E. Toppila, H. Laitinen, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland; K. Kuisma, Finnish National Opera, Helsinki, Finland.
Musicians playing classical music are known to be exposed to sound levels exceeding the Finnish national criterion level of 85 dB. Still, the measurements of the hearing loss of musicians show controversial results. In our previous studies we have showed that the risk of noise-induced hearing loss is increased by elevated blood pressure, elevated cholesterol level, smoking, use of painkillers, and exposure to vibration. Thus, the vulnerability of musicians may be lower than industrial workers if they have less risk factors. The purpose of the study was to compare the hearing loss of classical orchestra musicians to the hearing loss of industrial workers having the same exposure. Total, 68 musicians from 5 classical orchestras in Helsinki were selected. For the selected musicians the audiograms were measured and the lifetime noise exposure was evaluated. The sound exposure in rehearsals, group rehearsal, and performances were measured using dosimeters. The exposure times were obtained from the orchestra’s worklists. The length of the career was obtained from a questionnaire. The questionnaire also asked about smoking habits and use of painkillers. Blood pressure was measured using an automatic meter (Omron O4) and cholesterol was measured from blood samples. The mean hearing loss of the subjects was 8.5 dB ± 12 dB at 4 kHz. With the same exposure profile, the predicted hearing loss using ISO 1999 (1990) was 18.2 dB. In our previous studies we have shown that the ISO 1999 models give a good estimate for industrial workers. The difference between industrial workers and musicians is in the number of risk factors. Thus, this study suggests that the observed lower hearing loss of musicians is due to a smaller number of risk factors and not to the fact that music is less dangerous to the ear than industrial noise.
J. Olcott, S. Davis, Envirogenics Health and Safety Services, LLC, Hamilton, NJ; R. Palmer, Northeast Construction, Lakewood, NJ.
During the reconstruction of a combined sanitary/storm water over-flow chamber, box culvert, and outfall, contamination was discovered by construction personnel. Sampling and analysis for RCRA Hazardous Waste Classification and EPA Priority Pollutants Plus-40 (PP+40) showed that the material was classified as a RCRA TCLP Hazardous Waste for trichloroethylene and vinyl chloride. Divers, wearing fully-encapsulating Level-A Viking suits, entered a 4’ X 7’ box culvert to collect additional samples, making a 375-foot horizontal penetration. Challenges faced were that the project was in a residential, urban setting, and that the majority of the work was performed under permit-required confined space entry conditions, under supplied airline respiratory protection. Proper selection of chemical resitant PPE was critical due to the skin absorption potential of trichloroethylene. Results for the TCLP analysis showed over 600 mg/L, and over 150,000 mg/Kg of total trichloroethylene. Proper disposal was also an issue, as the material needed to be solidified on site prior to shipment as a hazardous waste. This presentation will show how a CIH may be involved in many practical aspects of a project of this nature from hazard characterization to sampling, analysis, PPE selection, and waste classification and disposal. Air sampling and analysis using Summa canisters and EPA Method TO-15 was performed to ensure that residents were not exposed to volatile contaminants during the project.
D. Cortes, M. Black, Air Quality Sciences Inc., Marietta, GA; D. Isola, Research Institute for Fragrance Materials Inc., Woodcliff Lake, NJ; L. Smith, Quest International Fragrances Company, Mt. Olive, NJ.
In order to improve indoor air quality, fragrance chemicals are sometimes intentionally added to the atmospheric environment. Exposure to fragrance chemicals from some consumer products has not been well characterized. Here we present results from a plug-in air freshener exposure study. Plug-in air freshener units equipped with surrogate fragrance formulations were tested in an environmental chamber over 30 days to produce a concentration profile. Testing was performed in triplicate to establish variability among the air freshener units. The fragrance formulation included equal amounts (8.9% by weight) of benzyl acetate, eugenol, a-hexyl cinnamaldehyde, 1,3,4,6,7,8-hexahydro-4,6,6,7,8,8-hexamethylcyclopenta [g]-2-benzopyran (HHCB), hydroxycitronellal, β-ionone, d-limonene, linalool, and methyl dihydrojasmonate (MDJ) and 20% dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether as the vehicle. Chamber emission rates were determined and translated to typical room scenario exposure concentrations.
