Applied occupational and environmental hygiene
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Pneumatic nail guns greatly increase worker productivity and are extensively used in wood frame building construction, with especially high use in residential construction. One surveillance report of nail gun injuries in Washington State has been published; however, other literature consists largely of case reports and case series in trauma journals. The major objective of the current study was to investigate the occurrence of nail gun-associated injuries among construction workers and to identify preventable work-related factors associated with these injuries. ⋯ Analyses of free text information for puncture injuries found approximately 70 percent of injuries to occur during the framing/sheathing stage of construction. Our data suggest that approximately 69 percent of puncture injuries may be due to an inadvertent gun discharge or misfire, preventable in large part by the use of sequential triggers. Worker training and education also are important components of nail gun injury prevention.
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Appl Occup Environ Hyg · Nov 2002
Comparative StudyAttributions, stress, and work-related low back pain.
Occupational low back pain (LBP) is a major cause of morbidity and cost. Efforts to control LBP are largely unsuccessful, and better understanding of risks is needed, especially psychological factors. The purpose of this research was to assess the association between worker attributions and LBP. ⋯ Workers with annual incomes above 15,000 dollars were more likely to report LBP in the test of both the Demand-Control-Support and Attribution models (OR = 2.8, 95% CI = 1.2-6.9 and OR = 4.1, 95% CI = 1.5-11.1, respectively). While both models appeared to be useful for the study of low back pain, the R(2)(L) of the Demand-Control-Support model equaled only 11.9 percent, whereas the Attribution model equaled 26.2 percent. This study provides evidence that attribution theory is useful in the study of LBP, including in future interventions in the prevention of LBP.
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Appl Occup Environ Hyg · Oct 2002
Comparative StudyComparison of five methods for fit-testing N95 filtering-facepiece respirators.
Five fit-testing methods (Bitrex, ambient aerosol condensation nuclei counter using the TSI PortaCount Plus, saccharin, modified ambient aerosol condensation nuclei counter using the TSI PortaCount Plus with the N95-Companion, and generated aerosol using corn oil) were evaluated for their ability to identify poorly fitting N95 filtering-facepiece respirators. Eighteen models of NIOSH-certified, N95 filtering-facepiece respirators were tested by a panel of 25 subjects using each fit-testing method. The penetration of the corn oil and the ambient aerosols through the filter media of each respirator was measured in order to adjust the corresponding generated and ambient aerosol overall fit factors, reflecting only face-seal leakage. ⋯ The ambient aerosol using the TSI PortaCount Plus and the generated aerosol methods identified poorly fitting respirators better than the saccharin, the Companion, and Bitrex methods. These errors rates should be considered when selecting a fit-testing method for fitting N95 filtering-facepieces. When both types of errors were combined as an assignment error, the ambient aerosol method using the TSI PortaCount Plus had the lowest percentage of wearers being assigned a poor-fitting respirator.
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Appl Occup Environ Hyg · Jan 2002
Evaluation of a tractor cab using real-time aerosol counting instrumentation.
Aerosol instrumentation was used to evaluate air infiltration into tractor cabs that are used to protect the agricultural worker during pesticide applications. Preliminary surveys were conducted on three different manufactured agriculture enclosures. The results of these preliminary surveys indicated that aerosols are entering the cab through leak sources or are being generated inside the cab. ⋯ The results from this study indicate that tractor cabs can be effective at removing different size aerosols depending on the seals and filters used with the enclosure. This study has also demonstrated the practical use of real-time aerosol counting instrumentation to evaluate the effectiveness of enclosures and to help identify leak sources. The method used in this study can be applied to various cabs used in different industries including agriculture, construction, and manufacturing.