Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene Commons^™

Adaptation Des Milieux De Travail Aux Effets Des Changements Climatiques. Tome 2 : Mesures D’Adaptation Destinées Aux Travailleurs Du Québec Les Plus À Risque Vis-À-Vis De La Hausse Des Épisodes De Fortes Chaleurs Liée Aux Changements Climatiques, Bouchra Bakhiyi, Ariane Adam-Poupart, Robert Bourbonnais, Marc-Antoine Busque, Joseph Zayed

Rapports de recherche scientifique

Le présent document correspond au tome 2 du rapport de la recherche intitulé « Adaptation des milieux de travail aux effets des changements climatiques ». Il présente le 2^e volet de cette recherche dont l’objectif était de coconstruire des mesures d’adaptation destinées à protéger la santé des travailleurs des 50 professions du Québec les plus à risque vis-à-vis de la hausse des épisodes de fortes chaleurs liée aux Changements climatiques (CC) (désigné par danger A), et ce, en collaboration avec des acteurs clés du secteur de la santé et de la sécurité du travail.

Une revue de la littérature …

Maternal Occupational Exposure To Organic Solvents And Noise: Maternal Effects And Infant Outcomes, Kristen Van Buren

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

Introduction: Several maternal occupational exposures have not yet been studied for potential reproductive harm or have inconsistent findings in the literature. Despite the challenges, identification of potential risk factors, specifically reproductive toxicants, is necessary to mitigate and prevent adverse health outcomes for working mothers and their infants. The purpose of this study was to examine maternal occupational exposure to organic solvents and noise to small-for-gestational age (SGA) and preterm birth (PTB) among infants. Additionally, the study sought to examine maternal occupational exposure to noise and presence of gestational diabetes (GDM) and pregnancy-related hypertension among participant mothers.

Methods: The study population …

Development Of A New Spe Uplc–Ms/Ms Method For Extraction And Quantitation Of Toluene Diamine On Gloves Following Toluene Diisocyanate Exposure, Asma Daoud, Pierre-Luc Cloutier, Sébastien Gagné, Livain Breau, Jacques Lesage

Études primaires

Rationale

Toluene diisocyanate (TDI) is a highly reactive isocyanate commonly used as a mixture of 2,4- and 2,6- isomers in the production of flexible foams. Exposure to TDI occurs primarily through vapour inhalation in workplaces where TDI is produced or used, but dermal exposure is also possible during some tasks. To ensure workplace safety, accurate monitoring of TDI and toluene diamine (TDA) levels is required. Methods of quantifying field effectiveness of gloves in preventing dermal exposure have not been established. Therefore, there is a need to develop a new practical method for assessing glove effectiveness for TDI/TDA.

Method

A new …

Endocrine Disruptors: Challenges And Future Directions In Epidemiologic Research, V. Ho, L. Pelland-St-Pierre, S. Gravel, M. F. Bouchard, M.-A. Verner, F. Labrèche

Études primaires

Public concern about the impact of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) on both humans and the environment is growing steadily. Epidemiologic research provides key information towards our understanding of the relationship between environmental exposures like EDCs and human health outcomes. Intended for researchers in disciplines complementary to epidemiology, this paper highlights the importance and challenges of epidemiologic research in order to present the key elements pertaining to the design and interpretation of an epidemiologic study on EDCs.

The conduct of observational studies on EDCs derives from a thoughtful research question, which will help determine the subsequent methodological choices surrounding the careful …

Microbial Contamination And Metabolite Exposure Assessment During Waste And Recyclable Material Collection, Fabiola Salambaga, Loïc Wingert, Isabelle Valois, Nancy Lacombe, François Gouin, Julien Trépanier, Maximilien Debia, Ewelina Soszczyńska, Magdalena Twarużek, Robert Kosicki, Marta Dias, Susana Viegas, Liliana Caetano, Carla Viegas, Geneviève Marchand

Études primaires

Waste workers are exposed to bioaerosols when handling, lifting and dumping garbage. Bioaerosol exposure has been linked to health problems such as asthma, airway irritant symptoms, infectious, gastrointestinal and skin diseases, and cancer. Our objective was to characterize the exposure of urban collectors and drivers to inhalable bioaerosols and to measured the cytotoxic effect of air samples in order to evaluate their health risk.

