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Personal Protective Equipment (personal + protective_equipment)
Selected AbstractsValidation of self-reported occupational exposures in meatpacking workersAMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE, Issue 9 2009Lina Lander ScD Abstract Objective The ability of workers to accurately recall exposures that occur on the day of their injury is considered a potential limitation of case-crossover studies. This study assessed validity of occupational exposures reported by uninjured workers at a Midwestern meatpacking plant. Methods One hundred thirty-six workers were observed for 60,min while working and then interviewed within 8 days (median 3 days) about exposures during the observation period. The level of agreement between self-reports and direct observations was assessed using kappas and intraclass correlation coefficients. Results Excellent agreement was found between observed and reported work location (,,=,0.97, 95% CI: 0.92,1.0), task (,,=,0.83, 95% CI: 0.76,0.91) and tools used (,,=,0.88, 95% CI: 0.81,0.95). Personal protective equipment varied by work type and location, and agreement between observed and reported usage varied from excellent to poor for various items. Excellent agreement was found for tool sharpening (,,=,0.89, 95% CI: 0.82,0.97); good agreement for occurrence of break during the observation period (,,=,0.60, 95% CI: 0.45,0.74); and poor agreement for equipment malfunction, line stoppages, being tired, unusual task, unusual work method, being distracted, rushing, slipping, or falling. Conclusions Agreement between observed and reported occupational exposures varied widely. Self-reported exposures are utilized in many occupational studies, and future exposure validity assessment studies should continue to improve retrospective study methods. Valid exposures will allow researchers to better understand injury etiology and ultimately prevent injuries from occurring. Am. J. Ind. Med. Am. J. Ind. Med. 52:707,715, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] FS13.5 Occupational contact dermatitis: printer worker's viewpointsCONTACT DERMATITIS, Issue 3 2004Terry Brown Introduction:, Occupational contact dermatitis (OCD) is very common in the printing industry due to contact with chemicals, paper, and wet work. It can be avoided by adequate protective measures, but the effectiveness of intervention depends heavily on the employer's and employee's awareness of this health risk. Objectives:, The study aimed to collect information on the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of print workers about the risk of OCD and methods of prevention. Methods:, A series of focus groups were held with print workers, health and safety officers and managers to discuss their awareness of dermal risk factors, risk behaviour at work, attitudes to health and safety and options on possible preventive measures. A number of companies were also visited to observe, overtly and covertly, the normal work practices. Results:, OCD was not perceived to be either a major problem or a health and safety priority. There was general agreement about the processes and work practices that could cause skin problems. However, work practices varied considerably and did not always reflect this awareness. There was general concern about the type and availability of personal protective equipment, especially gloves and after-work skin cream. The provision of an occupational health service was generally felt to be inadequate, and no company had a policy in place that specifically addressed skin care. Conclusions:, These findings highlight the urgency to intensify health and safety education on skin care within the printing industry. Recommendations were developed for the evaluation of a series of risk reduction strategies. [source] Serologic survey of swine workers for exposure to H2N3 swine influenza AINFLUENZA AND OTHER RESPIRATORY VIRUSES, Issue 3 2010Amanda Beaudoin Please cite this paper as: Beaudoin et al. (2010) Serologic survey of swine workers for exposure to H2N3 swine influenza A. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses 4(3), 163,170. Background, Of the 16 influenza A hemagglutinin (H) subtypes, only H1, H2 and H3 viruses have been shown to cause sustained human infection. Whereas H1 and H3 viruses currently circulate seasonally in humans, H2 viruses have not been identified in humans since 1968. In 2006, an H2N3 influenza virus was isolated from ill swine in the United States. Objective, To assess the potential for zoonotic influenza transmission, the current study looked for serologic evidence of H2 influenza infection among workers at two swine facilities, some exposed and some unexposed to H2N3-positive pigs. Methods, The sera were assessed for antibodies to swine H2 influenza and currently circulating seasonal human influenza A subtypes H1N1 and H3N2. Workers were interviewed to obtain details such as age, influenza vaccination history, experiences of influenza-like-illness, and use of personal protective equipment and hygiene when working with pigs. Exposure and risk factors for positive antibody titers were compared for exposed and unexposed individuals as well as for H2 antibody-positive and H2 antibody-negative individuals. Results, Blood was taken from 27 swine workers, of whom four had positive H2 antibody titers (,1:40). Three of the positive employees were born before 1968 and one had an unknown birth date. Only one of these workers had been exposed to H2N3-positive pigs, and he was born in 1949. Conclusions, These data do not support the hypothesis that swine workers were infected with the emergent swine H2N3 influenza A virus. [source] Safety knowledge, safety behaviors, depression, and injuries in Colorado farm residentsAMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE, Issue 1 2010Cheryl L. Beseler PhD Abstract Background Changing safety behavior has been the target of injury prevention in the farming community for years but significant reductions in the number of farming injuries have not always followed. This study describes the relationships between safety knowledge, safety behavior, depression, and injuries using 3 years of self-reported data from a cohort of farm residents in Colorado. Methods Farm operators and their spouses (n,=,652) were recruited in 1993 from a farm truck registration list using stratified probability sampling. Respondents answered ten safety knowledge and ten safety behavior questions. