266
TOXICOLOGY EVALUATIONS: A STREAMLINED PROCESS.
K. Morris-Fine, R. Hollenbeck, The Boeing Company, Seattle, WA.
The Boeing Company has implemented an integrated
process for the introduction of new materials that requires a toxicology
evaluation on all new materials being qualified to engineering specifications.
Several hundred evaluations are conducted each year and an efficient process was
needed to meet engineering
schedules.
Key to the success of the corporate program was the creation of a “chemical profile” data sheet utilized for toxicology evaluations of materials in order to provide consistency in technical evaluations among toxicologists and to decrease turnaround time for the customer. Additionally, processes were developed utilizing these profiles to provide consistency in hazard statements among toxicology evaluations, labeling language, and process-specific hazard communication data sheets. Site safety and health professionals rely on the profiles for quick and accurate information.
Technical criteria were developed for each toxicological property on the chemical profile. These streamlined profiles allow toxicologists to capture and save search data thereby eliminating the need for multiple and redundant searches. The profile is authored by toxicologists in an access database for easy creation and update. The completed profiles can be easily accessed by industrial hygienists and other occupational health professionals through the Boeing intranet.
267
REDUCING WORKPLACE INJURIES IN THE U.S. ARMY VIA THE ARMY SAFETY PERFORMANCE
IMPROVEMENT AND REPORTING SYSTEM.
J. Pentikis, U.S. Army CHPPM, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD.
In recent years, the Department of the Army (DA) has strived to improve its safety record. This effort is in response to the President’s Safety, Health, and Return-to-Employment Initiative, which was instituted to reduce the number of injuries to the federal work force and reduce the associated costs of federal workplace injuries, and the Secretary of Defense’s challenge to the Department of Defense to reduce injuries by 50% by fiscal year 2005. In order for the DA to meet the goals of these directives, the DA developed the Army Safety Performance Improvement and Reporting System (ASPIRE). ASPIRE empowers employees to be responsible for their safety, increases commander injury awareness, and develops a real-time injury reporting and analysis tool. In short, employees can report an unsafe incident, with or without injury, via a web-based interface in less than two minutes; the safety office is instantly notified of the incident and can investigate or remediate a safety hazard within one working day; and the commander is aware of all installation incidents immediately. The two demonstration sites where ASPIRE is being used have reported that injury notification times have been reduced from approximately 60 days to less than a day; the role of the safety office has been transformed from that of a “hand-slapping” organization to an empowering organization where the administration works with employees to improve workplace conditions; and commanders who are deployed or traveling can keep track of incidents at their installation from anywhere in the world where an internet connection exists. Future improvement initiatives include use of hand-held or tablet computer loaded with Occupational Safety and Health Administration, DA, and other data which will increase the ability to close out accident investigations sooner and perform hazard abatement on the spot.
268
ARMY WEB-BASED COMPUTER WORKSTATION SELF-ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.
S. Chervak, U.S. Army CHPPM, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD.
The Department of the Army (DA) employs over 200,000 civilian and 400,000 military personnel. The majority of these employees use computers and computer workstations in their primary work tasks. The high usage rate of computers and the fact that musculoskeletal disorders have been shown to be commonly occurring among computer users has been a source of concern for the DA.
In response to a challenge by the Secretary of Defense to reduce injuries by 50% by fiscal year 2005 within the Department of Defense, the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine’s Ergonomics Program developed a web-based computer workstation self-assessment program (ErgoFix) designed to empower the worker to identify problem areas at their own workstations.
ErgoFix uses job factor statements to identify general problem areas in the user’s workstation. Once ErgoFix has identified general problem areas it generates more specific questions that allow the program to pinpoint areas of concern. Based on the pinpointed areas of concern, ErgoFix then offers a comprehensive set of possible solutions in a report format. The employee can then make the recommended changes to their workstation.
Ergofix allows workers to take an active roll in the promotion of their own health and safety while at the same time takes a step in the reduction of the DA’s injury rates.
269
EASY ERGONOMICS: A GUIDE TO SELECTING NONPOWERED HAND TOOLS.
