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PubMed1985

The effect of improved workplace design on the development of work-related musculo-skeletal illnesses.

An earlier paper (Westgaard and Aaras, 1984) described the work environment and the health situation of production workers at a small Norwegian factory, prior to an extensive ergonomics effort which primarily aimed to reduce static muscle strain by constructing new workplaces. It was concluded that the old work situation significantly contributed to a high level it musculo-skeletal disorders, most likely because the old work situation made it necessary to work with high level of muscle load for long periods of the working day. This second paper concerns the other important query which initiated Have the extensive ergonomics and environmental efforts at this factory had any effect in terms of improved health of the workers? The factory, the old workplaces and the ergonomics adaptations were described in the preceding paper, and are therefore not included here.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1984

Development of an in situ microbial mutagenicity test system for airborne workplace mutagens: laboratory evaluation.

A simple on-site Salmonella mutagenicity test system for the detection of airborne mutagens in the workplace is being developed. The system permits entrapment of mutagenic airborne particles and vapors by impinging unfiltered ambient air into trapping medium containing bacterial tester cells. The trapping device consists mainly of a pump, an impinger and a cyclone. The impinging air flow generated by the pump is approximately 3 1/min. New Salmonella typhimurium testers which are resistant to streptomycin (Str) and 8-azaguanine (AG) were derived from the Ames testers TA98 and TA100 and the arabinose-resistant tester SV50, and were used as mutation indicators. Microbial contamination was sufficiently controlled by addition of ampicillin, Str, AG, and cycloheximide to the trapping and plating media. New tester strains retained a high mutagenic sensitivity from their parent strains. Laboratory studies with volatile mutagens (methyl methanesulfonate, ethyl methanesulfonate, and dimethylnitrosamine) showed that the vapor trapping of this system is promising. The study with suspended silica particles coated with a known mutagen (2,4,7-trinitro-9-fluorenone) indicated that the particle trapping of the system is satisfactory. Incorporation of metabolic activation into the trapping medium by confining S9 mix and tester cells in dialysis tubing enabled this system to detect promutagens. This in situ system may be useful for mutagenic monitoring in the workplace.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗

PubMed1995

Application of urinary mutagen testing to detect workplace hazardous exposure and bladder cancer.

The objectives of this biochemical epidemiologic case-control study were to evaluate urinary mutagen testing for occupational exposure assessment, and for possible screening for bladder cancer in the workplace. Thirty-seven patients (19 bladder cancer cases and 18 controls) completed a questionnaire. Two urine samples, i.e. a work sample taken while at work, and a home sample, were requested from each patient. Twenty-six patients (17 cases and 9 controls) gave a total of 47 24-h urine samples for mutagenicity testing by the Ames test. A positive Ames test was found to be associated significantly with current occupation with hazardous exposure (odds ratio = 3.7, 95%CI 1.1-12.9), and non-significantly with bladder cancer (odds ratio = 1.8, 95%CI 0.5-7.1). Our results show that the urinary Ames test has the potential of being used as a surveillance for current workplace hazardous exposure (sensitivity = 52%, specificity = 77%, positive predictive value = 72%, negative predictive value = 59%, positive likelihood ratio = 2.3), but not as a screening test for bladder cancer cases (sensitivity = 42%, specificity = 71%, positive predictive value = 3%, negative predictive value = 98%, positive likelihood ratio = 1.5).

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Safety evaluation of the mixture of chemicals at a specific workplace: theoretical considerations and a suggested two-step procedure.

Procedures for the selection of compounds with high health hazard potential are reviewed, and major aspects of the assessment of health risks associated with exposure to mixtures of chemicals are discussed. Examples are given of additivity and synergism of effects following exposure to mixtures. Using these data from the literature a two-step procedure for the safety evaluation of the mixture of chemicals occurring at a specific workplace is suggested. The first step consists of estimating the relative health risk associated with each chemical; the estimation is based on the ratio between exposure level and degree of toxicity. Those chemicals representing a high risk are then selected for further consideration. The second step comprises the risk assessment, focusing on prediction of the risk associated with exposure to the mixture of selected chemicals. To allow such prediction the (presumable) mode of action of the selected compounds should be considered. A practical way to find out whether exposure to chemicals at a specific workplace is of serious health concern, could be the conduct of both a 4-week toxicity study in rats and 2 different types of genotoxicity studies with the mixture of selected chemicals, using exposure concentrations related to those occurring in practice.

