Industrial Hygiene (IH)

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, more than 15 million persons are employed aboard vessels that target marine fisheries [FAO, 2004.] Across this labor force as many as 24 million non-fatal injuries are estimated to occur annually [ILO, 1998].

Accurate predictions of full shift noise exposures in the construction trades would allow employers to determine which employees should be enrolled in a hearing conservation program and use hearing protection before they are exposed.

Occupational exposure to multiple volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the use of spray guns is widespread in the wood-finishing industry. VOCs in exhaled breath used as abiological sample for exposure have been shown to correlate with ambient air concentrations.

Agricultural workers in the state of Washington must deal with numerous hazards in their daily work ranging from threats of falling off of ladders to turning over tractors. While these incidents are usually one-time accidents, many field workers are exposed daily to numerous types of pesticides.

Workers in the US and around the world face significant risks for dermal exposure to chemicals. In the US in 2003 43,400 skin disease cases were reported to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics for a total incidence rate of 4.9 per 10,000 workers (OSHA 2005) Dermatitis is the second most commonly reported occupational disease in Washington State.

In addition to the traditional gas/liquid/solid division of the physical states of matter, there is the combination of the three: aerosols. Aerosols are solid or liquid particles so small that they make a stable suspension in a gas, usually air.

Hearing protection devices are commonly used to prevent occupational noise-induced hearing loss. There is a large body of research on hearing protection use in industry, and much of it relies on worker’ self-reported use of hearing protection.

Generally speaking, remote sensing is the measurement or acquisition of information of an object or phenomenon by a recording device that is not in physical contact with the object. Remote sensing technology has broad application and provides an innovative and inexpensive approach to data collection and processing in environmental and occupational health sciences.

Several research studies have demonstrated that there appears to be an association between intensive computer input device use and upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders. However the evidence for possible stature related health effects is limited. Computer input devices represent a class of tolls where a "one size fits all" paradigm has predominantly been applied.

The use of organophosphorus (OP) pesticides has been consistently high in the agricultural sector in the United States. the high use, ease in dermal absorption and the potential for cholinesterase inhibition make OP pesticides a necessary target for frequent exposure assessment.

Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) systems are commonly used to prevent exposure to harmful fumes generated by welding operations. Welding processes are hazardous activities that pose a unique combination of both safety and health risks to more than 500,000 workers nationwide in a wide variety of industries.

Chromium (Cr) exists in different stable valences in nature, as Cr (-II through VI). In industrial settings, workers are most often exposed to chromium in the metallic chromium (Cr [O]), trivalent (Cr [III]) and hexavalent (Cr [VI]) form. Metallic chromium, with its highest melting point, is used to make steel and other alloys.

Organophosphorus pesticides (OPs), which are frequently used in agricultural settings, are able to effectively exterminate insects by inhibiting the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE) at cholinergic nerve synapses. Overexposure to OP pesticides results in the same toxic action within the human body.

Hazardous vapors and gases are commonly present in a wide range of industries throughout the world. In order to protect workers from these contaminants, it is important to be able to accurately determine the concentrations of gases and vapors in the workplace. Traditionally, sampling has been performed by drawing air through a sorbent tube with a pump.

Passive monitors fulfill a valuable role in industrial hygiene sampling. Although operation of the monitors in mixed chemical environments has been reviewed, the effect of each additional chemical in the mixture on monitor accuracy has not been evaluated.

Background: Predictors of incident respiratory symptoms described in aluminum smelter workers remain unclear.

Prior work by the Tulalip Natural Resource Department has documented on going fecal coliform counts in the Tulalip Bay that fluctuated during the wet and dry seasons. The contributing sources of fecal contamination have been unclear over the years; however many suspects have been identified. Among them are human, wildlife, waterfowl, and domestic animals.

This study compared three methods of breath sampling for exposure to volatile organic chemicals. Eleven healthy volunteers were exposed to four of these five chemicals: ethanol, acetone, methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK), toluene, and halothane. After exposure, venous blood and mixed-exhaled breath, end-exhaled breath, and rebreathed gas were sampled ten times in four hours.

Many studies have shown that there are serious risks associated with pesticides such as cancer, reproductive problems, organ damage, and endocrine and/or immune system dysfunction. In recent years, there is a growing concern about the pesticide residues exposure due to the indiscriminate use of pesticides in China.

Falls are one of the most serious risks in private industry today. In 2002, there were 272,988 reports of nonfatal injuries due to falls. That same year, they accounted fro 11% of workplace fatalities. Construction workers had a fatal fall rate almost ten times higher than any other industry. This is often attributed to the unpredictable, ever-changing nature of their work.

This dissertation documents the dynamic interaction between moving human receptors (children) and transient peaks in drifted pesticides proximal to treated fields. Validation of a novel dGPS instrument (the GPS Personal Acquisition Logger or GPS-PAL) to attain high-resolution time-location data required four tests: amenability, reception, resolution, and interference.

Farm workers in the United States make a crucial contribution to our society. This occupational group perfoRMS numerous tasks vital to the cultivation and harvest of a large share of the nation's food supply. They work in an industry that has consistently ranked as one of the most hazardous industries in the United States (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2000).

There are many commercially available gloves, designed to protect the worker from dermal exposure to chemicals. Unfortunately, the all purpose chemical glove does not exist. The ideal glove would be comfortable to wear, tactile, inexpensive and impermeable to all chemicals.

Urinary creatinine and dissolved solids concentrations are used in the field of environmental exposure monitoring.