Journal of Health and Safety at Work
Year:2021 | Volume:11 | Issue:1|Papers Count:12

Introduction: Reducing noise pollution has become an essential issue due to the increase in public concern and also social demands for a better lifestyle. Using sound absorption materials is a preferred method to reduce the noise pollution. Undesirable properties of pure polyurethane such as poor absorption of mechanical energy in narrow frequency ranges can be improved by providing polymeric nanocomposites. The main purpose of this study is to synthesize the polyurethane nanocomposite foams in order to improve its acoustic properties. Material and Methods: At the first steage, pure polyurethane foam was synthesized using the prepolymer method. Afterwards, nanocomposite foams were synthesized with different mass fractions of Nano silica. The cellular morphology of prepared nanocomposite foams was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM (. Utilizing a two-microphone impedance tube, sound absorption coefficient (α ) was calculated in the frequency ranges of 100 Hz to 1600 Hz in order to investigate the acoustic properties of the new absorbant. Results: According to the microscopic investigations, morphology of the cells changed after adding silica nanoparticles. Also, the cell sizes were observed to be decreased by increasing the amount of silica nanoparticles. Furthermore, the acoustic analysis of nanocomposite foams indicated that the sound absorption increased by enhancing the load of silica nanoparticles. Conclusion: In the current study, the effect of silica nanoparticles additive amount on acoustic properties of the polyurethane-based nanocomposite was investigated. Our findings depicted that the polyurethanebased nanocomposites were able to promote the sound absorption coefficient.

Introduction: Designing behavioral modification interventions for the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) warrants the audiences identification and analysis. . This study aimed to determine the predictive factors for using (PPE) based on Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) constructs among workers of Iran Aluminum Factory, 2018. Material and Methods: In this descriptive analytical study with cross-sectional method, a researchermade questionnaire including demographic information, knowledge questionnaire and designed items based on the SCT construct, was fulfilled by 188 workers employed in production line of Iran Aluminum Factory in Arak. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square and logistic regression analysis on SPSS 24. The significance level was set at P< 0. 05. Results: Among the participants, 46. 8% (n=88) and 52. 2% (n=100) of workers had moderate and high level of knowledge, respectively. Demographic variables such as marital status, educational level, income, age, work experience and employment status (p <0. 05), as well as all SCT constructs (p <0. 05) had a significant relationship with knowledge. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the level of education and employment status with probability of 80. 6% and self-control, environment and self-efficacy of perceived barriers constructs, with a 64% probability could explained workers in high-knowledge group. Conclusion: The present study revealed that the variables such as level of education, employment status, self-control, environment and self-efficacy of perceived barriers could be effective in designing educational interventions to improve workers’ knowledge on using personal protective equipment.

Introduction: Stressfull innate of the operating room, unpredictable types of activities, and prolonged standing during surgeries cause chronic fatigue in surgical technologists, resulting in reduced quality of care. It is essential, therefore, to provide especialized methods to reduce the surgical technologists’ fatigue severity. . This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of concomitant exercise and inhalation of lavender fragrance on surgical technologists’ fatigue severity. Material and Methods: Ninety seven surgical technologists were recruited in this clinical trial study, working in the operating rooms of Tabriz educational hospitals. They were randomly divided into three groups (Exercise, Lavender & Control) after fulfilling informed consent, . The instruments for data collection included demographic information form as well as a multidimensional fatigue inventory questionnaire. In the experimental groups, concomitant exercise training and Lavender inhalation were both used for a period of six weeks while no intervention was given to participants in the control group. Statistical analyses were carried out using SPSS 20 as well as ANOVA and repeated measurement tests. Results: No significant difference was observed between Exercise, Lavender, and Control groups regarding demographic characteristics (P>0. 05). The mean score of fatigue between exercise and control groups and between Lavender and control groups showed a significant decrease (P<0. 05). However, the results showed no significant difference statistically between the exercise and Lavender groups (P>0. 05). Conclusion: The concomitant exercise and Lavender fragrance in the operating room positively affect and reduce the fatigue severity in surgical technologists. Planning to implement similar interventions in the operating room is recommended.

