Pediatric Chemical Exposure: Opportunities for Prevention

The USEPA Office of Health and Environmental Assessment develops methodologies for conducting exposure and risk assessments. Protocols appropriate for specific analyses have been developed to aid in the selection of an exposure assessment model and to assess the validation and uncertainties associated with models used for toxic chemical exposure assessments in surface water, groundwater, and air. A software package has been developed to provide users with a quick and intuitive tool to access information for selected models and applications based on these protocols. The Integrated Model Evaluation System (IMES) is composed of three modules: 1) Selection, query systems for selecting a model based on technical criteria (currently for surface water, non-point source, and groundwater models); 2) Validation, a database containing validation and other information on over 50 models in various media; and 3) Uncertainty, a database demonstrating uncertainty simulations for several surface water models applied to exposure assessments of several chemicals. The selection modules are linked to the uncertainty and validation modules to access information for chosen models. The PC-based software system employs pull-down menus, help screens, and graphics to display its information.

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Occupational Safety and Health of Laundry Employees in Hotel Industry

International Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Systems ◽

10.21863/ijhts/2015.8.1.005 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ankush Ambardar

Keyword(s):

Occupational Safety ◽

Chemical Exposure ◽

Occupational Safety And Health ◽

Health Issues ◽

Employee Safety ◽

Employee Protection ◽

Chemical Hazards ◽

Safety And Health ◽

Day To Day Operations ◽

And Performance

Employee safety and health is considered to be one of the major important human resource functions for any hotel organization. The current paper focuses on the application of occupational safety and health of laundry employees looking at the nature of the tasks performed in day to day operations. OSH is one of the significant factors responsible for employees inspiration and moreover retention in a hotel organization. Health, safety and performance of the employees are dependent on understanding and application of ergonomic practices followed during laundry operations. The paper explores laundry employee protection against various critical factors such as injuries, accidents, work postures, chemical exposure, heat, fire, noise, etc. A questionnaire was used to perpetuate perception of laundry employees in regard to protection from factors concerning safety and health issues from hotels of India. The results reveal that some of the OSH practices are been followed in hotels, while some were missing from hotels such as training, periodical audit and protection against chemical hazards. The present study suggests need for adopting OSH practices and enforcing periodical check for the same in every hotel besides of its categorization.

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