K. Schultz, Cal/OSHA Consultation, Sacramento, CA.
Of all nonfatal hand tool injuries, 22% are related to the risk factors associated with the development of musculoskeletal disorders (BLS, 2002). Generally speaking, when workers purchase or select nonpowered hand tools for their work, the primary criteria they use is cost, warranty, and availability. In either case, workers may not be selecting the best tool, one that is appropriate for the task and one that fits their hands. For the most part, workers who use nonpowered hand tools do not understand how they can become injured and what the best approach is for selecting the correct hand tool and work postures for the task. This involves understanding ergonomic principles when selecting a nonpowered hand tool.
This poster session will display information from a booklet. The information and a hand tool checklist in the booklet are based on peer-reviewed articles and expert input. The checklist has been evaluated for reliability in identifying the presence or absence of basic ergonomic design features. At the poster session, participants will be able to use the information and the checklist to compare up to two different styles of nonpowered hand tools (e.g., two wrenches or two pliers). In addition, each participant will receive a copy of the booklet.
270
RESULTS OF FOCUS GROUPS ON RESPIRATOR USE AND PRACTICES AMONG ROAD AND
TRANSPORTATION BUILDERS.
B. Doney, M. Greskevitch, D. Groce, CDC/NIOSH, Morgantown, WV.
Many airborne hazards present at workplaces can cause pneumoconiosis, a lung condition that resulted in over 120,000 deaths from 1968–2000. Pneumoconiosis can be prevented, in part by the proper use of respirators. During May 2001–September 2003, we conducted seven focus group meetings in cooperation with the road and transportation building industry: two with union workers and five with management representatives of companies that employed union or nonunion workers. In the focus groups, we studied the types of airborne hazards present at workplaces, control measures used to reduce these hazards, types of respirators used, and barriers impacting respirator use. Focus group participants reported the following exposures: asbestos, asphalt fumes, carbon monoxide, concrete dust and silica, diesel and gasoline fuels, hydrogen sulfide, lead, paint vapors, and welding fumes. Control measures included use of water to suppress dust, local ventilation, closed cabs on equipment, fans or natural air movement, and the use of respirators. Barriers to proper respirator use include high ambient temperatures, fogging of respirator facepieces, difficulty wearing safety glasses with respirators, difficulty communicating while wearing respirators (voice muffled by the respirator and background noise), difficulty or inability to communicate with non-English speakers, high worker turnover and short duration of jobs (making training, medical evaluation, and air monitoring difficult), educational level of workers, and employer difficulty with enforcing correct use. Some of the perceived barriers are design issues that could be resolved by selection of respirators with current advanced technologies or by development of new respirator designs. Other barriers such as worker turnover, education, training, medical evaluation, and language are best addressed by development of improved program administration tools. In 2005, NIOSH is planning a respirator intervention pilot project at highway construction sites to identify remedies for respirator usage barriers identified by the focus groups.
271
CONTROL BANDING PRINCIPLES USED TO REDUCE RISKS OF POTENTIALLY IMMEDIATELY
DANGEROUS TO LIFE AND HEALTH (IDLH) ENVIRONMENTS.
A. Weinrich, CDC/NIOSH, Cincinnati, OH; M. Hoover, CDC/NIOSH, Morgantown, WV.
Control banding is a simplified approach to protecting worker health that uses qualitative exposure assessment to focus resources on exposure controls. It does so by identifying hazard bands relevant to the chemical and exposure conditions and then implementing a series of hazard control practices appropriate for the conditions. Control banding should be especially valuable to small employers and in less developed countries, where resources are limited. Potential exposures to chemicals at IDLH concentrations may occur routinely in areas such as confined spaces or result from unplanned events, such as fires and chemical releases. Incorporation of control banding principles may improve standard hazard control procedures that reduce the likelihood that IDLH environments will occur and limit risks associated with entering environments that may be IDLH.
We have proposed a hierarchy of hazard bands for potentially IDLH environments.
1. Fatal
2. Escape-impairing
a. Acutely neurotoxic
b. Severe eye irritation
c. Severe respiratory irritation
3. Irreversible nonlethal effects
The following hierarchy of exposure control practices anticipates potential chemical releases that may lead to IDLH environments.