Introduction: Pesticides are among the broadest chemical compounds used in the world and are also considered as the most dangerous compounds for living organisms. Although pesticides have significant impact on improving agricultural and food products, the processes of their production, formulation, storage, transportation, and marketing as well as the extensive use of these materials lead to occupational exposure, environmental pollution, and the presence of their residues in foodstuffs. Bentazon as a herbicide is considered as one of the most common pesticides used in agriculture and horticulture. Its effects on human health are widespread and of concern. Occupational and environmental exposure assessment of this compound is, therefore, considered necessary by conducting accurate and valid methods. The purpose of the present study was to synthesize a molecular imprinted polymer (MIP) as a specific adsorbent in the preparation process of bentazon for its selective analysis in biological matrices. Material and Methods: For synthesis, a precipitation polymerization method was used. This method has been used to prepare particle size distribution and shape appropriately. By applying the aforementioned method, nano particle size is obtained within the sub-micron and nano range. So, crushing and sieving of the sorbent is not necessary. The MIP was synthesized with 1: 4: 30 ratio of template molecule (bentazone): functional monomer (methacrylic acid): cross-linking monomer (ethylene glycol di methacrylate), respectively. Due to particle size and high porosity, the sorption and recovery of template compound was performed faster and with higher efficiency. Some variables affecting the efficiency of MIP for sorption and desorption of analyte were investigated and optimized. They included pH of solution, MIP amount (mg), and sonication time (min) in the sorption step and volume of eluent (ml), sonication time (s), and acid percentage in the desorption step. Results: The optimum levels of factors for the proposed method were pH of solution: 2، sonication time for sorption 7. 3 min, polymer amount of 30. 814 mg, acid percentage 1. 1, and sonication time for desorption 165 s. According to the obtained results, the interfering factors in the matrix have no significant effect on the determination of analyte. The limit of detection (LOD) and relative standard deviation (RSD) of the optimized method were 0. 79. ppb and 2. 8931 %, respectively. Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that the proposed method can be used to extract the bentazon herbicide from complex matrices such as urine samples with high efficiency and selectivity.

Introduction: Workers in car manufacturing industry are at risk of a high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders, especially low back pain. Therefore, in the present study aimed to design and fabricate a portable device to evaluate the low back kinematics and to compare these variables in workers with and without low back pain (LBP) in assembly lines of an automotive industry. Material and Methods: In the present research workers postures were assessed using OWAS direct observational method. Moreover, simultaneously, prevalence and intensity of low back pain were evaluated by Dutch Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (DMQ) and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). After fabricating motion analysis device, a field study was conducted using the designed device among 16 volunteers to investigate low back kinematic variables in two groups of workers: LBP and non-LBP. Results: The results showed that 62. 1 percent of all working postures were high risk with corrective action levels of 3 and 4. On average, 86. 1 percent of workers experienced LBP in the previous 12 months. Regarding comparison of kinematic variable in the two groups of LBP and non-LBP, workers without LBP had higher degree and duration (in second) of movements (forward flexion, lateral bending, extension, and twisting), as compared to those with LBP. However, only movement range of forward flexion in non-LBP group (mean: 64. 29 and SD: 8. 41), was significantly higher than those with LBP (mean: 58. 97 and SD: 11. 34). Conclusion: The device can be used as an effective tool in the ergonomics studies in the field of back pain, due to its potential to record the kinematics of the trunk, as well as its lightweight and non-interference with the task. Device’ s validity was acceptable based on the comparison of the results of this device with those obtained from inclinometer.

Introduction: Perpetration of samples is one of the most important stages needed for trace residue analysis of biological specimens when human exposure assessment is required. The samples preparation process makes the analyte get more purified and enriched as well as more compatible to the analysis instrument systems. The present study has concentrated on a systematic review of different articles published regarding the sample preparation methodologies of human biological samples. Material and Methods: In this systematic review, all articles related to the development of sample preparation for trace residue analysis of heavy metals in occupational biological samples published in English during 2009-2019, were considered. To meet the desired objective of the current study and facilitate the related articles on physiochemical sample preparation methods accessibility combined keywords of Mesh and non-Mesh, without any limitation in the type of studies, the Pubmed, Web of Science, and Scopus were considered to be searched. Noteworthy, in this study, only the articles related to the workers’ biological samples were reviewed. Results: Based on the obtained results, after reviewing of the keywords trough websites, 2964 articles were identified. Then, the redundant papers were removed and59 articles were remained, based on their titles and abstracts, . After detailed review of selected articles, regarding the study criteria, 8 articles were selected for the final systematic review. Five articles out of 8, (62. 5%) were allocated to the development of sample preparation for mercury in biological samples. It is worth mentioning that the majority of biological samples were regarded to the urine samples (75%) in the current study. Based on the obtained results, Solid Phase Extraction (SPE), applied in 37. 5% of studies, was a popular method used in sample preparation. Conclusion: The development of sample preparation approaches indicates a great promise for specified methods with low costs and less extraction time when separating different heavy metals from complex matrices. These sample preparation and preconcentration techniques ease the analyses processes and provide the quantitative recoveries, higher sensitivity, and lower detection limits.

