Background Hotel employees have higher rates of occupational injury and sustain more severe injur... more Background Hotel employees have higher rates of occupational injury and sustain more severe injuries than most other service workers. Method OSHA log incidents from five unionized hotel companies for a three-year period were analyzed to estimate injury rates by job, company, and demographic characteristics. Room cleaning work, known to be physically hazardous, was of particular concern. Results A total of 2,865 injuries were reported during 55,327 worker-years of observation. The overall injury rate was 5.2 injuries per 100 worker-years. The rate was highest for housekeepers (7.9), Hispanic housekeepers (10.6), and about double in three companies versus two others. Acute trauma rates were highest in kitchen workers (4.0/100) and housekeepers (3.9/100); housekeepers also had the highest rate of musculoskeletal disorders (3.2/100). Age, being female or Hispanic, job title, and company were all independently associated with injury risk. Conclusion Sex-and ethnicity-based disparities in injury rates were only partially due to the type of job held and the company in which the work was performed. Am.
A LLabor Perspective on Workplace Reproductive Hazards: Past History, Current Concerns, and Positive Directions
barring corporate "fetal protection policies " was a major victory for women's emp... more barring corporate "fetal protection policies " was a major victory for women's employment rights and has health and safety implications for both sexes. However, 2 years after the Court's decision, the union's work is far from over. The UAW has yet to see what policy Johnson Controls will implement in place of the old one. Formulating solutions to the concerns of workers who are exposed daily to reproductive health hazards on the job will continue to be on labor's agenda. Preventing hazardous exposures is the first priority. This goal would be furthered by setting occupational health and safety standards designed to protect workers ' general and reproductive health. Support for the Comprehensive Occupational Safety and Health Reform Act (COSHRA) would also positively affect health and safety in the workplace. Where hazards have not yet been abated, the framework of transfers and income protections for all workers with temporary job restrictions shou...
Th e National Nanotechnology Initiative is the Federal nanotechnology R&D program established in ... more Th e National Nanotechnology Initiative is the Federal nanotechnology R&D program established in 2000 to coordinate Federal nanotechnology research, development, and deployment. Th e NNI consists of the individual and cooperative nanotechnology-related activities of 25 Federal agencies that have a range of research and regulatory roles and responsibilities. Th e goals of the NNI are fourfold: (1) to advance a world-class nanotechnology research and development program; (2) to foster the transfer of new technologies into products for commercial and public benefi t; (3) to develop and sustain educational resources, a skilled workforce, and the supporting infrastructure and tools to advance nanotechnology; and (4) to support responsible development of nanotechnology. Th e NSET Subcommittee and its Nanotechnology Environmental and Health Implications (NEHI) Working Group provide leadership in establishing the NNI environmental, health, and safety research agenda and in communicating dat...
Corrigendum to “Estimating aerosol transmission risk of SARS-CoV-2 in New York City public schools during reopening”[Environmental Research 195 (2021) 110805]
Respirable dust and silica exposure among World Trade Center cleanup workers
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 2016
The cleanup effort following the destruction of the World Trade Center (WTC) was unprecedented an... more The cleanup effort following the destruction of the World Trade Center (WTC) was unprecedented and involved removal of 1.8 million tons of rubble over a nine-month period. Work at the site occurred 24 hr a day, 7 days a week and involved thousands of workers during the process. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) conducted personal and area exposure sampling during the cleanup of the site. Secondary data analysis was performed on OSHA air sampling data for respirable dust and silica from September 2001 to June 2002 at the WTC recovery site to characterize workers' exposure. Results for silica and respirable particulate were stratified by area and personal samples as well as job task for analysis. Of 1108 samples included in the analysis, 693 were personal and 415 were area. The mean result for personal silica samples was 42 μg/m(3) (Range: 4.2-1800 μg/m(3)). Workers identified as drillers had the highest mean silica exposure (72 μg/m(3); range: 5.8-800 μg/m(3)) followed by workers identified as dock builders (67 μg/m(3); range: 5.8-670 μg/m(3)). The mean result for personal samples for respirable particulate was 0.44 mg/m(3) (range: 0.00010-13 mg/m(3)). There were no discernable trends in personal respirable dust and silica concentrations with date.