Personal and ambient air sampling were conducted during the summer of 2019. Workers from 12 waste trucks collecting recyclables, organic waste or compost were evaluated. Bacteria and fungi were cultured, molecular biology methods were used to …

Submaximal Electromyography-Driven Musculoskeletal Modeling Of The Human Trunk During Static Tasks: Equilibrium And Stability Analyses, Farshid Ghezelbash, Aboulfazl Shirazi-Adl, Denis Gagnon, Ali Shahvarpour, Navid Arjmand, Amir Hossein Eskandari, Christian Larivière

Études primaires

Conventional electromyography-driven (EMG) musculoskeletal models are calibrated during maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) tasks, but individuals with low back pain cannot perform unbiased MVCs. To address this issue, EMG-driven models can be calibrated in submaximal tasks. However, the effects of maximal (when data points include the maximum contraction) and submaximal calibration techniques on model outputs (e.g., muscle forces, spinal loads) remain yet unknown. We calibrated a subject-specific EMG-driven model, using maximal/submaximal isometric contractions, and simulated different independent tasks. Both approaches satisfactorily predicted external moments (Pearson’s correlation ∼ 0.75; relative error = 44%), and removing calibration tasks under axial torques markedly improved …

An Attempt To Bring Modern Workplace Realities To The Social Security Disability Adjudication System, Robert E. Rains

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

No abstract provided.

An Ecological Study Of Glyphosate Use And Non-Hodgkin’S Lymphoma, Dexter Corlett, Steven R. Browning

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

Glyphosate is currently the most widely used herbicide in the world. Initially thought to be non-carcinogenic in humans, in 2015 glyphosate was classified as a “probable carcinogen” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer due to several small epidemiological studies indicating a link between the pesticide and hematologic cancers, especially non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). The current work is an ecological study using counties in Kentucky, Arkansas, and Iowa to compare glyphosate usage to NHL incidence using a multivariate Poisson regression. We found no significant correlation between glyphosate use and NHL incidence, though caution should be taken to draw significance from …

Fatality Risk Management: Applying Quinlan’S Ten Pathways In Western Australia’S Mining Industry, Tanya Jenke, Jessica L. Boylan, Shelley Beatty, Martin Ralph, Andrew Chaplyn, Greg Penney, Marcus Cattani

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

In ‘Ten Pathways to Death and Disaster’ Professor Michael Quinlan (2014) identified a series of ten common catastrophic incident risk factors, known as the Ten Pathways, contributing to major incidents in mining and other high hazard industries. This study applies the Quinlan methodology in two separate phases. The first phase of the study explored employee perception of employer effectiveness of fatality prevention against each of the Ten Pathways through a questionnaire of n = 2009 participants at the 2017–2019 Western Australian Government Mines Safety Roadshows. Respondents generally perceived their employer as having a relatively good understanding of the role of …

Interactions Of International Pilots' Stress, Fatigue, Symptoms Of Depression, Anxiety, Common Mental Disorders And Wellbeing, Marion Venus, Martin Grosse Holtforth

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Objective

This study Investigates more dimensions than previous studies simultaneously: pilots’ duty rosters, stress, sleep difficulties, fatigue levels, wellbeing, symptoms of depression, anxiety, and common mental disorders (CMD), and how they are interrelated.

Background

Several scientific studies have confirmed that fatigue can pose a significant risk to flight safety. Other studies reported positive depression screening results for more pilots, compared with the general population.

Method

A cross-sectional online survey was completed by 406 international pilots, who reported their duty rosters of the last two months. Pilots also self-assessed their stress-levels, sleep problems, fatigue, wellbeing, and mental health.

