Occupational safety and health practices among flower greenhouses workers from Alto Tiete region (Brazil)

In this preliminary study the occupational safety and health practices among flower greenhouses workers were evaluated. The study was carried out in the alto Tiete region, located at the Sao Paulo State, Brazil. Inadequate welfare facilities; poor pesticide storage, use and disposal conditions; use of highly toxic pesticides; lack of adequate data regarding pesticide use; and incorrect use and maintenance of PPE were observed in most of the visited greenhouses. These results suggest that, in greenhouses, workers may be at higher risk of pesticide exposure, due to many factors that can intensify the exposure such as the lack of control on reentry intervals after pesticide application. Specific regulations are needed to ensure better OSH practices on pesticide use and to improve working conditions in greenhouses, in order to deal with the peculiarities of greenhouse working environment. Some of the special requirements for greenhouses workers' protection are the establishment of ventilation criteria for restricted entry interval; clear reentry restrictions; and EPI for workers other than applicators that need to enter the greenhouse before expiring REI interval. Another important way to improve OSH practices among workers includes the distribution of simple guidelines on the dos and don'ts regarding OSH practices in greenhouses and extensively training interventions to change the perception of hazards and the behavior towards risk. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Magnetic field exposure and neurodegenerative diseases--recent epidemiological studies

OBJECTIVES: To analyse the results of recent studies not yet included in a 2003 report of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) on occupational exposure to low-frequency electromagnetic fields as potential risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases. METHODS: A literature search was conducted in the online databases of PubMed, ISI Web of Knowledge, DIMDI and COCHRANE, as well as in specialised databases and journals. Eight studies published between January 2000 and July 2005 were included in the review. RESULTS: The findings of these studies contribute to the evidence of an association between occupational magnetic field exposure and the risk of dementia. Regarding amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the recent results confirm earlier observations of an association with electric and electronic work and welding. Its relationship with magnetic field exposure remains unsolved. There are only few findings pointing towards an association between magnetic field exposure and Parkinson's disease. CONCLUSIONS: The epidemiological evidence for an association between occupational exposure to low-frequency electromagnetic fields and the risk of dementia has increased during the last five years. The impact of potential confounders should be evaluated in further studies.

Cardiovascular mortality and exposure to extremely low frequency magnetic fields: a cohort study of Swiss railway workers

BACKGROUND: Exposure to intermittent magnetic fields of 16 Hz has been shown to reduce heart rate variability, and decreased heart rate variability predicts cardiovascular mortality. We examined mortality from cardiovascular causes in railway workers exposed to varying degrees to intermittent 16.7 Hz magnetic fields. METHODS: We studied a cohort of 20,141 Swiss railway employees between 1972 and 2002, including highly exposed train drivers (median lifetime exposure 120.5 muT-years), and less or little exposed shunting yard engineers (42.1 muT-years), train attendants (13.3 muT-years) and station masters (5.7 muT-years). During 464,129 person-years of follow up, 5,413 deaths were recorded and 3,594 deaths were attributed to cardio-vascular diseases. We analyzed data using Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: For all cardiovascular mortality the hazard ratio compared to station masters was 0.99 (95%CI: 0.91, 1.08) in train drivers, 1.13 (95%CI: 0.98, 1.30) in shunting yard engineers, and 1.09 (95%CI: 1.00, 1.19) in train attendants. Corresponding hazard ratios for arrhythmia related deaths were 1.04 (95%CI: 0.68, 1.59), 0.58 (95%CI: 0.24, 1.37) and 10 (95%CI: 0.87, 1.93) and for acute myocardial infarction 1.00 (95%CI: 0.73, 1.36), 1.56 (95%CI: 1.04, 2.32), and 1.14 (95%CI: 0.85, 1.53). The hazard ratio for arrhythmia related deaths per 100 muT-years of cumulative exposure was 0.94 (95%CI: 0.71, 1.24) and 0.91 (95%CI: 0.75, 1.11) for acute myocardial infarction. CONCLUSION: This study provides evidence against an association between long-term occupational exposure to intermittent 16.7 Hz magnetic fields and cardiovascular mortality.

Surveillance of adult lead exposure, April 1990-December 1997 /

"April 1998."

