Exposure and Absorption of PAHs in Wildland Firefighters: A Field Study with Pilot Interventions
ConclusionsThis study provided evidence of PAHs in the air and on the skin of many, but not all, fire crew. Absorbed PAHs, reflected in 1-HP in urine, increased over the shift. Results from the pilot interventions suggest that enhanced skin hygiene would reduce absorption post fire where PAHs had been accumulated on the skin, and that masks could be effective in reducing PAH inhalation exposure. Interventions to reduce PAH absorption are supported by the pilot work reported here and warrant further evaluation across a full fire season. (Source: Annals of Occupational Hygiene)
Source: Annals of Occupational Hygiene - June 23, 2020 Category: Occupational Health Source Type: research
A Case Study of Brass Foundry Workers ’ Estimated Lead (Pb) Body Burden from Different Exposure Routes
ConclusionsThis case study shows that MCF may lead to skin absorption of inorganic Pb and contribute to a systemic dose (quasi-steady state). Furthermore, even though good hand hygienic measures were in place, the workers ’ skin exposure to Pb is in all likelihood an important contributor in elevating blood Pb levels. Skin exposure should thus be monitored routinely in workers at facilities handling Pb, to help reducing unnecessary occupational exposure. (Source: Annals of Occupational Hygiene)
Source: Annals of Occupational Hygiene - June 22, 2020 Category: Occupational Health Source Type: research
What Do Occupational Hygienists Really Know About Skin Exposure?
This article describes responses to a questionnaire on current work practices and understanding of the management of dermal exposure issues in the workplace from members of the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS) and the Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists (AIOH). The survey comprised questions in four key areas: employment demographics, experience managing dermal exposure, knowledge of dermal exposure management, and opinions on professional knowledge gaps and preferred training methods. The survey was disseminated in 2016 in the UK and 2018 in Australia, with 116 and 114 responses from each jurisdicti...
Source: Annals of Occupational Hygiene - June 15, 2020 Category: Occupational Health Source Type: research
Scientific Collaboration During the COVID-19 Pandemic: N95DECON.org
AbstractMany academics and researchers have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by forming on-line national and international collaborative groups to rapidly investigate issues of prevention and treatment. This commentary describes the spontaneous formation of an international team of 115 researchers who summarized the literature on safe methods for decontaminating N95 filtering facepiece respirators in response to the supply crisis. The summary reports and fact sheets on the (www.n95decon.org) website have had more than 200 000 unique visits and the organization ’s webinars have reached health care professionals from mor...
Source: Annals of Occupational Hygiene - June 13, 2020 Category: Occupational Health Source Type: research
Exposures to Fumigants and Residual Chemicals in Workers Handling Cargo from Shipping Containers and Export Logs in New Zealand
ConclusionsPersonal exposures of workers handling container cargo in New Zealand were mainly below current exposure standards, with formaldehyde the main contributor to overall exposure. However, as it is not clear whether working conditions of participants included in this study were representative of this industry as a whole, and not all relevant exposures were measured, we cannot exclude the possibility that high exposures may occur in some workers. (Source: Annals of Occupational Hygiene)
Source: Annals of Occupational Hygiene - June 6, 2020 Category: Occupational Health Source Type: research
Pilot Educational Intervention to Promote Safe Pesticide Use Practices Among Farmworkers in Nepal
ConclusionsThese results suggest that a simple educational intervention can improve pesticide handling practices among farmworkers in Nepal. Future research should explore the impact of such interventions on pesticide exposure levels and health outcomes, and the potential to scale up these programs nationally. (Source: Annals of Occupational Hygiene)
Source: Annals of Occupational Hygiene - June 3, 2020 Category: Occupational Health Source Type: research
Occupational Asthma and Its Causation in the UK Seafood Processing Industry
ConclusionsThese data show an excess incidence of OA in the UK seafood processing industry during 1992 –2017, with limited airborne monitoring data for the processing of prawn, crab, and salmon suggesting that significant exposure to major seafood allergens can occur in this industry. Further investigation of current levels of respiratory ill-health and the sources of allergen exposure are warrante d. (Source: Annals of Occupational Hygiene)
Source: Annals of Occupational Hygiene - June 3, 2020 Category: Occupational Health Source Type: research
Safety Assessment of Electromagnetic Exposure in High-Speed Train Carriage with Full Passengers
The objective of this work is to evaluate the safety of the electromagnetic environment in the carriage of high-speed trains exposed to power cables when the train is full of passengers. The electromagnetic model of a real carriage, two sets of power cables and the 84 passengers were set up by using COMSOL Multiphysics software based on CRH5. The distributions of induced electric and magnetic fields in the carriage, inside and on the surface of passengers were investigated. The results show that the induced electric and magnetic fields on the windows are greater than on the passengers and the max value of induced magnetic ...
