Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene Commons^™

Exposition Des Travailleurs De La Construction À La Silice Cristalline : Exploitation D’Une Banque De Données Tirée De La Littérature, Jean-François Sauvé, Charles Beaudry, Denis Bégin, Chantal Dion, Michel Gérin, Jérôme Lavoué

Rapports de recherche scientifique

L’exposition prolongée par inhalation à des poussières de taille respirable contenant de la silice cristalline est reconnue pour causer des maladies respiratoires, dont le cancer du poumon et la silicose. De nombreuses études ont relevé la surexposition des travailleurs de la construction à la silice cristalline, puisque ce composé est présent dans de nombreux matériaux utilisés sur les chantiers. L’évaluation de l’exposition à la silice cristalline dans cette industrie constitue un défi en raison de la multitude de conditions de travail et de la nature temporaire des chantiers.

Dans le but d’améliorer les connaissances sur les conditions de travail pouvant …

Access To Chemical Data Used In Regulatory Decision Making, Lynn R. Goldman, Ellen K. Silbergeld, Randall Lutter, Craig Barrow, Christopher J. Borgert, James W. Conrad Jr., Debra Edwards, Allan Felsot

Environmental and Occupational Health Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Workers Killed Due To Driver Distraction, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Kentucky Haz Alerts--Motor Vehicle

To Prevent Driver Distraction,

Employers should:

• Provide training on the importance of being attentive and not engaging in distracting tasks or behaviors while driving
• Develop policies that minimize or eliminate the use of in-vehicle devices while driving

Employees should:

• Not use dispatching devices while driving
• Not text or manually dial a cell phone while driving
• Refrain from activities such as reading, writing or map reading while driving

Pit Latrines And Their Impacts On Groundwater Quality: A Systematic Review, Jay P. Graham, Matthew L. Polizzotto

Environmental and Occupational Health Faculty Publications

Background: Pit latrines are one of the most common human excreta disposal systems in low-income countries, and their use is on the rise as countries aim to meet the sanitation-related target of the Millennium Development Goals. There is concern, however, that discharges of chemical and microbial contaminants from pit latrines to groundwater may negatively affect human health.

Objectives: Our goals were to a) calculate global pit latrine coverage, b) systematically review empirical studies of the impacts of pit latrines on groundwater quality, c) evaluate latrine siting standards, and d) identify knowledge gaps regarding the potential for …

Open-Source Collaboration For Global Health: Science And Practice, Ariel Pablos-Méndez, Michael Klag, Lynn R. Goldman

Environmental and Occupational Health Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Health Risk Assessments Of Waste Combustion Emissions Using Surrogate Analyte Models, Michael A . Schmidt

Theses and Dissertations

Exposure assessments of open burn pits are often complicated by a lack of sampling equipment and resources. This research investigated the hypothesis of carbon dioxide (CO₂) as a viable surrogate for particulate matter with diameter ≤ 2.5 μm (PM2.5). Large-scale solid waste combustion tests resulted in linear trends between mean PM2.5 and CO₂ (R2 = 0.964 - 0.989). This pilot study demonstrates the feasibility of using CO₂ as a surrogate of PM2.5 concentration as CO₂ sensors potentially provide a cost-effective solution for monitoring in lieu of expensive PM instruments. It also indicates the potential reduction …

The Work Environment Disability-Adjusted Life Year For Use With Life Cycle Assessment: A Methodological Approach, Kelly A. Scanlon, George M. Gray, Royce A. Francis, Shannon M. Lloyd, Peter Lapuma

Environmental and Occupational Health Faculty Publications

Background

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a systems-based method used to determine potential impacts to the environment associated with a product throughout its life cycle. Conclusions from LCA studies can be applied to support decisions regarding product design or public policy, therefore, all relevant inputs (e.g., raw materials, energy) and outputs (e.g., emissions, waste) to the product system should be evaluated to estimate impacts. Currently, work-related impacts are not routinely considered in LCA. The objectives of this paper are: 1) introduce the work environment disability-adjusted life year (WE-DALY), one portion of a characterization factor used to express the magnitude of …

Foodborne Urinary Tract Infections: A New Paradigm For Antimicrobial-Resistant Foodborne Illness, Lora Nordstrom, Cindy M. Liu, Lance B. Price