(1) Develop emergency action plan
(2) Educate workers
(3) Substitute less hazardous chemicals
(4) Minimize hazardous chemical quantities
(5) Dike or enclose process
(6) Apply other engineering controls
(7) In case of release, employ good OH practices, especially
a. Air monitoring
b. Personal protective equipment
c. Observation and back-up for personnel
d. Decontamination procedures
Applying control banding principles may help to systematize hazard control practices typically applied by occupational hygiene professionals that offer substantial, if imperfect, worker protection in many situations and environments. Because research has not verified the efficacy of these practices under representative circumstances, expert OH advice should be sought and IDLH values or other, reputable, acute exposure guidance applied, especially when chemicals and exposure conditions may result in the most severe hazard bands.
272
HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES EMERGENCY EVENTS SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM (HSEES) IN
POLAND—PILOT STUDY.
S. Czerczak, A. Palaszewska, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Lodz, Poland.
The Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance System (HSEES) maintained by The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) was established to collect and analyze information about acute releases of hazardous substances that need to be cleaned up or neutralized according to particular legislation, as well as threatened releases that result in a public health action such as an evacuation. Data concerning the environmental releases of dangerous substances are frequently lacking regarding the adverse health effects of these exposures on the impacted population. HSEES is the only tracking system that identifies emerging public health threats from acute hazardous environmental exposures in the area of 15 states. HSEES’s goals in the United States are in compliance with ATSDR’s mission to prevent exposure and adverse human health effects and diminished quality of life associated with exposure to hazardous substances from waste sites, unplanned releases, and other sources of pollution present in the environment.
Because HSEES is web-based and can be accessed from anywhere via the Internet with the appropriate security measures, this system can be readily used by any international partners.
According to the HSEES goals in the United States, including the reduction of the morbidity and mortality connected with hazardous substances events, the purpose of the pilot HSEES in Poland is to:
Effects of pilot study comprising implementation of HSEES solutions within one of the Polish voivodships:
273
THE SAFETY DATA SHEET FOR A DANGEROUS SUBSTANCE OR A DANGEROUS PREPARATION IN
POLAND.
S. Czerczak, M. Kupczewska-Dobecka, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine in Poland, Lodz, Poland.
The safety data sheet for a dangerous substance or a dangerous preparation shall include a set of information on dangerous properties of a substance or a preparation as well as on the principles and recommendations for their safe use. It is addressed primarily to the professional users in order to enable them to take the necessary measures in the workplace to ensure safety and to protect human health and the environment. It is forbidden to use dangerous substances and dangerous preparations for professional purposes without having a safety data sheet.
The person placing a dangerous substance or a dangerous preparation on the market on the territory of Poland is obliged to provide the safety data sheet to the recipient of this substance or preparation free of charge not later than on the day of the first supply.
If the safety data sheet does not contain required information, the inspector of chemical substances and preparations, by the decision, shall oblige the individual placing a dangerous preparation on the market in Poland to supplement it within a specified time limit.
A safety data sheet does not have to be submitted for substances and preparations distributed in retail trade available to all consumers. A safety data sheet should be prepared by a competent person. The safety data sheet consists of some information: a manufacturer, an importer, or a distributor; date of compilation/date of updating; identification of the product; composition and information on ingredients; hazards identification; first aid measures; fire-fighting measures; accidental release measures; handling and storage of the product; exposure controls and personal protection measures; physicochemical properties; stability and reactivity; toxicological information; ecological information; handling of waste; transport information; regulatory information; other information.
274
MAC VALUES FOR HARMFUL AGENTS IN THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT ESTABLISHED IN 2004 IN
POLAND.
S. Czerczak, M. Kupczewska-Dobecka, The Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Lodz, Poland.
In 2004, The Expert Group of Chemical Agents proposed 27 MAC values for harmful chemical agents in the working environment in Poland. According to the type of biological effects, the following categories of MAC values are used: NDS–MAC(TWA): maximum admissible concentration; NDSCh–MAC(STEL): maximum admissible short-term concentration; NDS–MAC(C): maximum admissible ceiling concentration.
