International Journal of Occupational Hygiene
Year:2013 | Volume:5 | Issue:4|Papers Count:8

Environmental noise pollution is among the most urban problems which can be caused due to real sources like traffic, train and virtual sources provided by rigid surfaces. One of the urban structures in which can perform as a virtual noise source are the installed gutters alongside highways. These structures are mostly used to pass the wastewater or the rainfall. In this research, the acoustical performance of a gutter when the receivers are located on the top surface of gutter or in its shadow zone is investigated. To compute the acoustical efficiency of gutters, a 2D Boundary Element Method (BEM) is used. Investigation on the top surface of a simple gutter has shown that the total sound pressure has been changed and results in some disturbance. Various shapes have been studied to decline such disturbance. It was found that sound pressure of the model with curved basement was scattered steadier and the sound pressure for gutter models with wide basement was lower than the ones with narrow basement. Efficiency of some designed models was also compared in the shadow zone. Increase in depth and wide of gutter models either on the top or bottom surface has enhanced the performance of simple reference model. Considering the insertion loss computations, the amount of overall improvement in models with higher depths was more than widen models because of shifting effective performance toward lower frequencies.

Air quality inside commuting vehicles has seldom been evaluated in Iran. Accordingly, this study investigates the levels of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) during workdays characterized by heavy traffic inside taxis in Tehran- Iran between May 2009 and October 2010. The totals of 35 personal samples were collected onto solid sorbent tubes and the concentration of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were analysed by gas chromatography technique equipped with flame ionization detector (GC/FID). The arithmetic means of personal monitoring of BTEX concentrations inside vehicles were found 72.77, 93.91, 9.90 and 4.23 ppb respectively. Exposures to BTEX during traffic flow in the evening were considerably higher than those measured in the morning. The weekdays BTEX level of inside vehicles illustrated significant differences among the studied months (p<0.05). The BTEX concentration ratios were estimated to be related to traffic emissions and similar for all the surveyed routes. In conclusion, the results confirmed that the emission of BTEX and their concentrations being highly associated with traffic jam as well as changes in meteorological conditions.

Construction industry is the second most contributor of gross domestic product and the high rates of accidents /fatalities have tarnished the image of construction industry in India. The importance of safety at site cannot be underscored and it needs the combined attention of all stakeholders to address the issue of safety in construction industry in India. Although the construction industry plays an important role in contributing to the economic performance of the country, its contribution to the workplace accident is equally substantial. The unsatisfactory safety record of construction industry has always been highlighted since the safety management system is neglected area and has not been pursued and implemented systematically in the construction industry. Although the safety regulations imposed in the construction industry by Department of Labour through Building and other construction workers act, 1996 are quite comprehensive and most of the State Governments have not implemented the provisions mentioned under the act. Due to lack of enforcement from Government, majority of the construction organizations in India are certified under Occupational health safety assessment series (OHSAS 18001) to provide a safe and conducive working environment for their workers and subcontractors. The purpose of the study is to present a hierarchy decision model for assessing the priority of elements of goals of OHSAS 18001 in construction segments that is infrastructure and real estate in India by using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) methodology.

Anthropometry is the study of human body dimensions and proportions among different races. In work environments, poorly designed workstations and tools reduce productivity and can lead to fatigue and musculoskeletal injuries. This study aimed to determine the anthropometric characteristics of Iranian workers in comparison to three other Asian countries. This cross-sectional study evaluated 400 male workers between the ages of 25 and 55 yr from all ethnicities working at Iran Khodro Automobile Factory. Results showed that the average height of the Iranian worker is 173.73±6.84 cm and the average sitting height 90.79±3.55 (cm). In comparison to Indian and Philippine workers, Iranian workers are 100% and 83% taller, respectively. This data can be useful for designing workplace space (e.g. height), work levels (e.g. elbow height) and peripheral equipment size, such as chairs (e.g. the width of hips and height of thighs).

