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PubMed2004

Constructing and dismantling frameworks of disease etiology: the rise and fall of sewer gas in America, 1870-1910.

For roughly forty years, from 1870 to 1910, Americans recognized and feared gases emanating from sewers, believing that they were responsible for causing an array of diseases. Fears of sewer gas arose from deeper anxieties toward contact with decomposing organic matter and the vapors emitted from such refuse. These anxieties were exacerbated by the construction of sewers across the country during the mid-to-late-nineteenth century, which concentrated waste emanations and connected homes to one another. The result was the birth of sewer gas and the attribution of sickness and death to it, as well as the development of a host of plumbing devices and, especially, bathroom fixtures, to combat sewer gas. The rise of the germ theory, laboratory science, and belief in disease specificity, however, transformed the threat of sewer gas, eventually replacing it (and the larger fear of miasmas) with the threat of germs. The germ theory framework, by 1910, proved more suitable than the sewer gas framework in explaining disease causation; it is this suitability that often shapes the relationship between science and society.

Air Pollution↗
PubMed2005

[Evaluation of gaseous biotrickling filter transient performance for TEX removal].

The gaseous stream laden with toluene, ethylbenzene and the three xylenes (TEX) compounds is used to evaluate the transient performance of a biotrickling filter (BTF) that packes with the mixture of ACOF (Activated Carbon on Fiber) and stainless steel mesh as biological carrier. The shock loading experiment show that if the loading is varied within the limits of the maximum EC, when the loading was doubled, the removal efficiency decreased 20% in the beginning, and after about 2 days, it regained the original removal efficiency. The non-use experimental results show that short time (8-12 h) non-use had no or very little effect on the BTF removal efficiency. 2 days scale non-use caused a decrease of 20% in the BTF performance, and need 4-6 h to regain the initial performance. 29 days' non-use caused a decrease of 70%-80% in the BTF performance, and needed about 10 days to get recover.

Air Pollution↗
PubMed2005

Saturation point.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Disasters↗
PubMed2005

A potential impact of climate change and water resource development on the transmission of Schistosoma japonicum in China.

There is growing consensus among climate modellers that the unusual global warming observed in the last decades of the 20th century is primarily forced by human activities, namely greenhouse gas increases in the atmosphere. Global warming will trigger alterations in physical and biological systems, including shifts in the spatio-temporal distribution of disease vectors, but the nature and extent of these changes are poorly understood. The purpose of the present study was to assess the potential impact of climate change and water resource development on the distribution of Oncomelania hupensis, the intermediate host snail of Schistosoma japonicum. We employed two 30-year composite datasets comprising average monthly temperatures collected at 623 observing stations throughout China, spanning the periods 1961-1990 and 1971-2000. Temperature changes were assessed spatially between the 1960s and 1990s for January, as this is the critical month for survival of O. hupensis. Our database shows that January temperatures increased at 590 stations (94.7%), and that China's average January temperature in the 1990s was 0.96 degrees C higher than 30 years earlier. The historical 0-1 degrees C January isotherm, which was considered the approximate northern limit of S. japonicum transmission, has shifted from 33 degrees 15' N to 33 degrees 41' N, expanding the potential transmission area by 41,335 km2. This translates to an additional 20.7 million people at risk of schistosomiasis. Two lakes are located in this new transmission area that form part of the proposed South-North water transfer project. Climate change, coupled with water resource developments in China, may pose additional challenges for the control of schistosomiasis.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Assistance is continuously on tap.

The application of a special, permanent antimicrobial coating to taps and mixers is being heralded as a significant step towards reducing healthcare-acquired infection rates. Nicholas Marshall reports.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed2005

[Quick progress of a hearing impairment in a young plumber].

Workers exposed to noise are regularly examined using tonal hearing tests. Of all noise-exposed worker population, about ten percent are hypersensitive to noise. Regular hearing tests conducted for two years revealed a hearing impairment in a young construction plumber who, according to on-site noise measurements, was occupationally exposed to permissible noise levels. Tonal hearing tests showed that the impairment was progressing quickly. This case study discusses probable causes of this lesion suffered by the subject, which is of the acoustic trauma type.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Environmental transmission of SARS at Amoy Gardens.

Recent investigations into the March 2003 outbreak of SARS in Hong Kong have concluded that environmental factors played an important role in the transmission of the disease. These studies have focused on a particular outbreak event, the rapid spread of SARS throughout Amoy Gardens, a large, private apartment complex. They have demonstrated that, unlike a typical viral outbreak that is spread through person-to-person contact, the SARS virus in this case was spread primarily through the air. High concentrations of viral aerosols in building plumbing were drawn into apartment bathrooms through floor drains. The initial exposures occurred in these bathrooms. The virus-laden air was then transported by prevailing winds to adjacent buildings at Amoy Gardens, where additional exposures occurred. This article reviews the results of the investigations and provides recommendations for maintenance and other measures that building owners can take to help prevent environmental transmission of SARS and other flulike viruses in their buildings.

Aerosols↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Cluster cases of malignant pleural mesothelioma in an oil factory].

BACKGROUND: The traditional occupational hazards of the productive cycle of oils are attributable to chemicals (use of solvents, pesticides and other agents), dusts, labour accidents (trauma, ignition, explosion), noise, manual lifting, work organization and hot-wet microclimate. The latest risk is due to the use of high temperatures (from 50 up to 250 degrees C) during the processes of extraction with solvent and refining. No cases are reported in literature of asbestos related disease in subjects who worked in oil factories. Nevertheless the structure and organization of the workplace, which is similar to that of sugar refineries, where cases of malignant mesothelioma have been described (moreover in workers employed in running and maintenance of the plants), led to the assumption that even in oil factories asbestos for the insulation of pipes and boilers could be present. OBJECTIVES: To describe 3 cases of Malignant Mesothelioma that occurred in workers of the same oil factory. METHODS: Since this occupational sector is not conventionally known for asbestos exposure the Local Health Unit and the Lombardy Mesothelioma Registry decided to investigate this industrial plant. RESULTS: Following examination of the archives of the Local Health Unit and inspection of the plant, an environmental asbestos contamination (pipes and boilers) was found. The 3 cases were defined as occupational disease and the required legal procedures were initiated. This underlines the importance of close cooperation with Local Health Units of occupational medicine and the Regional Mesothelioma Registry in the study and acknowledgment of cases which would otherwise not have been recognized, with consequent loss of precious information.

Aged↗