Journal of Health and Safety at Work
Year:2019 | Volume:9 | Issue:2|Papers Count:8

Introduction: Due to the high prevalence of noise and vibration in workplaces and focused of Previous studies on the auditory and musculoskeletal effects of these two harmful factors, The aim of this study was to determine the protective effect of cinnamon extract on sex hormones levels, body weight and testis weight of adult rats exposed to noise and vibration. Material and Methods: 64 male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to eight groups of 8 each. Group 1; treated with distilled water (Control), group 2; treated with 75 mg kg-1 cinnamon extract, group 3; exposed to noise(100 dB), 8 h/day(23: 00-7: 00) and group 4; exposed to noise and treated with 75 mg kg-1 cinnamon extract, group 5; exposed to vibration(1 m/s2), 8 h/day (23: 00-7: 00), group 6; exposed to vibration and treated with 75 mg kg-1 cinnamon extract, group 7; exposed to noise and vibration, 8 h/day (23: 00-7: 00) and group 8; exposed to noised and vibration and treated with 75 mg kg-1 cinnamon extarct by gavage. Fifty days later, the rats were anesthetized, blood samples to determine the amount of sex hormones were collected, and the testis was removed for weight determination. Data was analyesd by SPSS. Results: Noise stress decreased the level of three hormones (LH, FSH and Testosterone) while vibration decreased testosterone levels merely (P<0. 05). Combined exposure to noise and vibration was able to create a significant difference with control group in testosterone and LH hormone levels (P<0. 05). The three factors of noise, vibration and combine of them were able to create a significant difference with control group in final body weight (P<0. 05). Cinnamon extract increased the level of sex hormones compared to control group (P<0. 05). Conclusion: Cinnamon extract (due to antioxidant properties) has a protective effect on sex hormone levels in rats exposed to noise and vibration. It’ s suggested further studies to determine the mechanism of cinnamon extract (in different doses) in human and animal samples.

Introduction: Air pollution is now recognized as an important environmental and health concern. Biological control processes, due to their durable, cost-effective and eco-friendly, have become a good alternative to physic-chemical methods. Biotechnology is based on the activity of microorganisms. The aim of this study was to compare the capability of Pseudomonas Putida PTCC 1694 (bacteria) and Polarotus Stratus IRAN 1781C (mushroom) in the removal of toluene from the air stream and its biodegradation under same operating conditions. Material and Methods: To this purpose, a bio filter containing two parallel columns was designed and constructed on a laboratory scale and the experiments were carried out based on measuring the removal efficiency (RE), elimination capacity (EC) and pressure drop in these two columns. Thus, the bacteria were inoculated in one of the columns and in the other the fungus was inoculated. Results: The bacterial testing lasted for 20 days and the fungal testing lasted for 16 days. The contaminant loading rates (LR) for bacterial and fungal bio filters were 11. 65± 2. 26 and 11. 94± 2. 56 g/m3. h, respectively. The results showed that the fungal bio filter was more capable of eliminating of toluene vapor than bacterial bio filter (9. 65± 3. 53 vs 9. 18± 2. 6 g/m3. h). However, the pressure drop in the bacterial bio filter was lower than the fungal bio filter (1± 0. 28 vs 1. 1± 0. 32 cm water). Conclusion: According to the results, fungal bio filtration appeared to be more successful than bacterial bio filtration in the removal of toluene.

Introduction: Nowadays, human error is one of the main causes of incidents in the industry. One of the vital characteristics of modern industries is that the precise control of key parts of the process is performed by operators from central control rooms, so an error by the control room staff can be disastrous. The present study is aimed at identifying and evaluating human errors in the control room of the petrochemical industry. Material and Methods: This is a descriptive-analytic case study that was conducted in a control room of the petrochemical industry. In this research, firstly by using hierarchical task analysis (HTA), the tasks in the control room were identified and analyzed. Then, using the extended CREAM method, possible human errors were identified, their cognitive category was determined, and their probabilities were calculated using a new approach based on BN. Results: The results of the study showed that the most prevalent control modes for the Boardman and the senior board man were strategic and scrambled modes with error probabilities of 0. 136 and 0. 171, respectively. Conclusion: According to the results obtained in the modeling section, BN can be proposed as an approach with high processing accuracy and also high accuracy in modeling human errors and problems with high input parameters affecting the output parameter.

One of the main goals of all societies whether in developed or developing countries is sustainable development and quality of life improvement. Both of the mentioned fields are known as critical subjects for urban planners, health care systems authorities, organizations and industrial sectors managers. Sustainable development is a global and human-centered approach. Also, ergonomics as a multidisciplinary science has a user center approach in which the quality of life plays a prominent role. The main objective of this article is developing a synergy between ergonomics and sustainability. This research consisted of two parallel phases. The first phase included a review in which two keywords of “ ergonomics and sustainability” were considered in PubMed and EBSCO. After following the including and excluding criteria, 12 final articles were assessed. The second phase, was a descriptive study based on questionnaires among 38 participants. According to articles, in-depth evaluation and data gathering throughout questionnaires, it seems that to make a synergy between ergonomics and sustainability especially based on social aspects of both mentioned firms will be ended to effective and feasible planning towards industrial ergonomics and work-related quality of life.

