne particulates, radioactive substances, hot materials, heavy equipment, live traffic, moving plant components, and specialized testing equipment. While safety information is available through product labels, safety data sheets, company policies, agency procedures, and some standards, the information is inconsistent and not always widely available to all workers. There is currently no standard practice or guide specifically tailored to the transportation materials sampling and testing industry. Many standard practices and test methods state that they do not address all safety concerns and that users are responsible for establishing appropriate safety and health practices. However, safety guidance for some sampling and testing technicians may not exist in a consistent or accessible form. A comprehensive guide would help define and clarify relevant safety requirements, relate existing industry safety practices to transportation materials sampling and testing, and provide a baseline standard that can be applied across state departments of transportation, other public agencies, consulting firms, materials producers, and contractors. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research is to develop draft language for a comprehensive safety guide for consideration by the AASHTO Committee on Materials and Pavements (COMP) to help mitigate the risk of harm to materials sampling and testing technicians from occupational hazards. The guide should combine existing safety practices across many industries, guides, and documents and relate them to transportation materials sampling and testing processes. The guide should include recommended safety practices that can be used in laboratory, field, or plant site settings.

• Record URL:
  • http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=6039

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Proposed
• Funding: $800,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  10-157

• Sponsor Organizations:

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

  444 North Capitol Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Project Managers:

  Khosravifar, Sadaf

• Start Date: 20261001
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Paving materials; Safety management; Sampling; Test procedures; Transportation materials
• Subject Areas: Highways; Materials; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01991749
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: 10-157
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: Jun 2 2026 3:00PM