Mortality among workers exposed to cutting fluids and abrasives: Bearing Plant 1
A survey of mortality among United Automobile Union workers exposed to cutting fluids and abrasiv... more A survey of mortality among United Automobile Union workers exposed to cutting fluids and abrasives was conducted. The cohort consisted of all hourly employees with 10 or more years of service who died from January 1, 1969 to July 31, 1982. A total of 702 death certificates and job histories of 768 employees were reviewed. Data was obtained from company and union records. Standardized proportional mortality ratios (PMR) were computed. Significant excesses of mortality from rectal cancer (PMR at 3.04), stomach cancer (PMR at 1.98), and stroke (PMR at 1.35) were found. A 25% elevation in mortality for lung cancer (PMR at 1.25) occurred among white males. Among females employed as grinders, the PMR for lung cancer was 2.8. A statistically significant correlation between stomach cancer and grinding exposure occurred. The grinding exposures consisted primarily of aerosols from soluble oil and oil-based metal working fluids. The authors note that the pattern of stomach cancer suggests a correlation with water-based cutting fluids.
Journal of Occupational Medicine Official Publication of the Industrial Medical Association, May 31, 1988
Wolters Kluwer Health may email you for journal alerts and information, but is committed to maint... more Wolters Kluwer Health may email you for journal alerts and information, but is committed to maintaining your privacy and will not share your personal information without your express consent. For more information, please refer to our Privacy Policy. ... An abstract is unavailable. This article is ...
Distortions of the “Mis-Read” Book: Adding Procedural Botox to Paralysis by Analysis
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 10807030390240337, Jun 3, 2010
Twenty years after the publication of the National Research Council's report Risk Assess... more Twenty years after the publication of the National Research Council's report Risk Assessment in the Federal Government: Managing the Process, called the “Red Book,” we can call it the “mis-read” book, despite its great influence and frequent citation. The book is best remembered for the four-step paradigm for risk assessment, a useful matrix for analysis of the process of defining chemical exposure limits. However, the primary purpose of the study was to judge early proposals for adding “procedural botox” to the paralysis-by-analysis then slowing public health interventions against chemicals. Our Red Book Committee rejected that approach. Another recommendation, separating risk assessment from risk management, has also been misinterpreted. Unfortunately, the committee's long discussion of adding alternatives to default, consistent decision rules was cited to support elaboration of risk assessment by those who seek to obstruct public health protection. This strategy crystallized into legislation, most recently S. 691, which nearly passed the U.S. Senate in 2001. Since 1983, evidence for carcinogenicity of many exposures in the occupational environment has greatly proliferated, but public health protection has stagnated. Alternatives to default assumptions can be considered “Houdini Risk Assessment” hypotheses, which enable industry and regulatory agencies to make risks disappear and escape from the need to intervene. Houdini hypotheses include: peroxisome proliferation for phthalates; alpha2-microglobulin for petroleum hydrocarbons; lung overload hypothesis for particle carcinogenesis; and mouse clara cell tumors for methylene chloride among others. In contrast to the community environment, the occupational environment contains many exposures already shown to pose risks at exposures permitted by prevailing exposure limits.
Mortality among workers in a die-casting and electroplating plant
Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health
A proportional mortality and case-referent analysis of 238 deaths among hourly employees in an au... more A proportional mortality and case-referent analysis of 238 deaths among hourly employees in an automobile hardware manufacturing plant was conducted. The major operations of the plant were zinc die casting and electroplating. Chemical exposure included die-casting emissions and mists from chrome and nickel plating. The chief proportional mortality finding was a significant excess of lung cancer among both white men and women. A case-referent analysis indicated a possible association between lung cancer and work in certain departments. The findings support the hypothesis of a work-related carcinogenic risk. Follow-up recommendations have been made.
Mortality in workers in electromechanical and electronics production
Concern expressed by a local union over excess cancer deaths at an electronics and electromechani... more Concern expressed by a local union over excess cancer deaths at an electronics and electromechanical manufacturing facility for aircraft and missile applications prompted this mortality study. Chemical exposures included halogenated solvents, cutting fluids, solder fluxes, epoxy resins, cyanoacrylate resins, and acrylonitrile-based resins. From 1965 to 1979 there were 30 deaths from cancer among female workers; 15.5 was the expected number. From 1970 to 1979 there appeared to be significant excess proportions of deaths attributable to pancreatic cancer in men and women and of colon cancer, stomach cancer and ovarian cancer in women. From 1980 through 1983, there has been no evidence of increased cancer; however, the numbers are small. The authors recommend that an independent hygiene assessment be made of current production, paying strict attention to ventilation systems, resin handling systems, solvent use, and cutting fluid control in the grinding and maching operations. The estab...
