bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
ANTHROPOLOGISTS IN THE TOURISM WORKPLACE
Authors: SMITH VALENE L.
Published: August 2005

Anthropology and tourism melded at a symposium at the 1974 American Anthropological Association meeting in Mexico City, believed to be the first social science discussion of tourism in the Western Hemisphere. Tourism has increased dramatically to become one of the world's largest industries, and anthropology has also extended its interests in theory and methodology. Few articles have linked career options for anthropologists to the tourism workplace. Our disciplinary strengths in heritage conservation, economic development—especially among indigenous cultures—and conflict resolution, as well as our cross‐cultural orientation, lead to employment with governments, NGOs, visitor and convention bureaus, and management. Regrettably, many industry employers are unfamiliar with our professional skills; a job search in the tourism workplace may become a personal quest, often bolstered by a sales pitch and with bilingualism as a major asset.
CAN THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF TOURISM MAKE US BETTER TRAVELERS?
Authors: CHAMBERS ERVE
Published: August 2005

Although the deliberate study of tourism is still relatively new in anthropology, we have over the past couple of decades managed to accumulate an impressive amount of research and experience. This article asks whether our inquiries can provide us with any practical knowledge regarding how tourism is conducted. While it has proven difficult to generalize the impacts of tourism upon particular communities, I argue here that our present knowledge can help us develop guidelines for responsible tourism that are more realistic than those that are usually offered. The danger for well‐meaning travelers is that they are often encouraged to assume that their motives alone place them above those mass travelers who are so easily criticized for their lack of cultural interest or sensitivity. The anthropological approach to tourism described here suggests that we might be better off if we recognize that our intrusions into the places of others are not really all that different. This article provides some “alternative travel tips” aimed at creating more aware travelers.
Protein kinases influence bovine oocyte competence during short-term treatment with recombinant human follicle stimulating hormone
Authors: Ali Atef , Sirard Marc-André
Published: August 2005

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of short-term treatment (first 2 or 6 h) with recombinant human follicle-stimulating hormone (r-hFSH) during in vitro maturation (IVM) on the developmental competence of bovine oocytes. The roles of protein kinase A (PKA) and protein kinase C (PKC) (possibly involved in FSH response), were investigated using activators (Sp-cAMPS, PMA) or inhibitors (Rp-cAMPS, sphingosine) of these two protein kinases, respectively. The developmental competence of bovine oocytes was measured by the rate of blastocyst formation after in vitro fertilization (IVF). Our results showed that when cumulus–oocyte complexes (COCs) were cultured with r-hFSH for the first 6 h, a highly significant (P < 0.0001) improvement is seen in blastocyst development rate as a proportion of oocytes in culture compared with those matured with r-hFSH for the first 2 or 24 h. A transient exposure (6 h) to the highest dose (100 μM) of forskolin (an activator of adenylate cyclase) increased (P < 0.05) the rate of blastocyst formation. But the PKA inhibitors (Rp-cAMPS) did not affect the stimulatory effects of r-hFSH on the blastocyst yield. However, stimulation of PKC by low doses of PMA (0.1–0.5 μM) during short-term treatment, enhanced (P < 0.0001) the developmental capacity of oocytes, while sphingosine (a specific inhibitor of PKC) inhibited (P < 0.05) the stimulatory effects of r-hFSH on the rate of blastocyst formation. Our results indicate that although the developmental capacity of bovine oocytes in vitro can be modulated by both the PKA, and the PKC pathways, the activation of PKC during short-term treatment can mimic the effect of r-hFSH on the cytoplasmic maturation in bovine oocytes in vitro.
Systemic concentrations of hormones during the development of follicular waves in mares and women: a comparative study
Authors: Ginther O J , Beg M A , Gastal E L , Gastal M O , Baerwald A R , Pierson R A
Published: August 2005

Changes in systemic concentrations of FSH, LH, oestradiol and progesterone during the ovulatory follicular wave were compared between 30 mares and 30 women. Based on a previous study, the emergence of the future ovulatory follicle was defined as occurring at 13.0 mm in mares and 6.0 mm in women, and deviation in diameter between the two largest follicles was expected to begin at 22.7 mm in mares and 10.3 mm in women. Mean FSH concentrations were high in mares during the luteal phase, resulting from statistically identified FSH surges occurring in individuals on different days and in different numbers (mean, 1.5 ± 0.2 surges/mare); the internadir interval was 3.9 ± 0.3 days. In contrast, mean FSH in women was low during the luteal phase and increased to a prolonged elevation during the follicular phase. The prolonged elevation was apparent in each individual (internadir interval, 15.2 ± 0.4 days). Changes in LH or oestradiol concentrations encompassing deviation were not detected in mares, but both hormones increased slightly but significantly between emergence and deviation in women. The hypothesis that a greater number of growing follicles causes a greater predeviation decrease in FSH was supported for mares (r, −0.39;P< 0.04), but a similar negative correlation (r, −0.36) was not significant in women. The hypothesis that the increase in oestradiol during the luteal phase in women was at least partly attributable to luteal-phase anovulatory follicular waves was not supported. Normalization of FSH concentrations to the day of emergence showed maximum value on the day of emergence with a significant increase and decrease on each side of emergence in both species. The day of expected deviation occurred 3 days after emergence during the decline in FSH in both species. These results indicated that the previously reported striking similarities in emergence and deviation between mares and women during the ovulatory follicular wave are associated with species similarities in the temporal relationships between follicle events and FSH concentration changes. Thus, mares may be useful research models for studying the role and mechanism of the action of FSH in emergence and deviation during the ovulatory follicular wave in women.
Public-sector knowledge management in Denmark
Authors: Knudsen J. S.
Published: August 2005

