All posts by Jeff Cottrill

Health & Safety, Health and Wellness

Effectiveness Evaluation of Existing Noise Controls in a Deep Shaft Underground Mine

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Eric A. Lutz, Rustin J. Reed, Dylan Turner, Sally R. Littau and Vivien Lee, Mining Safety and Health Program, Environmental and Occupational Health, Division of Community, Environment, and Policy, Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona; Chengcheng Hu, Department of Biostatistics, Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health

Noise exposure and hearing loss in the mining industry continue to be a major problem, despite advances in noise-control technologies. This study evaluated the effectiveness of engineering, administrative and personal noise controls, using both traditional and in-ear dosimetry by job task, work shift and five types of earplug. The noise exposures of 22 miners performing deep shaft-sinking tasks were evaluated during 56 rotating shifts in an underground mine. Miners were earplug-insertion-trained, earplug-fit-tested and monitored utilizing traditional and in-ear dosimetry. The mean TWA8 noise exposure via traditional dosimetry was 90.1 ± 8.2 dBA, while the mean in-ear TWA8 was 79.6 ± 13.8 dBA. The latter was significantly lower (p < 0.05) than the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) personal-exposure limit (PEL) of 90 dBA. Dosimetry mean TWA8 noise exposures for bench blowing (103.5 ± 0.9 dBA), jumbo-drill operation (103.0 ± 0.8 dBA), and mucking tasks (99.6 ± 4.7 dBA) were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than other tasks. For bench blowing, cable pulling, grinding and jumbo-drill-operation tasks, the mean in-ear TWA8 was greater than 85 dBA. Those working swing shift had a significantly higher (p < 0.001) mean TWA8 noise exposure (95.4 ± 7.3 dBA) than those working day shift. For per cent difference between traditional vs. in-ear dosimetry, there was no significant difference among types of earplug used. Reflective of occupational hearing-loss rate trends across the mining industry, this study found that, despite existing engineering and administrative controls, noise-exposure levels exceeded regulatory limits, while the addition of personal hearing protection limited excessive exposures.

J Occup Environ Hygiene, Volume 12, Issue 5, pages 287-293. Correspondence to: Eric A. Lutz, director, Mining Safety and Health Program, Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, 1656 E. Mabel Street, #113, Tucson, Arizona 85724; email: ealutz@email.arizona.edu.

Health & Safety, Health and Wellness, productivity

Did a brief nap break have positive benefits on information processing among nurses working on the first eight-hour nightshift?

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Yu-San Chang, Graduate Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung and Faculty of Nursing Department, Meiho University, Neipu, Taiwan; Yu-Hsuan Wu and Mei Rou Lu, Kaohsiung Municipal Kai-Syuan Psychiatric Hospital, Kaohsiung; Chung-Yao Hsu, Department of Neurology, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung; Ching-Kuan Liu, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital; and Chin Hsu, Department of Physiology, Kaohsiung Medical University

Shift workers frequently experience acute sleep deprivation on the first nightshift. This study compared the efficacy of a 30-minute nap (between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m.) on the visual-attention ability of nurses working at their first eight-hour nightshift at the time of maximum fatigue (between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m.). In addition, the researchers measured cognitive function (between 9:00 and 10:00 a.m.) in nurses working on the daytime shift, which they defined as baseline wakefulness. The results showed that working on the nightshift groups was associated with sleep loss, leading to a decrease in visual-attention performance compared to the daytime-shift group. There was no statistically significant difference in the visual-attention performance between those taking and not taking a nap during the nightshift, but the effect size was medium in the information process. An increase in sample size was still needed to draw the conclusion regarding whether a 30-minute nap break has positive benefits on perceptual speed during the first nightshift.

App Ergo, Volume 48, pages 104-108. Correspondence to: Ching-Kuan Liu, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, No. 100, Tzyou 1st Road, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan, ROC; tel: +886 7 7513171 ext. 2373; fax: +886 7 7161843.

