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PubMed1999

Economic consequences of workplace injuries and illnesses: lost earnings and benefit adequacy.

BACKGROUND: This is the first study based on individual data to estimate earnings lost from virtually all reported workplace injuries and illnesses in a state. METHODS: We estimated lost earnings from workplace injuries and illnesses occurring in Wisconsin in 1989-90, using workers' compensation data and 6 years of unemployment insurance wage data. We used regression techniques to estimate losses relative to a comparison group. RESULTS: The average present value of losses projected 10 years past the observed period is over $8,000 per injury. Women lose a greater proportion of their preinjury earnings than do men. Replacement of after-tax projected losses averages 64% for men and 50% for women. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, workers with compensated injuries and illnesses experienced discounted pre-tax losses projected to total over $530,000,000 (1994 dollars), with about 60% of after-tax losses replaced by workers' compensation. Generally, groups losing over eight weeks' work received workers' compensation benefits covering less than 40% of their losses.

Absenteeism↗
PubMed1988

Cancer prevention in the workplace and natural environment. A review of etiology, research design, and methods of risk reduction.

Guidelines for developing programs in cancer prevention and reduction of risk related to occupational and environmental carcinogens are provided in this review, which includes a summary of experimental and epidemiologic research designs for assessing potential etiologic agents, an overview of known occupational and environmental carcinogens, and a summary of general approaches to risk reduction. This review includes human cancer risks in the workplace and in the natural environment, which encompasses air pollution, water pollution, and hazardous waste disposal. Fourteen tables present the following: (1) established and probable carcinogens that may be encountered in the workplace, as contaminants of air or water, or as hazardous waste; (2) regulated carcinogens; (3) primary sources of exposure; (4) research designs; and (5) risk reduction methods. The interactive effects of multiple exposures are discussed as they relate to etiology and prevention. The importance of federal regulation is emphasized, as well as the need to understand the potential for cancer prevention in the context of broader economic, political and social issues.

Air Pollution↗
PubMed2001

Respiratory diseases caused by occupational exposure to 1,5-naphthalene-diisocyanate (NDI): Results of workplace-related challenge tests and antibody analyses.

BACKGROUND: 1,5-naphthalene-diisocyanate (NDI) is an aromatic diisocyanate with a very low vapor pressure which is mainly used in the automotive industry. METHODS: In the present study we described five cases with workplace-related asthma and one case with extrinsic allergic alveolitis associated with pulmonary hemorrhage after NDI exposure. RESULTS: Corresponding to case histories, extrinsic alveolitis on asthmatic reactions in three subjects and a rhinitis reaction in one patient could be reproduced by inhalative challenge tests to NDI at a concentration of 10 ppb. Preliminary IgE and IgG antibody analyses in patients' sera did not produce significantly positive results. CONCLUSIONS: According to the outcome of our tests and in comparison with several other studies, we conclude that NDI should be classified as potent airway-sensitizing substance. Improved workplace conditions and decrease in threshold limit values should therefore be recommended.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Pancreas cancer is unrelated to the workplace in Los Angeles.

From 1975 to 1981, 490 cases of exocrine adenocarcinoma of the pancreas, representative of those occurring in the working-age population of Los Angeles County, were compared to matched neighborhood controls. Among the items of information obtained from each subject was a lifetime job history and a history of specific workplace exposures; this came directly from both case and control in 124 pairs. Although the matched cases and controls were generally comparable, they were not matched with respect to job history. While other strong risk factors for pancreas cancer were found in the same study, no significant or suggestive differences in the jobs or perceived chemical or process exposures between cases and controls were found. Those minor differences which were found did not suggest credible mechanisms of carcinogenesis when examined in detail. Our study does not point to the workplace as an important determinant of pancreas cancer in the economically diversified urban area of Los Angeles.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1986

Reproductive hazards in the workplace: a case study of women firefighters.

