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Biomedical subjects

M Gochfeld

Publications and source records attributed to M Gochfeld.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Employee assistance program compliance: impact of contrasting insurance coverage.

Employee assistance programs are offered by employers to assist employees with personal problems through professional evaluation of the problem and referral to an appropriate treatment source. Although some research has been conducted to document the effect of these programs on such variables as absenteeism and disciplinary action, little information is available regarding compliance with clinical recommendations, ie, initiating and remaining in prescribed treatment. The present study evaluated the effect of two different rates of insurance coverage for outpatient mental health services offered by two comparable blue-collar organizations. Employees from the organization with a higher rate of payment were significantly more likely to initiate treatment and to remain in treatment longer. This outcome was not accounted for by demographic differences between the groups or by differences in diagnostic categories or treatment approaches. Implications of this finding are discussed as well as the utility of an employee assistance program to prepare employees for treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Quality assurance audits of medical surveillance programs for hazardous waste workers.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Regulation (29 CFR 1910.120) requires medical surveillance examinations for hazardous waste workers. We investigated the consistency and appropriateness of the services provided under OSHA 29 CFR 1910.120 as part of a quality control audit. Our study revealed that in most cases the required paperwork including fitness for duty and restrictions or limitations was completed. However, it is also apparent that many of the components of a complete occupational history were not performed. Spirometric examinations often were performed incorrectly. Documentation of baseline tests was not uniformly done, nor were patients always informed of the findings of their examinations. Our study indicated there may be a lack of education, training, and experience of occupational health providers. This suggests that further efforts should be made to educate physicians and nurses providing medical surveillance and other services to hazardous waste workers.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Fishing a superfund site: dissonance and risk perception of environmental hazards by fishermen in Puerto Rico.

Risk perception studies show that individuals tend to underestimate significant risks, overestimate negligible ones, and distrust authorities. They also rely on a variety of strategies or heuristics to reach decisions regarding their risk-taking behavior. We report on a survey of fishermen and crabbers engaged in recreational and substance fishing in a Puerto Rican estuary (near Humacao), which has been declared a "Superfund site" because of suspected contamination by mercury, and at ecologically similar control sites. Nearly everyone interviewed at the Humacao site was aware of the mercury contamination, but either denied its importance, believed the contamination was restricted to a distant part of the estuary, or assumed that the estuary would be closed by the authorities if the threat was real. All site-users consumed the fish and crabs they caught. At Humacao, the average catch was 7 fish per fishermen (mostly tilapia, Tilapia mossambica, and tarpon, Megalops atlantica) and 13 crabs per crabber (all blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus). On average, the site-users returned to the lagoons about 3-4 times per month. At control sites, fewer fish were eaten. The worst case consumption of tarpon, a species which concentrated mercury at Eastern Puerto Rico, provided an exposure exceeding the EPA reference dose, whereas consumption of one tarpon per week did not entail excess exposure. Fortunately, few individuals caught tarpon exclusively. Unlike counterparts in the northeastern United States, they trusted authorities and indicated that they would have heeded warnings of mercury contamination posted where they fished.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Evaluation of the relative contribution of exposure routes in a health risk assessment of dioxin emissions from a municipal waste incinerator.

Polychlorinated dioxins (PCDDs) and furans (PCDFs) are perceived by the public as the most hazardous materials emitted from municipal waste incinerators. These compounds disperse in the atmosphere and deposit on environmental media, where they may bioconcentrate in the food chain, resulting in a number of potential sources for human exposure. We performed a cancer risk assessment of PCDD/PCDF emissions from a municipal waste incinerator to evaluate the relative contribution of various exposure routes. Three scenarios were examined, all of which predicted ingestion of fish to be a significant source of exposure. In the common case, representative of the general population consuming mainly foods from commercial sources, inhalation was predicted to be the source of greatest exposure, followed by ingestion of fish, beef, milk, vegetation, and soil. In addition to fish, milk and beef ingestion contributed significantly to total exposure under the highly-exposed and worst case scenarios. Life-time cancer risk from the emitted PCDD/PCDFs was assessed for each scenario and was estimated as 1.8 x 10(-7) (common case), 2.5 x 10(-6) (highly-exposed case), and 6.7 x 10(-6) (worst case). In view of the conservative assumptions used in the assessment, the relatively low magnitude of these risks suggests that the PCDD/PCDF emissions from this incinerator should not be considered a significant public health concern.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed1990

Natural observations of smoking behavior: are there sex, age, context- or activity-related differences?

We unobtrusively observed 1979 people smoking one to three cigarettes in a variety of everyday activities. There were gender differences only with respect to group size and composition, and the time the cigarette was in the mouth. For most measures the correlations between behaviors were higher for men than women. There were few significant age differences in smoking behavior. We classified the activities of smokers into six broad categories: study, passive watching, active-involvement, eating and drinking (non-alcohol), waiting rooms and alcohol-related. There were significant differences in all measures (except time in mouth) as a function of the activity categories. Generally, smokers that were actively involved or passively watching had cigarettes lit for longer than smokers actively involved. Generally smokers that were actively involved took fewer puffs per cigarette than other smokers. Number of puffs per cigarette for all activity categories was lower than that reported from laboratory studies.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Role of the physician in environmental medicine.

This article describes the role of the medical history and of laboratory findings in diagnosing diseases caused by environmental chemicals. An understanding of routes of exposure is crucial in appropriate diagnosis and in preventing further harm. A listing of potential sources of information is also included.