Introduction: Determining the size distribution of the particles for assessing their effects on human health and their control mechanisms is very effective. One of the most important equipment used in determining particle size distribution is the DMA. In this study, in addition to the design and construction of a DMA, the size distribution measurement of aerosol particles was carried out. Material and Methods: In this experimental-laboratory study, according to the theoretical principles, the geometric dimensions and operating conditions of the DMA were determined by Fortran programs. The design of the technical drawing of the DMA was done using the Salidworks-2017 software. The DMA designing was performed by studying the size distribution of 12 ranges of DOP particles in 15 voltages. Results: The results of applying different voltages to the DMA showed that one range of particles size had the highest number of particles in the output of the DMA at each voltage. As the number of particles with the size of 0. 26-0. 3 µ m at 3500 volts and those larger than 2 µ m at 9000 volts is the highest at the output of the DMA. Conclusion: DMA systems are a robust tool in determining the particle size distribution. As by knowing the required voltage to separate a specific size of the particles, the DMA will be able to specify the spectrum of unknown particles.

Introduction: Determining methods for assessing heat stress in different work environments is one of the major challenges for researchers in this field. The purpose of this study was to validate WBGT index and heat pressure assessment (HPA) by some physiological responses in Iranian South Oil Company. Material and Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was carried out on 154 employees of Kharg, Asalouyeh and Mahshahr oil terminals recruited from three different working conditions including indoor, outdoor and rest environments in the summer. The amount of heat stress in the workplace was evaluated by WBGT index HPA method. To meet this purpose, the environmental parameters i. e., temperature, wet temperature, radiation temperature, relative humidity, water vapor pressure and air flow rate were determined. In addition to the direct reading method by the WBGT meter, ISO 7243 was used to calculate the WBGT index. In order to validate the heat stress indicators, physiological parameters of oral temperature, tympanic temperature and work metabolism were measured. Results: The results of paired sample t-test showed a significant difference between WBGT index and HPA in indoor and outdoor environment (P<0. 05). Moreover, there was a significant difference between the physiological indices of oral and tympanic temperatures and work metabolism in the indoor and outdoor environment (P<0. 05). Furthermore, the correlation test was significant between WBGT index as an independent variable and HPA as a dependent variable (P<0. 05) and showed a high correlation (R2=0. 914) between WBGT index with oral temperature and tympanic temperature. Also, the rate of work metabolism was significantly related with the aforementioned parameters (P<0. 05) and was equal to R2=0. 423, R2=0. 335, R2=0. 552, respectively. The correlations were also significant between HPA with Oral temperature, tympanic temperature and work metabolism (P<0. 05)and were equal to R2=0. 632, R2=0. 605, R2=0. 557, respectively. The results showed also that the correlation rate between the HPA with physiological parameters is stronger than that between physiological parameters with the WBGT index. Conclusion: This study showed that WBGT and HPA methods are useful for assessing the heat stress of Iranian South Oil Company. Also, the HPA method is more reliable for assessing heat stress in these regions.

Introduction: Particulate matter (PM) is known as the most common cause of air pollution in the world. Activities of sand quarries are known as one of the emission sources in Tehran. This study aimed at investigating the geological and environmental factors of airborne particles in an active quarry in the west of Tehran. Material and Methods: Three methods of dust sampling were used. totally, 32 samples were analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscope-Energy Dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX). The data were analyzed through Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Enrichment Factor (EF) and Geo-accumulation Index (Igeo). Results: The results showed the presence of Si, Ca, Al, Na, Fe, K, Zn, Pb, P, S, Mg, Cu, Ti, Mn, Cl and V in dust of the quarry. Also, the elements of Mn, V, Zn, Cu and Pb were shown to have moderate to extremely enrichment and contamination from anthropogenic origin. The silicon and potassium were found to have a natural source originated from igneous and alluvial rocks. Conclusion: In this study, it was shown that fugitive dust generated from sand quarries and related activities have higher concentration of elements than those in the Earth crust due to anthropogenic activities. Further studies on transfer of fugitive dust from sand and gravel quarries to Tehran and assessment of its health impact are suggested.

