The following articles, from the September 2022 issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, are now available on the website of JOEH publisher Taylor & Francis:

Wearable Inertial Sensors for Objective Kinematic Assessments: A Brief Overview

By Mark C. Schall Jr., Howard Chen, and Lora Cavuoto

The authors discuss inertial measurement units, or IMUs, which are devices that combine accelerometers, gyroscopes, and magnetometers and are used to measure ergonomic forces. Noting that some OEHS practitioners are concerned about the accuracy of these devices, the authors explain the principles of IMU operation and the factors that can account for disagreement between IMUs from different manufacturers. The article concludes with recommendations for selecting and using IMUs in the field.

Assessment of Pesticide Safety Knowledge and Practices in Vietnam: A Cross-Sectional Study of Smallholder Farmers in the Mekong Delta

By Anaïs Galli, Mirko S. Winkler, Thuy Doanthu, Samuel Fuhrimann, Tuyen Huynh, Eric Rahn, Christian Stamm, Philipp Staudacher, Tung Van Huynh, and Georg Loss

This article reports the results of a survey designed to assess farmers’ knowledge of pesticide safety practices in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. According to the survey results, the personal protective equipment used most often during pesticide application were surgical masks and cloth face coverings; less than half of survey respondents reported having access to PPE of any sort. The respondents most knowledgeable about pesticide safety were significantly more likely to have attended educational programs on sustainable agriculture.

Field Study of Early Implementation of UV Sources and Their Relative Effectiveness for Public Health and Safety

By Jennifer Henderson, Ben Ma, Martin Cohen, Joel Dazey, John Scott Meschke, and Karl G. Linden

This article describes a study conducted at the Space Needle in Seattle of six devices that use ultraviolet germicidal irradiation, or UVGI, as a disinfection system for SARS-CoV-2. The study assessed four low-pressure mercury vapor lamp devices and two krypton chloride devices for their efficacy in disinfecting the virus and their potential effects on human health. The researchers concluded that “the use of the far UVC devices at the Space Needle does not appear to put ‘healthy’ workers . . . in danger,” but cautioned that “some of the devices may not provide the desired benefit if operated as intended.”

Hierarchy of Contamination Control in the Fire Service: Review of Exposure Control Options to Reduce Cancer Risk

By Gavin P. Horn, Kenneth W. Fent, Steve Kerber, and Denise L. Smith

The authors review efforts to protect firefighters at every level of the hierarchy of controls, including PPE; administrative controls such as changes to fire attack tactics, crew rotations, and post-fire cleaning; engineering controls such as ventilation to reduce exposures to diesel exhaust; substitution of flame retardants with other methods of fire suppression; and eliminating some of the risk of firefighting through education of local communities about risky materials, products, and behaviors.

Derivation of Maximum Permissive Switching Time for Automatic Welding Filter Based on Retinal Thermal and Blue Light Exposure Limits

By Jinglin Shang, Shiling Chen, and Yuewen Cao

Automatic welding filters, or AWFs, protect a welder’s eyes by automatically switching from a “light state”—a degree of transparency appropriate in the absence of an arc—to a “dark state” when the arc is initiated. The time it takes to switch from the light state to the dark is known as the “switching time.” Several organizations have developed standards that specify the maximum allowable switching time to protect the welder’s vision. This study derives switching times based on exposure limits published by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).

Thermogravimetric Analysis of Respirable Coal Mine Dust for Simple Source Apportionment

By Lizeth Jaramillo, Eleftheria Agioutanti, Setareh Ghaychi Afrouz, Cigdem Keles, and Emily Sarver

This paper reports results of a study intended as proof-of-concept for a method of thermogravimetric analysis of respirable coal mine dust. The method splits the dust into coal, carbonates, and non-carbonate minerals mass fractions, allowing apportionment of the dust in many mines.

Effect of UV-C Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) on the Structural Integrity of N95 and KN95 Respirators

By Naurah Mat Isa, Yusof Hamzah, Khairul Azhar Abdul Halim, Baderin Osman, Azraai Bahari Nasruddin, and Suraya Amir Husin

The authors found that treating certain N95 and KN95 filtering facepiece respirator (FFR) models with UVGI for disinfection purposes had no effect on their filtration efficiencies for up to 100 disinfection cycles. The treatment likewise had negligible effects on the FFRs' straps after 10 cycles.

AIHA members can access the articles by clicking on the link to JOEH in their member profiles.