Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Expansion Of The Performance Capabilities Of The Usf Inhalation Challenge Chamber, Laura Riley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the capability and performance of the University of South Florida’s (USF) Human Exposure Chamber (HEC) using aerosols in the thoracic range. The goals of this research were two-fold: to obtain an average particle size of 10 µm (thoracic-size range) inside the chamber during dust production and to test for evenness of dust concentration within the chamber. The USF HEC can be used for studies using gases and/or particulates. The chamber measurements are 4.16 ft x 2.67 ft x 6.75 ft, for a total volume of 75 ft³ or 2.13 m^{3 …}

Pepper Mild Mottle Virus As A Surrogate For Enteric Viruses: Implications For Assessing Water Quality, Erin Michelle Symonds

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Less than 10% of the world’s domestic wastewater is disinfected prior to discharge into surface waters; therefore, human exposure to diverse wastewater-related pathogens results in millions of cases of illness each year. Among the enteric pathogens, viruses represent an important group of emerging pathogens and are frequently the cause of food- and water-borne outbreaks of illness. Although the World Health Organization and many government agencies mandate the use of bacterial indicators to identify poor microbial water quality, it is well known that these indicators poorly correlate with fecal pollution contamination events and risk of disease. The field of public health-related …

Evaluation Of Pulmonary Function Among Workers Engaged In The Manufacture Of Hydraulic Fracking Ceramic Proppant, Humairat H. Rahman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Workers involved in hydraulic fracking processes are exposed to various types of chemicals and dusts in their workplaces, such as proppants, which hold open the fissures created in the fracking process. Recently, ceramic proppants have been developed that may be less hazardous to workers than traditional proppants. Pulmonary function testing of workers producing ceramic proppant was used to assess the potential inhalation hazards of ceramic proppant. Male workers (n = 100) from a producer of ceramic proppant were evaluated with pulmonary function test data collected and evaluated using The American Thoracic Society (ATS) acceptability criteria. A comparison group was selected …

Human Health Risk Characterization Of Petroleum Coke Calcining Facility Emissions, Davinderjit Singh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Calcined coke is a high quality carbon material produced by calcining green petroleum coke. Calcining is the process of heating green petroleum coke in a kiln to remove excess moisture, extract all remaining hydrocarbons, and modify the crystalline structure of the coke into a denser, electrically conductive product. The final product, calcined coke, is primarily used to make carbon anodes for the aluminum industry and recarburizing agent for industries such as the steel industry. If not appropriately controlled, the calcining process could lead to excess production of particulate emissions from either handling or storing of raw coke, or from the …

A Study On The Effect Of Non – Asthmatic Atopy On Pregnancy Outcomes, Ayesha Johnson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Objectives – To measure the effect of non – asthmatic atopy (NAA) on the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes; low birth weight (LBW), small for gestational age (SGA) and preterm birth (PTB), among primiparous women 19 – 25 years of age.

Methods – Vital Statistics records from births occurring between 2004 and 2014, from approximately 60,000 primiparous women in South Carolina, aged 19 to 25 years, were linked to their Medicaid records. Maternal records were examined to determine if they had a previous diagnosis of NAA. Women with a diagnosis of NAA were frequency matched with a ratio of 1:4 …

Comparison Of Urinary Pahs Among Firefighters And Asphalt Pavers, Theodore Aquino

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Firefighters and asphalt pavers are exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during various work activities. The purpose of this study was to evaluate urinary PAH levels and compare these bio-monitoring levels among firefighters, asphalt pavers, and non-occupationally exposed individuals. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) urinary PAH levels were used for non-occupationally exposed controls. When compared to the NIST standard for smokers and non-smokers, firefighters demonstrated statistically significant differences in urinary concentration differences for the following metabolites: 2-OH-fluorene, 3-OH-fluorene and 1-OH-pyrene, which were lower in firefighters than the NIST mean for smokers. 1-OH-phenanthrene, 2-OH-phenanthrene and 3-OH-phenanthrene were higher …