Environmental Health↗
PubMed1990

Tissue levels of lead in experimentally exposed herring gull (Larus argentatus) chicks.

Two-day-old herring gull (Larus argentatus) chicks were injected with either 0.1 or 0.2 mg lead/g body mass and were sacrificed at 45 d of age. Control birds were injected with sterile water. We examined lead and cadmium levels in blood, kidney, liver, muscle, salt glands, breast feathers, and bone. In control birds lead levels were highest in bone, feathers, salt gland, and kidney, and lowest in blood, muscle, and brain. In experimental birds lead levels were highest in bone, liver, kidney, and feathers, and lowest in blood, muscle, and salt gland. In control birds cadmium levels were highest in the kidney, followed by liver, with blood and brain being the lowest. Lead-exposed birds had increased cadmium deposition in brain. For experimental birds lead levels were correlated for all tissues except the salt gland. Correlations were particularly high for feathers with brain, kidney, liver and bone, suggesting feathers can be used in biomonitoring of natural avian populations. For cadmium there were no significant correlations among tissue levels except for brain and liver. Bioamplification of lead was greatest for liver and blood, and lowest for muscle and salt gland when comparing a lead dose of 0.1 mg/g with controls.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Microelectronics, radiation, and superconductivity.

Among the costs of technology are health hazards that face employees and consumers. New advances in the highly competitive field of microelectronics involve exposure to a variety of hazards such as gallium arsenide. Small high-technology industries appear unprepared to invest in health and safety. Although stray electromagnetic fields are not a new development, researchers are beginning to assemble data indicating that such fields pose a significant cancer risk under certain circumstances. Data have been obtained on fields associated with power lines on the one hand and consumer products on the other. Although not conclusive, the data are sufficient to warrant carefully designed research into the risks posed by electromagnetic fields. Because the scientific issues require research, there is a need to make basic social value decisions that will determine which technologies will be developed and which ones may be set aside because of their danger at the present time.

Electromagnetic Fields↗
PubMed1989

Medical surveillance of hazardous waste workers: ability of laboratory tests to discriminate exposure.

The assessment and cleanup of hazardous waste sites has become a growth industry. Unlike traditional factory employment, chemical exposures on wastes sites are likely to involve uncharacterized mixtures. Medical surveillance of hazardous waste workers has become a major preventive strategy. To evaluate the effectiveness of the traditional laboratory tests employed in most surveillance programs, we compared test results in two groups of hazardous waste workers (409 males, 68 females) with responsibilities for the assessment and management of waste sites. We stratified employees into a group with a high potential for exposure ("exposed") and a group with a low potential for exposure ("unexposed"). Fifty-five clinical chemistry, hematologic, and urinalysis variables were contrasted using an analysis of variance. The only consistently significant difference was a low mean corpuscular volume in the "exposed" group. The lack of other significant findings suggests that either the true exposure status of individuals was not reflected in our classification or that the traditional tests were inappropriate or insensitive. We conclude that it is essential to evaluate surveillance results carefully and to develop protocols that are appropriate to the actual exposures encountered in hazardous waste work.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Tissue distribution of lead in young common terns: influence of time since exposure.

Newly hatched common tern (Sterna hirundo) chicks were injected at 2 days of age with 0.2 mg/g of lead, and subsets were examined at 1, 2, 3, and 20 days postexposure. Control birds (water injection) had low levels (less than 2 ppb) of lead in liver, kidney, muscle, and brain. Lead-dosed chicks 2 days postexposure had liver and kidney residues greater than 1000 ppb (dry weight), and 3-day postexposure chicks showed substantially higher levels. By Day 20 the lead levels had declined by about half. In all samples the liver residue exceeded the kidney level by a factor of 1.5 to 2 in controls and 4.6 to 10.7 in exposed birds. In control birds, only brain and kidney levels were correlated, whereas in exposed birds kidney and liver, and kidney and muscle were correlated as well.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Evaluation of a work site relaxation training program using ambulatory blood pressure monitoring.

The rising physical, emotional, and economic costs of excess stress in occupational settings have resulted in a proliferation of many work site stress management programs. These programs have attempted to effect reductions in workers' stress by applying standard psychological interventions (ie, muscle relaxation and meditation) to the general work force. The benefits of these interventions for asymptomatic employee populations remain to be established. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the physical and psychologic effects of an occupational stress management program for asymptomatic hazardous waste workers (N = 66). Both laboratory and ambulatory blood pressure (at home and at work) were monitored, and self-reported psychologic symptoms were measured. The results indicate that the stress management techniques decreased the diastolic blood pressure variability of asymptomatic workers (P less than .001); however, unlike previous studies, no reductions in laboratory blood pressures nor in psychologic symptoms were found. The efficacy of the procedures for asymptomatic employees is questioned and suggestions are made for future research.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Dioxins and dibenzofurans in blood and adipose tissue of Agent Orange-exposed Vietnam veterans and matched controls.

Vietnam veterans who were heavily exposed to Agent Orange exceeded matched control subjects in both blood and adipose tissue levels of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) but not in the levels of the 12 other 2,3,7,8-substituted dioxins and dibenzofurans that were detected. Since only TCDD among these compounds was present in Agent Orange but all are present in the population of the industrialized world, it is likely that the elevated TCDD levels arose from wartime exposure. The high correlation (r = +.89) of blood with adipose tissue level suggests that there may be a mobile equilibrium between them and that blood measurement could replace adipose tissue measurement of TCDD levels, making the collection of human data less invasive.

2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic Acid↗