Results

Although pilots …

Comparison Of Schedules, Stress, Sleep Problems, Fatigue, Mental Health And Well-Being Of Low Cost And Network Carrier Pilots, Marion Venus

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Objective

This research investigates and compares working-conditions, duty rosters, stress, sleep problems, fatigue levels, mental health, and well-being of pilots working for network (NWCs), and low-cost carriers (LCCs). This study extends previous research by investigating working conditions, pilots’ actual rosters, fatigue and mental health of two groups of pilots flying for LCC or NWC.

Method

A comprehensive cross-sectional online survey was completed by N=338 pilots (185 NWC, 153 LCC pilots). All pilots reported their roster data of the last 2 months during peak flight season, psychosocial and work-related stress (e.g., high job insecurity, less total flight-experience, lower income, more time …

Exploring Agricultural Worker Self-Efficacy During A Covid-19 Delta Variant Surge And Adverse Environmental Conditions, Hannah Lascano

All Master's Theses

Yakima County is a rural county with an urban core located in central Washington State. With over 60% of its workforce dedicated to agriculture, food production, and other essential industries, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly compounded in Yakima County populations. Factors such as low decision-making power, limited ability to social distance, and occupational limitations such as fear of job loss, non-compliance with immigration regulations, and lack of representation have yet to be explored during the COVID-19 Delta variant (Delta) surge in conjunction with environmental conditions. This study utilized a novel, online survey of Yakima County residents, …

Covid-19 Patients With Documented Alcohol Use Disorder Or Alcohol-Related Complications Are More Likely To Be Hospitalized And Have Higher All-Cause Mortality, Kristina L. Bailey, Harlan Sayles, James Campbell, Neha Khalid, Madyson Anglim, Jana Ponce, Todd A. Wyatt, James C. Mcclay, Ellen L. Burnham, Alfred Anzalone, Corrine K. Hanson

Journal Articles: Environmental, Agricultural & Occupational Health

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected every country globally, with hundreds of millions of people infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus and over 6 million deaths to date. It is unknown how alcohol use disorder (AUD) affects the severity and mortality of COVID-19. AUD is known to increase the severity and mortality of bacterial pneumonia and the risk of developing acute respiratory distress syndrome. Our objective is to determine whether individuals with AUD have increased severity and mortality from COVID-19.

METHODS: We utilized a retrospective cohort study of inpatients and outpatients from 44 centers participating in the National COVID Cohort …

Moyens De Réduction Des Risques Lors Des Phases De Nettoyage Et De Désinfection Des Machines Dans Le Domaine Agroalimentaire : Étude Exploratoire France-Québec, Laurent Giraud, Jean-Christophe Blaise, Nellie Perrin, Yuvin Chinniah, Pascal Poisson

Rapports de recherche scientifique

L’industrie de la transformation alimentaire est le plus important employeur industriel au Québec avec près de 56 000 emplois dans plus de 1 400 établissements en 2016. Cependant, au Québec, la Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) estime que le degré de risque de la plupart des secteurs agroalimentaires est critique. Cette industrie est également considérée à haut risque en Europe, notamment en France et en Grande-Bretagne, ainsi qu’aux États-Unis. Les statistiques dans ces pays montrent que les accidents surviennent majoritairement lors de tâches courantes et prévisibles comme le nettoyage et …

Mise À Jour D’Un Outil D’Aide À La Décision Pour L’Estimation Du Risque Lié À Une Exposition À Un Mélange De Substances Chimiques Dans L’Air : Une Nouvelle Version De Mixie, Maude Pomerleau, Philippe Sarazin

Rapports de recherche scientifique

MiXie QC est un outil qui permet d’estimer les risques pour la santé lors d’exposition professionnelle à des mélanges de contaminants. L’utilitaire recense les cas potentiels d’additivité des effets toxiques en croisant des listes d’organes cibles des agents chimiques. Cette étude visait à documenter les modifications apportées dans la version française par l’INRS en 2017 (MiXie FR) en effectuant la comparaison des versions française et québécoise de l’outil. L’accès aux banques de données (BD) des agents et des effets sur la santé des deux versions de MiXie a été fourni par les experts toxicologues responsables de l’utilitaire au Québec et …