The Mode of Absorption, Distribution, and Elimination of Toxic Materials
Patty's Industrial Hygiene, 2001
... However, the relative paucity of such channels in what is mainly a lipid structure makes ... ... more ... However, the relative paucity of such channels in what is mainly a lipid structure makes ... because this process requires expenditure of energy, metabolic inhibitors have the potential for blocking ... back out of the cell via active transport through the multiple drug receptor apparatus. ...
Background We examined the association between long work hours, assembly line work and stress‐rel... more Background We examined the association between long work hours, assembly line work and stress‐related diseases utilizing objective health and employment data from an employer's administrative databases. MethodsA North American automobile manufacturing company provided data for claims for sickness, accident and disability insurance (work absence of at least 4 days) for cardiovascular disease (CVD), hypertension and psychological disorders, employee demographics, and facility hours worked per year for 1996–2001. Age‐adjusted claim rates and age‐adjusted rate ratios were calculated using Poisson regression, except for comparisons between production and skilled trades workers owing to lack of age denominator data by job category. Associations between overtime hours and claim rates by facility were examined by Poisson regression and multi‐level Poisson regression. ResultsClaims for hypertension, coronary heart disease, CVD, and psychological disorders were associated with facility ov...
Mortality among bearing plant workers exposed to metalworking fluids and abrasives
Journal of occupational medicine. : official publication of the Industrial Medical Association, 1988
Epidemiologic studies have reported associations between gastrointestinal cancer mortality and ex... more Epidemiologic studies have reported associations between gastrointestinal cancer mortality and exposure to cutting fluids and abrasives in metal machining and precision grinding operations. Two previous studies found excess stomach cancer among workers exposed to water-based cutting fluids in bearing plants. This study reports similar findings in a third and larger population. Cause of death and work histories were determined for 1,766 bearing plant workers who died between Jan 1, 1950 and June 30, 1982. Mortality odds ratios (SMOR) and proportional mortality ratios (PMR) revealed significant excesses of gastrointestinal malignancies. The proportional mortality excess for stomach cancer among white men was greatest among those with more than 10 years' exposure in the major grinding group (PMR = 13/3.8 = 3.39; P less than .001). The SMOR by logistic regression for stomach cancer among white men was 2.3 (P = .02) for 25 years' grinding experience. For cancer of the pancreas am...
Background Hotel employees have higher rates of occupational injury and sustain more severe injur... more Background Hotel employees have higher rates of occupational injury and sustain more severe injuries than most other service workers. Method OSHA log incidents from five unionized hotel companies for a three-year period were analyzed to estimate injury rates by job, company, and demographic characteristics. Room cleaning work, known to be physically hazardous, was of particular concern. Results A total of 2,865 injuries were reported during 55,327 worker-years of observation. The overall injury rate was 5.2 injuries per 100 worker-years. The rate was highest for housekeepers (7.9), Hispanic housekeepers (10.6), and about double in three companies versus two others. Acute trauma rates were highest in kitchen workers (4.0/100) and housekeepers (3.9/100); housekeepers also had the highest rate of musculoskeletal disorders (3.2/100). Age, being female or Hispanic, job title, and company were all independently associated with injury risk. Conclusion Sex-and ethnicity-based disparities in injury rates were only partially due to the type of job held and the company in which the work was performed. Am.
A LLabor Perspective on Workplace Reproductive Hazards: Past History, Current Concerns, and Positive Directions
barring corporate "fetal protection policies " was a major victory for women's emp... more barring corporate "fetal protection policies " was a major victory for women's employment rights and has health and safety implications for both sexes. However, 2 years after the Court's decision, the union's work is far from over. The UAW has yet to see what policy Johnson Controls will implement in place of the old one. Formulating solutions to the concerns of workers who are exposed daily to reproductive health hazards on the job will continue to be on labor's agenda. Preventing hazardous exposures is the first priority. This goal would be furthered by setting occupational health and safety standards designed to protect workers ' general and reproductive health. Support for the Comprehensive Occupational Safety and Health Reform Act (COSHRA) would also positively affect health and safety in the workplace. Where hazards have not yet been abated, the framework of transfers and income protections for all workers with temporary job restrictions shou...
