IRAN OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH JOURNAL
Year:2010 | Volume:6 | Issue:4|Papers Count:11

Background and aims: As a Development of Industrial process, human, environment, equipment, material and validity of system has been exposed to hazardous conditions. Regards of 32.3 percent of occupations in industries, this study focused on risk assessment of foundry unit by energy trace and barrier analysis (ETBA) method and presented approaches to control faccident.Methods: the recent study is as a case study one to risk assessment in a foundry unit in Qazvin industrial city in 1387. In this study risks were founded by ETBA method and evaluated by MILSTD-882B. Data were collected by direct observations, interview with workers and supervisor and engineers, walking-talking through method, documents investigation of operational processors, preventive maintenances, equipment technical properties, accidental and medical documents. Finally ETBA worksheets completed.Findings: totally 154 risks has been found. 40 from total are been unacceptable risk, 68 unfavorable and also 46 acceptable but with remediation action. Casting workshop had risks more than other workshops (with 74 identified risks). Potential and heat energies were founded as most hazardous energies, with respectively 51 and 38 risk cases.Conclusion: This study recommended to be done actions for identification and control risk, such as: safety training, occupation training, preventive maintenance, contract safety, safety communication and safety audit group.

Background and aims: Risk perception is a key parameter influencing the behavior of the workers at workplace. The present work contributes to study the effect of Job Safety Analysis (JSA) on risk perception of the high risk jobs in a refinery complex.Methods: Five high risk jobs were identified using "Drop off' method in a refinery complex. Risk perception was evaluated using a standard question naire. The risk perception of the workers was estimated pro and post application of Job Safety Analysis. The questionnaire included different groups of questions for clarifying the risk perception of workers from different point of views. Same workers were asked to answer these questions before and after applying the job safety analyses. The results were evaluated to identify whether the job safety analyses does Influence the risk perception of workers or not.Results: The analyses of 50jobs active in production line and technically supporting sections showed that welding, cutting, scaffolding, insulating and piping have the highest risks respectively. The results showed that, the application of the JSA will significantly (P Value<0.01) increase the worker's risk perception of hazardous agents in the workplace, the utility accidents, human injuries, injuries at the workplace, production versus safety, accident reasons and personal protective equipments. This effect was different among different categories of jobs, aging, working experience and literacy rate.Conclusion: The application of the JSA may modify the risk perception while identifying the risks.

Background and aims: Apart from visual effects of daylight it has observed to elicit powerful non visual effects. It controls the circadian rhythm of hormone secretions and body temperature with implications for sleep/wake states, alertness, mood and behavior. In this study new metrics called "Daylight Autonomy" and "Useful Day light Illuminance" were calculated utilizing south facing vertical illuminance values for industrial parks of Tehran province.Methods: Measurement of south facing vertical values was carried out between 12 July and 1 August 2007 in three measuring stations (Hamadan, Eshtehard and Kerman). Synchronically calculation of corresponding values was performed using method of Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA, 2000). Once aproper model was fitted between measured and Calculated values, prediction of south facing verticali lluminances was under taken for 11 industrial parks of Tehran in a working year. Consequently metrics of "Daylight Authonomy" and "Useful Daylight Illuminances" were estimated for an assumed work place in industrial parks.Results: Minimum, maximum, mean and standard deviation of predicted values for total data found to be 5, 88.32, 50.14 and 23.35 Klux respectively. Values of "Daylight Authonomy" and "Useful Daylight illuminances" were found to be 56% and 56%-100% respectively.Conclusion: There is high potentiality for daylightv availability and energy conservation in Industrial parks. The maximum external illuminance was found 88KLux for all industrial parks. This value could produce internalilluminaceexceede630 Kluxwhich could not make glare and discomfort for occupants.

Background and aims: work centrality refers to the extent to which individuals view work as a main component of their life. If organization don't prepare employees for retirement, when high work centrality individuals approach to retirement, reduce their organizational commitment to maintain their mental health (the purpose of study 1). If organization prepare employees for retirement (high organization influence), people with high mental health can be committed to organization highly (the purpose of study 2).Method: The first study was conducted with 572 employees of an industrial company. At second study compared two groups. The first group was 572 employees, the sample of first study, and the second group was contained 97 employees that both of them responded to instruments with differentiation that the first group was for preparing to retirement in this distance. Instruments were Organizational Commitment Scale, Work Centrality Scale & SCL-90-R Questionnaire.Finding: At firs study indicated that relationship between organizational commitment and work centrality was influenced with mediators variables, mental health and retirement adjustment that mean the absolute value of this relation in high mental health individuals and high retirement adjustment individuals is more, although its direct is negative. According to the finding of first study, at second study first conducted an intervention for preparing to retirement and consequently their commitment after this intervention was accompanied by high mental health.Conclusion: Organizations are responsible for their employee' health and with conducting interventions in this way, they can guarantee employees' organizational commitment with their mental health.