Recent attention has focused on the difficulties of providing equal employment opportunities for women while ensuring reproductive health in the workplace. This paper examines the potential hazards faced by pregnant firefighters and recommends a policy that seeks a reasonable accommodation between employment and fetal and maternal health. The potential hazards faced by firefighters include physical exertion, hyperthermia, and exposure to carbon monoxide and other toxic gases. The ideal policy option for improving reproductive health is to make the workplace safe for all employees. Where this cannot be accomplished and a unique reproductive hazard exists to women during pregnancy, temporary positions should be found that remove the pregnant woman from the hazard while allowing her to continue work.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
PubMed1988

Skin notation in the context of workplace exposure standards.

In the establishment of workplace exposure standards, the potential for cutaneous absorption is taken into consideration through the addition of "skin notation" to the relevant substance. In the TLVs Documentation (ACGIH, 1986) dermal lethal dose to 50% (LD50) or human data are the bases for the assignment of "skin notation" to 91 of 168 substances. For the other substances, the "skin" attribution seems to be based on undocumented statements in 24 (14.5%), skin effects in 13 (8%), and analogy in 7 (4%), while in the remaining 33 (20%) any reference is lacking as to the basis for notation of the cutaneous route of entry. Furthermore, since the established "cut-off" value of 2 g/kg is sometimes bypassed when a notation is added or omitted, the use of dermal LD50 is perplexing. Given the relevance of the skin notation for the validation of threshold limit values (TLVs) in the workplace, a full examination and citation of all available scientific data are recommended when establishing the TLV of substances absorbable through the skin.

Dermatitis, Occupational↗
PubMed2003

Health systems research training enhances workplace research skills: a qualitative evaluation.

INTRODUCTION: In-service education is a widely used means of enhancing the skills of health service providers, for example, in undertaking research. However, the transfer of skills acquired during an education course to the workplace is seldom evaluated. The objectives of this study were to assess learner, teacher, and health service manager perceptions of the usefulness, in the work setting, of skills taught on a health systems research education course in South Africa and to assess the extent to which the course stimulated awareness and development of health systems research in the work setting. METHODS: The education course was evaluated using a qualitative approach. Respondents were selected for interview using purposive sampling. Interviews were conducted with 39 respondents, including all of the major stakeholders. The interviews lasted between 20 and 60 minutes and were conducted either face to face or over the telephone. Thematic analysis was applied to the data, and key themes were identified. RESULTS: The course demystified health systems research and stimulated interest in reading and applying research findings. The course also changed participants' attitudes to routine data collection and was reported to have facilitated the application of informal research or problem-solving methods to everyday work situations. However, inadequate support within the workplace was a significant obstacle to applying the skills learned. DISCUSSION: A 2-week intensive, experiential course in health systems research methods can provide a mechanism for introducing basic research skills to a wide range of learners. Qualitative evaluation is a useful approach for assessing the impacts of education courses.

Education, Medical, Continuing↗
PubMed1995

1-Nitropyrene as a marker for the mutagenicity of diesel exhaust-derived particulate matter in workplace atmospheres.

The use of 1-nitropyrene (1-NP) as a marker for the occupational exposure to diesel exhaust (DE) mutagens was investigated in workplace atmospheres contaminated with DE from a variety of emission sources, such as power supplies, forklifts, trucks, caterpillar vehicles, trains, ships' engines, and vehicles in city traffic. Total suspended particulate matter was collected by area sampling. The 1-NP content of acetone extracts of these samples as determined by gas chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry varied from 0.080 to 17 micrograms/g acetone extractable matter, corresponding to air concentrations of 0.012 to 1.2 ng/m3. A sample collected in a rural area contained 0.0017 ng/m3 1-NP. The mutagenicity of the extracts was tested in the Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98 and TA1538, using the microsuspension assay with and without metabolic activation by an exogeneous metabolizing system (rat liver S9-fraction). In addition, the S. typhimurium strains YG1021 and YG1024 were used because of their high sensitivity towards the mutagenicity of nitro polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. When plotting the mutagenic potency of the air sample extracts as determined in the absence of liver S9 versus the particle-associated 1-NP level, a relatively high correlation (r = 0.80-0.91) was observed in all of the S. typhimurium strains. High correlations (r = 0.80-0.93) were also observed when plotting the results of mutagenicity testing after activation by S9 versus the outcome of chemical analysis. These results show that the 1-NP content of workplace air samples is associated with their mutagenic potency, suggesting that 1-NP may be used as a marker for occupational exposure to DE-derived particle-associated mutagens.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗
PubMed2001

Lifetime residential and workplace exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and lung cancer in never-smoking women, Canada 1994-97.

