Just two hours of exposure to diesel exhaust fumes can lead to fundamental health-related changes in biology, a new study from the University of British Columbia (UBC) and Vancouver Coastal Health has suggested.

The study, Short-term diesel inhalation in a controlled human crossover study is associated with changes in DNA methylation of circulating mononuclear cells in asthmatics, was published in January in the journal Particle and Fibre Toxicology. It found that diesel exhaust caused changes in methylation, the carbon-hydrogen “coating” that attaches to many parts of a person’s DNA, affecting about 400 genes at about 2,800 different points. In some places, it led to more methylation, but more often, it decreased methylation, the study said.

The study involved putting volunteers in a polycarbonate-enclosed booth — about the size of a standard bathroom — where they breathed in diluted and aged exhaust fumes “that are about equal to the air quality along a Beijing highway or under certain conditions at busy ports, rail yards, mines and industrial sites,” the UBC said in a statement. The researchers examined how diesel exhaust exposure affected methylation, which can silence or dampen a gene, preventing it from producing a protein — sometimes to a person’s benefit, sometimes not.

The statement said that the next step for researchers is to examine how these changes in gene expression translate to health. “Usually when we look at the effects of air pollution, we measure things that are clinically obvious — air flow, blood pressure, heart rhythm,” said Dr. Chris Carlsten, an associate professor in the UBC’s Division of Respiratory Medicine. “But asthma, higher blood pressure or arrhythmia might just be the gradual accumulation of epigenetic changes,” he added, referring to the field of gene expression. “So we’ve revealed a window into how these long-term problems arise.”

The fact that DNA methylation was affected after only two hours has positive implications, added Dr. Carlsten, who is also the AstraZeneca chair in occupational and environmental lung disease. “Any time you can show something happens that quickly, it means you can probably reverse it — either through a therapy, a change in environment, or even diet,” he said.

The study has implications for workers who are at risk of diesel exhaust exposure, such as toll booth operators, mechanics, loading/shipping dock workers, farmers, railroad workers and ship crew members. According to information from the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, exposure to diesel exhaust can cause coughing and itchy/burning eyes, while breathing in exhaust can cause lung irritation and/or an allergic reaction, causing asthma or making pre-existing asthma worse. “Years of exposure to diesel exhaust may increase the risk of lung cancer and possibly bladder cancer,” the information added.

To read the study, visit http://www.particleandfibretoxicology.com/content/11/1/71.

The Temporary Foreign Workers Association (TFWA) has created a confidential hotline to help workers get answers about their rights, both under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and on the job.

The association — a group started by Unifor and Migrante Canada, the Canadian chapter of a global alliance of over 100 organizations in more than 22 countries that advocates for the rights of Filipino migrant workers — announced the hotline on Jan. 12. The toll-free number, 1-888-366-0194, will provide information about legal entitlements, such as rates of pay, overtime and immigration requirements, to callers.

“In many sectors of the economy, employers have taken advantage of language barriers and other challenges to exploit foreign workers,” Unifor contended in a statement. “Temporary foreign workers have rights just like Canadian workers, and we intend to ensure that they are enforced across the country,” added Wally Ewanicke, an organizer with Unifor, in the statement. “The new hotline is a confidential resource for workers who need answers about their rights at work.”

Marco Luciano, a spokesperson for Migrante Canada, argued that TFWs deserve dignity and respect in the workplace, just like any other worker. “If they are good enough to work in Canada, they are good enough to stay,” Luciano said about the path to immigration sought by many foreign workers. “There is no such thing as disposable labour.”

The announcement of the hotline came on the heels of a report from the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL), which said that some of the work on Edmonton’s new downtown arena was being done by TFWs from the U.S., even though hundreds of qualified Canadian ironworkers were available.

Construction on Rogers Place, a 20,000-seat venue that is set to become the new home of the Edmonton Oilers in 2016, began last March. AFL president Gil McGowan said that contracts to build several portions of Edmonton’s Arena District were awarded to local firms that employ Canadian workers, but that Rogers’ Place was given to an outside firm.

McGowan said that members of the AFL, Ironworkers Local 720 — which has 300 qualified ironworkers on the “jobs list at the hiring hall a few blocks from the arena’s location” — and the Edmonton and District Labour Council held a protest in Edmonton on Jan. 15. He said that trades organizations are also petitioning the federal government to rescind any TFW permits granted for the project.