Adverse Health Effects of Chronic Exposure to Low-Level Cadmium in Foodstuffs and Cigarette Smoke

Cadmium is a cumulative nephrotoxicant that is absorbed into the body from dietary sources and cigarette smoking. The levels of Cd in organs such as liver and kidney cortex increase with age because of the lack of an active biochemical process for its elimination coupled with renal reabsorption. Recent research has provided evidence linking Cd-related kidney dysfunction and decreases in bone mineral density in nonoccupationally exposed populations who showed no signs of nutritional deficiency. This challenges the previous view that the concurrent kidney and bone damage seen in Japanese itai-itai disease patients was the result of Cd toxicity in combination with nutritional deficiencies, notably, of zinc and calcium. Further, such Cd-linked bone and kidney toxicities were observed in people whose dietary Cd intakes were well within the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) set by the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives of 1 mug/kg body weight/day or 70 mug/day. This evidence points to the much-needed revision of the current PTWI for Cd. Also, evidence for the carcinogenic risk of chronic Cd exposure is accumulating and Cd effects on reproductive outcomes have begun to emerge.

Occupational and non-occupational risk factors in bladder cancer patients in an industrialized area located in former east-Germany

Purpose: Several occupational carcinogens are metabolized by polymorphic enzymes. The distribution of the polymorphic enzymes N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2; substrates: aromatic amines), glutathione S-transferase M1 (GSTM1; substrates: e.g., reactive metabolites of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), and glutathione S-transferase T1 (GSTT1; substrates: small molecules with 1 - 2 carbon atoms) were investigated. Material and Methods: At the urological department in Lutherstadt Wittenberg, 136 patients with a histologically proven transitional cell cancer of the urinary bladder were investigated for all occupations performed for more than 6 months. Several occupational and non-occupational risk factors were asked. The genotypes of NAT2, GSTM1, and GSTT1 were determined from leucocyte DNA by PCR. Results: Compared to the general population in Middle Europe, the percentage of GSTT1 negative persons (22.1%) was ordinary; the percentage of slow acetylators (59.6%) was in the upper normal range, while the percentage of GSTM1 negative persons (58.8%) was elevated in the entire group. Shifts in the distribution of the genotypes were observed in subgroups who had been exposed to asbestos (6/6 GSTM1 negative, 5/6 slow acetylators), rubber manufacturing (8/10 GSTM1 negative), and chlorinated solvents (9/15 GSTM1 negative). Conclusions: The overrepresentation of GSTM1 negative bladder cancer patients also in this industrialized area and more pronounced in several occupationally exposed subgroups points to an impact of the GSTM1 negative genotype in bladder carcinogenesis.

The development of chemical exposure limits for the workplace

The thesis examines and explains the development of occupational exposure limits (OELs) as a means of preventing work related disease and ill health. The research focuses on the USA and UK and sets the work within a certain historical and social context. A subsidiary aim of the thesis is to identify any short comings in OELs and the methods by which they are set and suggest alternatives. The research framework uses Thomas Kuhn's idea of science progressing by means of paradigms which he describes at one point, `lq ... universally recognised scientific achievements that for a time provide model problems and solutions to a community of practitioners. KUHN (1970). Once learned individuals in the community, `lq ... are committed to the same rules and standards for scientific practice. Ibid. Kuhn's ideas are adapted by combining them with a view of industrial hygiene as an applied science-based profession having many of the qualities of non-scientific professions. The great advantage of this approach to OELs is that it keeps the analysis grounded in the behaviour and priorities of the groups which have forged, propounded, used, benefited from, and defended, them. The development and use of OELs on a larger scale is shown to be connected to the growth of a new profession in the USA; industrial hygiene, with the assistance of another new profession; industrial toxicology. The origins of these professions, particularly industrial hygiene, are traced. By examining the growth of the professions and the writings of key individuals it is possible to show how technical, economic and social factors became embedded in the OEL paradigm which industrial hygienists and toxicologists forged. The origin, mission and needs of these professions and their clients made such influences almost inevitable. The use of the OEL paradigm in practice is examined by an analysis of the process of the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, Threshold Limit Value (ACGIH, TLV) Committee via the Minutes from 1962-1984. A similar approach is taken with the development of OELs in the UK. Although the form and definition of TLVs has encouraged the belief that they are health-based OELs the conclusion is that they, and most other OELs, are, and always have been, reasonably practicable limits: the degree of risk posed by a substance is weighed against the feasibility and cost of controlling exposure to that substance. The confusion over the status of TLVs and other OELs is seen to be a confusion at the heart of the OEL paradigm and the historical perspective explains why this should be. The paradigm has prevented the creation of truly health-based and, conversely, truly reasonably practicable OELs. In the final part of the thesis the analysis of the development of OELs is set in a contemporary context and a proposal for a two-stage, two-committee procedure for producing sets of OELs is put forward. This approach is set within an alternative OEL paradigm. The advantages, benefits and likely obstacles to these proposals are discussed.