Background and aims: Despite increasing concerns about hospital waste management, scant attention has been paid to hospitals and medical research laboratories. These effluents contain pathogenic microorganisms, incomplete metabolized Pharmaceutical, radioactive elements and other toxic chemicals. The purpose of present work is evaluation of hospitals waste water, treatment plants performance of Iran University of medical science, analysis and comparison of the pollutants' removal and sludge quality with the national standards (Iran EPA).Methods: in this study that was conducted over a period of 6 months, 4 hospitals were selected out of hospitals of Iran University of medical science. Once in each month were sampled and Totally 72 Samples were obtained (including 6 samples from treatment plant input, treatment plant effluent and 6 samples from return activated sludge), respectively.Results: The results showed that Shahid Hasheminejad hospital using integrated fixed activated sludge had the highest efficiency in removal of COD, BODS and TSS and Sludge quality meet the B class of EPA standard.Conclusion: Shahid Hasheminejad hospital wastewater treatment plant had the best performance, because of its treatment system and capability of treating variable organic and hydraulic loading and simple operation and maintenance.

Background and aims: Fluoride is released to environment naturally and via Industrial effluents. According to concentration of fluoride in potable water and its total uptake rate, can be beneficial or harmful. Due to simplicity of operation, easy access to the coagulants of alum and poly aluminum chloride and low cost, coagulation was selected for fluoride removal from water. The purpose of this study was to comparison the efficiency of alum and commercial poly Aluminum chloride for fluoride removal from water.Methods: Lab scale experiments were carried out via Jar apparatus. Variations of this study, including pH, coagulant dosage and fluoride concentration were experimented in defined conditions.Results: Results indicate that optimum pH for both of coagulants was equal to 4. Concentrations of alum and poly Aluminum chloride for fluoride removal were 240 and 160 mg/L respectively and removal efficiency in optimum pH and dosage of coagulant were 84.2 and 84% respectively.Conclusion: According to data obtained from this study, it can be stated that coagulation is a suitable method for removal of fluoride from water and poly Aluminum chloride is compatible with alum.

Background and aims: In recent years, because of excessive population growth, increasing of vehicles and developing of the industries, Tehran has been encountered with serious environmental crisis, such as air pollution. So, for setting the control programs, air pollution monitoring and determination of Tehran air quality are necessary.Methods: In the present study, Tehran air quality index (AQI) was calculated based on the five Criteria pollutants levels (O3, PM10, SO2, NO2 and CO) through linear interpolation based on tese levels in 1387 and with regarding to the national air quality standards for each pollutant categorized as good, moderate, unhealthy for sensitive groups, unhealthy and very unhealthy.Results: The results of this research showed that in 2008-2009,with attention to United State environmental protection agency standards, in 43 days, air quality index was calculated lower than 100 and in the other 323 days, air quality index was higher than 100, that unhealthy for sensitive groups, very unhealthy and unhealthy was 40%, 27% and 21%, respectively. Also, in the summer, ozone and in the winter, carbon monoxide was determined as the pollutant responsible for the highest index value that is called the "critical" pollutant. The most polluted months with the average index of 204 and 214 were occurred in Tir (22 June to 22 July) and Mordad (23 July to 22 August), respectively.Conclusion: comparison of the results of this study with others can be found that Tehran air quality did not improved and is in the very serious situation with regarding to public health, especially for sensitive groups.

Background and aims: Driving is a dangerous and difficult job. In proportion to the other occupational groups, driving has a higher rate of mortality, morbidity and absent due to illness. Drivers are susceptible to depression. Depression alters the thought, attitude and operational skills and leads to higher rates of accident. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of depression and its related factors among truck drivers.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study that carried out on 400 male truck drivers in Yazd province. Subjects were selected by simple random sampling method from Transport Organization List of truck drivers who live in Yazd province. Presence and severity of depression were assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory Short Form. Data were collected by interview and analyzed with SPSS software.Results: Most of drivers(70.3%) had some degrees of depression: major depression was Obsereved in 14.8%, moderate depression in 25.4% and mild depression in 30.1%. Only29.7% of drivers had no depression symptoms. Pearson correlation showed a significant positive relationship between depression score and the number of cigarettes smoking daily and also the distance of trip. Moreover, negative correlation was found between depression score and the sleep duration in trip. Depression score in drivers who had experienced accident during previous year was significantly higher than those with no accident experience.Conclusion: our results regarding depression among truck drivers indicate necessity for establishing special committees in order to consulting and guidence of truck drivers as well as further assessing of their problems and finding solutions to help them having a better compatibility with their jobs situations.