Interdepartmental Commission for Maximum Admissible Concentrations and Intensities for Agents Harmful to Health in the Working Environment includes representatives of health and labour administration, various sectors of industry, trade unions, and research institutes in the fields of occupational medicine and work safety. The Commission has appointed the Group of Experts for Chemical and Dust Agents and the Group for Physical Factors, consisting of independent experts in the fields of toxicology, occupational medicine, and occupational hygiene. The experts prepare health-based documentation for recommended exposure limits along with analytical procedures, recommendations with respect to pre-employment, and periodical medical examinations and contraindications to exposure.
The proposed MAC values are then the subject of evaluation by the Interdepartmental Commission and acceptance by the Minister of Labour and Social Policy. The MACs lists are published in the Law Gazette. These are hygienic standards valid for all branches of the national economy.
To 2002, there are 441 MAC values for chemical substances in Poland (The Ordinance of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy on the maximum admissible concentrations and intensities of harmful to health agents in the working environment, J. of Law 217, item 1833).
In the Polish system, the MAC and MAI values documentation are published quarterly in the publication of the Interdepartmental Commission, Principles and Methods of Assessing the Working Environment, which makes it possible for occupational physicians and sanitary inspectors to become acquainted with the problem.
275
SAFETY CULTURE AND SAFETY EFFECTIVENESS: A CASE OF CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IN
TAIWAN.
C. Tsaur, Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Taipei, Taiwan Republic of China; J. Rock, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX; C. Kuo, Chung Yuan University, ChunLee, Taiwan Republic of China.
This research developed a safety culture structure for the construction industry in Taiwan and investigated its effects on employees’ risk perception and safety satisfaction, participative behavior and risk behavior, and microaccidents for verifying the usefulness of safety culture to occupational safety management. Analysis of a sample of 631 employees from Taiwanese construction industry showed: (1) safety culture of construction industry in Taiwan has four dimensions: safety system, safety support, safety commitment, and safety specification; (2) safety culture can increase employees’ safety satisfaction and participative behavior, and reduce employees’ risk perception; (3) safety culture can significantly predict microaccidents after controlling individual risk perception, safety satisfaction, participative behavior, and risk behavior, which proved safety culture’s function to reduce worker’s occupational accidents. Theoretical and practical implication of safety culture and the possible direction of future research were also discussed.
276
CHARACTERISTICS OF AIRBORNE PARTICULATES IN SUBWAY STATIONS IN SEOUL.
N. Paik, J. Kim, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
The purpose of this study was to investigate characteristics of airborne particulates in subway stations in Seoul, Korea. To investigate size distribution of airborne dusts, a total of 50 sets of air samples were collected using size-selective samplers in 14 subway stations. Four types of air samples, including total suspended particulates (TSP), inhalable particulate mass (IPM), thoracic particulate mass (TPM), and respirable particulate mass (RPM), were simultaneously collected. Total suspended particulates were measured using the NIOSH method 0500. Airborne concentrations of IPM, TPM, and RPM were measured by gravimetric method, using IOM Inhalable Dust Sampler (SKC, USA), GK 2.69 Respirable/Thoracic Cyclone (BGI, USA), and Aluminum Cyclone (SKC), respectively. Airborne concentrations of TSP, IPM, TPM, and RPM were all log-normally distributed. Thus, geometric mean (GM) and geometric standard deviation were calculated to represent data. The GMs of airborne TSP, IPM, TPM, and RPM concentrations were 176 µg/m3, 348 µg/m3, 158 µg/m3, and 104 µg/m3, respectively. Thus, the TSP concentrations were significantly lower than IPM concentrations and higher than TPM and RPM concentrations. The dust concentrations were highest at crowded pathway and lowest at lobby. The size distribution of dusts was significantly different by sampled location. As far as the respirable dusts are concerned, the RPM fractions were 40, 33, and 24% in dusts collected at platform, pathway, and lobby, respectively. It was also found that the RPM fraction of dusts increases as the subway level goes down deeply. In conclusion, the concentration and size distribution of airborne dusts in subway stations are significantly different by location, such as lobby, pathway, and platform, and by the level of basement.
277
CHARCTERISATION OF BIOAEROSOLS IN A HEALTH CARE FACILITY IN INDIA.
