D. Gabry, U.S. DOL/OSHA, Washington, DC.
Approximately 10 million workers have hearing loss from exposure to excessive noise at work. Hearing impaired workers face unique workplace challenges, including responding to emergencies, working safely around machinery and moving equipment, communicating, receiving training, and use of hearing protection and hearing aids at work.
The workplace has changed since OSHA’s 1983 Hearing Conservation Standard (1910.95); many workers are aging, have some degree of hearing loss, and are concerned about their readiness to evacuate safely in an emergency. Emergency situations from natural disasters to acts of terrorism have been made a reality. Accommodations and emergency notifications to address these challenges are available but may not be part of an employer’s industrial hearing conservation program or emergency response plan. Choosing the appropriate accommodation and the need for safe workplace practices, including the use of hearing aids and the use of specialized hearing protectors, requires a team approach among management, employees, and the professional in charge of the hearing conservation program. This presentation offers workplace safety and health considerations for hearing impaired workers and specific emergency evacuation/response. OSHA discusses a range of accommodations available for hearing impaired workers to evacuate safely, receive training, respond safely to hazards, and to communicate for both emergency response and general workplace situations. Accommodations include a range of alerting device options, use of specialized hearing protection that may benefit occupationally exposed hearing impaired workers, and customized training mechanisms. OSHA also identifies technical assistance resources to implement accommodations, including specific federal agencies and organizations that provide information on implementing the American with Disabilities Act. Employers need to work with all employees to identify accommodation needs and integrate the elements into hearing conservation practices and emergency response plans for the workplace. The guidance provided will help employers, employees, and other professionals with customizing and establishing procedures in their workplaces for the hearing impaired worker.
S. van der Gijp, P. van Hooft, TNO Defence, Security and Safety, Rijswijk, The Netherlands.
Today, chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) terrorism is considered a major threat to the security of the citizens of the European Union. As a consequence, countering terrorism is one of the focuses in the European Security Programme. The objective of Project IMPACT, an extensive consortium of leading European research and technology organizations, industries, and government agencies is to implement major innovative measures to protect the European Union citizen against the CBRN threat. To achieve this goal, a limited set of scenarios is generated that provides insight in the possible risks of a CBRN event. Next, on the basis of an exchange of best practices in a number of member states, a European mission and operational concept for first responders is defined. These can be used by the European industry as a baseline for material development. A demonstrator for a CBRN early warning and detection system is designed. Simultaneously, a number of biological detection technologies is boosted to enable European industry to be competitive in the world markets in the years to come. Furthermore, the foundations for future material developments in the area of decontamination and physical protection are laid by designing cost-effective and efficient technical solutions in those areas. Finally, standard operating procedures are defined for the sampling, analysis, and transport of CBRN agents.
E. Aton, Saint Louis City LEPC, Saint Louis, MO.
Timely removal of external contaminant(s) is essential to minimizing absorbed dose to a victim of chemical contamination. The most effective decontamination will, therefore, take place in the field prior to medical triage and care. It is intuitive that water-based decontamination will remove some amount of external contamination, but few data exist to document this quantitatively. This experiment studied decontamination of nonambulatory subjects.
Two subjects were sprayed with an aqueous-soluble dye, which fluoresced under
ultraviolet light. The subjects then underwent technical (secondary)
decontamination according to commonly practiced field procedures. Subjects were
then assessed under ultraviolet light to determine the amount of contamination
remaining. All contaminant was removed from one subject and 96.5% was removed
from the other subject. The 3.5% contaminated area was on the bottom of the feet
and is thought, however, to be an artifact, associated with the subject donning
their shoes prior to assessment.
This experiment illustrates that technical decontamination of nonambulatory
victims can be very effective in preparing contaminated victims for medical
triage and care even if such victims reach the technical decontamination step
without going through a gross decontamination step. Whereas in most
decontamination protocols the victims’ clothing and personal effects are removed
and held as forensic evidence, such protocols must assure that victims’ shoes
are confiscated as well, as they may be a source of recontamination.