The unique scenario of damage to a plane wing from a tree strike likely contributed to a fatal accident in the Northwest Territories (N.W.T.) two years ago, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has revealed.

On Jan. 8, the TSB released its investigation report into the Aug. 22, 2013 accident that claimed the life of the pilot, the only person aboard the float plane. At about 6:50 p.m. that day, a Transwest Air DHC-3 turbine-powered Otter aircraft left Scott Lake, N.W.T. on a flight to Ivanhoe Lake, but did not arrive at its destination, the TSB report said. The company notified the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, which dispatched a search and rescue aircraft. The following day, the wreckage of the plane was found on Aug. 23 in an unnamed lake between the take-off location and the destination.

Interestingly, the TSB found that damage to the plane from a prior tree strike and a number of stressors throughout the day had contributed to the accident. “The right wing was damaged [from] impact with several trees, and the damage was not evaluated or inspected by qualified personnel prior to the subsequent takeoff,” said a statement from the TSB. “The investigation also revealed that a number of stressors throughout the day disrupted the pilot’s processing of safety-critical information and likely contributed to an unsafe decision to depart and operate a damaged, uninspected aircraft.”

To enhance its operations, Transwest held discussions with its pilots concerning their responsibilities to remove themselves from flight duty if they do not feel fit to fly, the statement said. The company also issued a safety directive, outlining the company’s expectation of compliance with the Canadian Aviation Regulations and action to be taken if aircraft is damaged (refrain from flying until a licensed engineer has inspected and signed a release for that aircraft).

“If you have reason to suspect that an aircraft may have sustained physical damage that you cannot observe, enter a snag in the logbook and speak to an engineer immediately,” Transwest advised in the safety directive, issued on Sept. 30, 2013. “If you observe actual physical damage to an aircraft — even if you are not a pilot — you are required by [the Canadian Aviation Regulations] to ensure that the aircraft is grounded until it has been inspected and determined to be airworthy.”

The release of the report came two months after the TSB announced that it would conduct a safety issues investigation into Canadian air taxi operations to understand the risks that persist in the sector. The TSB has said that the study will engage industry, Transport Canada and other stakeholders to gain an understanding of the issues affecting air taxi operations and that the board may make recommendations to address any identified systemic deficiencies.

Hilde Notø, Yngvar Thomassen and Wijnand Eduard, Department of Chemical and Biological Work Environment, National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH), Oslo, Norway; Karl-Christian Nordby, Helge Kjuus and Øivind Skare, Department of Occupational Medicine and Epidemiology, NIOH

An exposure study was conducted as part of a multi-national longitudinal study of lung function in cement production workers. The aim was to examine exposure to thoracic aerosol among cement production workers during a 4-year follow-up period. Personal shift measurements of thoracic aerosol were conducted among the cement production workers within seven job types, 22 plants, and eight European countries (including Turkey) in 2007, 2009, and 2011. The thoracic sub-fraction was chosen as the most relevant aerosol fraction related to obstructive dynamic lung function changes. Production factors, job type, and respirator use were recorded by questionnaire. The exposure data were log-transformed before mixed models analysis and results were presented by geometric mean (GMadj) exposure levels adjusted for plant or job type, worker, and season as random effects. A total of 6111 thoracic aerosol samples were collected from 2534 workers. Repeated measurements were obtained from 1690 of these workers. The GMadj thoracic aerosol levels varied between job types from 0.20 to 1.2mg m−3. The highest exposure levels were observed for production, cleaning, and maintenance workers (0.79–1.2mg m−3) and could reach levels where the risk of lung function loss may be increased. The lowest levels were found for administrative personnel (0.20mg m−3) serving tasks in the production areas. Office work was not monitored. GMadj exposure levels between plants ranged from 0.19 to 2.0mg m−3. The time of year/season contributed significantly to the total variance, but not year of sampling. Production characteristics explained 63% of the variance explained by plant. Workers in plants with the highest number of employees (212–483 per plant) were exposed at a level more than twice as high as those in plants with fewer employees. Other production factors such as cement production, bag filling, and tidiness were significant, but explained less of the exposure variability. These determinants factors can be useful in qualitative exposure assessment and exposure prevention in the cement production industry. Respirator use was minor at exposure levels <0.5mg m−3 but more common at higher levels. Production, cleaning, and maintenance work were the job types with highest exposure to thoracic aerosol in cement production plants. However, plant had an even larger effect on exposure levels than job type. The number of employees was the most important factor explaining differences between plants. Exposure reached levels where the risk of lung function loss may be increased. No significant differences in exposure between sampling campaigns were observed during the 4-year study period.