Early-Life Farm Exposures And Eczema Among Adults In The Agricultural Lung Health Study, Annah B. Wyss, Thanh T. Hoang, Hilde K. Vindenes, Julie D. White, Sinjini Sikdar, Marie Richards, Laura E. Beane-Freeman, Christine G. Parks, Mikyeong Lee, David M. Umbach, Stephanie J. London

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

Background

Several studies conducted in Europe have suggested a protective association between early-life farming exposure and childhood eczema or atopic dermatitis; however, few studies have examined associations in adults.

Objectives

We investigated associations between early-life exposures and eczema among 3217 adult farmers and farm spouses (mean age, 62.8 years) in a case–control study nested within an US agricultural cohort.

Methods

We used sampling-weighted logistic regression to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for associations between early-life exposures and self-reported doctor-diagnosed eczema (273 cases) and polytomous logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for a 4-level outcome combining …

Risk-Targeted Behavioral Activation For The Management Of Work Disability Associated With Comorbid Pain And Depression: A Feasibility Study, Michael J.L. Sullivan, Timothy Wideman, Nathalie Gauthier, Pascal Thibault, Tamra Ellis, Heather Adams

Études primaires

Purpose

The purpose of the present study was to conduct a preliminary evaluation of the feasibility and impact of a risk-targeted behavioral activation intervention for work-disabled individuals with comorbid pain and depression.

Methods

The design of the study was a single-arm non-randomized trial. The sample consisted of 66 work-disabled individuals with comorbid pain and depression. The treatment program consisted of a 10-week standardized behavioral activation intervention supplemented by techniques to target two psychosocial risk factors for delayed recovery, namely, catastrophic thinking and perceptions of injustice. Measures of pain severity, depression, catastrophic thinking, perceived injustice, and self-reported disability were completed pre-, …

Examining The Pulmonary Response To Repeated Vishniacozyma Victoriae Exposure And Its Association With Allergic Airway Disease, Rachael Erin Rush

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Allergic airway diseases such as asthma continue to increase in incidence in industrialized nations like the United States. These diseases are complex inflammatory processes involving numerous cells and mediators and are strongly influenced by fungal exposures. Recent developments in fungal detection methods have highlighted the contribution of Basidiomycota yeast species in indoor environments such as Vishniacozyma (syn. Cryptococcus) victoriae. However, despite the high levels of this yeast detected in indoor environments, very little is known about it or its role in respiratory morbidity. V. victoriae is phylogenetically similar to pathogenic Cryptococcus neoformans but lacks a capsule and is …

Knee Braces And Foot Orthoses Multimodal Treatment Of Medial Knee Osteoarthritis, Xavier Robert-Lachaine, Yoann Dessery, Étienne L. Belzile, Philippe Corbeil

Études primaires

Background

Knee braces and lateral wedge foot orthoses are two treatment options recommended for medial knee osteoarthritis, but the combination of both of them could further improve their effectiveness.

Research question

The aim was to evaluate whether the combination of lateral wedge foot orthoses with two types of knee brace enhances the biomechanical effects and pain relief during the stance phase of gait while maintaining comfort.

