D. Hammond, G. Earnest, R. Hall, CDC/NIOSH, Cincinnati, OH.
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) researchers evaluated the performance of exhaust stacks retrofitted onto houseboat generators at Lake Cumberland, Ky. The exhaust stack is a new technology that NIOSH has repeatedly evaluated in recent years. Those evaluations showed that the exhaust stack reduced carbon monoxide (CO) exposures by up to 99%. The Houseboat Industry Association requested that NIOSH evaluate exhaust stack performance under high temperatures and humidities, high generator loads, extra boat weight, and at night in a cove. Most houseboat manufacturers currently use side exhausted generators. Three exhaust configurations were evaluated: side-exhaust, vertical stack, and flagpole stack. Ambient test conditions ranged from 18–31°C with relative humidities of 32–95%. Study results showed that stacks were safer than side exhaust under all conditions tested. During the side exhaust evaluation, CO concentrations on the swim platform exceeded 1000 ppm and average concentrations were approximately 341 ppm. Evaluation of the vertical exhaust stack for all conditions had average CO concentrations on the swim platform generally below 5 ppm and peaks below 50 ppm. Evaluation of the flagpole stack was similar with peak CO concentrations below 20 ppm and average concentrations below 2 ppm. CO concentrations measured on the upper decks were lower for stack than side exhaust [peak of 178 ppm (vertical stack)/ 94 ppm (flagpole stack) vs. 929 ppm (side)]. Although the exhaust stacks generally performed well, NIOSH engineers recommend that modifications to reduce static pressure in the stack be made to improve performance. Peak concentrations on the upper deck could be further reduced by extending the stack. This study showed that houseboats having gasoline-powered generators with properly designed exhaust stacks will reduce CO exposures and poisonings.
E. Bishop, Parsons, Pasadena, CA.
Acute Exposure Guideline Levels (AEGLs) are a new exposure guidance level for protecting the public in the event of accidental or intentional (i.e. terrorist attack) release of chemicals. AEGLs were recently accepted as the emergency planning guidelines for chemical warfare agent demilitarization sites including Anniston, Ala., where chemical agent is currently being destroyed.
After the Bhopal disaster of 1984 in which approximately 2000 residents living near a chemical plant were killed, the 1986 Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization required the U.S. EPA identify extremely hazardous substances (EHSs), and assist local emergency planning committees by providing guidance for health hazard assessments for emergency response plans for communities near EHS production and storage facilities. In 1995, the National Advisory Committee for AEGLs for hazardous substances was established to identify, review, and develop AEGLs for high priority, acutely toxic chemicals. AEGLs are developed under a very rigorous public and peer review process that includes public comment, open meetings, and final review by the Committee on Toxicology (COT) of the National Research Council.
The author is a member of the COT AEGL committee and will describe the AEGL review process from an industrial hygiene perspective focusing on analytical methods and exposure generation methods when evaluating laboratory exposures and potential issues associated with occupational exposure data. The presentation will also address industrial hygiene and emergency planning issues in the development and use of the AEGLs, and the use of AEGLs for emergency planning.
J. Reutter, EduClarity, Montgomery, AL.
Under the international Chemical Weapons Convention, disposal of chemical weapons is to be completed by 2007. The weapons, accumulated during the Cold War and stored in eight facilities across the United States, are deteriorating and pose a threat to the communities in which they are kept. Weapons must be disposed of in a safe and timely manner, with consideration for the health and safety of citizens living in the surrounding communities. The Anniston Army Depot, located near 62,000 Alabama residents, stockpiles 2200 tons of chemical munitions. The Depot is the third facility to destroy weapons but the first to undertake disposal near a civilian population center. To protect citizens, the U.S. Army agreed to provide protection equipment under the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP).
A CSEPP training and distribution center was opened to train and equip citizens, including infants and the elderly. Training had to be completed within a 120-day timeframe. Problems to be solved included provisioning a secure recordkeeping system accounting for every piece of equipment, residence, and citizen. Citizens had to be medically screened for suitability for respiratory devices, and confidentiality of medical records had to be assured. Training equipment had to be kept sanitary. Equipment exposed to HIV, TB, and other airborne pathogens had to be safely disposed.
Lessons learned: Successful processing of a large volume of citizens within a short timeframe requires a significant logistics effort, a customer caring attitude, a focus on the health and safety of citizens and employees, professional training protocols, paperless recordkeeping, and tightly managed flow of customers. With heightened domestic security concerns, rapid dispersion of global viruses, continued risk from deteriorating weapons, and increasingly necessary short turnaround deployment of community health and safety protection and prevention measures, the Anniston CSEPP experience provides valuable insight for future operations involving the public.