Th e National Nanotechnology Initiative is the Federal nanotechnology R&D program established in ... more Th e National Nanotechnology Initiative is the Federal nanotechnology R&D program established in 2000 to coordinate Federal nanotechnology research, development, and deployment. Th e NNI consists of the individual and cooperative nanotechnology-related activities of 25 Federal agencies that have a range of research and regulatory roles and responsibilities. Th e goals of the NNI are fourfold: (1) to advance a world-class nanotechnology research and development program; (2) to foster the transfer of new technologies into products for commercial and public benefi t; (3) to develop and sustain educational resources, a skilled workforce, and the supporting infrastructure and tools to advance nanotechnology; and (4) to support responsible development of nanotechnology. Th e NSET Subcommittee and its Nanotechnology Environmental and Health Implications (NEHI) Working Group provide leadership in establishing the NNI environmental, health, and safety research agenda and in communicating dat...
Corrigendum to “Estimating aerosol transmission risk of SARS-CoV-2 in New York City public schools during reopening”[Environmental Research 195 (2021) 110805]
Respirable dust and silica exposure among World Trade Center cleanup workers
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 2016
The cleanup effort following the destruction of the World Trade Center (WTC) was unprecedented an... more The cleanup effort following the destruction of the World Trade Center (WTC) was unprecedented and involved removal of 1.8 million tons of rubble over a nine-month period. Work at the site occurred 24 hr a day, 7 days a week and involved thousands of workers during the process. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) conducted personal and area exposure sampling during the cleanup of the site. Secondary data analysis was performed on OSHA air sampling data for respirable dust and silica from September 2001 to June 2002 at the WTC recovery site to characterize workers' exposure. Results for silica and respirable particulate were stratified by area and personal samples as well as job task for analysis. Of 1108 samples included in the analysis, 693 were personal and 415 were area. The mean result for personal silica samples was 42 μg/m(3) (Range: 4.2-1800 μg/m(3)). Workers identified as drillers had the highest mean silica exposure (72 μg/m(3); range: 5.8-800 μg/m(3)) followed by workers identified as dock builders (67 μg/m(3); range: 5.8-670 μg/m(3)). The mean result for personal samples for respirable particulate was 0.44 mg/m(3) (range: 0.00010-13 mg/m(3)). There were no discernable trends in personal respirable dust and silica concentrations with date.
Mortality among workers exposed to cutting fluids and abrasives: Bearing Plant 1
A survey of mortality among United Automobile Union workers exposed to cutting fluids and abrasiv... more A survey of mortality among United Automobile Union workers exposed to cutting fluids and abrasives was conducted. The cohort consisted of all hourly employees with 10 or more years of service who died from January 1, 1969 to July 31, 1982. A total of 702 death certificates and job histories of 768 employees were reviewed. Data was obtained from company and union records. Standardized proportional mortality ratios (PMR) were computed. Significant excesses of mortality from rectal cancer (PMR at 3.04), stomach cancer (PMR at 1.98), and stroke (PMR at 1.35) were found. A 25% elevation in mortality for lung cancer (PMR at 1.25) occurred among white males. Among females employed as grinders, the PMR for lung cancer was 2.8. A statistically significant correlation between stomach cancer and grinding exposure occurred. The grinding exposures consisted primarily of aerosols from soluble oil and oil-based metal working fluids. The authors note that the pattern of stomach cancer suggests a correlation with water-based cutting fluids.
Journal of Occupational Medicine Official Publication of the Industrial Medical Association, May 31, 1988
Wolters Kluwer Health may email you for journal alerts and information, but is committed to maint... more Wolters Kluwer Health may email you for journal alerts and information, but is committed to maintaining your privacy and will not share your personal information without your express consent. For more information, please refer to our Privacy Policy. ... An abstract is unavailable. This article is ...
Distortions of the “Mis-Read” Book: Adding Procedural Botox to Paralysis by Analysis
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 10807030390240337, Jun 3, 2010
Twenty years after the publication of the National Research Council's report Risk Assess... more Twenty years after the publication of the National Research Council's report Risk Assessment in the Federal Government: Managing the Process, called the “Red Book,” we can call it the “mis-read” book, despite its great influence and frequent citation. The book is best remembered for the four-step paradigm for risk assessment, a useful matrix for analysis of the process of defining chemical exposure limits. However, the primary purpose of the study was to judge early proposals for adding “procedural botox” to the paralysis-by-analysis then slowing public health interventions against chemicals. Our Red Book Committee rejected that approach. Another recommendation, separating risk assessment from risk management, has also been misinterpreted. Unfortunately, the committee's long discussion of adding alternatives to default, consistent decision rules was cited to support elaboration of risk assessment by those who seek to obstruct public health protection. This strategy crystallized into legislation, most recently S. 691, which nearly passed the U.S. Senate in 2001. Since 1983, evidence for carcinogenicity of many exposures in the occupational environment has greatly proliferated, but public health protection has stagnated. Alternatives to default assumptions can be considered “Houdini Risk Assessment” hypotheses, which enable industry and regulatory agencies to make risks disappear and escape from the need to intervene. Houdini hypotheses include: peroxisome proliferation for phthalates; alpha2-microglobulin for petroleum hydrocarbons; lung overload hypothesis for particle carcinogenesis; and mouse clara cell tumors for methylene chloride among others. In contrast to the community environment, the occupational environment contains many exposures already shown to pose risks at exposures permitted by prevailing exposure limits.