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale was used to evaluate depression. The most severe farm work-related injury over a 3-year period was the outcome variable. Factor analysis was used to produce a single measure of safety knowledge for logistic regression models to evaluate the relationships between injuries, safety knowledge, and behaviors. Results Safety knowledge was significantly associated with wearing personal protective equipment. None of the safety behaviors were significantly associated with injuries. In the presence of depression, low safety knowledge increased the probability of injury (OR 3.87, 95% CI 1.00,15.0) in models adjusted for age, sex, hours worked per week, and financial problems. Compared to those not depressed, those depressed with a low safety score showed significantly greater risk of injury than those depressed with a high score in adjusted models (OR 3.09, CI 1.31,7.29 vs. OR 0.86, CI 0.31,2.37). Conclusions Future work on injuries in the farming community should include measures of mood disorders and interactions with safety perceptions and knowledge. Am. J. Ind. Med. 53:47,54, 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Farmer exposure to organic solvents during the maintenance and repair of farm machinery: A pilot studyAMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE, Issue 12 2009Terry L. Bunn PhD Abstract Background The maintenance/repair of farm machinery is a common farming activity. Dermal exposure to organic solvents has not been well documented. A pilot study was conducted to characterize exposure to organic solvents. Methods A survey questionnaire was administered to 31 Kentucky farmers in 2008. Dermal exposure assessment was conducted in 10 farmers while farmers performed farm machinery maintenance/repair tasks using a solvent sampling patch. Benzene, toluene, xylene, and n -hexane were analyzed. Results All four organic solvents were identified from the samples with toluene (<0.5,36,000,µg/patch) and xylene (15,5,700,µg/patch) at significantly higher levels. Twenty-six farmers reported the use of personal protective equipment <50% of their time repairing/maintaining farm machinery on the questionnaire; only two farmers wore gloves during the exposure assessment. Conclusions Farmers routinely use solvent products for farm machinery maintenance/repair. Dermal exposure to organic solvents is a potential hazard. Further studies to characterize and evaluate exposure in larger samples of farmers are needed. Am. J. Ind. Med. 52:973,981, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Teen workers' exposures to occupational hazards and use of personal protective equipmentAMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE, Issue 10 2008Carol W. Runyan MPH Abstract Background Prior research indicates that working adolescents seek care for the toxic effects of on-the-job chemical and environmental hazard exposures. Methods This cross-sectional survey of a nationally representative sample of 866 adolescent workers in the retail and service sector examines their exposures, personal protective equipment (PPE) use, and training. Results Two-thirds of respondents were exposed to continuous, very loud noise, 55% to thermal hazards and 54% to chemical hazards. Few teens reported using any PPE, though those who had been trained reported somewhat higher usage. Conclusions Teens working in the retail and service sectors experience a variety of chemical, thermal, biologic and noise exposures. Efforts to eradicate such exposures need to be complemented by increased provision of PPE and appropriate training in their use by employers. Am. J. Ind. Med. 51:735,740, 2008. Published 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza: experience from the critical care unitANAESTHESIA, Issue 11 2009M. Patel Summary This case series details experience of critical care admissions with pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza from an intensive care unit in the West Midlands. We present four critically ill patients admitted with severe hypoxia. Two of the patients failed a trial of continuous positive airway pressure and all underwent controlled ventilation within 24 h of admission. Bilevel and high frequency oscillatory ventilation were the most useful modes. Our patients generally had one organ failure and were ventilator dependent for relatively short periods of time. Three of the patients made a full recovery and one required ongoing dialysis. We also discuss service planning and our response to the pandemic. We were well prepared with stocks of personal protective equipment but had to modify plans as the outbreak progressed. Our cases and discussion provide useful information for other intensive care units preparing for the predicted autumn surge of H1N1 cases. [source] | ||||||||||