Health risk assessment of occupational exposure to heavy metals in a steel casting unit of a steelmaking plant using Monte–Carlo simulation technique

2021 ◽  
pp. 074823372110195
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Dehghani ◽  
Fariborz Omidi ◽  
Reza Ali Fallahzadeh ◽  
Bahman Pourhassan
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Occupational Exposure ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Steel Casting ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
The United States ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Monte Carlo Simulation Technique ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Casting Unit

The present work aimed to evaluate the health risks of occupational exposure to heavy metals in a steel casting unit of a steel plant. To determine occupational exposure to heavy metals, personal air samples were taken from the workers’ breathing zones using the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health method. Noncancer and cancer risks due to the measured metals were calculated according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency procedures. The results indicated that the noncancer risks owing to occupational exposure to lead (Pb) and manganese were higher than the recommended value in most of the workstations. The estimated cancer risk of Pb was also higher than the allowable value. Moreover, the results of sensitivity analysis indicated that the concentration, inhalation rate, and exposure duration were the most influencing variables contributing to the calculated risks. It was thus concluded that the present control measures were not adequate and further improvements were required for reducing the exposure levels.

Occupational Co-exposures to Multiple Chemical Agents from Workplace Measurements by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 402-415
Author(s):  
Delphine Bosson-Rieutort ◽  
Philippe Sarazin ◽  
Dominique J Bicout ◽  
Vikki Ho ◽  
Jérôme Lavoué
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Exposure ◽  
Web Application ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Metal Cluster ◽  
Integrated Management ◽  
Measurement Data ◽  
The United States ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
Safety And Health

Abstract Objectives The occupational environment represents an important source of exposures to multiplehazards for workers’ health. Although it is recognized that mixtures of agents may have differenteffects on health compared to their individual effects, studies generally focus on the assessment ofindividual exposures. Our objective was to identify occupational co-exposures occurring in the United States using the multi-industry occupational exposure databank of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Methods Using OSHA’s Integrated Management Information System (IMIS), measurement data from workplace inspections occurring from 1979 to 2015 were examined. We defined a workplace situation (WS) by grouping measurements that occurred within a company, within the same occupation (i.e. job title) within 1 year. All agents present in each WS were listed and the resulting databank was analyzed with the Spectrosome approach, a methodology inspired by network science, to determine global patterns of co-exposures. The presence of an agent in a WS was defined either as detected, or measured above 20% of a relevant occupational exposure limit (OEL). Results Among the 334 648 detected exposure measurements of 105 distinct agents collected from 14 513 US companies, we identified 125 551 WSs, with 31% involving co-exposure. Fifty-eight agents were detected with others in >50% of WSs, 29 with a proportion >80%. Two clusters were highlighted, one for solvents and one for metals. Toluene, xylene, acetone, hexone, 2-butanone, and N-butyl acetate formed the basis of the solvent cluster. The main agents of the metal cluster were zinc, iron, lead, copper, manganese, nickel, cadmium, and chromium. 68 556 WS were included in the analyses based on levels of exposure above 20% of their OEL, with 12.4% of co-exposure. In this analysis, while the metal cluster remained, only the combinations of toluene with xylene or 2-butanone were frequently observed among solvents. An online web application allows the examination of industry specific patterns. Conclusions We identified frequent co-exposure situations in the IMIS databank. Using the spectrome approach, we revealed global combination patterns and the agents most often implicated. Future work should endeavor to explore the toxicological effects of prevalent combinations of exposures on workers’ health to prioritize research and prevention efforts.

The Roles of Government in Protecting and Promoting Occupational and Environmental Health

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory R. Wagner ◽  
Emily A. Spieler
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Health ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Mine Safety ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Standards And Regulations ◽  
Regulatory Interventions ◽  
The Government ◽  
The U.S

This chapter discusses the roles of government in promoting occupational and environmental health, with a focus on the U.S. federal government. Governmental interventions, as described here, can range from non-regulatory interventions, such as dissemination of information or generation and communication of information, to establishing regulatory requirements through the promulgation and enforcement of standards and regulations. The chapter describes the U.S. laws and roles of the administrative agencies responsible for occupational and environmental health, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Noting the budgetary and political constraints on these federal agencies, the chapter goes on to discuss briefly the role of the public and the states. The government also plays a role when preventive efforts fail, and the chapter provides a brief summary of programs designed to provide compensation to injured workers.

scholarly journals Bibliometric Study of Technology and Occupational Health in Healthcare Sector: A Worldwide Trend to the Future

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (18) ◽  
pp. 6732
Author(s):  
Esther Vaquero-Álvarez ◽  
Antonio Cubero-Atienza ◽  
Pilar Ruiz-Martínez ◽  
Manuel Vaquero-Abellán ◽  
María Dolores Redel Mecías ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Bibliometric Study ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
Hospital Epidemiology ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Information And Communication