Surgical Procedure Characteristics and Risk of Sharps-Related Blood and Body Fluid Exposure.

OBJECTIVE To use a unique multicomponent administrative data set assembled at a large academic teaching hospital to examine the risk of percutaneous blood and body fluid (BBF) exposures occurring in operating rooms. DESIGN A 10-year retrospective cohort design. SETTING A single large academic teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS All surgical procedures (n=333,073) performed in 2001-2010 as well as 2,113 reported BBF exposures were analyzed. METHODS Crude exposure rates were calculated; Poisson regression was used to analyze risk factors and account for procedure duration. BBF exposures involving suture needles were examined separately from those involving other device types to examine possible differences in risk factors. RESULTS The overall rate of reported BBF exposures was 6.3 per 1,000 surgical procedures (2.9 per 1,000 surgical hours). BBF exposure rates increased with estimated patient blood loss (17.7 exposures per 1,000 procedures with 501-1,000 cc blood loss and 26.4 exposures per 1,000 procedures with >1,000 cc blood loss), number of personnel working in the surgical field during the procedure (34.4 exposures per 1,000 procedures having ≥15 personnel ever in the field), and procedure duration (14.3 exposures per 1,000 procedures lasting 4 to <6 hours, 27.1 exposures per 1,000 procedures lasting ≥6 hours). Regression results showed associations were generally stronger for suture needle-related exposures. CONCLUSIONS Results largely support other studies found in the literature. However, additional research should investigate differences in risk factors for BBF exposures associated with suture needles and those associated with all other device types. Infect. Control Hosp. Epidemiol. 2015;37(1):80-87.

Study of Worker’s Exposure to Tantalum-bearing Particles in a Mining and Metallurgical Plant

The objective of this study was to assess worker exposure to mineral dust particles and a metabolic model, based on the model adopted by ICRP, was applied to assess human exposure to Ta, and predicted values of Ta concentrations in excreta. The occupational exposure to Th, U, Nb, and Ta bearing particles during routine tasks to obtain Fe-Nb alloys was estimated using air samplers and excreta samples. Ta concentrations in food samples and in drinking water were also determined. The results support that workers were occupationally exposed to Ta bearing particles, and also indicate that a source of Ta exposure for both workers and the control group was the ingestion of drinking water containing soluble compounds of Ta. Therefore, some Ta compounds should be considered soluble compounds in gastrointestinal tract. Consequently the metabolic model based on ICRP metabolic model and/or the transfer factor f1 for Ta should be reviewed and the solubility of Ta compounds in gastrointestinal should be determined.

Co-exposure to mycotoxins: the case of waste management workers

Introduction - Occupational exposures are characterized by being complex and associated to co-exposure to several contaminants by different exposure routes. Even if exposure occurs to only a chemical agent, it can have different exposure routes and can result in different health effects. The waste management setting is recognized by the presence of several chemical and biologic agents in the workplaces. Recently, it was reported occupational exposure to Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in one Portuguese waste management industry. However, data regarding to fungal burden showed that exposure to other mycotoxins should be expected. Aim of the study - The aim of the present work was to know if workers from this waste management industry were exposed to other mycotoxins besides AFB1.