Hazmat, Health & Safety, Health and Wellness

Contamination and Release of Nanomaterials Associated with the Use of Personal Protective Clothing

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Candace Su-Jung Tsai, Birck Nanotechnology Center and School of Health Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana

Researchers investigated nanomaterial release associated with the contamination of protective clothing during manipulation of clothing fabrics contaminated with nanoparticles. Nanomaterials, when released as airborne nanoparticles, can cause inhalation exposure, which is the route of exposure of most concern to cause adverse health effects. Measurement of such nanoparticle re-suspension has not yet been conducted. Protective clothing can be contaminated with airborne nanoparticles during handling and operating processes, typically on the arms and front of the body. The contaminated clothing could release nanoparticles in the general room while performing other activities and manipulating the clothing after work. The exposures associated with three different fabric materials of contaminated laboratory coats (cotton, polyester and Tyvek), including the magnitude of contamination and particle release, were investigated in this study by measuring the number concentration increase and the weight change on fabric pieces. This study simulated real-life occupational-exposure scenarios and was performed in both regular and clean-room environments to investigate the effect of background aerosols on the measurements. Concentrations were measured using particle spectrometers for diameters from 10 nm to 10 µm. Collected aerosol particles and contaminated fabric surfaces were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and elemental composition analysis. The magnitude of particle release from contaminated lab-coat fabric was found to vary by the type of fabric material; cotton fabric showed the highest level of contamination and particle release, followed by Tyvek and polyester fabrics. The polyester lab-coat material was found to have the lowest particle-release-to-deposition (R/D) ratio. The particle-release-number concentrations were in a range of 768-119 particles cm−3 and 586-187 particles cm−3 in regular and clean rooms, respectively. Multiple peaks were observed in the number concentration distribution data, with particle diameters peaking at 40-50 and 100-300 nm. The SEM analysis of the contaminated fabric surface found test particles and other environmental particles. The elemental-composition analysis presented detectable response to the studied alumina-oxide particles. The laboratory coat primarily made of cotton woven material is not recommended for worker protection against nanoparticle exposure because of the highest particle contamination and release ability. In addition, the result demonstrated that a well-controlled (clean room) environment is critical to investigate the factors affecting nanoparticle interaction with protective clothing.

Ann Occ Hygiene, Volume 59, Issue 4, pages 491-503. Correspondence to: Candace Su-Jung Tsai, Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University, 1205 West State Street, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907; tel: (765) 494-4676; fax: (765) 496-1377; email: tsai51@purdue.edu.

Health & Safety, Health and Wellness

Time trends in musculoskeletal disorders attributed to work exposures in Ontario using three independent data sources, 2004-2011

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Cameron A. Mustard, Andrea Chambers, Selahadin Ibrahim, Jacob Etches and Peter Smith, Institute for Work & Health, Toronto

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are the leading cause of work disability in the developed economies. The objective of this study was to describe trends in the incidence of MSDs attributed to work exposures in Ontario over the period 2004-2011. It used an observational study of work-related morbidity obtained from three independent sources for a complete population of approximately six million occupationally active adults aged 15-64 in the largest Canadian province. The researchers implemented a conceptually concordant case definition for work-related, non-traumatic MSDs in three population-based data sources: emergency-department encounter record; lost-time workers’ compensation claims; and representative samples of Ontario workers participating in consecutive waves of a national health interview survey. Over the eight-year observation period, the annual per cent change (APC) in the incidence of work-related MSDs was −3.4 per cent (95 per cent CI −4.9 per cent to −1.9 per cent) in emergency departments’ administrative records, −7.2 per cent (−8.5 per cent to −5.8 per cent) in lost-time workers’ compensation claims and −5.3 per cent (−7.2 per cent to −3.5 per cent) among participants in the national health interview survey. Corresponding APC measures for all other work-related conditions were −5.4 per cent (−6.6 per cent to −4.2 per cent), −6.0 per cent (−6.7 per cent to −5.3 per cent) and −5.3 per cent (−7.8 per cent to −2.8 per cent), respectively. Incidence rate declines were substantial in the economic recession following the 2008 global financial crisis. The three independent population-based data sources used in this study documented an important reduction in the incidence of work-related morbidity attributed to non-traumatic MSDs. The results of this study are consistent with an interpretation that the burden of non-traumatic MSDs arising from work exposures is declining among working-age adults.