Since the eighties, technological tools have modified how people interact in their environment. At the same time, occupational safety and health measures have been widely applied. The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work considers that information and communication technologies are the main methods to achieve the goals proposed to improve working life and the dissemination of good practices. The principal objective was to determine the trends of publications focused on these technologies and occupational safety in the healthcare sector during the last 30 years. A bibliometric study was carried out. The 1021 documents showed an increased trend per country, especially for the United States (p < 0.001) and year (p < 0.001). The citations per year showed significant differences between citations of articles published before 2007 (p < 0.001). The year was also linked to the increase or decrease of articles (72.2%) and reviews (14.9%) (p < 0.001). The analysis of journal co-citations also showed that the main journals (such as Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology) were linked to other important journals and had a major part in the clusters formed. All these findings were discussed in the manuscript and conclusions were drawn.

scholarly journals Investigation of Some Qualitative Characteristics of Sludge Produced in Hamadan Wastewater Treatment Plant and Its Application in Agricultural Lands

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Reza Shokoohi ◽  
Samira Moradi ◽  
Zhila Ghavami ◽  
Azam Nadali ◽  
Raheleh Amiri
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plant ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
The United States ◽  
Average Concentration ◽  
Agricultural Lands ◽  
Secondary Sludge ◽  
Qualitative Characteristics

In this study, qualitative characteristics of the sludge produced in Hamadan wastewater treatment plant and the feasibility of its application in agricultural lands were investigated. Samples were taken from the primary and secondary sludge and indices such as VS/TS, PH, TKN, COD, TKN, SOUR, Na, Ca, SAR, heavy metals and biological properties (the mean fecal coliform count and the number of parasitic eggs) were measured. The results were compared with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) standards (40 FCR-503). The results showed that the VS/TS ratio of the raw sludge was 0.8, 0.55, and 0.55 and that of the secondary sludge was 0.65, 0.28, and 0.32 for fall, winter, and summer, respectively. The average concentration of COD, TKN, SOUR, Na, and Ca for the initial sludge was 51283, 107, 0.50, 609, and 952 and for secondary sludge, it was 35595, 81, 4.90, 306, and 493 mg/L, respectively. The MPN for primary and secondary sludge was determined to be 19.83 × 106 and 186 × 106 , respectively and the average number of parasite eggs in primary and secondary sludge was 7.05 and 7.2 in 4 g of dry solids. Entamoeba coli had the highest number of parasite. The results of this study showed that the highest concentration of heavy metals in the sludge was 21396 mg/kg. The values obtained for the above-mentioned indices and heavy metals were in standards range. The results of this study show that none of the primary and secondary sludge samples has been properly stabilized. The values obtained for biological characteristics of sludge were not in the standard range. Therefore, it was revealed that the use of sludge for agriculture needed more stabilization.

scholarly journals Quiet! Okay, But How?

1999 ◽  
Vol 121 (04) ◽  
pp. 70-71
Author(s):  
M.A. Zaher
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Power Level ◽  
Noise Pollution ◽  
The United States ◽  
Operating Pressure ◽  
Air Velocity ◽  
Sound Power Level ◽  
Conflicting Demands ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Pneumatic Tool

This article focuses on pneumatic tools that are among the most damaging sources of noise pollution. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health estimates that more than 30 million workers in the United States are exposed to hazardous noise, costing the economy about $1 billion every year. There is no magic solution to all noise control problems, and this remains true even when we are dealing just with pneumatic tools. Each case must be considered separately, and the solution to be used must satisfy the often conflicting demands of at least five criteria simultaneously. The sound power level produced by a pneumatic tool is a product of many interrelated parameters: operating pressure, pressure drop, expansion volume, exhaust air velocity, speed of device, exhaust air, airflow, length of exhaust path, and tool power. Good standards are available for evaluating the noise of many components, and suppliers provide data on their products that can be used for comparison.

scholarly journals Health Risks of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) and Metals at Informal Electronic Waste Recycling Sites

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 906 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chimere Ohajinwa ◽  
Peter van Bodegom ◽  
Oladele Osibanjo ◽  
Qing Xie ◽  
Jingwen Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Risks ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Electronic Waste ◽  
The United States ◽  
Waste Recycling ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Dermal Contact ◽  
Adverse Health

Concerns about the adverse public health consequences of informal electronic waste (e-waste) recycling are increasing. This study adopted a cross-sectional study design to gain insights into health risks (cancer and non-cancer risks) associated with exposure to e-waste chemicals among informal e-waste workers via three main routes: Dermal contact, ingestion, and inhalation. The e-waste chemicals (PBDE and metals) were measured in the dust and top soils at e-waste sites (burning, dismantling, and repair sites). Adverse health risks were calculated using the EPA model developed by the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States. The concentrations of the e-waste chemicals and the health risks at the e-waste sites increased as the intensity of the e-waste recycling activities increased: control sites < repair sites < dismantling sites < burning sites. Dermal contact was the main route of exposure while exposure via inhalation was negligible for both carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks. Cumulative health risks via all routes of exposure (inhalation, ingestion, and dermal contact) exceeded the acceptable limits of both non-cancer effects and cancer risk at all e-waste sites. This indicates that overall the e-waste workers are at the risk of adverse health effects. Therefore, the importance of occupational safety programs and management regulations for e-waste workers cannot be over emphasised.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970

1972 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodore F. Schoenborn
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Coal Mine ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
The United States ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Health Programs ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Health Laws ◽  
Mine Health And Safety

It is a pleasure to be here today to speak to you about the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, which is landmark legislation by any measure applied to it. The Act applies to every employer affecting commerce in the United States and its territories which was not covered by other Federal occupational safety and health laws, such as the Metal and Non-metallic Mine Act, the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act and the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. By 1973 a study is to be completed containing recommendations for combining all Federal occupational safety and health programs. Paper published with permission.