F. Bolton, D. Volz, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM.
The Los Alamos National Laboratory Hazardous Materials Response Group has performed applications-oriented research in contaminated doffing since 2002. The nature of this research is focused on evaluating how contaminants on external protective garment surfaces can be transferred to unprotected skin or duty uniforms. In early 2004, we recognized the potential application to emergency response services ranging from hazardous materials response to fire fighting and emergency medical services. We subsequently modified the evaluation protocols for the purpose of supporting technical training in personnel decontamination techniques. The modified evaluation protocols are field-deployable and can be used in association with drills and exercises as well as training environments. During 2004 and 2005, these protocols were used with more than two dozen emergency response organizations. This presentation will discuss the lessons we have learned about contaminated doffing, the evaluation protocols, and a brief history of our research experience.
F. Cavender, CTEH, Hendersonville, NC; G. Millner, CTEH, Little Rock, AR.
Following the tragedy of MIC release in Bhophal, India, Emergency Response Planning Guidelines (ERPGs) began to be published in 1988, and more than 120 ERPGs have been developed to date. These science-based guidelines have been used in emergency planning to eliminate catastrophic releases that result in multiple deaths. Manufacturers and users of volative, toxic chemicals have implemented the use of reduced holding tank size and other measures to ensure that an accidental release will not exceed the ERPG-2 level in the cloud emanating from the site. ERPGs are designed to protect workers, neighbors, first responders, and monitoring and cleanup personnel. Over the last several years, ERPGs have been validated as being protective following accidental releases from tank car derailments involving chemicals such as sulfuric acid, vinyl chloride, chlorine, and ammonia. A capsule description of three such releases will be presented in order to illustrate how ERPGs have proved to be accurate and protective through the monitoring of the release site and the signs and symptoms reported by exposed monitoring and other emergency response personnel. In addition, at sites where no real-time monitoring is available early in the response process, the signs and symptoms reported by exposed individuals can be used to determine the approximate exposure levels. This is quite useful in comparing in-house concentrations based on modeling with the concentrations based on the signs and symptoms reported to emergency room personnel and/or occupational physicians.
S. Barnes, Chevron North America Exploration and Production Company, Bakersfield, CA; D. Brown, Chevron International Exploration and Production Company, Houston, TX; G. Hunting, P. Sarmicanic, Chevron Energy Technology Company, Richmond, CA.
The Safety, Fire and Health Functional Team was one of the Chevron emergency response teams mobilized to Pascagoula, Mississippi, and southern Louisiana in September, 2005, to assist company organizations recover from Hurricane Katrina. The hurricane caused damage to some of Chevron’s offshore operations in the Gulf of Mexico, the Pascagoula Refinery, and pipeline operations. In Louisiana, team members filled the safety officer and site safety positions, providing safety, fire, and health guidance to oil spill response workers. They worked with the emergency response organization to develop and implement site safety and health plans and medical plans for oil clean up and demobilization operations. Plans included vaccinations, industrial hygiene monitoring, heat stress management, decontamination and demobilization, hurricane and severe weather action, and security. In Pascagoula, team members assisted the Safety, Health and Environment Department to support the refinery’s damage assessment plan and startup. This included preparation of safety plans for insulation clean up and removal, industrial hygiene monitoring, building mold assessments, heat stress management, field construction and maintenance safety, and medical assistance. In Pascagoula, where temporary shelters were established for displaced Chevron employees and their family members, team members also provided fire protection and safety guidance during planning and construction. The team’s plan, training, and communication allowed for expeditious, well-coordinated responses and smooth integration into the local organizations. Challenges included simultaneous responses to multiple, remote locations and limited resources as many team members were personally impacted by the hurricane. Logistical barriers including closed airports, blocked roads, limited communication, housing shortages, and fuel shortages also presented challenges. The responses provided an opportunity to enhance training and resource materials to further prepare responders for natural disasters and other nonspill events.