Improvements in science and technology and the use of modern machinery in manufacture have led to increase in the number of workers exposed to hazardous agents including noise. This study evaluated the effects of occupational noise on hearing loss and blood pressure in welders after 4 years.In this cohort study, all of the welders working at one of Neyshabur's water heater producing factories were studied. A questionnaire including demographic data, history of diseases and certain drug use was completed for each worker. Moreover the workers audiometry results and blood pressure measurements from 4 years ago were compared with recent results. Data analysis was performed using SPSS18software.The average age of the welders was of 35.6±6.25 and the mean years of employment was 7.66±2.18 years. The equivalent noise exposure of workers on one business day was 97.8 dB and varied between 90-110 dB. After 4 years, there was a significant increase in hearing loss (6.04 dB) in the right ear of workers at 8000 Hz (p=0.0001) and in the left ear at 1000 (1.77 dB) (p=0.04), 4000 (2.29 dB) (p=0.02) and 8000 Hz (4.89 dB) (p=0.0001). During this time blood pressure also increased but was not significant. There was no significant relation between age, years of employment, smoking and education with individual hearing loss during these four years. Many neglected job groups such as welders are prone to hearing loss and possibly chronic increases in blood pressure due to noise exposure in their workplace and should use protective hearing equipment.

Acetonitrile used as a solvent in manufactures and affects to central nervous system from inhalation exposure. The aim of this study was to develop a micro-solid phase extraction method for the determination of acetonitrile in the air matrix. The sampling was performed with a small diameter fused silica fiber coated with a thin film of stationary phase and was subsequently desorbed and analyzed by gas chromatograph equipped with a flame ionization detector (GC/FID). The effects of laboratory and sampling parameters were investigated and applied to the determination of acetonitrile in air matrix. The Carboxen/PDMS as the coating fiber showed better analytical performances compared to the PDMS fiber. Analysis of the data by ANOVA test at a 0.05 level of accuracy showed that the peak area of the sampler was significantly affected by temperature and humidity so that the optimum temperature was 20oC and the optimum humidity was 35%. Besides, the limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) for acetonitrile in the GC system were 0.05 and 0.15 mg/ml, respectively. The solid phase microextraction (SPME) has been shown a suitable technique for sampling and analysis of acetonitrile in air. There was a good correlation between the SPME and national institute occupational safety and health (NIOSH) 1010 method under the optimum conditions.

In many countries road crashes are the main cause of fatal accidents related to job. The aim of our study was to characterize a population of Iranian professional drivers with regard to history of drivers’ road crash incidents and some occupational factors. Using Swedish version of the Nordic Questionnaire information about musculoskeletal pain prevalence in last 12 months, demographic features, smoking habits, age, job experience, road crash, job consent, self-perceived job stress, working load and fatigue were obtained from 403 drivers. Ninety seven (25%) of the study population reported having one or more traffic accident during their driving job history. The association between self-report incident of road crash and driving duration, smoking, lack of exercise, fatigue, lack of health education and musculoskeletal complaints were statistically significant(p<0.05). Data analysis also revealed positive significant association between fatigue as dependent variable and driving duration, self perceived stress and lack of job consent as independent variables (p<0.01). The questionnaire data indicated that signs of fatigue in smoker drivers, old drivers (>50 years), high experienced drivers (>10 years), drivers without sport activities, night drivers, fat and over weighted drivers, old vehicle drivers (age of vehicle >10 years), bus and truck drivers were more than other groups of professional drivers but the differences were not significant. It can be said that occupational risk factors influence the safe operation of drivers. However, prevention strategies such as organizational changes for reducing work-related stress, recording and analysis of road incidents, national health and safety law for drivers are needed.

Exposure to blood borne pathogens is considered as a common occupational hazard among health care workers all around the world. The aim of the current study was to investigate the factors associated with needle stick and sharp injuries among health care workers of an academic hospital. The current cross-sectional study of health care workers a teaching hospital designed based on a census sampling technique from 20 March to 20 April 2012. All personnel were required to fill out the forms they received from the investigators and fill them out on the occasion of any case of needle stick injury. All the obtained information was analyzed using SPSS software version 16. The results of our study demonstrated that the frequency of needle-stick injury was 18.8% (97 persons) the mean age of the affected individuals was 30.49±7.04 years. Significant relationship was observed between the risk of needle stick injury and age, gender, work experience less than 2 year and education. The majority of needle-stick injuries happened at the ICU and CCU. Personal protection devices (face masks, gloves, etc) were used by 67% of the affected individuals. Low frequency of needle stick injuries in our study can be attributed to the following factors: 1-the periodic preventive educational program for staff, especially the new freshmen nurses.2-the existence of a comprehensive program followed by occupational health department and hospital infection control unit.