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Hygiene RSS FeedsThe Flowers That Bloom In The Spring - Tra-la! At last the crocuses have bloomed.There is something about the first flower of spring that changes everything. It signals, to me at least, the beginning of the gardening season.I've been pulling up weeds from the rose beds for a few weeks now. For the most part, the roses themselves seem to have handled the winter well. Rosa multiflora already has leaves. Rosa akransana and Rosa woodsii ultramontana are budding out; the latter of which (which normally do <br /><a href="http://www.wunderground.com/blog/fa/comment.html?entrynum=4&tstamp=200603">Read More</a>...Feed Source: www.wunderground.com You know the weather is weird when... - the tulips are coming up but there is not asnow crocus in sight.Yesterday we had record highs and I spent the daypulling weeds out of the rose beds. I have neverbefore pulled weeds in February. On the other handthe snow crocuses generally bloom on March 4th,every year like clockwork. This year, not a sign.There has been no moisture since my last post butthe koi pond is filling again; we'll see how longit lasts.<br /><a href="http://www.wunderground.com/blog/fa/comment.html?entrynum=3&tstamp=200603">Read More</a>... Some Snow - Finally, we did get some snow; the heavy wet kind that's great for making lethal snowballs. We only got about aninch of it, and afterward, a hard freeze, and that morning for the first time I saw a sun pillar. It was a lovely sight. I had a feeling the freeze would kill off the roses which were budding out, but fortunately the roses are tougher than I thought. The hybrid teas didn't fare so well, but the Old Roses seem perfectly happy. The seedlings of <br /><a href="http://www.wunderground.com/blog/fa/comment.html?entrynum=2&tstamp=200602">Read More</a>... An Extremely Dry Winter... Just a Phase? - The predicted snow didn't happen. We continue to have a protracted fall rather than a winter. The grass in the pasture crunches when you walk on it, and there are cracks in the ground that seem to go all the way down The last real winter we had was in the mid-'90s. We had two or three feet of snow that would stay around for a while, daytime temperatures below freezing. The roses went dormant with a vengeance. The pond, still full, froze over and the <br /><a href="http://www.wunderground.com/blog/fa/comment.html?entrynum=1&tstamp=200601">Read More</a>... Hello From Beautiful Metropolitan Hygiene - Hello from 80533, a tiny outpost of Zone 5a in a morrass of Zone 4b. For those of you who don't know the place, Hygiene is the last tiny town on the Front Range. Hopefully it'll stay this way.Here it is nearing the end of January and I'm still waiting for Winter. We've had one or two cold nights (by cold I mean a really hard freeze) and it's snowed once or twice. But on the whole we've just had a long-extended late fall. The roses <br /><a href="http://www.wunderground.com/blog/fa/comment.html?entrynum=0&tstamp=200601">Read More</a>... Measurement Uncertainty -
The reporting of measurement uncertainty has recently undergone a major harmonization whereby characteristics of a measurement method obtained during establishment and application are combined componentwise. For example, the sometimes-pesky systematic error is included. A bias component of uncertainty can be often easily established as the uncertainty in the bias. However, beyond simply arriving at a value for uncertainty, meaning to this uncertainty if needed can sometimes be developed in terms of prediction confidence in uncertainty-based intervals covering what is to be measured. To this end, a link between concepts of accuracy and uncertainty is established through a simple yet accurate approximation to a random variable known as the non-central Student's t-distribution.