Environmental and Occupational Health Faculty Publications

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common bacterial infections worldwide. Disproportionately affecting women, UTIs exact a substantial public burden each year in terms of direct medical expenses, decreased quality of life, and lost productivity. Increasing antimicrobial resistance among strains of extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia colichallenges successful treatment of UTIs. Community-acquired UTIs were long considered sporadic infections, typically caused by the patients’ native gastrointestinal microbiota; however, the recent recognition of UTI outbreaks with probable foodborne origins has shifted our understanding of UTI epidemiology. Along with this paradigm shift come new opportunities to disrupt the infection process and possibly quell …

Motor Vehicle Injuries Among Semi Truck Drivers And Sleeper Berth Passengers, Terry L. Bunn, Svetla Slavova, Medearis Robertson

Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center Faculty Publications

Introduction: Injuries and fatalities due to large truck and other vehicle crashes have decreased over the last decade, but motor vehicle injuries remain a leading cause of death for both the working and general populations. The present study was undertaken to determine semi truck driver and sleeper berth passenger injury risk in a moving semi truck collision using a matched-pair cohort study.

Method: Study data were obtained from the Kentucky Collision Report Analysis for Safer Highways (CRASH) electronic files for 2000 - 2010. A matched-pair cohort study was used to compare the odds of injury of both drivers …

Assuring Access To Data For Chemical Evaluations, Lynn R. Goldman, Ellen K. Silbergeld

Environmental and Occupational Health Faculty Publications

Background: A database for studies used for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pesticide and chemical reviews would be an excellent resource for increasing transparency and improving systematic assessments of pesticides and chemicals. There is increased demand for disclosure of raw data from studies used by the U.S. EPA in these reviews.

Objectives: Because the Information Quality Act (IQA) of 2001 provides an avenue for request of raw data, we reviewed all IQA requests to the U.S. EPA in 2002–2012 and the U.S. EPA’s responses. We identified other mechanisms to access such data: public access databases, the Freedom of Information Act …

Drivers Killed Due To Tire Failures, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Kentucky Haz Alerts--Motor Vehicle

To Prevent Tire Failures,

Employers should:

• Ensure that routine maintenance is performed on work vehicles
• Implement and enforce an employer seat belt safety program

Employees should:

• Be properly trained in safe work vehicle operation
• Perform routine pre-trip and post-trip inspections, including inspection of the tires
• Ensure that tires do not run below 80% of the recommended pressure

Two Semis Collide - Fire Ensues; Both Drivers Perish, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Motor Vehicle

One summer’s night, a 49 year-old semi-truck driver (D1), pulling a flatbed loaded with salvage cars for recycling traveled north on a three-lane state highway. D1 topped a hill, drove through a right curve when the unit rolled onto the driver’s side, slide across the center line and entered a straight stretch approximately half way to the bottom of a hill. As D1’s unit was sliding down the hill in the south bound lanes, a 52 year-old semi-truck driver (D2) hauling bottled beverages was traveling south in the straight stretch up the hill. As D1 slide down the hill, D2 …

Tingkat Pencahayaan Perpustakaan Di Lingkungan Universitas Indonesia, Hendra Hendra, Sekar Tina, Amah Majidah

Kesmas

Pencahayaan di perpustakaan merupakan aspek penting dalam menunjang aktivitas mahasiswa dan pegawai. Kondisi pencahayaan yang tidak memenuhi standar dapat mengganggu aktivitas dan menyebabkan keluhan kesehatan khususnya kelelahan mata. Penelitian ini bertujuan mengetahui kesesuaian tingkat pencahayaan di ruang perpustakaan yang ada di lingkungan UI. Penelitian ini menggunakan desain evaluasi dengan membandingkan hasil pengukuran dengan standar serta melakukan analisis terhadap kondisi lingkungan, respons subjektif pengguna, dan keluhan kelelahan mata. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan tingkat kesesuaian pencahayaan di perpustakaan berkisar antara 0% sampai 100%. Sebagian besar pencahayaan mempunyai tingkat kesesuaian antara 30% sampai 60%. Kondisi ini disebabkan oleh distribusi pencahayaan yang kurang baik karena …

Semi-Truck Driver Dies After Being Struck By Flatbed Driver In Crossover Collision, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Motor Vehicle

In the winter of 2011, a 46-year-old semi-truck driver (D1) hauling a flatbed trailer was traveling north in the right lane on a four lane interstate. Several minutes ahead of the semi was a pickup truck hauling an extension ladder that fell out onto the northbound travel lanes. A car behind the pickup swerved to avoid the falling ladder. Other cars swerved to avoid the ladder. The semi came upon the ladder and swerving cars. To avoid striking the cars and ladder, the semi driver swerved to the right, over-corrected to the left, drove across the northbound lanes, over a …