Mortality among workers in a die-casting and electroplating plant
Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health
A proportional mortality and case-referent analysis of 238 deaths among hourly employees in an au... more A proportional mortality and case-referent analysis of 238 deaths among hourly employees in an automobile hardware manufacturing plant was conducted. The major operations of the plant were zinc die casting and electroplating. Chemical exposure included die-casting emissions and mists from chrome and nickel plating. The chief proportional mortality finding was a significant excess of lung cancer among both white men and women. A case-referent analysis indicated a possible association between lung cancer and work in certain departments. The findings support the hypothesis of a work-related carcinogenic risk. Follow-up recommendations have been made.
Mortality in workers in electromechanical and electronics production
Concern expressed by a local union over excess cancer deaths at an electronics and electromechani... more Concern expressed by a local union over excess cancer deaths at an electronics and electromechanical manufacturing facility for aircraft and missile applications prompted this mortality study. Chemical exposures included halogenated solvents, cutting fluids, solder fluxes, epoxy resins, cyanoacrylate resins, and acrylonitrile-based resins. From 1965 to 1979 there were 30 deaths from cancer among female workers; 15.5 was the expected number. From 1970 to 1979 there appeared to be significant excess proportions of deaths attributable to pancreatic cancer in men and women and of colon cancer, stomach cancer and ovarian cancer in women. From 1980 through 1983, there has been no evidence of increased cancer; however, the numbers are small. The authors recommend that an independent hygiene assessment be made of current production, paying strict attention to ventilation systems, resin handling systems, solvent use, and cutting fluid control in the grinding and maching operations. The estab...
The Mode of Absorption, Distribution, and Elimination of Toxic Materials
Patty's Industrial Hygiene, 2001
... However, the relative paucity of such channels in what is mainly a lipid structure makes ... ... more ... However, the relative paucity of such channels in what is mainly a lipid structure makes ... because this process requires expenditure of energy, metabolic inhibitors have the potential for blocking ... back out of the cell via active transport through the multiple drug receptor apparatus. ...
Background We examined the association between long work hours, assembly line work and stress‐rel... more Background We examined the association between long work hours, assembly line work and stress‐related diseases utilizing objective health and employment data from an employer's administrative databases. MethodsA North American automobile manufacturing company provided data for claims for sickness, accident and disability insurance (work absence of at least 4 days) for cardiovascular disease (CVD), hypertension and psychological disorders, employee demographics, and facility hours worked per year for 1996–2001. Age‐adjusted claim rates and age‐adjusted rate ratios were calculated using Poisson regression, except for comparisons between production and skilled trades workers owing to lack of age denominator data by job category. Associations between overtime hours and claim rates by facility were examined by Poisson regression and multi‐level Poisson regression. ResultsClaims for hypertension, coronary heart disease, CVD, and psychological disorders were associated with facility ov...
Mortality among bearing plant workers exposed to metalworking fluids and abrasives
Journal of occupational medicine. : official publication of the Industrial Medical Association, 1988
Epidemiologic studies have reported associations between gastrointestinal cancer mortality and ex... more Epidemiologic studies have reported associations between gastrointestinal cancer mortality and exposure to cutting fluids and abrasives in metal machining and precision grinding operations. Two previous studies found excess stomach cancer among workers exposed to water-based cutting fluids in bearing plants. This study reports similar findings in a third and larger population. Cause of death and work histories were determined for 1,766 bearing plant workers who died between Jan 1, 1950 and June 30, 1982. Mortality odds ratios (SMOR) and proportional mortality ratios (PMR) revealed significant excesses of gastrointestinal malignancies. The proportional mortality excess for stomach cancer among white men was greatest among those with more than 10 years' exposure in the major grinding group (PMR = 13/3.8 = 3.39; P less than .001). The SMOR by logistic regression for stomach cancer among white men was 2.3 (P = .02) for 25 years' grinding experience. For cancer of the pancreas am...
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