Source: Annals of Occupational Hygiene - June 2, 2020 Category: Occupational Health Source Type: research
Operative and Technical Modifications to the Coriolis ® µ Air Sampler That Improve Sample Recovery and Biosafety During Microbiological Air Sampling
We report inconsistent sample recovery from the collector cone due to loss of material when sampling continuously for more than 30 min. Introducing a new collector cone every 10 min improved this shortcoming. Moreover, we found that several surfaces on the device become contaminated during sampling. Adapting a high efficiency particulate air-filter system to the Coriolis prevented contamination without altering collection efficiency or tactical deployment. A Coriolis modified with these operative and technical improvements was used to collect aerosols carrying microspheres released inside a Biosafety Level-3 laboratory dur...
Source: Annals of Occupational Hygiene - May 29, 2020 Category: Occupational Health Source Type: research
Occupational Dermatitis in Welding: Does Nickel Exposure Account for Higher Rates in Women? Analysis of a Canadian Cohort
ConclusionsWelding is associated with risk of dermatitis in women. Although welding of SOHAS was associated with dermatitis that was made worse by work, it does not importantly explain the higher female rates in welding and other causes must be examined to support preventive measures. (Source: Annals of Occupational Hygiene)
Source: Annals of Occupational Hygiene - May 20, 2020 Category: Occupational Health Source Type: research
Exposure to Solar UV During Outdoor Construction Work in Britain
AbstractExcessive exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun in summer can cause skin cancer and in Britain there are around 1500 new cases of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) each year, caused by exposure to solar UV at work. Little is known about the magnitude of UV exposure amongst outdoor construction workers in Britain, although this is one of the main groups at risk. The aim of this paper is to summarise measurements of erythema-weighted UVB radiation amongst construction workers in Scotland and the Southeast of England and interpret the data in terms of the risk of NMSC. The measurements were made as part of...
Source: Annals of Occupational Hygiene - March 10, 2020 Category: Occupational Health Source Type: research
Corrigendum to: Peaks, Means, and Determinants of Real-Time TVOC Exposures Associated with Cleaning and Disinfecting Tasks in Healthcare Settings
The task descriptions for Figure 2 were inadvertently left off the final manuscript. The figure caption should have read: (Source: Annals of Occupational Hygiene)
Source: Annals of Occupational Hygiene - October 28, 2019 Category: Occupational Health Source Type: research
Comparison of Microwave-Assisted Digestion and Consensus Open-Vessel Digestion Procedures for Evaluation of Metalliferous Airborne Particulate Matter
The objective of the present study entailed the evaluation of a recently developed HNO3-only microwave-assisted digestion procedure by comparison with the German consensus hot-block digestion and other national digestion schemes. An inter-laboratory comparison test with participation of nine national occupational health and safety laboratories from Europe and North America was organized. For adequate emulation of what workers are at risk of inhaling four different industrial metal processing workplace dusts (electronic recycling, high-speed steel grinding, cylinder head cleaning, and battery combustion ash) were homogenize...
Source: Annals of Occupational Hygiene - October 11, 2019 Category: Occupational Health Source Type: research
Impact of Source Position and Obstructions on Fume Hood Releases
AbstractA fume hood is the most central piece of safety equipment available to researchers in a laboratory environment. While it is understood that the face velocity and sash height can drastically influence airflow patterns, few specific recommendations can be given to the researcher to guide them to maximize the safety of their particular hood. This stems from the issue that fundamentally little is known regarding how obstructions within the hood can push potentially harmful particles or chemicals out of the fume hood and into the breathing zone. In this work, we demonstrate how the position of a typical nanoparticle syn...
Source: Annals of Occupational Hygiene - September 24, 2019 Category: Occupational Health Source Type: research
Associations of Metrics of Peak Inhalation Exposure and Skin Exposure Indices With Beryllium Sensitization at a Beryllium Manufacturing Facility
ConclusionMultiple pathways and types of exposure were associated with BeS and may be important for informing BeS prevention. Prevention efforts should focus on controlling airborne beryllium exposures with attention to peaks, use of process characteristics (e.g. the likelihood of upset conditions to design interventions) minimize skin exposure to beryllium particles, and in particular, eliminate skin contact with beryllium salts to interrupt potential exposure pathways for BeS risk. (Source: Annals of Occupational Hygiene)
Source: Annals of Occupational Hygiene - September 4, 2019 Category: Occupational Health Source Type: research