Prevalence Of Antibiotic-Resistant E. Coli In Retail Chicken: Comparing Conventional, Organic, Kosher, And Raised Without Antibiotics, Jack M. Millman, Kara Waits, Heidi Grande, Ann R. Marks, Jane C. Marks, Lance B. Price, Bruce A. Hungate

Environmental and Occupational Health Faculty Publications

Retail poultry products are known sources of antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli, a major human health concern. Consumers have a range of choices for poultry, including conventional, organic, kosher, and raised without antibiotics (RWA) – designations that are perceived to indicate differences in quality and safety. However, whether these categories vary in the frequency of contamination with antibiotic-resistant E. coli is unknown. We examined the occurrence of antibiotic-resistant E. coli on raw chicken marketed as conventional, organic, kosher and RWA. From April – June 2012, we purchased 213 samples of raw chicken from 15 locations in the New York City metropolitan …

A Measurement System Experiment To Evaluate The Nosing-To-Nosing Method For Measuring Dimensions Of Steps, Lea S. Jensen, Roger C. Jensen, Craig E. Ross

Safety Health & Industrial Hygiene

Non-uniformity of steps within a flight is a major risk factor for falls. Guidelines and requirements for uniformity of step risers and tread depths assume the measurement system provides precise dimensional values. The state-of-the-art measurement system is a relatively new method, known as the nosing-to-nosing method. It involves measuring the distance between the noses of adjacent steps and the angle formed with the horizontal. From these measurements, the effective riser height and tread depth are calculated. This study was undertaken for the purpose of evaluating the measurement system to determine how much of total measurement variability comes from the step …

Stairway Step Dimensions: Replication Of A Measurement System Study, Christopher Hicks, Roger C. Jensen, Joselynn M. Adams

Safety Health & Industrial Hygiene

This paper reports a replication of a prior measurement system study. The earlier study examined the nosing-to-nosing measurement system for measuring steps in a stairway to determine uniformity. In each study, two individuals measured six flights of stairs on two separate occasions. The difference in the first and second study was the different measurers. Step attributes used to define uniformity are riser height and tread depth. The measurers in each study obtained 744 values of riser height and 672 values of tread depth. The ANOVA for each study indicated that less than 4% of the variance in these attributes was …

Adequate Ventilation: How Is It Defined And Does It Adequately Warn Consumers?, Christopher Blankenship

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this research was to clarify and define the term “adequate ventilation.” Upon looking at regulations, court cases, and other elements, it is clear that the term is inadequate to inform consumers and does not instruct consumers on how to achieve proper ventilation. To find out if consumers understand this, random persons were asked to define it. The answers were given a numerical value to show the knowledge trend. The outcome showed that most people do not understand how to achieve proper ventilation. Conclusion: Diagrams showing how to set up a room with ventilation and new instructions are …

Perception Of Slipperiness And Prospective Risk Of Slipping At Work, Theodore K. Courtney, Santosh K. Verma, Wen-Ruey Chang, Yueng-Hsiang Huang, David A. Lombardi, Melanye J. Brennan, Melissa J. Perry

Environmental and Occupational Health Faculty Publications

Objectives: Falls are a leading cause of injury at work, and slipping is the predominant cause of falling. Prior research has suggested a modest correlation between objective measures (such as coefficient of friction, COF) and subjective measures of slipperiness (such as worker perceptions) in the workplace. However, the degree of association between subjective measures and the actual risk of slipping at the workplace is unknown. This study examined the association between perception of slipperiness and the risk of slipping.

Methods: 475 workers from 36 limited-service restaurants participated in a 12-week prospective cohort study. At baseline, demographic information was collected, participants …

Association Between Childhood Adversities And Adulthood Depressive Symptoms In South Korea: Results From A Nationally Representative Longitudinal Study, Seung-Sup Kim, Hyobum Jang, Hyoung Yoon Chang, Young Su Park, Dong Woo Lee

Environmental and Occupational Health Faculty Publications

Objective To examine how childhood adversity (ie, parental death, parental divorce, suspension of school education due to financial strain or being raised in a relative's house due to financial strain) is associated with prevalence and incidence of adulthood depressive symptoms and whether this association differs by gender and by age in South Korea.

Design Prospective cohort design.

Setting Nationally representative longitudinal survey in South Korea.

Participants 11 526 participants in South Korea.

Outcome measure Prevalence and incidence of adulthood depressive symptoms were assessed as a dichotomous variable using the Centers for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale in 2006 and 2007. …