Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene最新文献

A team from the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health conducted a strategic foresight project to explore the future of occupational safety research (OSR). Data collected via systematic horizon scanning and key informant interviews were synthesized into six drivers of OSR change: (1) technological advancement, (2) partnerships and public trust, (3) prioritizing research investments, (4) safety and health integration, (5) data and science quality, and (6) worker protections. These drivers served as the basis for envisioning four potential OSR futures. Analysis of the resulting scenarios identified opportunities to enhance and advance OSR methods and approaches, innovation, systems thinking, interpersonal networks and connections, and the ethical application of scientific findings as we move into the future of work.

This article describes how Hermann J. Muller attempted to persuade the editor of the journal Science to obtain a review of his book on eugenics entitled: Out of the Night: A Biologist's View of the Future. Muller sent the editor of Science, James McKeen Cattell, a letter soliciting a review of his forthcoming eugenics book. Muller's letter is of historical significance for several reasons. It highlights how Muller characterized his own standing on the issue with respect to his geneticist colleagues, especially those in the United States. Of even greater importance is the striking lack of transparency that Muller employed in attempting to persuade the editor, not only to publish a review of his book, but also to select the reviewer(s) from a list of suggested geneticists/biologists he provided. The Muller letter is significant since it shows that Muller was deceptive in his communication with the editor. He failed to disclose his personal and professional relationships with each of the six proposed reviewers and their long histories of support and advocacy for eugenics-based societal policies. The present example of Muller's ethical improbity adds to a substantial listing of similar actions that are linked both to his propensity for inappropriate self-promotion and ideological advocacy as seen in activities dealing with eugenics, chemical and radiological risk assessment, hereditary and cancer risk assessment, health physics practices, and the development of secondary school biological curriculum. The current paper gives a rare glimpse into ethics and bias in the scientific community and raises a series of new challenges to the culture of science and its dependence on honesty and transparency. While Muller may be appreciated as a scientist of great talent and achievement, he also displayed personal failings that undercut the integrity of scientific research.

Oncology nurses are routinely exposed to antineoplastic agents through skin absorption or inhalation of airborne agents when administering drugs intravenously. Although safe infusion devices aimed at preventing the hazardous disconnection of empty bags were developed, none of them are completely closed systems per National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) guidelines. The authors evaluated a closed system administration device developed to prevent exposure of healthcare professionals to cytotoxic drugs during their administration. System components were assembled in various scenarios mimicking intravenous drug administration and then tested in a sealed chamber connected to a gas analyzer. The concentration of 70% isopropanol vapors (as a drug surrogate) was measured continuously in the chamber. The analysis showed no detectable increase in isopropanol vapor concentration in the sealed chamber compared to baseline levels over the course of the tasks, indicating that no leaks of 70% isopropanol occurred when the closed system administration devices were used. Furthermore, the results remained the same regardless of the number of connection cycles the products had undergone, or whether they were newly manufactured or at the simulated end of their shelf-life. This study showed that the use of a closed administration system can minimize the risk of exposure of healthcare professionals to hazardous drugs and potentially reduce environmental contamination.

During most of the COVID-19 pandemic, N95 respirators were in short supply, creating a need for alternative solutions to protect healthcare workers and others from infection. The current pilot study was conducted to determine whether using a KN95 respirator with a custom respirator frame would be an effective alternative to an N95 respirator. Using the Bellus3D Dental Pro application on an iPhone, a 3D face scan was obtained for six adult volunteers (three women, three men), and a custom mask frame was 3D printed in gray resin. Next, a PortaCount Fit Tester was used to test the fit of a KN95 respirator, a KN95 respirator with the custom mask frame, and an N95 respirator. The three respirator configurations were compared for overall fit and fit during four day-to-day movements (bending over, talking, and moving the head side to side or up and down). Fit factor values could range from 1-200, and a value of 100 was considered the minimum to meet established safety specifications. The mean (SD) overall fit factor was 12.1 (1.8) for the KN95 respirator, 195.4 (11.2) for the KN95 respirator with the custom mask frame, and 170.0 (38.3) for the N95 respirator. Differences were found between the three configurations for all outcomes (all p < .004). Post hoc comparisons indicated differences between the KN95 respirator and KN95 respirator with the custom mask frame for all outcomes (all p < .02) and between the KN95 respirator with the custom mask frame and N95 respirator for moving the head side to side (p = .04). Results of the pilot current study suggested using a KN95 respirator with a custom mask frame significantly improved the fit factor to meet existing safety specifications. In the future, healthcare workers and organizations should consider this configuration as an effective alternative to N95 respirators.