S. Ravisankar, P. Srikanth, R. Steinberg, K. Balakrishnan, Sri Ramachandra Medical College & Research Institute, Chennai, India.
Introduction. Although global consciousness of the dangers of bioaerosols has risen over the past few years, prevention and policy formulation has been hampered by lack of meaningful data and analysis on the subject, especially in developing countries. Our study attempts to evaluate the profile of bioaerosols, establish sampling methods, check for correlation with reported health symptoms, and assess prevalence of nosocomial pathogens in a health care facility. Method. Air sampling at various sites was carried out, using an impinger attached to sampling pump and settle plates. Health related questionnaires were administered to personnel at the sites and their nail bed swabs collected and cultured. Sampling media included peptone water and nutrient broth, and nutrient, blood, and MacConkey agar as settle plates. Results. Microbiological profile included:
Respiratory and skin-related symptoms predominated among personnel in the wards, laboratory, and BWD; gastrointestinal symptoms among workers in ETP; while laundry workers suffered from all three symptoms. Nail bed swabs showed 36% personnel to be colonized with nosocomial pathogens. Conclusion. While the systematic profile of location-influenced bioaerosols such as E.coli in the laundry (soiled linen) and effluent treatment areas was expected, the isolation of Shigella from the biomedical waste site is a major concern.
The pilot study results indicate that bioaerosols in health care facilities in India may be a significant occupational safety and health concern. It also points out the need for generating a more comprehensive profile for implementing interventions.
278
A HOT TOPIC: IMPROVING VENTILATION EQUATIONS FOR EXOTHERMIC PROCESSES.
J. McKernan, CDC/NIOSH, Cincinnati, OH; M. Ellenbecker, University of Massachusetts-Lowell, Lowell, MA.
Exothermic processes create potentially unsafe work environments for an estimated 5–10 million American workers. These processes are present in a multitude of industries including chemical, plastic, rubber, glass, and primary metals. Although excessive heat and process contaminant exposure have the potential to cause adverse health effects in workers, insufficient attention has been given to improving engineering control technologies for these processes. The objective of this research was to investigate this knowledge gap. A review of historic and modern heat transfer and meteorological theory were conducted, leading to the development of new ventilation equations to provide improved control of exothermic processes. Subsequently, laboratory data were collected to validate the new and currently accepted ACGIH equations. In laboratory experiments, axisymmetric centerline velocity data were collected using a hot-wire anemometer at varying heights above a model exothermic process. Laboratory results were compared to predicted results from both the new and ACGIH equations. Statistical analyses were conducted for the difference between the laboratory velocity results and predicted velocity results from both the ACGIH and new equations using a one-sample t-test. Mean difference, variance of the difference, and t-test p-values when comparing the ACGIH equations with laboratory data were 0.016 m/s, 0.005, < 0.0001. Mean difference, variance of the difference, and t-test p-values when comparing the new equations with laboratory data were -0.006 m/s, 0.006, 0.298. Analyses indicate that the new equations have the potential to more accurately predict ventilation rates to capture the entire potential thermal plume flow.
279
A STUDY OF THE REMOVAL EFFICIENCY OF BERYLLIUM OXIDE DUST FROM CONTAMINATED
CLOTHING USING AIR SHOWERS.
M. McCawley, McCawley Consulting, Morgantown, WV; T. Frigon, Brush Wellman, Tucson, AZ; M. Kent, Brush Wellman, Elmore, OH.
A study was done at a beryllium oxide ceramics operation to determine the efficiency of the air showers at removing beryllium from workers’ clothing. Workers were issued new shirts that were worn over their regular uniforms for a period of up to three days before they were taken through the air showers. Multiple sections of the shirts were analyzed for the concentrations of beryllium before and after using the air shower.