B. Schlegel, UMDNJ School of Public Health/EOHSI, Piscataway, NJ.
The Safe Schools Program with support from the New Jersey Department of Education has provided occupational safety and health help to schools for more than 10 years. As part of this program, a special task force was convened to make recommendations to the state regarding what high risk work activities should be prohibited and/or restricted for minors participating in school-sponsored structured learning experiences at work sites. The hazards associated with minors had not been reviewed for many years. Twenty-six task force members from the federal government, state government, schools, private industry, academia, and professional associations participated. Over the course of a year, the task force reviewed existing state and federal child labor law restrictions for hazardous occupations, accident and injury data reported in the literature, and accident data reported to the New Jersey Department of Education. A draft list of prohibited and restricted work activities was developed and sent to schools and interested stakeholders in New Jersey for further comment and to assess the potential impact on school-sponsored programs. Fifty comments were received. Based on the task force recommendations and public comments, a final list of 39 prohibited and 22 restricted work activities was submitted to the New Jersey Department for further action. Restricted work activities were only permitted for students in approved cooperative education and apprenticeship programs. Key to protecting students was the need for additional information and training for students, teachers, and administrators. This review was coupled with proposed changes to state licensure and certification requirements for teachers involved in placing students at work sites including a new requirement for occupational safety and health training.
D. Bryant, Central Missouri State University, Warrensburg, MO.
In metropolitan Kansas City, Healthy Homes Network, a community-based non-profit with more than 40 partner organizations, is working to improve urban indoor environmental quality. Funded by a Department of Housing and Urban Development Demonstration Grant, the Healthy Homes Network is developing practical, cost-effective solutions that improve the living environments of environmentally-ill children.
Healthy Homes Network needed technical expertise to determine which indoor environmental contaminants to test for, because causal relationships between childhood illnesses and many contaminants, including mold, is poorly understood. Additional technical problems included the design of sampling protocols and interpretation of the sampling results. Healthy Homes Network also needed to select remedial actions that reduce exposures within a limited budget for each household.
To address these issues, Healthy Homes Network contracted with an industrial hygienist to serve as technical director. The primary role of the industrial hygienist is to assure the quality of the indoor environmental data collected to justify selected interventions. In addition, the industrial hygienist provides training and supervision for community residents, titled Healthy Homes Specialists, who work with affected families to implement the appropriate interventions funded by the project.
Industrial hygienists must become involved with community-based organizations engaged in research addressing our professional interests. This project requires collaboration between technical experts from hospitals, public health agencies, and neighborhood alliances to effectively reduce the conditions producing asthma and chronic allergies in children in urban areas. Industrial hygienists are not used to conducting research with children, where human subjects concerns can be problematic. The investigative skills and technical expertise which lie at the core of industrial hygiene practice are transferable from occupational settings to social issues like indoor environmental quality. Industrial hygienists are integral to the process of seeking data-driven, reproducible, economically viable solutions to the indoor environmental quality problems of urban residents.
C. Keil, J. Haney, A. Boros, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH; M. Bisesi, Medical College of Ohio, Toledo, OH.
Difficulties are often encountered when communicating with the general public about environmental health (EH) topics. The multitude of science and health disciplines involved, as well as the maze of regulations, guidelines, and policies can create barriers to effective communication with stakeholders regarding EH issues. Our team of EH scientists and K–12 grade educators has developed a model that enables the non-specialist to grasp the key concepts surrounding a variety of EH problems. The model provides a framework for tracking environmental agents from their sources through environmental media to human receptors and, in turn, explores the resulting health hazards and societal responses. The model has been used to teach EH concepts and address EH problems to 60 middle grade teachers, over 2000 middle grade students, and over 100 undergraduate and graduate university students. A wide variety of EH concepts and problems, involving both occupational and non-occupational environments, have been explored using this approach. The topics explored to date include: food-borne disease outbreaks, proposed bans on smoking in public places, indoor air quality in aging schools, plans to build a “peaker” electric power plant in a rural community, risks associated with household chemical use, occupational exposure to beryllium, and the potential impacts of a large scale dairy farm. The model is a flexible tool allowing for entry into an EH investigation from a variety of starting points such as illness of possible environmental origin, questions about sources of environmental agents, or a need to understand legislation and litigation. Also, the scope and depth of the exploration of the topics can be easily modified for the audience. Assessment of individuals trained in applying the model demonstrates an attainment of increased knowledge and substantial understanding of the multifaceted nature of the EH issues studied.
E. Aton, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO; V. Stehlin, Saint Louis Metropolitan Police Department, Saint Louis, MO.
First responders face unique health and safety risks associated with large-scale protests. In May 2003, Saint Louis (STL) hosted a symposium on plant genetics. This symposium attracted interest by individuals and groups concerned with genetic engineering, animal experimentation and use, and other societal issues. History of these groups’ protests in other large cities indicated a high potential for health and safety risks to first responders keeping the peace during protests by these individuals and groups.