Occ Environ Med, Volume 72, Issue 4, pages 252-257. Correspondence to: Dr. Cameron Mustard, Institute for Work & Health, 481 University Avenue, Suite 800, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2E9; email: cmustard@iwh.on.ca.

Environment/Climate Change, Hazmat, Health & Safety, Health and Wellness

Health complaints after a malodorous chemical explosion: a longitudinal study

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G. Tjalvin and M. Bråtveit, Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway; S.H.L. Lygre and B.E. Hollund, Department of Occupational Medicine, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen; and B.E. Moen, Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, Centre for International Health, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Bergen

Physical and psychological symptoms are prevalent in populations recently affected by industrial accidents. Follow-up studies of human health effects are scarce, and as most of them focus on residents, little is known about the long-term health effects among workers exposed to malodorous emissions following a chemical explosion. This study aimed to assess whether subjective health complaints (SHC) among workers had declined over a four-year period after an oil-tank explosion that had emitted malodorous sulphurous compounds. It used a longitudinal survey from 2008 (18 months after the explosion) to 2012, performed using the SHC inventory. Questionnaire data were analyzed using a linear mixed-effects model. There was a decrease in SHCs among the exposed workers, but they still had significantly more subjective neurological symptoms (P < 0.01) compared with controls, adjusted for gender, age, smoking habits, educational level and proximity to the explosion. Although there was a downward trend in SHCs among exposed workers in the follow-up period, they reported more subjective neurological complaints than controls. Symptoms may be mediated by perceived pollution and health risk perception, and adaptation or anxiety may cause a chronic effect, manifested by a dysfunctional and persistent neuropsychological response.

Occ Med, Volume 65, Issue 3, pages 202-209. Correspondence to: G. Tjalvin, Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Bergen, P.O. Box 7804, 5020 Bergen, Norway; tel: +47 55 58 61 16; fax: +47 55 58 85 61; email: gro.tjalvin@igs.uib.no.

Health & Safety

Partners in Prevention 2015 features Chris Hadfield and Michael Landsberg

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This year’s Partners in Prevention 2015 Health & Safety Conference & Trade Show is happening once again at the International Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, on April 28 and 29, and welcomes three high-profile keynote speakers: world-famous Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, who was the First Canadian Commander of the International Space Station in 2013; renowned underwater explorer Dr. Joe MacInnis; and Michael Landsberg, the host of TSN’s Off the Record. Organized by Workplace Safety & Prevention Services, the conference includes two trade shows, two full days’ worth of sessions and workshops and a chance to win a Larrivee guitar signed by Hadfield through a draw. The trade shows include a Healthy Living Centre, demonstrations of fall-protection products and a 40-foot walk-through replica of a human colon from the Colorectal Cancer Association of Canada. More information about Partners in Prevention is available online at http://wsps.ca/Partners-In-Prevention/Conference/Home.aspx, and you can download a free preliminary guide at http://wsps.ca/WSPS/media/Site/Resources/Conferences/ShowGuide.pdf.

Health & Safety

Western Conference on Safety returns for 20th time

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The largest occupational health and safety event in western Canada is back for its 20th year later this month. The 2015 Western Conference on Safety returns to the Hyatt Regency Vancouver hotel, where the annual show has taken place for the past nine years, on April 20 and 21. There will be a 79-booth trade show, more than 25 seminars and classes on oh&s issues and three different levels of sessions for safety practitioners of varying levels of experience. This year’s opening keynote presenter is former United States Air Force fighter pilot and world-renowned public speaker Jeff “Odie” Espenship; other presenters include Jody Urquhart, Canadian Occupational Safety editor Amanda Silliker and City of Campbell River rep Dave Lovely. The conference is designed for anybody responsible for workplace safety, as well as managers, supervisors and human-resources professionals. For more information, visit http://www.pacificsafetycenter.com/wcs15/index.htm; a full program is available for free download at http://www.pacificsafetycenter.com/wcs15/documents/2015-Program.pdf.