Without a measureless and perpetual uncertainty, the drama of human life would be destroyed. Winston Churchill
... Application of a Pilot Control Banding Tool for Risk Level Assessment and Control of Nanoparticle Exposures -
Control banding (CB) strategies offer simplified solutions for controlling worker exposures to constituents that are found in the workplace in the absence of firm toxicological and exposure data. These strategies may be particularly useful in nanotechnology applications, considering the overwhelming level of uncertainty over what nanomaterials and nanotechnologies present as potential work-related health risks, what about these materials might lead to adverse toxicological activity, how risk related to these might be assessed and how to manage these issues in the absence of this information. This study introduces a pilot CB tool or ‘CB Nanotool’ that was developed specifically for characterizing the health aspects of working with engineered nanoparticles and determining the level of risk and associated controls for five ongoing nanotechnology-related operations being conducted at two Department of Energy research laboratories. Based on the application of the CB Nanotool... 'Stoffenmanager', a Web-Based Control Banding Tool Using an Exposure Process Model -
In the scope of a Dutch programme to reinforce the working conditions policy on hazardous substances, an internet-based tool was developed to help small- and medium-sized companies to handle hazardous substances with more care. The heart of this tool, called the Stoffenmanager, is a risk banding scheme. It combines a hazard banding scheme similar to that of COSHH Essentials and an exposure banding scheme based on an exposure model originally presented by Cherrie et al. (1996) and further developed by Cherrie and Schneider (1999). The exposure model has been modified to allow non-expert users to understand and use the model. Exposure scores are calculated based on categorization of determinants of emission, transmission and immission. These exposure scores are assigned to exposure bands. The comparison of exposure bands and hazard bands leads to a risk band or priority band. Following the evaluation of the priority of tasks done with products, generic exposure control measure... Stoffenmanager Exposure Model: Development of a Quantitative Algorithm -
In The Netherlands, the web-based tool called ‘Stoffenmanager’ was initially developed to assist small- and medium-sized enterprises to prioritize and control risks of handling chemical products in their workplaces. The aim of the present study was to explore the accuracy of the Stoffenmanager exposure algorithm. This was done by comparing its semi-quantitative exposure rankings for specific substances with exposure measurements collected from several occupational settings to derive a quantitative exposure algorithm. Exposure data were collected using two strategies. First, we conducted seven surveys specifically for validation of the Stoffenmanager. Second, existing occupational exposure data sets were collected from various sources. This resulted in 378 and 320 measurements for solid and liquid scenarios, respectively. The Spearman correlation coefficients between Stoffenmanager scores and exposure measurements appeared to be good for handling solids (rs... Asbestos Fibre Concentrations in the Lungs of Brake Workers: Another Look -
Objective: To reanalyse data on the lung content of asbestos fibres among brake mechanics.
Methods: I re-analysed data published by Butnor, Roggli and colleagues on the lung content of chrysotile and tremolite asbestos fibres among brake mechanics and controls. Statistics of the distributions were estimated by maximum likelihood to accommodate observations below the detection limit. Mean concentrations were compared by the t-test, bootstrap resampling and interval-censored survival methods.
Results: The mean concentrations of fibres were higher among the brake workers than the controls. The concentration of tremolite fibres was higher than the concentration of chrysotile, a pattern similar to that observed among Quebec chrysotile miners and millers.
Conclusions: Re-analysis of published data does not support the interpretation that, in automotive brake repair workers with malignant mesothelioma, asbestos content is within the normal range. The alternativ... Exposure to Chrysotile Asbestos Associated with Unpacking and Repacking Boxes of Automobile Brake Pads and Shoes -
Industrial hygiene surveys and epidemiologic studies of auto mechanics have shown that these workers are not at an increased risk of asbestos-related disease; however, concerns continue to be raised regarding asbestos exposure from asbestos-containing brakes. Handling new asbestos-containing brake components has recently been suggested as a potential source of asbestos exposure. A simulation study involving the unpacking and repacking of 105 boxes of brakes (for vehicles ca. 1946–80), including 62 boxes of brake pads and 43 boxes of brake shoes, was conducted to examine how this activity might contribute to both short-term and 8-h time-weighted average exposures to asbestos. Breathing zone samples on the lapel of a volunteer worker (n = 80) and area samples at bystander (e.g., 1.5 m from worker) (n = 56), remote area (n = 26) and ambient (n = 10) locations collected during the unpacking and repacking of boxes of asbestos-containing brakes were anal... Sensitivity Analysis of Biologically Motivated Model for Formaldehyde-Induced Respiratory Cancer in Humans -
Conolly et al. (2003, 2004) developed biologically motivated models of formaldehyde carcinogenicity in F344 rats and humans based on a two-stage clonal expansion model of cancer. Based on the human model, Conolly et al. (2004) claimed that cancer risks associated with inhaled formaldehyde are deminimis at relevant human exposure levels. However, they did not conduct a sensitivity analysis to evaluate the robustness of this conclusion. Here, we present a limited sensitivity analysis of the formaldehyde human model. We show that when the control animals from the National Toxicology Program (NTP) studies are replaced with control animals only from NTP inhalation studies, estimates of human risk are increased by 50-fold. When only concurrent control rats are used, the model does not provide any upper bound (UB) to human risk. No data went into the model on the effect of formaldehyde on the division rates and death rates of initiated cells. We show that slight numerical pe... Occupational PAH Exposures during Prescribed Pile Burns -
Wildland firefighters are exposed to particulate matter and gases containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), many of which are known carcinogens. Our objective was to evaluate the extent of firefighter exposure to particulate and PAHs during prescribed pile burns of mainly ponderosa pine slash and determine whether these exposures were correlated with changes in urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-HP), a PAH metabolite. Personal and area sampling for particulate and PAH exposures were conducted on the White Mountain Apache Tribe reservation, working with 21 Bureau of Indian Affairs/Fort Apache Agency wildland firefighters during the fall of 2006. Urine samples were collected pre- and post-exposure and pulmonary function was measured. Personal PAH exposures were detectable for only 3 of 16 PAHs analyzed: naphthalene, phenanthrene, and fluorene, all of which were identified only in vapor-phase samples. Condensed-phase PAHs were detected in PM2.5 area samples (20 of 21 PAHs analyzed w... Particulate Matter Exposure during Domestic Work in Nepal -
Aims: To measure particulate matter (PM) exposure of people involved in domestic work (i.e. housework by a resident, not paid work) in urban and rural Nepal, with exposure to biomass smoke in the rural areas, and to examine the performance of photometric devices in collecting these data. This paper details the results of these measurements and derives calibration factors for two photometric devices compared to gravimetric measures.