The removal efficiency of the air showers ranged from approximately 18 to 28%. The coefficient of variation between samples was 41%, and ranged from approximately 18 to 79% within single shirts. Workers had one of the back center sections of their shirts vacuumed through a mixed cellulose ester filter to collect the mechanically removable material from the shirt. At best only 10% of the beryllium that could be chemically dissolved from the samples could be vacuumed off, a result similar to the air showers’ efficiency. This means that individual characteristics, could make a considerable difference in the measured removal efficiency from any single garment. These results were strongly influenced by the removal efficiency of the shirts that were most heavily loaded. The conclusion that could be drawn is that the air showers are effective at removing some beryllium from clothing samples if the loading is “high,” unlikely on a daily basis. For normal activity, then, the air showers may be of little use in reliably removing measurable quantities of beryllium. This may be because it is difficult to detect the small amounts of beryllium that are removed or because small amounts of beryllium are not easily removed. In the latter case, this beryllium may then not be available for cross contamination of other surfaces.
280
THE EFFECTS OF DILUTION VENTILATION ON CONCENTRATIONS OF FORMALDEHYDE AND PHENOL
IN A GROSS ANATOMY LABORATORY.
M. Osborne, K. Hahn, D. Butgereit, D. Englund, C. Rice, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH.
Gross anatomy laboratories have long been known to be the sources of potential exposures to formaldehyde and phenol—both components of the embalming solution used to preserve cadavers. While faculty may be monitored and protected under the OSHAct, students participating in these laboratories remain an underrepresented population. The purpose of this study was to evaluate potential exposures to phenol and formaldehyde vapors that may be encountered by students and faculty working in a gross anatomy laboratory. The study included an evaluation of air concentrations for both chemicals as well as an evaluation of the dilution ventilation system in the laboratory. A total of 24 samples were collected during the three-day evaluation period. Phenol and formaldehyde concentrations were evaluated with the ventilation system turned off and with the ventilation system operating. Additionally, background levels were evaluated in order to gather information for exposures that may be encountered by cleaning and maintenance staff. Airborne concentrations of phenol ranged between 0.19 and 0.48 ppm (mean = 0.27, SD = 0.12) and formaldehyde concentrations ranged between 0.26 and 0.65 ppm (mean = 0.37, SD = 0.16) with the ventilation system operating. When the ventilation system was turned off, the concentrations of phenol ranged between 0.31 and 0.87 ppm (mean = 0.54, SD = 0.27) and formaldehyde concentrations ranged between 0.59 and 0.89 ppm (mean = 0.72, SD = 0.13). The background concentration for phenol was below the limit of detection (0.005 ppm) and the background formaldehyde concentration was measured at 0.02 ppm. All results were compared to occupational exposure limits. The dilution ventilation system was determined to be operating below design specifications. Therefore, while concentrations of both airborne contaminants were noticeably lower when the ventilation system was operating, concentrations would likely be lower if the ventilation system were operating at design specifications.
281
EVALUATION OF A HIGH-EFFICIENCY FILTER-BANK SYSTEM.
S. Martin, E. Moyer, CDC/NIOSH, Morgantown, WV; B. Beamer, University of Wisconsin-Stout, Menomonie, WI.
In November 2001, the United States Postal Service (USPS) asked the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for technical assistance in evaluating new USPS ventilation and filtration systems (VFSs). These prototype VFSs were developed by outside vendors and had been installed on critical mail processing equipment in response to the 2001 bioterrorist attacks, when the USPS unknowingly processed letters laden with B. anthracis spores. In response to the USPS request for assistance, NIOSH investigators evaluated the overall filtration efficiencies of these VFSs at three USPS processing and distribution centers. The new VFS units included high-efficiency particulate air filters and were required by USPS contract specifications to provide an overall filtration efficiency of 99.97% or better. Because no testing standards or procedures existed to meet the USPS requirements, the USPS evaluation involved a modification of an American Society of Agricultural Engineers methodology used to test total filtration efficiency in agricultural tractor cab enclosures. Optical particle counters, that were carefully calibrated and matched as a set, were placed upstream and downstream of the filter banks within the VFS housing. This modified sampling strategy proved effective for monitoring the filtration component of VFS performance. The results clearly showed that this testing method is capable of monitoring overall filtration efficiencies of 99.97% and higher. The method was also effective as a tool to distinguish between filtration units performing to the high USPS performance criteria and those needing repair, redesign, or replacement. Further, the modified methodology used for the USPS study is readily adaptable to any workplace wishing to evaluate air filtration systems, including high-efficiency systems.
Posted May 30, 2005