Methods

Ten patients with medial knee osteoarthritis were fitted with a standard valgus brace, an unloader brace with valgus and external rotation functions, and 7° lateral wedge foot orthoses. The pain relief, comfort, kinematics …

Morphologic Clustering Of Earcanals Using Deep Learning Algorithm To Design Artificial Ears Dedicated To Earplugs Attenuation Measurement, Bastien Poissenot-Arrigoni, Chun Hong Law, Djamal Berbiche, Franck Sgard, Olivier Doutres

Études primaires

Designing earplugs adapted for the widest number of earcanals requires acoustical test fixtures (ATFs) geometrically representative of the population. Most existing ATFs are equipped with unique sized straight cylindrical earcanals, considered representative of average human morphology, and are therefore unable to assess how earplugs can fit different earcanal morphologies. In this study, a methodology to cluster earcanals as a function of their morphologies with the objective of designing artificial ears dedicated to sound attenuation measurement is developed and applied to a sample of Canadian workers’ earcanals. The earcanal morphologic indicators that correlate with the attenuations of six models of commercial …

Occupational Exposure To Wood Dust And The Burden Of Nasopharynx And Sinonasal Cancer In Canada, Amirabbas Mofidi, Emile Tompa, Christina Kalcevich, Christopher Mcleod, Martin Lebeau, Chaojie Song, Joanne Kim, Paul A. Demers

Études primaires

Background: Millions of workers around the world are exposed to wood dust, as a by-product of woodworking. Nasopharynx cancers (NPCs) and sinonasal cancers (SNCs) are two cancers that can be caused by occupational exposure to wood dust, but there is little evidence regarding their burden in Canada. Objective: the aim of this study was to estimate the incidence and economic burden of newly diagnosed cases of NPC and SNC in 2011 in Canada, attributable to occupational exposures to wood dust. Methods: calculating the incidence of cancer attributable to occupational exposure involved three steps of defining relative risk, assessing the prevalence …

Risk-Based Inspection Applied To Two-Post Above-Ground Automotive Lifts, Damien Burlet-Vienney, François Gauthier, Bertrand Galy

Études primaires

The safe use of two-post above-ground automotive lifts (2PAG lifts) has received particular attention in the province of Québec (Canada) following the death of a young mechanic. The inspection and preventive maintenance of this equipment is a problem highlighted in accident investigation reports and by representatives of the sector. Therefore, the work presented in this article aimed at proposing a complete and detailed inspection grid for 2PAG lifts by establishing an exhaustive list of verification criteria, baseline states and the inspection frequency for each criterion according to their criticality. The grid was built from standards, existing grids, manufacturers’ manuals, interviews …

Stay At Work After A Period Of Disability Due To An Occupational Injury: A Complex Process Marked By Social Exchanges, Alexandra Lecours, Marie-José Durand, Marie-France Coutu, Charles Groleau, Roxanne Bédard-Mercier

Études primaires

Purpose Rooted in a social exchange lens, this study aimed to explore the interactions between the factors influencing stay at work after a period of disability due to an occupational injury. Methods Based on a descriptive interpretative research design, interviews with 15 participants (i.e., representatives of workers, workplaces, insurers, and the health care system) were conducted to gather their perspectives about stay at work. Qualitative data was analyzed through thematic analysis. Results Ten different factors interacting together and influencing stay at work were identified. These factors prevail either during stay at work or previously. They are either related to the …

The Role Of Organizational Leaders In Employee Self-Care: A Change Management Approach, Olivia Dawn Honaker

DSW Capstone Projects

Although literature demonstrates that helping professionals have had high levels of stress and burnout for decades, the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the issue. The already burdened healthcare workers, now facing increased workloads, long hours, and high-level exposure to trauma, have created an urgency to address this significant risk to helping professionals. The current capstone will bring awareness to organizational leaders regarding the importance of employee self-care and the benefits of implementing employee self-care programs. First, a systematic literature review will examine self-care in helping professions and explore how organizational leaders operationalize employee self-care programs. In addition, the capstone aims …

Understanding Parents' Experiences With Children With Type 1 Diabetes: A Qualitative Inquiry, Justin A. Haegele, Steven K. Holland, Eddie Hill

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

Parenting is often described as a stress-inducing experience, which can be further complicated or made more stressful and anxiety-inducing when parenting children with chronic conditions such as type 1 diabetes (T1D). The incidence of T1D among children has risen and continues to rise globally, resulting in a need to understand the experiences of parenting children with T1D. The purpose of this qualitative inquiry was to explore the lived experiences, and the meaning ascribed to those experiences, of being a parent of a child with T1D. This qualitative study was conducted through an interpretivist paradigm and includes the experiences of 29 …

