JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL HYGIENE ENGINEERING
Year:2021 | Volume:7 | Issue:4|Papers Count:8

Background and Objective: Various types of chemical and biological agents with different physicochemical properties and health effects are used in laboratories. The present study aimed to qualitatively evaluate the operation of laboratory hoods in the "Campus" laboratories, as well as the Food and Drug Administration affiliated to Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran. Materials and Methods: This study evaluated 19 chemical and 10 biological hoods located in the "Campus" laboratories, as well as the Food and Drug Administration according to the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists standards in Qazvin Province, Iran. Different factors, such as velocity at the hood mouth, structural specifications, and their accordance with the standards were examined in this study. The data were then analyzed in SPSS software (version 21). In total, seven hoods were found malfunctioned, and a central ventilation system was designed using the velocity pressure method. Results: According to the results, the velocity at the hood mouth was inappropriate in 92. 6% of the hoods, and the maximum velocity at the mouth was estimated at 158 fpm. Moreover, obvious leakage was observed in 67% of the chemical hoods, and they were improperly connected to the roof channels using flexible ducts. The result of the velocity assessment in the hood mouth connected to the central ventilation system indicated a 60% increase in the airflow and 11± 92 fpm velocity supply in the hood mouth. In order to utilize the air diluting capacities, the ventilation system chimney was installed at the highest point on the building to prevent contaminated air return into the building. Conclusion: The majority of the evaluated hoods were found malfunctioned and unable to control the respiratory exposure. Moreover, the ventilators connected to the hoods were not able to overcome the pressure drop in the discharge flow paths and produced a lot of noise.

Background and Objective: The existence of noise in the workplace is considered one of the causes of job stress. Stress can affect an individual's communication skills. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the relationship between workplace noise and workers' communication skills. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in one of the mines in Yazd Province, Iran, in 2019. The samples of this study (n=80) were divided into two groups of exposed and control. The instruments utilized to collect the necessary data included two questionnaires, namely a demographic form and the Queendom communication skills test. Moreover, the sound measurement was performed using a noise dosimeter and sound level meter. The gathered data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 21). Results: Based on the results, the demographic characteristics of all participants showed no significant relationship with subscales and final scores of communication skills (P>0. 05). Therefore, the two groups were not significantly different in this regard. However, it was revealed that communication skills had a significant relationship with the level of sound exposure in the two groups (P<0. 05). Conclusion: The results showed that an individual's communication skills would decrease due to noise exposure. This skill is highly important in jobs and can also influence productivity and accident incidence. Consequently, it is possible to prevent workers' ability loss by reducing their exposure to noise.

Background and Objective: Nowadays, none of the industries wants an accident to happen in their workplaces, and therefore, they use different tools to accomplish this aim. One of these tools is risk analysis, which is capable of identifying risks and inappropriate situations. Due to the importance of occupational risk prediction and injury reduction, this study was conducted to investigate occupational risk prediction using different neural network algorithms. Materials and Methods: This applied research was performed based on causal and survey approaches. Accordingly, a database of 119 incidents in 2018 was included in this study, which was sufficient reliable due to the high accuracy of the neural network algorithms in the database. The dynamic artificial neural network algorithm had the highest accuracy (76%) in predicting occupational injury. Results: Based on the results, the most important criteria affecting the risk of occupational injury were day-time, type of accident, and hazardous situations involved in the accident. Conclusion: This research can offer practical applications for Azarab company since this company can put all the vulnerabilities together, predict the risk of each of these situations by implementing the neural network algorithm, and accordingly take measures to provide risk control instructions.

Background and Objective: Safety training as the most important step in the obtainment of safety qualifications for construction contractors can help reduce the accidents rate. The present study aimed to assess the effectiveness of safety training for construction contractors in the reduction of workrelated accidents during a 5-year time period (2014-2018). Materials and Methods: This historical cohort study was conducted on 44 contractor companies in 2019. Half of the 44 contractors were qualified by safety training, and the other half were unqualified. The data of the current study included the characteristics of the contractors, the provided safety training documentation, contractors' safety qualification certificates, as well work-related accident reports. Data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS (version 22. 0). Results: The highest and lowest levels of desirability in the training provided to contractors were reported as training time (77. 8%) and training technique (40. 7%), respectively. The results of Cochran's test demonstrated that the incidence ratio of work-related accidents and deaths in the exposure group significantly decreased after providing safety training and obtaining a certificate of safety qualification (P<0. 05). Furthermore, the incidence ratio in the two groups of exposure and non-exposure was significantly different in 2017 and 2018 (P<0. 05). Conclusion: As evidenced by the obtained results, apart from a reduction in the incidence ratio of work-related accidents and deaths after providing safety training, the improvement of the quality and desirability of safety training to obtain a certificate of safety qualification of contractors can greatly increase the effectiveness of training and help reduce the incidence of construction accidents.