B. Doney, West Virginia Air National Guard, Charleston, WV.
This is an account of an environmental response to the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in New Orleans. I was assigned to the newly erected Air National Guard EMEDS facility (tents) in the Belle Chasse Naval Air Station in New Orleans as the Chief Public Health Officer. The EMEDS was the primary care and emergency treatment center for Belle Chasse and many other locations around New Orleans. Starting September 4, 2005, Public Health’s responsibility was force protection for the National Guard (NG) troops at Belle Chasse, and we provided inspections, advice, and resources for many of the troops working in New Orleans. Public health and bioenvironmental engineering officers and technicians were assigned to carry out the work. Our mission was to prevent illness that could result from the environment—radiation, chemicals, food, water, insects, or rodents. We interfaced with preventive medicine teams from the Navy and the Army NG units from the many states that responded. We concentrated our effort on the food and water used by NG troops throughout the city of New Orleans. Bottled water was provided to all the troops for drinking. Ready to eat meals were the initial source of food (later hot meals were prepared), portable toilets were used for latrines, and garbage collection was arranged through local contracts and NG troops. A total of 1255 patients were seen September 4-October 2, 2005. The top eight reasons soldiers, sailors, airmen, and civilians visited the EMEDS facility were other medical/surgical (23%), respiratory complaints (19%), dermatologic (16%), work related injuries (14%), injury/other (5%), heat injuries (3%), gastrointestinal (GI) infections (3%), and eye problems (3%). Attention to food and water safety resulted in a very low number of GI infections and validated the importance of multiservice coordination for preventive medicine.
J. Cardarelli, S. Hudson, EPA, Cincinnati, OH; D. Newell, EPA, Las Vegas, NV.
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall near New Orleans, Louisiana, causing two levee failures and displacing over half a million people. This natural disaster prompted a state and federal response effort unlike any other experienced in this nation. The Environmental Protection Agency deployed regional and national assets to assist search and rescue and recovery operations. This presentation will describe some of the initial recovery efforts conducted between September 11-18, 2005, that involved air monitoring, sampling and characterization of the worst hit areas. Air monitoring and sampling decisions were derived from water and sediment sampling results that indicated potential exposures to volatile organic compounds (VOCs), lead, and arsenic. The purpose of the air monitoring was to ascertain outdoor breathing air quality as the flood waters were pumped out of the city. AreaRAE multisensor instruments were used to detect VOCs in the parts per million range, as well as LEL and oxygen concentration at every monitoring location. These instruments were also equipped to hold up to two additional sensors, including CO, CO2, H2S, Cl2, NO, NO2, SO2, PH3, or HCN. DataRAM 4 instruments were used to log real-time concentrations of median particle size of airborne dust, air temperature, and humidity. Air sampling for metals was conducted using NIOSH Method 7300. The results for all air monitoring and sampling efforts were generally negative for suspected airborne contaminates. This presentation will also discuss the industrial hygiene challenges and decisions (e.g., selecting monitoring locations, monitoring/sampling duration, record keeping) and practical field experiences (e.g., instrument maintenance, calibration, data processing, health and safety, expanding mission) of the air sampling team during the initial recovery phase.
C. Ficklen, NASA, Hampton, VA.
Hurricane Katrina was one of the most powerful hurricanes to make landfall in the United States. NASA had two gulf coast facilities, Stennis Space Center (SSC) in Bay St. Louis, MS, and Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans, LA, that experienced significant impacts. Especially critical was getting MAF back online as they are responsible for the shuttle’s external tank and return to flight counted on MAF becoming quickly operational again. In an effort to assist with the recovery effort, the NASA chief health and medical officer assembled a team of industrial hygiene, public health, and medical professionals to assess needs and provide resources to enable a more rapid recovery.
An issue for a disaster of this magnitude is that many of the EH&S and medical professionals that work at the facility and have significant corporate knowledge may be unable to immediately participate in recovery efforts due to evacuation to other areas or personal property damage. It was of benefit in this situation to send in teams of EH&S and medical professionals from other NASA facilities that had experience in responding to hurricanes to assist. Personnel with a broad range of expertise in emergency response and disaster were chosen to travel to the area and help in addressing issues encountered as recovery efforts progressed. Another component that was crucial to protecting the health and safety of the workforce from each facility was providing information on controlling hazards that they encountered as they worked to restore their personal property damaged by the storm. This presentation will provide an overview of the conditions encountered at the NASA facilities and highlight the efforts undertaken to help the facilities and workers return to normalcy.
Posted May 30, 2006