Introduction: The oil and petrochemical industries had been amongst the first industries which developed the HSE-MS. This system aims to maintain and protect human resources along with reducing the environmental impact of the industry. Although it has been mulling over this system in a plethora of studies, unfortunately, most of the assessments have been carried out in a qualitative manner. In recent years, the evaluation of the performance of HSE-MS has been limited due to the lack of appropriate quantitative evaluations. Material and Methods: In the present study, the development of criteria and sub-criteria of health, safety and environment management system was investigated using a different approach. Using the opinion of experts and according to the performed categories, a questionnaire was developed to determine the pairwise comparisons. Decision making trial and evaluation (DEMATEL) technique was used to determine the relationships between the criteria and network analysis method was used to determine their importance weight. the developed methodology was then evaluated and compared between two factories in a case study. Results: The performance evaluation showed that the leadership and commitment criterion with a final score of 1. 8; Risk assessment and management with a final score of 0. 8; Planning criterion with a final score of. 0. 40; Policy criterion with final score of 0. 33, Organization, resources, and documentation with a final score of 0. 31, implementation and follow-up with a final score of 0. 22, and Evaluation and Review criterion with a final score of 0. 12 were ranked from the first to the seventh, respectively. Conclusion: The results of the study demonstrated that the most important criterion for health, safety and the environment is leadership. The significant difference between the final score of the leadership criterion and the other criteria reflects its crucial importance in HSE-MS performance evaluation. Participation of employees, allocation of appropriate funding and support of innovativeness are factors to be implemented in order to improve HSE-MS program as a better and successful management.

Introduction: Damage to occupational health is one of the major challenges in the industry. Various studies have shown that productivity in industries has a significant relationship with occupational health. In addition, employee’ s health in the workplace can be affected by a variety of variables i. e., job stress, job satisfaction, and work in unconventional shifts. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the causal relationships of shift work, job stress, job satisfaction with the occupational health level in a petrochemical industry. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was implemented in 2017. The study sample consisted of 20 HSE experts selected using purposeful judgment sampling. A 4×4 matrix questionnaire consisting of four main parameters i. e., shift work, job stress and job satisfaction with occupational health level, was used for data acquisition. Data analysis was done using MATLAB software and Fuzzy DEMATEL method. Also, for each variable, two key values of D+R and D-R were calculated. These values show the degree of interaction and the type of interaction of the variable with other variables, respectively. Results: Sixty percent of the experts participating in this study were male and 40. 0% were female. Only 10. 0% of the participants had a PhD degree. In addition, the mean age and the mean work experience of the subjects were 39. 64± 9. 34 and 10. 22± 7. 10 years, respectively. The parameters of shift work and job satisfaction were identified as an effective factor due to the positive values of D-R while occupational health variable with negative value of D-R, was considered as an affected factor. In addition, these results showed that the effect of these parameters on health is different with both direct and indirect mechanisms. Conclusion: Using the Fuzzy DEMATEL method, our findings indicated that occupational health in the large industries can be influenced by different parameters with different sizes. Considering the interactions among these parameters in health analysis and the affecting factors, therefore, is very important. So, the health level in challenging industrial environment such as petrochemical industries can be affected by shift work as a root cause. This root cause, along with job satisfaction, has a significant effect on increasing stress levels and reducing health levels. Accordingly, any action to increase the health level should focus on improving shift patterns and increasing the level of job satisfaction of employees as a pivotal root and affecting causes on health level.

Introduction: The skin, can be exposed to harmful factors like ultraviolet radiation (UV). Exposure to this physical hazardous agent could be contributed to pigmentation, erythemas, early aging, skin cancer, and DNA damage. The aim of this study, therefore, was to fabricate the polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers with the UV protection property by the use of various concentrations of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles. Material and Methods: The PAN nanofibers (10%wt) containing 0, 1, 5, 10 and 15% wt of TiO2 nanoparticles were produced using electrospinning method. The morphological propertis of nanofibers were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the functional groups were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FTIR). The UV protection property of nanofibers was studied by measuring UV transmittance as well as calculating UV protection factor (UPF). Results: The results showed that the diameter and morphological characteristics of nanofibers are different at various concentrations of TiO2 and increasing the concentration of TiO2 has resulted to an increase in nanofibers diameter. The analysis of FTIR results showed that TiO2 nanoparticles have been successfully loaded on nanofibers for UV protection purposes. The findings clarified that nanofibers loaded with TiO2 could increase the UV protection property up to 15%. Conclusion: Totally, our findings show the successful fabrication of UV-protective nano webs using TiO2 nanoparticles. the new combination used in nano matcould protect employees from UV radiation.