Introduction: One of the harmful pollutants in the indoor environments is particulate matters. Particles smaller than 2. 5 micrometer in diameter that are suspend in the industrial environments air are the most deleterious dusts which can cause lung disease and cancer. In present study PM2. 5 concentration in the fast-food shops air and its cancer risk for shop workers were assessed. Material and Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, all of Sari city 132 fast foods were included. Air sampling was conducted by calibrated real-time GRIMM-monitor device. Data were analyzed by using of SPSS16 and Prism6 software with T-test, Pearson correlation and descriptive statistics. Finally PM2. 5 cancer risk in workers was calculated by EPA method equation. Results: The PM2. 5 concentration in shops indoor air (308. 5μ g/m3) significantly was higher than its concentration in outdoor air (121. 98μ g/m3) (p<0. 05). Highest correlation was observed between indoor PM2. 5 concentration with smoking (0. 366) and local ventilation (-0. 384) (p<0. 01). The concentration PM2. 5 in the indoor and the outdoor of shops was 273. 55 and 86. 98μ g/m3 higher than acceptable level respectively. Cancer risk was 5. 6 per 100 thousands and 1. 97 per 10 thousands in the rest and cooking time respectively. Conclusion: The most affective source in the elevation of PM2. 5 level in shops indoor air is the cook-emitted particles. PM2. 5 concentration in shops indoor and outdoor air was much higher than EPA admissible level and cancer risk for workers was unacceptable that it has required to basic solutions for air pollution control at source.

Introduction: Carpal tunnel syndrome is followed by pushing Median nerve in the carpal tunnel of the wrist. Occupational factors such as repetitive movements of the hands and fingers and frequent wrist disturbances affect the development of this syndrome. Quality of life is a multidimensional concept including physical and mental performance. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of CTS and its impact on the quality of life of typists in Tehran. Material and Methods: This analytic descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in 1396 on 363 typists from 50 typing institutes in Tehran. Data were collected Demographic-Job Profile Questionnaire, Boston (BQ), quality of life (SF36) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Data were analyzed using SPSS-22 software and methods such as ANOVA and Pearson correlation tests. Results: Among 363 participants, 215 of them were female (59. 23%) and 148 were male (40. 77%). The mean age was 37 ± 12. 58 years. Among the typists, 51 (14. 55%) had one-sided hand conflict, and 312 (85. 95%) were two-sided hand conflicts. Results indicated that the prevalence of CTS symptoms among women was higher than that of men The value of Pearson correlation coefficient (range: 0. 0613-0. 783) showed that there was a moderate to strong correlation between the severity of symptoms scale (SSS), functional status scale (FSS) and visual analog scale (VAS) in the population under study (p< 0. 05). There was also a strong and significant correlation between SSS and FSS among typists. In this study, CTS symptoms have a significant negative effect on the quality of life of the typists, but the psychological dimension quality of life is not to be affected by these symptoms. Conclusion: Regarding the existence of CTS symptoms among typists who work most of a day with computers, there is also a statistically significant relationship between the incidence of CTS symptoms and the quality of life in this occupational group. Therefore, it is recommended that more attention should be paid to these individuals, appreciate tools be correctly designed, and further study be done.

Introduction: Throughout the world, many efforts have been made to provide suitable tools for achieving sustainable urban development and the achievement of a sustainable city. Establishing a Health, Safety and Environment Management System (HSE-MS) is one of the tools for achieving sustainable urban development. Measuring the performance of an organization in the HSE area is a precondition for continuous improvement, which is the spirit of the new HSE management systems. Therefore, the main purpose of this research was to provide a practical model for quantitative ranking of different areas of Tehran municipality in terms of HSE performance with using of multi-criteria decision-making method. Material and Methods: In this descriptive-applied study, after determining functional axis and performance evaluation indicators related to each of them (29 functional axis and 154 performance evaluation indicators), through designing a questionnaire and based on the views of the expert group, weight of functional axis and performance indicators were determined using a hierarchical process analysis technique. Results: In this study, the weighted value for functional axis of the process based HSE in comparison to the result based HSE were higher. “ Commitment and Leadership” and “ HSE Certificate of Occupations” for the process based HSE, “ Safety” and “ Health” for the result based HSE, and “ Economic Sustainability” and “ Architecture and Urbanism” for urban management had the higher and lowest weighted values. Conclusion: The results of assessment and validation of selected indicators and functional axis showed that in designing and determining the HSE performance assessment model of municipalities, in addition to the axises and indicators of the HSE domain, factors affecting urban management can have a significant impact on the performance of municipalities in the field of HSE.

Introduction: The accidents involving the transport of hazardous goods in ports have always been one of the human and environmental threats. The purpose of this research is to study the consequences of incidents involving dangerous goods by modeling and prediction of catastrophic consequences of these goods using the Software valid of management, so in addition to the affected area of the various outcomes of these goods, To provide the necessary management measures to reduce human and environmental toll on keeping dangerous goods in ports and warehouses to be paid. Material and Methods: The study performed from PHAST and ALOHA software in the container terminal in the region of Bandar Imam Khomeini and, to verify the consequences of styrene of toxicity of dangerous goods, was used. Results: According to the results of this study, the extent of pollution coverage (the forbidden region) at least a radius of 79 meters and the best place for placement the Support groups are a radius of 106 meters, around the area dangerous goods. Finally, to offer management practices to avoid or reduce the consequences of possible sites and warehouses storing goods in the study area was dangerous. Conclusion: In this study, methanol reservoir was introduced as the main focus of risk; therefore, the implementation of safety rules, eliminating mechanical failures, personal protection and education, and effective measures to prevent and fight fire are proposed for decreasing the probable losses and fatalities are necessary. As well as measures such as drainage design and appropriate land cover of hazardous goods and predictions for emergency evacuation with regard to atmospheric conditions (speed and wind direction) were recommended.