Throughout Europe, countries are having to face the prospect of declining professional expertise, competence and experience. This paper looks specifically at the problems facing public-sector technical administration in Denmark and describes a new knowledge management (KM) project that has now been established. The KM system enables its users to share know-how and experience on various topics within the public technical sector. The paper outlines the system and shares the experiences to date.
SuDS—innovation or a tried and tested practice?
Authors: Kirby A.
Published: August 2005

There are many obstacles to the implementation of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) in England and Wales as a viable alternative to conventional pipe systems. However, in Scotland these obstacles have been largely overcome and many SuDS schemes have been successfully implemented over the past decade. This paper will review SuDS in Scotland and compare the structure of the water companies north and south of the border, which is a major factor in implementing SuDS. Also, case study evidence will be used to show how a successful SuDS scheme was implemented in Aztec West, Bristol, over 20 years ago. This paper was awarded the 2004 James Forrest Medal.
Basic Aerosol Science
Authors: Reist Parker C.
Published: August 2005

Knowledge of aerosol properties and behavior are important to the industrial hygienist. In many instances sampling an aerosol contaminant can be quite different from sampling a gaseous contaminant. Health effects caused by aerosols can vary depending on particle size and size distribution as well as on the composition of the particles. Respirator selection may depend greatly on aerosol size, shape, and composition. Other aerosol behavior from light scattering to coagulation can also vary markedly with particle size. This chapter discusses fundamental concepts of aerosol science, illustrating some of the calculations that can be made to predict aerosol behavior.
Quality Control
Authors: Babcock William E.
Published: August 2005

Adequate quality systems are essential to validate data obtained in the IH laboratory. Without a knowledge of the measurement uncertainty, there is no reasonable way to evaluate test data provided by the laboratory. Users of analytical services can perform a basic check of accreditation status, internal and external proficiency test results, internal audit reports, and accuracy and precision of the analytical procedure. Such a check is critical to appropriate decision making regarding analytical laboratory results. Laboratories which need to establish an adequate quality system can start with ISO Guide 25 and AIHA IHLAP criteria to develop and implement adequate systems.
Odors: Measurement and Control
Authors: Turk Amos , Merlo Angela , Cha Samuel
Published: August 2005

The scope and applications of odor measurement and control are sometimes confused by various uses of the word
odor
. In the past, odor has been used to mean either (
1
) the perception of smell, referring to the sensation, or (
2
) that which is smelled, referring to the stimulus. To eliminate confusion,
odor
is best used only for the former meaning, and
odorant
should be defined as any odorous substance. Odor intensity, then, is the magnitude of the olfactory sensation produced on exposure to an odorant.
Odor control
is a term that can be used to describe any process that makes olfactory experiences more acceptable to people. The perceptual route to this objective is usually, but not always, the reduction of odor intensity. An alternative route is the change of odor quality in some way that is considered to be an improvement.

When the reduction of odor intensity is accomplished by removal of odorant from the atmosphere, the process is equivalent to gas and vapor abatement, or to air cleaning, but with some special considerations. These include (
1
) problems related to the need to attain very low concentrations, often approaching threshold levels, (
2
) uncertainties with regard to the reliability of sensory or chemical analyses, and (
3
) difficulties associated with diffuse or sporadic sources.

When an odorous atmosphere is improved by the addition of another (usually pleasant) odorant under conditions in which chemical reactions are not involved, the process is called odor modification, referring to modification of the odor perception, not of the odorant. These and other methods of odor control are considered in some detail.
Heat Stress
Authors: Ramsey Jerry D. , Bernard Thomas E.
Published: August 2005

This chapter provides an explanation of heat stress and heat strain. Heat stress is considered the aggregate of external heat from the thermal environment, and internal heat from physical work activities, which collectively impose thermal load on a person. Heat strain is represented as the human responses to heat stress. The goals of this chapter are to create an understanding of the development and current status of heat stress standards and guidelines; the physiological basis for worker‐environment thermal exchange; the measurement and interpretation of the thermal environment; the assessment of heat stress and heat strain; and the application of controls.

