Industrial Hygiene & Safety (IH&S)

Ventilation systems are critically important in protecting workers from airborne contaminants. Given the long life spans of ventilation systems and constantly changing processes they serve, the ability to re-design existing systems to correct problems or meet new requirements is crucial to the continued protection of worker health.

Several health hazards associated with the primary aluminum reduction industry have been recognized, lung and bladder cancer has been associated with exposure to coal tar pitch volatiles in some processes. Some researchers have linked the gas, fume, and dust exposures found in aluminum smelter pot rooms with the incidence of bronchitis and asthma.

Breath analysis provides a non-invasive method for exposure assessment of volatile organic chemicals (VOC's). Low concentrations of VOC's in exhaled breath require concentration prior to analysis, typically by use of a sorbent or cryogen. Tenax, the most common sorbent, requires thermal desorption for analysis.

Carbon dioxide in expired air has been proposed as a normalizing factor in breath analysis to adjust for the varibale effects of breathing pattern or mixed-expired gas concentrations of solvents.

The sick building syndrome refers to a group of symptoms attributed to poor indoor air quality, although a specific causal agent is rarely identified. It has been hypothesized that increasing the outdoor air supply will reduce symptom prevalence.

Three hundred thirty-eight noise exposure samples were collected from 125 construction workers employed by a general contracting company in four construction trades: carpenters, laborers, ironworkers, and operating engineers. The samples were collected on 49 monitoring days over a 22-week period from four sites employing a variety of construction techniques.

Extrapolation from permeation data for pure solvents does not redict accurately their behaviour in a mixture. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the permeation of natural rubber, nitrile rubber and PVA glove materials by MEK and toluene mixtures is proportional to the degree of material swelling.

Statistics compiled by the National Safety Council (NSC) and the US Bureaur of Labor Statistics indicate that the construction industry is one of the most hazardous to work in. The annual accident data state that of the approximately 5.9 million workers in the construction industry there were 1,300 deaths and 300,000 disabling injuries in 1992.

Blood/air partition coefficients (KB/A) describe the molecular behavior that influences the pulmonary exchange of volatile chemicals and therefore are important parameters in physiologically based pharmacokinetic models that predict the uptake, distribution, and elimination of volatile chemicals in humans following environmental or occupational exposures.

Since 1983, the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) has required employers to communicate to workers about the hazards of chemicals in their work areas, and about the means of reducing such hazards through use of personal protective equipment (PPE), safe work practices and engineering controls.

In this study an analytical assay for urinary methoxyphenols was developed as a potential biological marker of environmental wood smoke exposures. The assay was aimed at 11 marker methoxyphenols, which were guaiacol, methylguaiacol, ethyguaiacol, propylguaiacol, vanillin, eugenol, trans-isoeugenol, syringol, methylguaiacol, ethylguaiacol, and syringaldehyde.

As a result of its history of use and toxicity, arsenic and its health effects have been extensively studied. Arsenic is an element present naturally in the environment, is used in idustry and agriculture, and is extremely stable. Exposures to arsenical compounds may be common and represent a health concern.

The effect of exposure to low level Hg among dentists was evaluated examining motor and cognitive functions, and symptoms. The hypothesis was that motor function would be more readily affected in comparison to cognitive functions, which may be altered to a lesser extent.

From 1905 to 1947, lead arsenate (PBHAsO4) was the single most important insecticide used on apples and pears for the control of codling moth, unutil the introduction of DDT in 1948.

Ventilation systems in industry often undergo modifications due to process changes or to perceived need for different airflow for workers or workstations. It is difficult to determine the required modifications if one cannot predict the effects of making such changes to a system.

This thesis contains analyses of new statistical, computational, and optical tools that can be used to estimate the time course of dermal absorption after a pesticide residue is deposited on the skin. Chapter 1 contains a statistical model that was designed to determine how dermal residence time on the skin influences the absorbed dose.

Electromagnetic field (EMF) radiation became a particular focus for industrial hygiene beginning in the mid 1960's when symptoms such as headache, insomnia, and cardiovascular changes were reported in switchyard workers in the former Soviet Union (WHO, 1989). Before then, hazards associated with the use of electrical power were thought to be limited to thermal burns and electrocution.

Noise dosimetry was used to assess the exposure levels of electricians working for a major electrical sub-contractor in Washington State at five sites using four types of construction methods. Subjects documented activity and environmental data throughout their work shift resulting in an activity/exposure record for each of the 174 samples collected over the four month duration of the study.

The purpose of this study was to use biological monitoring to evaluate occupational exposure to nitrous oxide in dental operatories and to determine relationships between nitrous oxide concentration in ambient air, urine, and exhaled breath. This study also evaluated the effectiveness of a ventilation intervention in decreasing occupational exposure levels to nitrous oxide.

Pen and paper assessment methods or checklists are used to evaluate jobs, assess exposure, and identify risks that have the potential to cause injuries to the neuro-musculoskeletal systems in the body.

Pesticides are widely used in the United States both in residential and agricultural settings. When used properly, pesticides can be effective in the control of a variety of pests including insects, weeds, rodents, and fungi. Commercial and consumer application of pesticides has become a common practice for control of pests in non-agricultural environments.

The relationship between the many potential risk factors and the development of work-related upper extremity musculoskeletal morbidity has not been fully defined (NIOSH, 1997; NAS, 1998).

Emissions into the environment, or workplace, of toxic air contaminants that have adverse human health effects are of concern for safety and regulatory reasons. The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) annually publishes a Threshold Limit Value (TLV) booklet that lists a TLV for approximately 600 hazardous chemicals.

This thesis involved a noise-targeting pilot project conducted jointly by the University of Washington and the Washington Department of Labor and Industries. The pilot project targeted the foundry industry and measured their current noise exposure levels and evaluated their hearing conservation programs. The two thesis goals were:

This study assessed the effectiveness of commercially available local exhaust ventilation (LEV) systems for controlling respirable dust and crystalline silica exposures during concrete cutting and grinding activities.

Dermal exposure is potentially high among industrial workers. Chemical protective clothing (CPC) is meant to guard the skin against exposure but CPC is not able to protect against all chemicals in all situations.

Physiologic sampling pumps (PSPs) seek to change pump rate in proportion to the minute ventilation of the worker. The aim to account for (1) differences in minute ventilation between individuals and (2) correlation between air concentration of contaminants and minute ventilation. This dissertation presents PSP theory and evaluated a new PSP for use in the real world.

Phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (GPx4) is a member of the gamily of selenium dependent enzymes that catalyze the reduction of cell membrane-bound phospholipid hydroperoxides in situ and thus, protects against membrane damage.