For the most volatile fragrances (d-limonene, linalool, and benzyl acetate), the initial hours were characterized by first-order decay, with a steep decline in concentration over time. The maximum predicted room concentration for any one fragrance was 429 µg/m3 for limonene, 3 hours after the unit was plugged in. The decay was much more gradual from 12 to 30 days, with no predicted room concentration exceeding 20 µg/m3. For the least volatile fragrances, constant emission profiles were observed (i.e., decreasing concentration with time was not observed). Due to the low volatility of these fragrances, predicted room concentrations did not exceed 5 µg/m3. The concentration profiles determined in this study can be used in future risk assessment studies.
F. Boelter, C. Simmons, K. Zuber, Boelter & Yates Inc., Park Ridge, IL.
The ventilation model known as the well-mixed room model with constant contaminant emission rate (WMRM) is used to predict concentrations based on a generation rate, room volume, mixing factor, time, and air exchange rate. This model has been validated for gases and vapors where the generation rate is based on vapor pressure and the contaminant has predictable gas phase mixing characteristics. The WMRM applicability to aerosols is less well-understood as often these aerosols are thought not to behave as gases. However, the aerosols of frequent interest to the industrial hygienist are very small in size with low Stokes Law settling velocities and thus should be influenced by the airstreams into which they are introduced. A study was conducted in a test facility of known volume with an aerosol of constant generation but different ventilation rates. A Model 3400 Fluidized Bed Generator was used to create a constant generation rate of aerosol. Ventilation rates were confirmed using ASTM E741-00 Standard Test Method for Determining Air Change in a Single Zone by Means of a Tracer Gas Dilution. Thus validated, the WMRM can be used successfully to estimate exposures under varying air exchange rates when utilizing exposure data determined under an original set of ventilation conditions. This has significant implications where one is using generation rate data collected under “no ventilation” conditions to estimate exposures under various “most likely” scenarios such as in a stochastic analysis. A series of modeled aerosol exposures will be presented where the air change rates have been varied.
P. Esposito, STAR Consultants Inc., Annapolis, MD.
Situation: What is the overall scenario? There are multiple H&S management systems out there, from OHSAS 18000 to OSHA’s Program Management Guidelines. In addition, there are numerous tools to accomplish hazard analysis. However, in a management system world, they look for a “process.” Specifically for this presentation, what is a hazard analysis process?
Problem(s): What problems were encountered? What were “the challenges” in this case study that needed to be overcome? The description of the problem(s) should be what makes the case study interesting. The challenge today, with more and more companies using management systems, is going from “programs” to understanding “processes.”. Not only understanding, but knowing how to communicate this to management and develop implementation strategies that will stand up to management systems audits and truly demonstrate improvement.
Resolution: How was the problem(s) solved? What was learned by you, your organization, your client, your associate, etc.? Through a case study, this presentation will take you through one element of a management system, hazard analysis. Specifically, how a number of companies define their process, establish their audit criteria, and then go about designing implantation strategies so sites can achieve success. What was learned was, regardless of the tool used (FMEA, JHA, Hazop), the hazard analysis “process” can be implemented and evaluated using one set of management system standards.
What attendees will learn is a better understanding of the difference between program and process, as well as a specific process implementation critique.
K. Capwell, Covance Laboratories, Vienna, VA.
Critical elements of management of reproductive hazards include: identification of reproductive hazards, hazard communication, stringent exposure control measures, creating a culture that encourages employees to report reproductive health concerns such as pregnancy, and providing industrial hygiene/occupational health consultation for individual employees. Strategies for ensuring hazard identification and communication in the lab will be presented. Criteria and tools for performing a reproductive health hazard evaluation will be discussed, including use of “occupational reproductive guidelines” and German MAK categories. Specific examples of reproductive health hazard evaluations will be presented, including pregnancy and lactation evaluations for a histology laboratory.