Animals↗

PubMed1990

Urine level of trace elements in some adults in Bangladesh under a workplace environment.

The urine level of trace elements has been investigated in some normal adults under different workplace environments in Bangladesh. The samples were collected from 58 subjects, randomly selected from about 500 adults working in 10 different workshops and factories located in Dhaka city. Samples were analyzed by the external beam PIXE method. Proton beams of 2.5 MeV energy and 20 nA intensity were used for sample irradiations. For 40 microC irradiations, the concentration of 14 elements in total (K, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Br, Rb, Sr and Mo) in different groups were measured by comparison with a calibration curve obtained from the NBS Orchard Leaf standard (SRM 1571). The results from different workplaces are reported in terms of amount of excretion per unit volume of the sample collected. They, however, do not reflect the total daily excretion level of different subject groups.

Adult↗

PubMed1988

Monitoring of ovulation in the assessment of reproductive hazards in the workplace.

If women are exposed to reproductive hazards in the workplace, some disturbances of ovulation are expected. Assessment of ovulation requires monitoring to distinguish normal and abnormal ovarian cycles. Menstrual interval and basal body temperature charts are inadequate for identifying many abnormal cycles. A late-luteal endometrial biopsy or a single mid-luteal morning progesterone level each appears to be only 80% accurate in distinguishing normal and abnormal cycles. The complete "cycle profile" of daily ovarian ultrasonic scans and daily serum levels of reproductive hormones appears to be a definitive approach to characterizing ovarian cycles, but this demanding regimen would not be applicable to monitoring large populations in the workplace. An ovarian cycle monitoring protocol consisting of daily measurement of salivary or vaginal electrical resistance, mid-cycle urine testing for the luteinizing hormone surge, and daily luteal phase salivary progesterone levels would provide a practical comprehensive corroborative assessment of ovarian cycles in such populations of women. This monitoring of ovarian cycles would aid in the early detection of reproductive hazards and medical conditions that might present as an ovulatory disturbance.

Female↗

PubMed2004

Development of risk filter and risk assessment worksheets for HSE guidance--'Upper Limb Disorders in the Workplace' 2002.

Upper limb disorders (ULDs) in the workplace represent a significant cause of ill health in Great Britain. As part of the Health and Safety Commission's strategy for the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), the well known guidance document on ULDs--"Work-related Upper Limb Disorders: a Guide to Prevention" (HSG60), (HMSO, London.), has been extensively revised. This revision (Upper limb disorders in the workplace. HSG60 (rev), HSE Books, Sudbury.) includes the development of new risk assessment tools that can be used by employers to identify ULD risk factors in work activities and more importantly to take action to reduce or eliminate ULD risks. The risk assessment tools form part of a seven stage management approach that underpins the new guidance. This paper outlines the development of the risk assessment tools contained in the revised guidance.

Ergonomics↗

PubMed2005

Benzene analysis in workplace air using an FIA-based bacterial biosensor.

A bacterial biosensor based on flow injection analysis (FIA) has been developed for the determination of benzene in workplace air samples. Benzene can be used by the bacteria Pseudomonas putida ML2 as a sole carbon source, and its aerobic degradation can be measured using a dissolved oxygen electrode. The bacterial cells were immobilised between two cellulose acetate membranes and fixed onto a Clark dissolved oxygen probe, which was inserted into a custom-made flow cell. The applicability of the biosensor for the analysis of air samples containing benzene was investigated. Air samples were collected from a controlled exposure room using charcoal adsorption tubes, and benzene extracted with solvent desorption using dimethylformamide (DMF). The biosensor displayed a linear detection range between 0.025 and 0.15 mM benzene based on standard solutions containing a maximum of 2% DMF, with a response time of 6 min. This linear detection range allows the analysis of air containing between 3 and 16 ppm benzene based on a 60-min sampling period. DMF proved to be compatible for use with the biosensor, causing minimal interference with the sensor response and causing no toxic effects on the bacterial cells. The FIA system was easily transported to an in situ location, and a correlation was obtained between the biosensor and gas chromatography (GC) results for the preliminary air samples investigated. Moreover, the biosensor displayed no interference to other benzene related compounds in the BTEX range. The results from this work have shown that the biosensor has potential applications for the analysis of benzene in workplace air samples, with the added advantages over the conventional GC methods of low operation costs, ease of use, and portability for in situ measurements.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗

PubMed2006

Analysis of the main factors affecting the evaluation of the radon dose in workplaces: the case of tourist caves.