Although the risk of lung cancer among never-smokers living with a spouse who smokes has been extensively studied, the impact of lifetime residential and workplace environmental tobacco smoke has received less attention. As part of a large population-based case-control study of lung cancer, we collected lifetime residential and occupational passive smoking information from 71 women with lung cancer and 761 healthy control subjects, all of whom reported being lifetime nonsmokers. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for lung cancer associated with residential passive exposure only was 1.21 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.5-2.8). Although more years of and more intense residential passive smoke exposure tended to be associated with higher risk estimates, no clear dose-response relationship was evident. The OR for women with passive exposure as a child and as an adult was 1.63 (95% CI 0.8-3.5) and for those only exposed as an adult 1.20 (95%CI 0.5-3.0). Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke only in the workplace was associated with an adjusted OR of 1.27 (95% CI 0.4-4.0). Risks associated with increasing occupational exposure year tertiles were 1.24, 1.71 and 1.71. Total smoker-years of residential and occupational exposure combined resulted in a statistically significant trend (linear test for trend p = 0.05) with ORs for tertiles of exposure of 0.83, 1.54 and 1.82. Our results are consistent with the literature suggesting that long-term, regular exposure to either residential or occupational environmental tobacco smoke is associated with increased lung cancer risk in never-smoking women.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Identification of alcoholics in the workplace.

Workplace programs make the supervisor responsible for identifying alcoholics through their job performance. However, research indicates that those so identified are a small proportion of the alcoholic employed population and tend to be in the later stages of the disease. This is due in part to the relatively small number of alcoholics who demonstrate performance deterioration in the early stages. In addition, only a few members of the drinking population are responsible for the costs to the organization resulting from poor job performance. The identification rate differs for alcoholics depending on their sex and level in the organization and the supervisory style of their managers. Hiding symptoms and cover-up for others adds to the proportion remaining unidentified. While identification through performance evaluation may be considered the only legitimate procedure in the workplace, it is not in fact identifying anywhere near the estimated number of alcoholics. The administrators and researchers in the employee assistance/occupational alcoholism field will have to decide whether to try innovative procedures that will broaden the scope of traditional programs. Such procedures may include cooperating with health promotion programs and identification through genetic and familial screening. While the current model identifies those most destructive to the organization, it bypasses a significant group of employees who are currently a danger to themselves or potentially a problem for the organization.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1992

Multiple myeloma among Danish women: employment history and workplace exposures.

To investigate the role of employment history and workplace exposures as risk factors for multiple myeloma among women, a population-based case-control study using the Danish Cancer Registry data linkage system was conducted. All cases of myeloma diagnosed in Danish women between 1970 and 1984 (1,010 cases) and 4,040 age-matched women alive at the time of case-diagnosis were identified. Industrial histories from 1964 forward were obtained from the nationwide Pension Fund for 363 cases and 1,517 controls, and the most recent occupation on the tax record was available for 607 cases and 2,596 controls. Using industry/occupational-code combinations for the cases and controls who had industry employment, Danish industrial hygienists assessed the likelihood of exposure to 47 workplace substances. An increased myeloma risk (odds ratio [OR] = 1.2, 95 percent confidence interval [CI] = 1.0-1.5) was seen for women not in the Pension Fund, but who had an occupational title coded as 'Mrs/homemaker.' Nonsignificantly elevated risks of 1.3 or greater were observed for employment in: production of agricultural products; orchards/nurseries; spinning/weaving; other textile and plastics manufacturing; hotel, entertainment, and social services industries. Elevated, but nonsignificant risks were observed for possible and probable exposure to exhaust fumes, formaldehyde, wood dust, animals or animal products, and pesticides. The strongest association with myeloma was employment in the agricultural industry (OR = 1.5, CI = 0.8-2.8), however, the number of women who worked on family farms was unknown and could not be included in this risk estimate.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Application of the Salmonella mutagenicity assay and determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in workplaces exposed to petroleum pitch and petroleum coke.