Compliance & Enforcement, Environment/Climate Change, Hazmat, Health & Safety, Transportation

Government slashing funding to all Transport Canada safety programs

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FEDERAL – The Harper government is cutting funding to all of the safety programs with Transport Canada, particularly to safety-oversight initiatives, according to planning documents tabled at the House of Commons on March 31. Global News has reported that the budget for the transportation of dangerous goods will be reduced by 32 per cent, with a 9.2 per cent decrease in funding for aviation safety. In addition, funds for marine, rail and motor-vehicle safety are being cut by 23, 4.3 and 8.8 per cent respectively, as per calculations using the forecast transportation spending for the 2014-15 fiscal year and planned transportation spending for 2015-16. There will also be a two per cent decrease in funding to rail safety programs between the 2015-16 and 2017-18 periods. The departmental planning documents attributed the cuts to funding transfers, internal reallocation and severance payoffs, as well as spikes in activity regarding marine safety and transportation of dangerous goods, according to the Global report. The news follows several high-profile transportation safety incidents earlier this year, including the Air Canada Flight 624 crash in Halifax (COHSN, March 31) and three Canadian National train derailments in Northern Ontario (COHSN, March 17).

Compliance & Enforcement, Environment/Climate Change, Health & Safety

Forest company fined for failing to remove trash

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PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – A northern Saskatchewan forestry company has been fined $4,900 for littering. The province’s Ministry of Environment charged Meadow Lake OSB Limited Partnership in Dec. 2013, for failing to clean up garbage that its contractors had left in a forest camp worksite during the previous year’s operating season, including a crushed culvert and material for stabilizing stream crossings. The fines amounted to $3,500 (including a $1,000 surcharge) for failing to contain waste as per the company’s own approved operating plan and $1,400 (including a $400 surcharge) for abandoning waste. The two charges fell under the Forest Resources Management Act and the Litter Control Act respectively. The ministry had also charged Meadow Lake for littering two other sites, but the court later dismissed these counts. “The public expects companies harvesting in publicly owned forests to follow their plans and clean up after themselves,” said David Stevenson, Forest Service Acting Executive Director for the ministry, in a press release dated April 2. “The public also trusts the ministry to hold companies accountable, and we take this trust very seriously.” The company has cleaned up all three worksites since the court case began.

Compliance & Enforcement, Health & Safety, Transportation

TTC requests police help to investigate subway assault

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Following the recent public media exposure of a video of the occurrence, Chief Executive Officer Andy Byford of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) has asked the Toronto Police Service (TPS) to investigate a violent incident that occurred between two men and two Transit Enforcement Officers (TEO) on Jan. 29.

Following a Toronto Maple Leafs game at the Air Canada Centre that evening, two of the returning attendees became involved in a scuffle with a TEO at the underground subway concourse at Union Station, according to an April 1 press statement from the TTC. Another TEO joined the melee, and the police were contacted, resulting in criminal charges for assault against both of the hockey fans.

Media reports have identified the two charged men as 63-year-old Russell Gillman and his son, 33-year-old Jamie Gillman.

“The incident did not involve a fare dispute, though the provocation remains unknown,” the TTC statement read. “Given the seriousness of this matter, the TTC has requested the police to independently review the incident.”

Videos of the fight were posted on YouTube and other social-media outlets. On March 31, the story reached a higher profile when the Toronto Star posted one of the videos on its website. The video shows the TEOs responding to the alleged perpetrators with violence, including throwing punches at the side of one man while the latter kneels on the floor and punching the other in the face as he stands against a wall.

“The TTC wants to ensure any use of force by its officers is justified and that approved procedures are always followed,” the TTC stated. “Complaints about the conduct of TEOs are typically handled by a separate unit within the TTC’s human-resources department.

“No public complaints have been filed about this incident.”

The TPS’ Professional Standards Unit will be leading the investigation, and the TTC will hand over all CCTV footage of the incident to the police for a full review.

The TTC trains its TEOs to uphold the standards of the police in all of their confrontations with passengers, the transit company said; their methods include communication and de-escalation techniques, with use of force as a last resort. “It is for this reason that the TTC is seeking the assistance of police in independently reviewing the matter and looks forward to the conclusion of their investigation,” the TTC noted.

“Public safety is the TTC’s first priority; public trust in those charged with maintaining that safety must follow.”