Design Recommendations for Controlling the Jam-Clearing Hazard on Recycling Industry Balers

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Mick ◽  
K. Means ◽  
J. Etherton ◽  
J. Powers ◽  
E. A. McKenzie
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Laboratory Testing ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
The United States ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Hydraulic Pressure ◽  
Design Recommendations ◽  
Recycling Industry ◽  
Safety And Health

Between 1986 and 2002, there were 43 fatalities in the United States to operators of recycling industry balers. Of these fatalities, 29 involved horizontal balers that were baling paper and cardboard (Taylor, 2002). Balers often become jammed while the baling process is occurring, and the only way to remove the jam is manually. This requires an employee to place a limb of their body into the jamming area and remove the material that is causing the jam. While lockout and tagout procedures reduce the risk of hazardous energy being released, they can still be easily bypassed, ignored, or forgotten. Recent efforts to reduce machine-related injury and death involve the development of a control system for these machines that automatically detects hazardous operating conditions and responds accordingly. The system is being developed at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). This system, JamAlert, automatically terminates the power to the machine when a jam is detected. JamAlert detects a jam by observing both the strain that is experienced by the shear bar of the baler and the hydraulic pressure at which the ram is operating. The strain that is experienced by the baler shear bar when a jam is initiated was calculated in this study through laboratory testing and finite element modeling. Design recommendations are presented on how best to tune the JamAlert’s operating program to most effectively control the jam-clearing hazard.

scholarly journals COVID-19: US federal accountability for entry, spread, and inequities—lessons for the future

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (11) ◽  
pp. 995-1006 ◽  
Author(s):  
William P. Hanage ◽  
Christian Testa ◽  
Jarvis T. Chen ◽  
Letitia Davis ◽  
Elise Pechter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Safety ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
Worldwide Population ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
The Us ◽  
Working Age ◽  
Community Transmission ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe United States (US) has been among those nations most severely affected by the first—and subsequent—phases of the pandemic of COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. With only 4% of the worldwide population, the US has seen about 22% of COVID-19 deaths. Despite formidable advantages in resources and expertise, presently the per capita mortality rate is over 585/million, respectively 2.4 and 5 times higher compared to Canada and Germany. As we enter Fall 2020, the US is enduring ongoing outbreaks across large regions of the country. Moreover, within the US, an early and persistent feature of the pandemic has been the disproportionate impact on populations already made vulnerable by racism and dangerous jobs, inadequate wages, and unaffordable housing, and this is true for both the headline public health threat and the additional disastrous economic impacts. In this article we assess the impact of missteps by the Federal Government in three specific areas: the introduction of the virus to the US and the establishment of community transmission; the lack of national COVID-19 workplace standards and enforcement, and lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) for workplaces as represented by complaints to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) which we find are correlated with deaths 16 days later (ρ = 0.83); and the total excess deaths in 2020 to date already total more than 230,000, while COVID-19 mortality rates exhibit severe—and rising—inequities in race/ethnicity, including among working age adults.

An analysis of workplace exposures to asbestos at three steel mills located in the United States (1972-1982)

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 726-737
Author(s):  
Dana Hollins ◽  
Amanda Burns ◽  
Ken Unice ◽  
Dennis J Paustenbach
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Weighted Average ◽  
Open Hearth ◽  
The United States ◽  
Blast Furnaces ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
Steel Mill ◽  
Exposure Limits ◽  
Steel Mills ◽  
Safety And Health

The objective is to present historical asbestos airborne concentrations associated with activities involving presumably asbestos-containing materials in steel mills. A total of 138 historical industrial hygiene air samples collected in three US steel mills from 1972 to 1982 were analyzed. The majority of samples were collected during relining of open hearth furnaces, stoves, and blast furnaces by steel mill bricklayers and bricklayer helpers. Over 75% of the samples ( n = 106) were collected for 50 min or less, four samples were collected for 227 to 306 min, and sample durations were not reported for the remaining 28 samples. Average airborne fiber concentrations measured during relining activities of open hearth furnaces, stoves, and blast furnaces were 0.21 f/cc, 0.72 f/cc and 0.13 f/cc phase-contrast microscopy (PCM), respectively. Measured airborne fiber concentrations of four time-weighted average (TWA) samples (>227 min) averaged 0.045 f/cc. Estimated 8-h TWAs concentrations averaged 0.34 f/cc for bricklayers and 0.2 f/cc bricklayer helpers. While 8-h TWA concentration estimates for monitored tasks/jobs may often have exceeded current Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs), they did not exceed relevant contemporaneous occupational exposure standards. This analysis provides a better understanding of historical airborne asbestos exposures that bricklayers and other tradesmen experienced during furnace and stove work in the US steel mills.

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