Background and Objective: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) brings about serious mental problems, such as stress, anxiety, and hypochondriasis, apart from its negative physical effects. The present study aimed to assess the relationship between hypochondriasis and the resilience of employees in an occupational environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 275 employees in one of the Industries in southern Iran in the late spring of 2020. Data collection instruments included demographic information form, a researcher-made questionnaire, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale )CDRSC), and Evans hypochondria standard questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 22) using one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and linear regression. Results: As evidenced by the obtained results, the mean prevalence of hypochondriasis was 33. 37± 14. 87, and the total mean of resilience score was obtained at 20. 95± 78. 56. Hypochondriasis was significantly correlated with age, career length, use of personal protective equipment, the experience of coronavirus, and attention to preventive measures (P<0. 05). Furthermore, the results pointed to the significant relationship of resilience with age, career length, attention to preventive measures, and the use of personal protective equipment(P<0. 05). A significant negative relationship was observed between hypochondriasis and resilience. Conclusion: Given the psychological effects of COVID-19, such as stress and hypochondriasis, it is necessary to implement some measures to reduce hypochondriasis and increase resilience among employees. It is regarded as one of the strategies which help them to deal with hypochondriasis, especially in the difficult conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background and Objective: Stress is a common disease of the 21 st century, and one of the major causes of stress in life is occupational stress. The aim of this study was to investigate the status of occupational stress and emotional intelligence and their relationship in urban health care workers of Andimeshk, Iran. Materials and Methods: A total of 143 health care workers working in the headquarters of Andimeshk Comprehensive Health Center and health centers were evaluated using the standard Health and Safety Executive and Bradbery questionnaires. The relationship between these two variables was investigated using multivariate regression and adjustment of the confounders, such as age, gender, and workplace. Results: The majority (82%) of the participants were female. Regarding formal employment, over 70% of the employees had a bachelor’ s degree and more than 60% of them had at least 6 years of work experience. Based on the obtained results, 63% of the employees were reported with moderate emotional intelligence, and up to 86% of them suffered from mild to severe occupational stress. One-way analysis of variance showed that there was a significant relationship between occupational stress and emotional intelligence with the place of work and gender. Occupational stress was significantly inversely related to emotional intelligence (r=-0. 42). Conclusion: Health care workers with higher emotional intelligence had less occupational stress. It is recommended to include emotional intelligence training in the annual retraining of personnel.

Background and Objective: Silica crushing is a process based on crushing, sieving, and granulating various types of siliceous rocks. The inhalation of silica dust leads to silicosis by imposing structural changes and irreversible fibrosis in the lung tissues. The crystalline silica is classified as a human carcinogen (Group 1) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Azandaryâ n region, Hamadan Province, Iran, is one of the largest silica production units in Iran with 40 silica crushing factories. This study was conducted to investigate the application of Arc-GIS in the zoning of occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) in this region. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study, the individual exposure levels to RCS were measured among 16 workers in silica crushing factories according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health method No. 7602. Moreover, 16 air samples were collected and quantified simultaneously to evaluate the environmental concentrations of RCS in the studied factories. Results: The results showed that the mean score of individual exposure level (2. 01± 2. 61 mg/m 3 ) exceeded the occupational exposure limit proposed by the Iran Technical Committee of Occupational Health for 8 working h (0. 025 mg/m 3 ). It was also found that there was a significant difference between the mean of individual exposure concentration and RCS in the different job activities (P=0. 001). Conclusion: The results showed that the individual exposure levels had no significant relationship with environmental concentrations of the RCS. Furthermore, geographic information system had a desirable potential for zoning occupational exposure levels to RCS in workplaces. The findings of this study also emphasized the application of other modeling methods to determine the amount of silica emission in different units of the silica crushing factories.

Background and Objective: The sudden emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may lead to anxiety due to this disease among hospital staff. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the anxiety caused by COVID-19 and its relationship with burnout among hospital staff. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out on the staff of a hospital located in Zahedan, Iran, in May 2020. The subjects (n=353) were entered into the study using the census sampling method and inclusion criteria and completed a three-part questionnaire containing demographic and occupational information, Corona Disease Anxiety Scale, and Maslach Burnout Inventory. The collected data were analyzed in Stata software (version 14). Results: Based on the results, more than half of the samples were females. Most cases were married and within the age range of 20-30 years. The prevalence of severe anxiety was reported to be 11. 9% and 23. 2%, 7. 4%, and 57. 5% of the subjects showed job burnout respectively in the components of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal inadequacy. It was also revealed that there was a significant relationship between anxiety caused by COVID-19 and burnout. Conclusion: It was found that there was a significant relationship between corona-caused anxiety and job burnout. According to the high prevalence of such disorders, it is suggested that more attention be paid to hospital staff due to their special role in the treatment of Covid-19.