High concentrations of radon exist in several workplaces like tourist caves mainly because of the low ventilation rates existing at these enclosures. In this sense, in its 1990 publication, the ICRP recommended that high exposures of radon in workplaces should be considered as occupational exposure. In developed caves in which guides provide tours for the general public great care is needed for taking remedial actions concerning radon, because in some circumstances forced ventilation may alter the humidity inside the cave affecting some of the formations or paintings that attract tourists. Tourist guides can work about 1900 h per year, so the only option to protect them and other cave workers from radon exposure is to apply an appropriate system of radiation protection mainly based on limitation of exposure by restricting the amount of time spent in the cave. Because of the typical environmental conditions inside the caves, the application of these protecting actions requires to know some indoor air characteristics like particle concentration, as well as radon progeny behaviour in order to get more realistic effective dose values In this work the results of the first two set of radon measurements program carried out in 10 caves located in the region of Cantabria (Spain) are presented.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗

PubMed2006

Particle size distributions of oil mists in workplace atmospheres and their exposure concentrations to workers in a fastener manufacturing industry.

This study was set out to characterize size distributions of oil mists in three workplace atmospheres of the forming, threading, and heat treatment in a fastener manufacturing industry and to assess their exposures to workers. Particle size segregating samplings were conducted on the workplace atmospheres of the three selected industrial processes by using the modified Marple 8-stage cascade impactor (m-Marple). We found that mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) of the fine mode and coarse mode fell to the range 0.309-0.501 microm and 8.16-13.0 microm, respectively. The fractions of inhaled particles exposed to different regions of the respiratory tracts found that the alveolar region was consistently higher than both head and tracheobronchial regions in all three studied exposure groups. Personal inhalable oil mist samplings were conducted on workers in the three selected processes revealed their exposure levels as: threading workers (2.11 mg/m3)>forming workers (1.58 mg/m3)>heat treatment workers (0.0801 mg/m3). The estimated respirable exposure concentrations for both forming and threading workers (1.34 mg/m3 and 1.40 mg/m3, respectively) were higher than the level known for "increased risk of pulmonary injury" (0.20 mg/m3) suggesting that appropriate control measures should be taken to reduce their exposures to the oil mists of the respirable fraction immediately.

Aerosols↗

PubMed2006

Association between workplace bullying and depressive symptoms in the French working population.

OBJECTIVE: The objective was to explore the association between the characteristics of the exposure to workplace bullying and depressive symptoms in a large sample of employees of the French working population. METHODS: The study sample consisted of 3132 men and 4562 women of the French general working population in the southeast of France. Inclusion criterion was to have a work experience of at least 3 months. Cases of bullying were defined using both Leymann's definition and self-report of being exposed to bullying. Depressive symptoms were measured using the CES-D scale. RESULTS: After adjustment for covariates, which were age, marital status, presence of children, educational level, and occupation, exposure to bullying was found to be a risk factor for depressive symptoms for both men and women. The more frequent the exposure, the higher the risk of depressive symptoms. Past exposure to bullying increased the risk of depressive symptoms. Observing bullying was found to be a risk factor for depressive symptoms and increased the risk further still among women exposed to bullying. All these associations were found to be highly significant (P<.001). CONCLUSION: Workplace bullying was found to be a strong risk factor for depressive symptoms for men and women. Although any conclusion about the causal nature of the association could not be drawn because of the cross-sectional design of the survey, this study suggested that efforts to prevent bullying should be intensified.

Cross-Sectional Studies↗

PubMed2005

Creating an international nursing practice and education workplace.

In today's global workplace, both nursing practice and education need to promote international health. Nurses from a comprehensive 373-patient-bed hospital at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and faculty from the College of Nursing, University of Cincinnati, in southwest Ohio have successfully collaborated to develop several unique international nursing exchange programs. The goals of these programs are to increase cultural sensitivity and nursing knowledge relevant to a global community. The essential components used in creating and implementing the programs with Scotland, Honduras, and Korea will serve as an international workplace model for others, especially for those settings focused on children and family health care.

Cooperative Behavior↗

PubMed2000

A systematic review of workplace interventions to prevent low back pain.

A systematic review of randomised controlled trials was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of workplace interventions to prevent low back pain. Potential trials were located by a computerised search supplemented with citation tracking. The methodological quality of the trials was assessed on 11 criteria and the level of evidence for each intervention was determined, based upon the amount, consistency and quality of evidence from the trials. The review located 13 trials that were generally of moderate quality. The trials suggest that work place exercise is effective, braces and education are ineffective, and workplace modification plus education is of unknown value in preventing low back pain.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1998

Development and application of a thermal desorption method for the analysis of polar volatile organic compounds in workplace air.

