AIHAJ : a journal for the science of occupational and environmental health and safety最新文献

Two hundred thirty-five work-related deaths occurred in the construction industry in a new economic development area in eastern China between 1991 and 1997. These fatalities represented 55% of all occupational deaths. The average annual mortality rate was 51.5 per 100,000 construction workers. Falls were the leading cause of death (46.4%). Falls, collisions, struck by/against something, electrocutions, and excavation cave-ins were the main fatality antecedents, accounting for nearly 93.6% of all fatalities. The most common antecedents for incidents with multiple fatalities were falls, crane-related events, poisoning, and fire. These categories of antecedents were similar to those encountered in the construction industry in the United States. These data suggest that organizations need to focus on these event types when planning their prevention activities. Moreover, improved surveillance systems including computerized databases with narrative descriptions of injury events, antecedent factors, and person-time at-risk data are needed to target interventions more precisely.

A laboratory system has been constructed that uniformly deposits dry particles onto any type of test surface. Devised as a quality assurance tool for the purpose of evaluating surface sampling methods for lead, it also may be used to generate test surfaces for any contaminant that uses particles or dust as a transport mechanism. Additionally, it may be used to spike surfaces for studies concerning particle transport, resuspension, reentrainment, and exposure. The electromechanical system includes a rugged aluminum chamber housing deposition equipment, a computer-controlled positioning system, and a 0.61 x 0.61 m target surface area (2 x 2 ft). Media used to evaluate the system have included glass beads of various size fractions (physical diameters between 30 and 500 microm), and Arizona Test Dust (aerodynamic diameters between 1 and 80 microm). Presieved particle size fractions may be used individually to study the effects of monodisperse particles, or may be mixed to create custom polydisperse size distributions. Using arrays of 16 coupons placed on the surface to collect representative samples from every test, the uniformity of the particle deposition can be quantified. The system achieved an average coefficient of variation of less than 20% for the 16 coupons for the particle types and sizes mentioned above and for a variety of total surface loadings (0.3-19 g/m2). Calculations of the system's repeatability (as the average coefficient of variation of mass gains for individual coupon locations compared across multiple identically configured runs) yielded approximately 10 +/- 5% (one standard deviation). Tests of the system's accuracy, defined as the absolute percentage difference between predicted surface loadings and actual loadings, yielded 3.7 +/- 1.3% (one standard deviation).

The 1995 Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Guidelines for the Evaluation and Control of Lead-Based Paint Hazards in Housing discusses using interior and exterior wall enclosures for lead hazard control. Leaded dust may be aerosolized inside enclosures and released through gaps and cracks into a room. The effects of airflow and mechanical disturbances on dust release were studied using a laboratory wall enclosure model with dust collected from homes with lead-based paint hazards. Airflows relevant to residences were blown down the enclosure and out a 4-, 6-, or 8-mm horizontal gap at its bottom, simulating potential enclosure failure. Then, low-frequency mechanical vibrations also were applied to the enclosure. No significant dust release was found when blowing air down the enclosure even at 37 cm/sec (representing extremely high flow); release occurred only with this high flow and 3 Hz mechanical disturbances. Dust was released primarily from the floor area immediately adjacent to the enclosure gap; the release rate fluctuated over time. Most dust initially settled near the enclosure. Dust release for 1 hour at extreme conditions (high airflow with vibration) yields lead loading above the 1995 HUD clearance level of 100 microg/ft2 only within 3-4 cm of the wall; for the HUD standard (1 ft2) sampling area, the lead loading does not exceed 30 microg/ ft2. Redistributing dust over the room's 16 m2 floor space yields average extreme-condition loading rate of 2 microg/ft2/hour. At less-than-extreme conditions, dust would have to be released for years without cleaning to yield a hazard.

This review seeks to assist industrial hygienists in the prevention of Legionnaires' disease caused by Legionella bacteria. Breathing water droplets contaminated with Legionella bacteria, in which the organism has been permitted to amplify, causes this disease. Possible sources of transmission include nearly all manmade building water systems. Legionella organisms, found in most natural water sources but at very low concentrations, can thrive under conditions of warmth in these manmade systems. Primary prevention of Legionnaires' disease requires prevention of amplification of Legionella in water systems. This, in turn, requires familiarity with the system and all its components, and effective maintenance and water treatment. However, good maintenance and water treatment regimens alone cannot assure that amplification will not occur somewhere in the system. Systematic microbiological testing for Legionella and appropriate interpretation of the testing results can be powerful assets in prevention by enabling the detection and control of amplification. The occurrence of a confirmed or suspected case of Legionnaires' disease in a building occupant may indicate transmission within the facility; this poses an immediate crisis for the facility manager. An aggressive intervention is indicated to search for previously unknown additional cases of illness, to detect potential sources of transmission, and to decontaminate any suspected sources of transmission on an emergency basis. Once adequate remediation has been achieved and confirmed by microbiological testing, on-going control measures are essential with periodic microbiological investigation to assure continuing prevention of amplification.

Testing of the permeation resistance of eight glove and suit barriers against commercially available substituted silanes and siloxanes was performed using the ASTM F739-96 standard test method. In addition to barrier performance to the pure organosilanes, the permeation rates of the hydrolysis product (usually ethanol or methanol) were investigated. The silanes and siloxanes used as the challenge agents were N-2-(aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane; 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane; 3-chloropropyltrimethoxysilane; ethyltriacetoxysilane; 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane; 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexamethyldisilazane; hexamethyldisiloxane; 3-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane; methyltriacetoxysilane (50%)/ethyltriacetoxysilane (50%); methyltrimethoxysilane; methyltris(methylethylketoxime)silane; phenyltrimethoxysilane; polydimethyl siloxanes (PS 340); octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4); tetraethoxysilane; tetramethoxysilane; 1,1,3,3-tetramethyl disiloxane; triethoxysilane; trimethoxysilane; vinyltrimethoxysilane; and vinyltris(methylethylketoxime)silane. Protective gloves tested were nitrile rubber, neoprene rubber, butyl rubber, 4H laminate, and polyvinyl chloride. Garments tested included Tyvek/Saranex 23P, CPF 2, and Responder, all made by Kappler Safety Group. In all cases the protective suit materials lasted 8 hours or more. The only glove that lasted 8 hours against all chemicals was the 4H laminate. The polyvinyl chloride glove lasted 10 min to 8 hours or more depending on the chemical. The nitrile, neoprene, and butyl rubber gloves lasted from 53 min to 8 hours or more depending on the chemical. The alcohol permeation was similar to the organosilicon compounds. The suit materials and the butyl glove all lasted more than 8 hours for both methanol and ethanol.