J. Cocciardi, Cocciardi and Associates, Mechanicsburg, PA.
This presentation explains the process, conclusions, and recommendations of doctoral research into significant health and safety characteristics which are reducing fatal occupational injuries and illnesses in hazardous occupations. Hazardous occupations are first defined thru BLS data, and organizations operating safely in hazardous conditions are then statistically identified. Firefighters, police officers, hazardous materials workers, and workers at heights were qualified in this manner. A review of 90 Concensus National Standards applicable to these occupations (including 11 sub jobs), and the application of a statistical tool to the findings identified 22 significantly occurring characteristics, intra-occupationally. These are described and the research concludes occupations may operate safely in both the defined hazards and non-hazardous conditions through a mimicry of these characteristics. The research and presentation is novel in two manners. First, it studies positive characteristics (opposed to faults) in the occupational environment, for the purpose of accident and illness prevention. Second, it studies jobs inter- and intra-occupationally, and identifies that findings may be applied inter- and intra-occupationally as well, with an assumed equal success. The presentatiion concludes with a description for use by the learner of the 22 significantly occurring characteristics.
D. Groover, Behavioral Science Technology Inc., Ojai, CA.
The effectiveness of the behavior-based safety methodology in reducing exposure and injuries has been researched widely. The real value behavior-based safety, and for that matter an improvement system, brings to an organization is when there are upstream indicators that statistically predict downstream results. The problem is that groups are showing anecdotal results and talking about them as though they are meaningful and predictive across a wide range of sites and industries. When this happens, the methodology and approach comes under attack and criticism, rightly so. This talk will focus on two purported predictors of injury rates, percent safe and contact rate. One can be shown to be a predictor of downstream results, the other predictive only in limited circumstances. On the surface it would appear that both of these indicators should be predictive, but put under the microscope of research it becomes quickly evident why one is a pretender.
T. Hogan, B. McCracken, Hogan and Associates, Lemont, IL.
The Incident Command System, originally developed for fighting forest fires, is not an effective tool for managing all phases of a crisis. We will describe how disaster management plans often fail to address many of the issues that must be managed to minimize the impact of crises typically affecting businesses today, such as workplace fires, employee injuries and illnesses, workplace violence, and product recalls. Then we will discuss how to develop a crisis management process that complements the management style of an organization. We will explain how to conduct structured interviews of key personnel within the organization and how to use that information to prepare a short document that someone can pick up and use in the heat of a crisis. Rather than a prescriptive document, the goal of this approach is to focus experienced managers on company-specific principles to make effective decisions to minimize the impact of the crisis on people, the environment, and the business. We will show how to provide guidance that directs the crisis manager to avoid common pitfalls for the major decisions that have to be made in four key areas: overall crisis process management, employee issues, operational issues, and communications. An outline of this process will be presented so attendees can apply this method to develop a crisis management process that fits their organization.
J. Formisano, Navy Environmental Health Center, Portsmouth, VA.
Employers are challenged to determine what impact off-duty activities may have on an organization’s ability to provide goods or services, or reach a pre-determined goal. Recently, the Secretary of Defense instructed the Department of Defense to reduce the numbers of off-duty fatalities and serious injuries by 25% from presently observed levels. In the U.S. Navy Pacific area of operations, within the past 2 years an increasing number of off-duty injuries and fatalities had been noted among active duty service members, including a number of severe injuries and fatalities involving traffic accidents, including motorcycles. Although the military has a more structured system of discipline (rank and military protocol) and legal regulations (Uniform Code of Military Justice) than most corporations, similar problems present themselves when trying to regulate off-duty behavior. Much of the observable behavior is in parallel to the most common behaviors seen in the same age group (17–34) outside the military, which may include expressions of independence manifested as excessive risk-taking, feelings of invulnerability, and poor decision-making affected by alcohol or fatigue. Coordinated efforts to provide training, improve mentorship by more senior personnel, develop new methods of evaluating risk, and generally increase risk awareness, are all presently underway in an effort to reduce the number and severity of off-duty mishaps. It is proposed here that a combination of innovative and established risk communication techniques would be needed to cause an observable decrease in the number of mishaps in a given population. Confounding factors may include privacy concerns, public perception of the “legal right” of any organization (industry or government) to influence off-job behavior, and the effectiveness of media marketing techniques. It is unlikely that any single regulatory effort will have the same effect as a wide variety of training and management techniques used in concert to decrease observed mishaps.
Posted May 30, 2004