Workplaces of an Italian carbon electrode factory, exposed to petroleum pitch and petroleum coke, were studied using a coupled chemical and biological approach to evaluate occupational mutagenic/carcinogenic hazards. Analytical procedures for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and Salmonella/microsome mutagenicity tests (with TA98 and TA100 strains) were performed on both industrial ingredients (pitch and coke) and airborne particulate matter of the working environment, after fractionating by sequential Soxhlet extractions with four organic solvents of increasing polarity (benzene, chloroform, methanol and acetone). The results showed: (a) the presence of extraordinarily high PAH (carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic) contents in the benzene extracts of petroleum pitch (3.6 wt% of total PAH) and of airborne particulate samples (up to 0.35 wt% of total PAH), in correlation with very high indirect (after metabolic activation) mutagenic responses of benzene extracts with strain TA98; (b) very high indirect mutagenic responses in the other extracts of the airborne particulate samples (especially with strain TA98); (c) the production during the processing at high temperatures of directly acting mutagens (without metabolic activation) which were absent in the starting materials and their release in the air of workplaces. The comparison of chemical analytical and mutagenicity data has proved to be an interesting approach for better defining the relative health hazards due to occupational exposure to potentially mutagenic/carcinogenic petroleum products.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed1989

The relationship of age, level of formal education, and duration of employment toward attitudes concerning the use of computers in the workplace.

The introduction of computer technology in the Canadian health care environment necessitates an adaptation by hospital employees in order to perform their jobs. One thousand twenty-two hospital staff were surveyed immediately following their initial orientation to computers. The survey identified attitudes toward change, and the use of computers in the workplace. Demographic data and job classifications of all respondents were tabulated. Hypotheses were tested regarding the relationships between age, formal education, and duration of employment, and attitudes toward computers and change. Results indicated a generally positive response toward the use of computers in the workplace and to change in general. However, statistically significant results were obtained indicating that age, level of education, and length of employment affect the degree of positive response to both computers and change. The results suggest that demographic variables such as age, level of education, and employment duration must be taken into consideration when planning for the implementation of computer systems in the health care setting.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Pentachlorophenol measurements in body fluids of people in log homes and workplaces.

Human exposure to pentachlorophenol (PCP) was evaluated in the normal population (controls), residents of PCP-treated log homes, and persons exposed primarily in the workplace. Blood and urine samples were analyzed by gas chromatography after extraction and acetylation. For 34 controls, serum PCP values ranged from 15-75 ppb with a mean of 40 ppb. For 123 residents of log homes, serum levels ranged from 69-1,340 ppb with a mean of 420 ppb. In such homes, serum levels for children were significantly higher than those for parents, averaging 1.8 times greater. Serum and urine values for workers varied widely, depending on the workplace, with serum levels ranging from 26 to 84,900 ppb of PCP. Urinary concentrations when corrected for creatinine values correlated well (r = 0.92) with serum concentrations. Coating PCP-treated logs of home interiors with a sealant reduced serum PCP levels in the residents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

[Pilot project smoke-free workplace].