Factors Associated With Service Utilization In Injured Workers In West Virginia, Brandy Brown

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Introduction: Minimal research has been conducted on healthcare utilization among injured workers residing in rural areas. These workers are often at high risk for work-related injury due to the industries in which they work and commonly experience barriers to accessing healthcare. The first study in this dissertation series explored general characteristics of injured workers receiving care at occupational medicine clinics in West Virginia (WV). The second and third studies explored the moderating effects of rurality, pain medication, and psychiatric medication on sociodemographic and health status factors and number of medical encounters.

Methods: Each study used a cross-sectional design with data …

Performance Of Peltier Cooled Technology During Preconcentration Of Volatile Organic Compounds Analyzed By Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (Gc-Ms) Using Niosh Manual Of Analytical Methods (Nmam) 3900, Elizabeth Ann Fernandez

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Using evacuated canisters for whole-air sampling allows for sampling without specific knowledge of the environment and potential analytes. Evacuated canisters are able to tolerate concentrations ranging from parts per trillion (PPT) to parts per million (PPM). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has used evacuated canisters for years to sample volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from ambient air using their method TO-15 (LeBouf, et al., 2019). The GC-MS system used for the development of NMAM 3900 used liquid nitrogen to cool sorbent traps in the preconcentrator. Liquid nitrogen allows for cooling of specified points below ambient temperature. An alternative to liquid …

Evaluating Stability Of Human Spine In Static Tasks: A Combined In Vivo-Computational Study, Farshid Ghezelbash, Ali Shahvarpour, Christian Larivière, Aboulfazl Shirazi-Adl

Études primaires

Various interpretations and parameters have been proposed to assess spinal stability such as antagonist muscle coactivity, trunk stiffness and spinal buckling load; however, the correlation between these parameters remains unknown. We evaluated spinal stability during different tasks while changing the external moment and load height and investigated likely relationships between different EMG- and model-based parameters (e.g., EMG coactivity ratio, trunk stiffness, force coactivity ratio) and stability margins. EMG and kinematics of 40 young healthy subjects were recorded during various quasi-static tasks. Muscle forces, trunk stiffness and stability margins were calculated by a nonlinear subject-specific EMG-assisted-optimization musculoskeletal model of the trunk. …

Color-Blind Racial Attitudes In Practicing Dental Hygienists, Emily A. Ludwig, Susan L. Tolle, Jessica R. Suedbeck

Dental Hygiene Faculty Publications

Purpose: Individuals who subscribe to a color-blind racial ideology may not be aware of differences or differential treatment based on race which may be related to racial inequality in the delivery of oral health care. The purpose of this study was to determine color-blind racial attitudes in a convenience sample of clinical dental hygienists.

Methods: A convenience sample of practicing dental hygienists recruited through social media via snowball sampling was invited to participate in this cross-sectional survey study. The Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale (CoBRAS), a valid and reliable measuring instrument, was used to determine unawareness of racial attitudes and stereotyping. …

Analysis Of Vehicle Stability When Using Two-Post Above-Ground Automotive Lifts: Support Pad Slippage, Damien Burlet-Vienney, Bertrand Galy, Kariane Cusson Bertrand, Sylvie Beaugrand, Maud Gonella, Élise Ledoux

Études primaires

Vehicles falling off two-post above-ground (2PAG) lifts is a fairly frequent occurrence. As only limited knowledge is available about the determinants influencing the stability of lifting vehicles with a 2PAG lift, two experimental designs were carried out in order to have quantitative data. This paper addresses support pad slippage as a result of external forces being exerted on a vehicle. The experimental design is based on the consultation of the key players that identify the main issues related to the support pads. The controlled factors chosen in this experimental design were lift support pad type and position, smear on pads, …