STL planners incorporated industrial hygiene (IH) support in the preparation for these protests. The variables assessed by IH included potential deployment of toxic chemicals, bodily fluids and similar organic materials, non-ionizing radiation, and, with a lower probability, deployment of a biological or radiological agent. In this recognition and evaluation phase the IH risk assessment included probability of agent used (based on intelligence gathered by law enforcement) and potential for health hazard associated with the agent. Proposed control measures were incorporated into global operational plans for protection of life and property and enacted at the time of the protests. These included use of personal protective equipment and designation of work areas at a distance from protestors as feasible. The IH staffed the command post during the protests to provide health insight for changing tactics by the protestors. As a result of this planning and implementation of control measures, no first responders suffered health effects from this protest activity.
R. Soule, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA; R. Soule, Neogen Corporation, Lansing, MI.
There has been an alarming increase in recent years in the number of food product recalls due to allergens present as undeclared or as a result of accidental cross-contact. The number of food-allergy patients in the U.S. is on the rise. Six to seven million Americans suffer from food allergy, resulting in nearly 30,000 emergency room visits, 2000 hospitalizations, and 200 deaths each year. Nearly 90% of the allergic reactions are accounted for by eight food sources: peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, eggs, milk, soy, and wheat.
These developments have made food allergens a critical point of focus in many food processing and handling operations. Critical components of the overall allergen control program include preventive measures such as assuring identification of all allergenic ingredients in products as well as the dedication of processing equipment to either allergen-free or allergen-containing products. Where such process system dedication is not feasible, an effective sanitation program must be established to ensure that no allergen residue remains on equipment or other product contact surfaces in order to prevent inadvertent cross-contact. Products that do not contain allergens can be scheduled for the start of a production run; allergen-containing products then can be scheduled for the end of the production run, minimizing the impact of any cross-contact.
In addition to controlling ingredient sources, storage, and movement of a product through the plant, the key to a successful allergen control program is strategic use of allergen detection tests to verify that cleaning procedures have been effective. Appropriate allergen tests can be used on raw materials before they enter the production phase, on the product at any point during processing, and on the processing equipment itself. The ease of use and flexibility of these tests allow users to pinpoint and eliminate possible risks for cross-contact.
M. Geyer, SCS Engineers, Long Beach, CA.
This case study will present the development, design, and ultimate construction of over 600 residential homes in California on a petroleum well field with significant environmental challenges. At the surface, the field had numerous active oil and natural gas (methane) seeps. Developers lined up to clean up the site, close over 100 old oil wells, remove surface contamination, and mitigate oil and gas seepage zones.
Problems at the site included more than seeps. The presence of surface seeps was facilitated by vertical bedrock fractures due to the Whitter Earthquake Fault Zone that bisected the site. A portion of the development was in a flood control basin and the perimeter was in a high-hazard fire zone. The earthquake, flood, and fire hazards were easily engineered away, as compared to challenges the seeps presented. While oil seeps did not present a significant threat to site residents, the methane gas hazards did.
A significant effort was undertaken to map the site’s geology and identify all seeps. During grading and geotechnical efforts, drains and vents were installed, some as deep as 40 feet, to intercept oil and/or gas seeping up from the petroleum reservoir. Once “clean”, merchant builders lined up to begin construction. Each builder was required to mitigate potential vapor intrusion into each structure and install dams in utility trenches to mitigate lateral gas movement. Moreover, monitoring wells were placed throughout the site to warn authorities of possible gas seepage.
The project has progressed over 8 years. CC&Rs include oil and gas mitigation plans and provide for an Environmental Monitor. Certificates of completion and occupancy are currently being granted and families are moving into a new development. The success of this project was due to many professions working together to provide one of the most comprehensive mitigation efforts of its kind.
L. Brosseau, A. Fredrickson, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN; M. Casey, Consultant, St Paul, MN.
We conducted three focus groups with small manufacturing business owners, in preparation for a study of print material effectiveness in changing beliefs and attitudes. The goal was information that would help us design a safety and health newsletter that owners would consider appealing and useful. Each group consisted of six to eight owners of manufacturing businesses in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area. We recruited manufacturers with 10 to 50 employees in business for at least 2 years by phone and mail, using key informants and a business database. Participants described what they read for their business and where they go for health and safety information. They also evaluated the content and format of several newsletter and article samples. Participants list general business and trade publications and newspapers as their most frequent choice of business-related reading materials. Sources of information include insurance companies, trade associations, safety consultants, and OSHA. Many indicated, however, that they did not have a good source for such information. The important aspects of newsletter format include length (no more than 4 pages, maximum 10 min reading time), a table of contents on the front page with a synopsis of each article, short articles (300–400 words, 2–3 min reading time) with bullets and tables, large type size, and 3-hole punch. Some participants think that color is important, while others think it can be over-used. The sponsor of a newsletter should be apparent; the nature of the sponsor matters to some owners. Participants like articles that discuss real-world situations, have eye-catching headlines, educate and give solutions, use bulleted or numbered lists, and concentrate on facts. Important health and safety issues include workers compensation claims, ergonomics, personal protective equipment, fork lift trucks, electrical cords, air hoses, back injuries, chemicals, lockout/tagout, waste disposal, regulatory compliance, and written policies.
Posted May 30, 2004