The application of a newly developed thermal desorption method for the analysis of workplace air to the analysis of polar compounds is reported. The method was validated for both pumped and diffusive sampling of test gases containing polar volatile organic compounds (esters, alcohols, ketones or aldehydes) on adsorption tubes and subsequent analysis of these tubes. Carbosieve SIII, Carboxen 569, Carbopack B and Tenax TA were used as solid adsorbents. Analysis was performed by thermal desorption of the analytes from the adsorbent tubes followed by gas chromatography-flame ionisation detection (GC-FID). It could be demonstrated that thermal desorption-GC-FID is feasible also for the analysis of polar compounds and that problems arising from the high concentration levels of some analytes in workplace air could be solved.

Adsorption↗

PubMed2003

Achieving collaborative workplace learning in a university critical care course.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development, implementation and evaluation of a new critical care curriculum based on the tenets of collaborative workplace learning. It also examines lecturers' and clinical educators' issues, and explores students' evaluations of the old curriculum compared with those of the new curriculum. Three data collection methods were used for this study. Comprehensive notes were maintained of the meetings conducted with lecturers, clinical educators and representative students during the development and implementation of the course. Three focus group interviews were conducted with students before the introduction of the new curriculum and three focus group interviews were conducted during first semester following implementation of the new curriculum. Quality-of-teaching surveys were also completed by two groups of critical care course students: one group before and one group following the introduction of the new curriculum. Major findings in this study included: developing a sense of ownership of the curriculum for clinical educators, clinical educators' difficulties with addressing their responsibilities, amalgamating theoretical learning with clinical practice, and tackling students' workload. This paper demonstrates the value of using the collaborative workplace learning approach in strategically addressing the challenges of developing and conducting a university critical care course.

Australia↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Thorium in the workplace measurement intercomparison.

The monitoring of radionuclides in the nuclear industry has been recognized as the most straightforward way of assessing health and safety issues associated with the exposure of the workforce to potentially harmful radiation doses. Much of this is achieved by measurements in the workplace itself and by the bioassay and monitoring of workers in the industry. However, there also exists a significant 'non-nuclear' industry where workers are exposed to radioactive materials, for example where this involves thorium, which is made wide use of in the aerospace and other high technology industries. As such work involves the processing of thorium bearing materials, the workforce is potentially exposed to 232Th and its daughter nuclides. Thus, to monitor the workforce effectively, it is important to be able to measure both 232Th and the decay products of 232Th where they are in an unknown state of radioactive equilibrium and this is where monitoring laboratories may experience some difficulty. Accordingly, the Health and Safety Laboratory in the UK has organized a EC wide project on the monitoring of thorium in the 'non-nuclear' workplace; this project is currently ongoing. We report the results of the first intercomparison of this project involving two solutions of 232Th, one in radioactive equilibrium and one not in equilibrium with its daughters. The results are presented with some comments on how this intercomparison has progressed and how these first results will inform the rest of the project.

Evaluation Studies as Topic↗

PubMed2002

Arthrodesis after workplace injuries.

Many foot and ankle injuries are incurred in the workplace. Despite steel-toed shoes, metatarsal bars, and ankle-high boots, fractures which require arthrodesis procedures can occur. The area of the foot and ankle involved, any pre-existing conditions, and the patient's occupational requirements must be taken into account. When an employer is flexible, the patient can often return to a sit down job during the postoperative recovery, if intermittent elevation of the extremity is permitted and hours are gradually increased. Alternatively, manual laborers who operate heavy machinery or work on ladders or elevated surfaces will require a prolonged recovery period before being able to return to the workplace. Algorithms with return to work dates may be helpful, but because so many factors exist, a functional capacity evaluation is often necessary to determine what, if any, permanent restrictions will be required.

Accidents, Occupational↗

PubMed1999

Innovation and the workplace.

With the increasing pressures on the pharmaceutical industry to meet the challenges of producing more drugs, in less time and at lower costs, all aspects of streamlining the process of discovery and development need to be addressed. The author discusses how a design process that focuses on process change, on key workplace characteristics and on setting clear performance targets will create the right framework for delivering innovative solutions to workplace design for drug discovery. He explains how, in an industry where time means more money than one likes to think about, such solutions will help the pharmaceutical community optimize performance and reduce costs.

Journal Article↗