In 1991 SAN had acquired wide experience with firms which had introduced rules about smoking, governing where and when smoking is permitted at the workplace. A dossier was produced, based on this expertise, with the title: "Smoke-free Workplaces". A pilot project, taking Zurich as a model, was intended to demonstrate how health-promoting measures could be successfully put into effect in the context of smoking. The results of experimentation with six different, interlocking measures were collated, and evaluated with a view to their implementation throughout the whole of Switzerland. The basic components covered the three areas of Information, Raising Awareness, and Motivation, and focussed particularly on the following six points: Information materials; text/cartoons for internal company PR use; bids to wean people off smoking; the "5-day-campaign" (a communication game, 5 min. a day); an information event raising the interest of the personnel on to a wide range of possibilities: Information, experience the reactions of your body on tobacco-smoke, expositions, opinion-walls. And sixth: advice on strategy for employers and personnel managers.

Audiovisual Aids↗
PubMed1993

[Do workplace chemicals harm the heart?].

Cardiovascular diseases are the most important cause of mortality in industrialised countries. Contrary to cancer research, cardiovascular research mostly ignores toxic effects, apart from nicotine, caffeine, alcohol, a few pharmaceutical drugs, and the (in our countries) minor workplace problems carbon disulfide, nitrate esters, and carbon monoxide. But many workplace chemicals are known to be harmful to the cardiovascular system; beside the mentioned, also organic solvents, metals, pesticides, vinyl chloride, polychlorinated biphenyls, etc. Several toxic mechanisms in the cardiovascular system are already known: e.g., long-term development of atherosclerosis, hypertension, coronary heart disease, cardiomyopathy, and arrhythmia. To neglect cardiovascular toxicity is contrary to logic; for many cardiovascular diseases toxic effects may be constitutive; more of these effects may be seen in the future.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗
PubMed2006

Workplace NO and NO2 during combined treatment of infants with nasal CPAP and NO.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the workplace concentrations of NO and NO(2) in and around a paediatric incubator during inhaled NO (iNO) treatment and during an accidental emptying of NO cylinders into room air. DESIGN: We simulated iNO-nasal CPAP treatment in order to assess the impact on the occupational environment. Furthermore, two full NO cylinders for therapy, 1,000 ppm, 20 litres, 150 bar and 400 ppm, 10 litres, 150 bar, were emptied as rapidly as possible into an intensive care unit (ICU) room. SETTING: University hospital ICU. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: To correctly gauge the contribution from iNO-CPAP we constructed a system measuring breathing zone and room ventilation inlet-outlet values during a 10-ppm iNO treatment of a simulated infant. Maximal breathing zone values were 17.9 +/- 7.0 (mean +/- 95% CI) ppb for NO and 25.2 +/- 4.8 ppb for NO(2). If room inlet values were subtracted, the contributions to breathing zone values emanating from iNO-CPAP were 14.8 +/- 4.6 ppb for NO and 14.6 +/- 4.6 ppb for NO(2). At the ventilation outlet the maximal contributions were 4.2 +/- 2.9 ppb NO and 9.6 +/- 4.3 ppb NO(2). During rapid total release of a gas cylinder in the ICU room, simulating an accident, we found transient NO levels comparable to the high therapeutic dosing range, but only low NO(2) levels. CONCLUSIONS: Neither 8-h time-weighted average (TWA) nor 15 min short-term exposure limits (STEL) were exceeded during normal operation or during a simulated accident. The contribution of nitrogen oxides from treatment to workplace air were minor compared to those from ambient air.

Administration, Inhalation↗
PubMed1996

Application of the Azomethine-H method to the determination of boron in workplace atmospheres from ceramic factories.

The determination of boron in airborne particulates from ceramic factories' workplaces has been investigated. Samples containing raw or fritted material powder from ceramic factories have been digested in Erlenmeyer flasks using nitric acid as reagent. Analysis was performed by the Azomethine-H method. Recoveries for different raw materials were quantitative, whereas for fritted materials they widely depend on their composition. Relative standard deviations for all materials tested were lower than 8%. The accuracy of the procedure was tested by the addition of known amounts of boron to different types of materials. Standard addition calibrations proved that there was no influence of the matrix. In workplace atmospheres of ceramic industries boron was usually present, in the environment of enamel factories with levels higher than the recommended exposure value.

Journal Article↗