Ann Occ Hyg, Volume 59, Issue 1, pages 4-24. Correspondence to: Wijnand Eduard, Department of Chemical and Biological Work Environment, National Institute of Occupational Health, PO Box 8149 Dep., 0033 Oslo, Norway; tel: +47-23195324; email: wijnand.eduard@stami.no.

Hanns Moshammer, Michael Kundi, Peter Wallner and Hans-Peter Hutter, Institute of Environmental Health, Center for Public Health, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Alois Herbst and Anton Feuerstein, voestalpine Steel Division, Occupational Safety, Linz, Austria

Occupationally acquired noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is the most prevalent occupational disease in Austria and among the most common in many other countries. Because of the wide variation in hearing loss after equivalent exposures it has long been assumed that some individuals are more vulnerable to occupational NIHL than others. Earlier attempts to define predictors of NIHL before starting occupational noise exposure have largely failed. The authors present results of a prospective study evaluating the potential of temporary threshold shift (TTS) after a test exposure to predict NIHL. Between 1982 and 1989, overall 311 apprentices were included into a prospective study during their initial health screening visit. At this occasion, a standardised noise exposure was applied (20 min, 200–500 Hz, 100 dBA) and the TTS at 4 kHz was determined during at least 10 min after exposure. Hearing loss was monitored at follow-up visits every 3–5 years. Follow-up was 13 years on average. Permanent threshold shift was predicted by duration of noise exposure, frequency of wearing noise protectors and especially by the initial TTS at 4 kHz. Using 14 dB TTS as a cut-off had 82% sensitivity and 53% specificity to predict 20 dB or higher levels of NIHL. The TTS model can be successfully applied as a method to detect individuals at greater risk of occupational NIHL. It is recommended to routinely include such a procedure into initial workers’ examinations for suitability to work under occupational noise conditions and for counselling on the use of hearing protectors.

Occ Environ Med, Volume 72, Issue 2, pages 85-89. Correspondence to: Professor Michael Kundi, Institute of Environmental Health, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Kinderspitalgasse 15, Vienna A-1095, Austria; email: michael.kundi@meduniwien.ac.at.

Jean-Paul Imbert, Laboratoire d’informatique interactive, ENAC, Toulouse, France; François Vachon and Sébastien Tremblay, École de psychologie, Université Laval, Québec City, Que.; Helen M. Hodgetts, Université Laval and Department of Applied Psychology, Cardiff Metropolitain University, Cardiff, UK; Robert Parise, DSNA, DTI EEI/Egis Avia, Toulouse, France; Frédéric Dehais, ISAE, Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, France

Large display screens are common in supervisory tasks, meaning that alerts are often perceived in peripheral vision. Five air traffic control notification designs were evaluated in their ability to capture attention during an ongoing supervisory task, as well as their impact on the primary task. A range of performance measures, eye-tracking and subjective reports showed that colour, even animated, was less effective than movement, and notifications sometimes went unnoticed. Designs that drew attention to the notified aircraft by a pulsating box, concentric circles or the opacity of the background resulted in faster perception and no missed notifications. However, the latter two designs were intrusive and impaired primary task performance, while the simpler animated box captured attention without an overhead cognitive cost. These results highlight the need for a holistic approach to evaluation, achieving a balance between the benefits for one aspect of performance against the potential costs for another. The researchers performed a holistic examination of air traffic control notification designs regarding their ability to capture attention during an ongoing supervisory task. The combination of performance, eye-tracking and subjective measurements demonstrated that the best design achieved a balance between attentional power and the overhead cognitive cost to primary task performance.

Ergonomics, Volume 57, Issue 12, pages 1817-1832. Correspondence to: Helen M. Hodgetts, École de psychologie, Université Laval, Québec; email: hhodgetts@cardiffmet.ac.uk.