Methods: Between April 2006 and February 2007, respirable dust and PM2.5 levels were measured over a 24-h period in 490 households in a range of urban and rural settings in the Kathmandu valley of Nepal. Sampling was carried out by photometric and gravimetric methods with the co-located gravimetric data used to derive a calibration factor for the photometric devices.
Results: The time-weighted average (TWA) (24 h) respirable dust levels measured by gravimetric sampler ranged from 13 to 2600 µg m–3 in the ru... The Meaning of the Bias Uncertainty Measure -
Characterization of measurement uncertainty in terms of root sums of squares of both unknown systematic as well as random error components is given meaning in the sense of prediction intervals. Both types of errors are commonly encountered with industrial hygiene air monitoring of hazardous substances. Two extreme types of measurement methods are presented for illustrating how confidence levels may be ascribed to prediction intervals defined by such uncertainty values. In the case of method calibration at each measurement, systematic error or bias may enter from a biased calibrant. At another extreme, a single initial method evaluation may leave residual bias owing to random error in the evaluation itself or to the use of a biased reference method. Analysis is simplified through new simple approximations to probabilistic limits (quantiles) on the magnitude of a non-central Student t-distributed random variable. Connection is established between traditional confidence limits,... Estimation of Benchmark Dose for Bone Damage and Renal Dysfunction in a Chinese Male Population Occupationally Exposed to Lead -
Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine a possible relationship between lead nephropathy and its effects on the skeleton in male population occupationally exposed to lead in China.
Methods: One hundred and fifty-five lead-exposed male workers in a storage battery plant in Shanghai were selected as the exposed subjects while the 36 healthy male officers in the plant who were not occupationally exposed to lead were treated as the control. Blood lead (BPb) and urine lead were used as biomarkers for exposure. Z score, urine hydroxyproline (HYP), serum alkaline phosphatase (bone isoenzyme) (BALP) and serum osteocalcin (BGP) were used as biomarkers for bone effects. Urine N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (UNAG) and urine albumin (UALB) were applied as biomarkers of renal tubular and glomerular dysfunction. Bone mineral density was measured by the monophoton absorptiometry (SPA-4).
Results: It was found that there were linear correlate rela... The Determinants of Dermal Exposure Ranking Method (DERM): A Pesticide Exposure Assessment Approach for Developing Countries -
A new method for assessment of dermal exposure to pesticides in subsistence farmers by use of determinants of dermal exposure is described. The method, called the determinants of dermal exposure ranking method (DERM), is a combination of checklists and expert rating assessment. Thus, determinants are listed in a form, which is used to check their presence and to assess them using a simple algorithm based on two factors, the type of transport process (T value) and the area of body surface exposed (A value). In addition, the type of clothing worn during applications is included as a protection factor. We applied the DERM to real pesticide applications, characterizing dermal exposure and comparing DERM estimates with earlier developed semiquantitative visual scores based on fluorescent tracer, the total visual score (TVS) and contaminated body area (CBA). DERM showed a very good level of agreement with both the TVS (r = 0.69; P = 0.000) and the CBA (r... Generation and Homogeneity of Aerosols in a Human Whole-Body Inhalation Chamber -
Introduction: A 16 m3 whole-body exposure chamber for human exposure to aerosols is described. Several modifications of the aerosol generation and distribution system were needed to ensure a stable aerosol concentration in the chamber, especially when a cyclone pre-classifier was used.
Results: After these modifications, stable aerosol concentrations of aluminium oxide with a volume median diameter of 5.7 µm, and ~3 µm when the cyclone was used, could be achieved after 1 h of aerosol generation. Aerosol concentrations of 1–8 mg m–3 generated without the cyclone could be maintained for at least 2 h after the aerosol level had stabilized. The temporal variability [coefficient of variation (CV)] of the aerosol concentration was 4–6%, while concentrations <1 mg m–3 showed greater relative variability. The spatial variability at 3.8 mg m–3 without a volunteer in the chamber was 4.8%. With a v... Copyright © 2008, Pinellas County Real Estate. All Rights Reserved. |