Asbestos was used in certain packing products for much of the twentieth century. The objective of this study was to characterize exposure from working with and around chrysotile-containing packing during valve repair and overhaul to better understand the exposure potential of career pipefitters and other tradesmen, as well as bystanders and household contacts. Airborne fiber and chrysotile concentrations during packing (20.91-62.77% chrysotile) replacement were measured during standard and nonstandard work tasks involving valve repair and overhaul, cleanup, and clothes handling. Packing replacement was performed on 21 valves by a career engineer at a facility with no mechanical ventilation. Out of 126 air samples, 56 had airborne fiber concentrations above the limit of detection using phase contrast microscopy (PCM) analysis and were subsequently analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM); chrysotile was detected in 21 of the 56 samples. Packing replacement in 16 valves in succession without additional manipulation (such as sanding or compressed air blowout) resulted in a task-based personal average concentration of 0.0378 f/cc, PCM-equivalent asbestos-specific fibers or PCME, while one valve replacement event with compressed air use resulted in an average concentration of 0 f/cc, PCME, and compressed air and sanding combined resulted in an average concentration of 0.0018 f/cc, PCME. Task-based personal sampling during cleanup resulted in concentrations averaging 0.0047 to 0.0162 f/cc, PCME; no chrysotile was detected in task-based close bystander area samples, nor in any samples collected during clothes handling and post-handling cleanup. Regression analysis showed no correlation between PCM concentrations and measured size-fractionated and total airborne particulate matter concentrations. The results indicated that for packing replacement, including work on 16 valves in succession, lack of mechanical ventilation, and nonstandard work practices, all partial-shift and task-based average personal and area airborne fiber concentrations were below the OSHA 8-hr Time-Weighted Average (TWA) Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) of 0.1 f/cc and 30-min TWA Excursion Limit (EL) for asbestos of 1 f/cc, consistent with previous literature.

There is a growing interest in the health benefits of sun exposure, yet evidence linking sun exposure to cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk is limited. This study aimed to investigate the associations between sun exposure and CVD. This study utilized data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), assessing sun exposure through behaviors such as staying in the shade, wearing long-sleeved shirts, using sunscreen, and time spent outdoors on weekdays and non-workdays. CVD was defined by self-reported physician-diagnosed heart disease (including congestive heart failure, coronary heart disease, angina, heart attack, and stroke). Multivariate logistic regression was applied. A bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) was also conducted to assess the causal relationship. Effect sizes were expressed as odds ratios (ORs) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). The study showed that staying less in shade decreased the risk of CVD (never in model 3: OR = 0.72, 95% CI= 0.54-0.96, p = 0.03). Additionally, CVD was influenced by using sunscreen (always in model 3: OR = 0.69, 95% CI= 0.50-0.94, p = 0.02) and spending time outdoors (model 3: OR = 0.96, 95% CI= 0.93-0.99, p = 0.01). Wearing long-sleeved shirts did not affect on the occurrence of CVD. However, no evidence of a causal relationship between sun exposure and CVD using MR analysis was observed. While the NHANES data suggested sun exposure was associated with a reduced risk of CVD, the MR analysis did not establish a causal link, suggesting further research is needed to understand this relationship.

Firefighters are exposed to various carcinogenic substances during firefighting tasks, but also in the maintenance of firefighting personal protective equipment (PPE). Due to multiple exposures to chemical agents via different exposure routes, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) categorized the firefighting occupation as Group 1 - carcinogenic to humans. Decontamination methods have been found to play an important role in reducing firefighter chemical exposures. Unfortunately, decontamination techniques are insufficient in removing carcinogenic substances from PPE. This study aimed to evaluate decontamination methods for firefighter turnout gear. Using various techniques, the cleaning efficiency of 18 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from turnout gear coats contaminated during firefighting exercises was measured. For turnout gear coats (n = 40), decontamination methods used were conventional aqueous laundering (AL) and its combination with advanced hydrogen peroxide treatment (H₂O₂) or ozone treatment in a chamber (O₃). In addition, the cleaning efficiencies of advanced liquid carbon dioxide (LCO₂) and the ozone laundry system (LO₃) were measured. Results show that when the conventional AL water wash temperature increased from 40 to 60 °C, cleaning efficiencies did not significantly increase. Cleaning efficiencies in outer layers of coats were 63% and 60%, respectively. The results in outer layers of AL combined with O₃ and H₂O₂ techniques showed cleaning efficiencies 84% and 42%, respectively. Cleaning efficiency with LO₃ and with the fully advanced LCO₂ technique demonstrated cleaning efficiency 71% and 74%, respectively. LCO₂ was the most advanced, especially in the middle layers, yielding a cleaning efficiency of 84% while other techniques in the middle layers reached a maximum efficiency 24%. The cleaning efficiency of all methods indicated approximately 20-30% lower cleaning efficiency for high molecular weight (HMW) PAHs than for low molecular weight (LMW) PAHs. The results of this study emphasized the importance of improving conventional AL and the advantage of the LCO₂ method in enhancing cleaning efficiency.