S. Turner, S. D. Forman and R. Agius, Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Manchester (UoM), Manchester, UK; R. McNamee, Centre for Biostatistics, UoM, Manchester; S. M. Wilkinson, Department of Dermatology, Leeds General Infirmary, Leeds, UK

Both solar and non-solar exposures associated with occupation and work tasks have been reported as skin carcinogens. In the UK, there are well-established surveillance schemes providing relevant information, including when exposures took place, occupation, location of work and dates of symptom onset and diagnosis. The aim was to add to the evidence on work-related skin neoplasia, including causal agents, geographical exposure and time lag between exposure and diagnosis. This study investigated incident case reports of occupational skin disease originating from clinical specialists in dermatology reporting to a UK-wide surveillance scheme (EPIDERM) by analysing case reports of skin neoplasia from 1996 to 2012 in terms of diagnosis, employment, suspected causal agent and symptom onset. The suspected causal agent was ‘sun/sunlight/ultraviolet light’ in 99% of the reported work-related skin neoplasia cases. Most cases reported (91%) were in males, and the majority (62%) were aged over 65 at the time of reporting. More detailed information on exposure was available for 42% of the cases, with the median time from exposure to symptom onset ranging from 44 (melanoma) to 57 (squamous cell carcinoma) years. Irrespective of diagnostic category, the median duration of exposure to ‘sun/sunlight/ultraviolet light’ appeared longer where exposures occurred in the UK (range 39–51 years) rather than outside the UK (range 2.5–6.5 years). It is important to provide effective information about skin protection to workers exposed to solar radiation, especially to outdoor workers based outside the UK.

Occ Med, Volume 65, Issue 1, pages 22-28. Correspondence to: S. Turner, Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, 4th Floor, C Block, Ellen Wilkinson Building, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK; tel: +44 (0)161 275 5524; email: susan.m.turner@manchester.ac.uk.

Leigh Anne Shafer, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Manitoba (UoM); Dr. Allen Kraut, Departments of Internal Medicine and Community Health Sciences, UoM; Colette B. Raymond, Department of Community Health Sciences, UoM and Manitoba Center for Health Policy, UoM

This study identifies the percentage of opioids prescribed for compensated workplace conditions in Manitoba, Canada and whether Workers Compensation Board (WCB) status is associated with higher prescription opioid doses. Opioid prescriptions for WCB recipients were linked with databases housed at the Manitoba Center for Health Policy. Duration of continuous opioid prescription and morphine equivalents (ME) per day (ME/D) were calculated for individuals age 18–65. Over the period from 1998 to 2010, 3.8% of the total opioid dosage of medication prescribed in the study population were prescribed to WCB recipients. WCB recipients accounted for 2.1% of the individuals prescribed opioids. In adjusted analyses, WCB recipients were more likely to be prescribed over 120 ME/D (OR 2.06 95% CI, 1.58–2.69). WCB recipients account for a small, but significant amount of the total opioid prescribed in Manitoba. Manitoba’s WCB population is a group at increased risk of being prescribed over 120 ME/day.

Am J Ind Med, Volume 58, Issue 1, pages 33-39. Correspondence to: Allen Kraut, University of Manitoba S-108 750 Bannatyne Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3E OW3; email: allen.kraut@med.umanitoba.ca.

CHILLIWACK, B.C. — A taxi driver in Chilliwack, B.C. has escaped injury after he was attacked in the early morning hours of Jan. 6. At about 5 a.m., members of the Chilliwack RCMP detachment were called to the 45000 Block of Wolfe Road following a complaint of a robbery, the RCMP’s Upper Fraser Regional Valley Detachment said in a press release. After stopping on Wolfe Road, one passenger allegedly pointed a gun at the taxi driver and demanded all of his money. The driver exited the taxi and ran away as another suspect allegedly attempted to spray him with pepper spray, the release said. The driver was not injured and police continue to investigate.

CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — The Workers Compensation Board of Prince Edward Island (WCB) is reminding workers, especially outdoor workers, to protect themselves from cold stress during the extreme winter weather. “Risk factors for cold stress include temperature, humidity, wind chill, fatigue, dehydration and lack of acclimatization,” said Bill Reid, the WCB’s director of occupational health and safety, in a statement. “Adequate precautions can help prevent injuries caused by frostbite and hypothermia.” Among other suggestions, the WCB recommends that workers wear layered clothing with a wind-resistant outer layer; set up shelters to block wind where possible; take breaks in heated buildings; drink plenty of warm fluids; and cover metal handles and bars with insulating materials. For more information, visit http://www.wcb.pe.ca/DocumentManagement/Document/pub_guidetocoldstressatwork.pdf.