American journal of industrial medicine
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The construction industry is second only to agriculture in the annual number of fatal injuries in workers less than 18 years of age. We examined fatal injury reports for youth and adult workers to determine risk factors for injury and applicability of existing child labor regulations. ⋯ Fatal injuries in teenage construction workers differed from those in adults in that they were more likely to be at small, non-union firms of which a substantial proportion were exempt from federal enforcement of child labor laws and from routine OSHA inspections. Safety programs for young construction workers should include small, non-union construction firms and those in special construction trades such as roofing. We did not identify specific areas for new regulation but the number of fatalities reviewed was small.
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Work-related amputations are of concern in Michigan and nationally. This study reports on 1 year of data on work-related amputations, which were treated in Michigan hospital emergency departments (ED) or as in-patients in Michigan. ⋯ In-patient and ED records provided information for identifying high risk groups and problem worksites in Michigan. Estimates generated from these data underscore that data on work-related amputations released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which reported 440 amputations in 1997, are a significant undercount--only 64%--of the true number of cases. Better integration of public health data into OSHA enforcement activity is needed.
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Almost all reports of respiratory health effects of hydrofluoric acid are derived from industrial settings and usually involved massive and conspicuous exposures. In the present report we describe a case of adult-onset asthma immediately following use of a household rust stain remover that contained an 8-9% aqueous solution of hydrofluoric acid (HF). ⋯ It is likely that this patient's use of the rust stain remover resulted in inhalation exposure to hydrofluoric acid well above any applicable standard, and hence constituted a "high level" irritant exposure capable of inducing reactive airways dysfunction syndrome. In our opinion, the presence of this concentration hydrofluoric acid in a consumer product may be unduly hazardous.
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Health and work environment of Finnish veterinarians was evaluated by The Finnish Veterinary Association and the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health in a questionnaire survey. ⋯ The work of a Finnish veterinarian, the work environment, and the risks of the work varied greatly depending on the tasks assigned to the veterinarian. This has to be taken into consideration when occupational health services are planned for veterinarians.
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The diagnosis of chronic beryllium disease (CBD) relies on the beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test (BeLPT) to demonstrate a Be specific immune response. This test has improved early diagnosis, but cannot discriminate beryllium sensitization (BeS) from CBD. We previously found high neopterin levels in CBD patients' serum and questioned whether Be-stimulated neopterin production by peripheral blood cells in vitro might be useful in the diagnosis of CBD. ⋯ Neopterin may be a useful diagnostic adjunct in the non-invasive assessment of CBD, differentiating CBD from BeS. Further studies will be required to determine how it performs in workplace screening.