This work assesses the current characterization framework of single-use personal protective equipment (PPE) per recognized consensus standards and presents a novel quantitative approach to refining characterization of barrier materials and predicting PPE performance. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and image analysis software (Diameter J) were used to examine the microscopic fiber and pore structure of filter layers of surgical N95 filtering facepiece respirators, before and after exposure to chemicals used in decontamination modalities (vaporized hydrogen peroxide or ozone). The effect of porosity on penetration was assessed by bacterial filtration efficiency (BFE) testing. Results from these experiments were incorporated into a physics-based computational model of overall filtration efficiency (OFE). Material thickness, fiber thickness, and packing density were introduced as inputs into a sequence of mathematical expressions to calculate OFE for filtration layers from surgical N95 respirators. OFE derived from the computational model was compared with experimental data for Staphylococcus aureus filtration (per ASTM F2101-23). The resulting output from the model is conservative and predictive when compared with experimental results to assess OFE and filtration efficiency relative to specific particle-size ranges. The model functions may be used to help inform or expedite design or manufacturing decision-making on surgical N95 respirators.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been widely used to facilitate disaster response. By connecting cameras to AI software, it can help determine the number of firefighters and apparatus, enhancing efficiency on the fireground. However, we must overcome several challenges to effectively utilize AI in firefighting. One challenge is improving the brightness and resolution of pictures and videos taken at fire scenes. This study examines the impacts of two image enhancement methods, Contrast-Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization (CLAHE) and Zero-reference Deep Curve Estimation (Zero-DCE), on the accuracy of the AI-based object detector trained using images taken on various fire scenes. The results indicate that, after augmenting the training data with image enhancement techniques, the detector can accurately identify firefighters with a precision of 0.827 and firetrucks with a precision of 0.945. Enhancing the dataset's variety through these techniques improves the model's generalizability, provided that the test images are also enhanced to augment visual quality. Specifically, applying CLAHE during training increased the mean average precision (mAP) value by 8% and the recall by 7% from the baseline. Meanwhile, the integration of Zero-DCE demonstrated particular efficacy in recognizing firetrucks in low-light conditions, achieving the highest precision value of 0.945 among all the cases considered. This paper will benefit future applications of AI in fireground operations. Additionally, we provide directions for future researchers to advance AI recognition research in facilitating disaster response activities and fireground operations.

Workers exposed to lead sometimes wear their work clothes home. It is possible that lead from contaminated work clothing can transfer to uncontaminated clothing, including children's items that may be in the same load, during laundering. This is concerning because lead is especially toxic for children. The purpose of this pilot study was to understand lead extraction from fabrics typically worn by workers, the amount of lead removed during normal laundering, and lead transfer to other fabrics during a laundry washing cycle. The study validated EPA analytical method 200.8 Determination of Trace Elements in Waters and Wastes by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry to analyze lead in Dickies pant fabric (DPF), T-shirt material (TSM), and blue jeans material (BJM). Because this methodology of extracting lead from fabrics is novel, a priori definitions of accuracy and precision used were ± 40%. Researchers spiked two levels (9 µg and 9,000 µg) of lead nitrate and three levels (9 µg, 900 µg, and 9,000 µg) of lead carbonate on 9 cm² fabric swatches and extracted lead by microwave-assisted digestion. Across all spike levels, mean recoveries were within 60% and 140% recovery. All percent coefficient of variation values were less than 20% for lead nitrate, indicating that this method for lead nitrate was sufficiently accurate and precise. For lead carbonate, the method was neither accurate nor precise at the 9 and 900 µg levels but was sufficiently accurate and precise at the 9,000 µg level. Eighteen loads of fabric swatches were spiked with either lead form and laundered in a washing machine using a common laundry detergent. The mean amount of lead removed from laundered DPF and TSM was similar (97.4 and 95.9%) and significantly higher (p < 0.05) compared to laundered BJM (70.6%). The amount of lead carbonate removed (92.6%) was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than lead nitrate (83.4%). The levels of lead that transferred from spiked fabric to bedsheets included in the same washing load were less than 0.5 µg. It is important to follow public health recommendations, such as laundering work clothes separately.