Importance of size-selective particle measuring for assessing occupational exposures: a case study “from field to fork”

Sampling the total air concentration of particulate matter (PM) only provides a basic estimate of exposure that normally not allows correlating with the observed health effects. Therefore is of great importance to recognize the particles size distribution and, particularly, the exposure to fine particles (≤ 2.5 μm). This particles dimension corresponds to the respirable fraction, the one that can implicate local and systemic effects due to particle deposition and clearance from the lungs and transport within the organism. This study intended to describe occupational exposure to PM2.5 in three units related with swine production and consumption, namely: feed production, swine production and swine slaughterhouse. A size-selective particle measuring in five to six workplaces of each unit was performed. Measurements of PM were done using a portable direct-reading hand-held equipment (Lighthouse, model 3016 IAQ). Data showed slaughterhouse unit with higher values, with values ranging from 0.030 to 0.142 mg/m3 (0.073 + 0.043), being the cutting room the workplace with higher values. In feed production unit, values were between 0.026 and 0.033 mg/m3 (0.028 + 0.003) with the warehouse of pharmacy products as the workplace with higher values. Finally, in swine unit values ranged from 0.006 to 0.048 mg/m3 (0.023 + 0.017) with the batteries area presenting the higher values. PM can be rich in fungi and bacteria and their metabolites, such as endotoxins and mycotoxins. Previous publications already showed high contamination in these occupational settings and particles can have an important role in exposure since can easily act as carrier of these agents. Data acquired allow not only a better prediction of particle penetration into respiratory regions of the respiratory tract, but also a better estimation of PM health effects. Moreover, data permit to identify the workplaces where investment should be made to prevent and reduce exposure.

Endocrine disruptors mixtures: the real scenario of human exposure

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are exogenous agents that have the ability to interfere with/or mimic estrogenic hormones and, therefore can simultaneously and differentially trigger specific signaling pathways responsible for the nature and magnitude of biological responses in diverse cell types. Human exposure to EDCs, particularly at low-doses, is ubiquitous, persistent and occurs in complex mixtures. These compounds can bioaccumulate in lipid compartments of tissues forming a mixed “body burden” of contaminants of different origins. Although the independent action of chemicals has been considered the main principle in EDCs mixture toxicity, several effects cannot be predicted when analyzing single compounds individually. Based in a revision of the literature, focused in studies that evaluated EDCs mixtures, we hypothesize the scenario of a pregnant woman environmentally exposed to three different EDCs as a potential real scenario of human exposure supported by data describing where exposure to these compounds occur.

Assessment of exposure to the Penicillium glabrum complex in cork industry using complementing methods

Cork oak is the second most dominant forest species in Portugal and makes this country the world leader in cork export. Occupational exposure to Chrysonilia sitophila and the Penicillium glabrum complex in cork industry is common, and the latter fungus is associated with suberosis. However, as conventional methods seem to underestimate its presence in occupational environments, the aim of our study was to see whether information obtained by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a molecular-based method, can complement conventional findings and give a better insight into occupational exposure of cork industry workers. We assessed fungal contamination with the P. glabrum complex in three cork manufacturing plants in the outskirts of Lisbon using both conventional and molecular methods. Conventional culturing failed to detect the fungus at six sampling sites in which PCR did detect it. This confirms our assumption that the use of complementing methods can provide information for a more accurate assessment of occupational exposure to the P. glabrum complex in cork industry.

Prevalence of Aspergillus fumigatus complex in waste sorting and incineration plants: an occupational threat

Aspergillus fumigatus is one of the major ubiquitous saprophytic fungi and it is considered one of the fungal species with higher clinical relevance. This study aimed at characterising the prevalence of A. fumigatus complex in one waste-sorting plant and also in one incineration plant. Conventional and molecular methodologies were applied in order to detect its presence. Aspergillus fumigatus complex was the second most frequently found in the air from the waste-sorting plant (16.0%) and from the incineration plant (18.0%). Regarding surfaces, it ranked the third species most frequently found in the waste-sorting plant (13.8%) and the second in the incineration plant (22.3%). In the waste-sorting plant, it was possible to amplify by qPCR DNA from the A. fumigatus complex in all culture-positive sampling sites plus one other sampling site that was negative by culture analysis. Considering the observed fungal load, it is recommended to apply preventive and protective measures in order to avoid or minimise worker's exposure.