A list of abbreviations used in this chapter is provided.
Safety and Health Effects of Video Display Terminals
Authors: Dainoff Marvin J.
Published: August 2005

The prime focus of concern has been on work with visual display terminals (VDTs) as they tend to be referred to in the United States, or visual display units (VDUs) as they tend to be referred to abroad. The major sources of collected information on this topic had been an international conference entitled Work with Display Units (WWDU), and a study panel on visual problems of VDTs organized by the National Academy of Science. In addition, the Human Factors Society (now the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society) had just issued the first ergonomic standard on VDT workplaces. The primary concerns associated with VDT work were associated with the visual problems, levels of radiation, and concerns about pregnancy problems among female VDT operators. (The latter was presumably related to radiation issues.)

The WWDU conferences now have become regular biannual events, along with a second series of conferences on human‐computer interaction (HCI International). VDT‐related research has comprised significant fractions of the regular scientific meetings of associated professional organizations such as the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society and the International Ergonomics Society. In addition, there have been numerous special purpose conferences devoted to VDT issues at both national and international levels.

Concerns regarding radiation and pregnancy issues seem to have faded. At the WWDU 94 conference. Visual concerns, while still present, appear to have receded somewhat. Presumably this can be related to the significant increases in display quality of VDTs since 1989. However, these concerns have been replaced by the issues of work‐related musculoskeletal disorders.

Work‐related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are the source of a great deal of attention and political controversy. Part of the controversy is related to labels, which have diagnostic and insurance implications: these disorders have also been referred to as Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSIs), Repetitive Motion Injuries (RMIs), and, more recently, Cumulative Trauma Disorders (CTDs). Although these disorders obviously encompass work environments other than offices, the number of office workers complaining of such disorders is large, and the potential risk factors associated with such disorders in office environments form a major portion of this chapter. In making this statement, however, it is important to also emphasize that WMSDs cannot be considered in isolation without also considering associated organizational, psychosocial, and visual factors. Hence, an integrated systems approach is essential.

Issues of work‐related musculoskeletal disorders are central to the subject matter of this chapter. Accordingly, WMSDs in general focuses on the specific case of WMSDs in the office are discussed.
Compliance and Projection
Authors: Harris Robert J.
Published: August 2005

This article discusses inspection procedures and probable cause necessary for issuing warrants and challenges to these warrants. Record keeping and reporting information is given, Citations, penalties, and violations of varying degrees, sanctions, imminent danger situations and challenges to OSHA enforcement schemes, future of job safety and health laws are also discussed.
Litigation In Industrial Hygiene Practice
Authors: Allan Ralph E.
Published: August 2005

Lawyers and industrial hygienists do share a common goal of problem solving. The initial aspect of problem solving is understanding the problem in order to provide the optimum in decision making. Therefore, understanding the legal system, the vehicle for legal problem solving, becomes especially important for the industrial hygienist as a precursor in order to clear the way for efficient attorney–industrial hygiene team effort for toxic substance issue resolution.

It is the purpose of the chapter to provide more awareness of the law and its interaction with industrial hygiene activity.
Occupational Health Nursing
Authors: Rogers Bonnie , Ostendorf Judith
Published: August 2005

Occupational health nursing, then called industrial nursing, began in the late 1800s in the northeastern part of the United States. Betty Moulder worked for a group of coal mining companies in Pennsylvania, and Ada Stuart was employed by the Vermont Marble Company, providing health services for ill and injured workers and their families. Since that time, the scope of practice in occupational and environmental health nursing has greatly expanded with increased emphasis on health promotion and health protection services. Many factors have influenced the evolution of occupational health nursing practice. Among them are the changing population and workforce, the introduction of new chemicals and work processes into the work environment, increased work demands, technological advances and regulatory mandates, increased focus on illness/injury prevention, and a rise in health care costs and workers' compensation claims.
Ergonomics
Authors: Bloswick Donald S. , Villnave Timothy
Published: August 2005

The word “ergonomics” is derived from Greek words “ergon” meaning work and “nomos” meaning laws. Ergonomics can therefore be defined as the study of the laws of work, or the relationship between the worker and the work environment. In its broadest sense, ergonomics deals with the relationship between the user and the products and systems in the working, home, recreational, and general living environment. In this chapter, however, discussion will be limited to the workplace.

Although ergonomics is concerned with the overall relationship between the human and his/her surroundings in the general living environment, in this chapter discussion is limited to the relationship between the worker and the work environment, and the need to optimize the “fit” between the worker and the job. Poor fit may result in stress to the operator with resulting job related injuries or illnesses. In addition, this poor fit may adversely affect product quality or production efficiency. This fit can be presented as the overlap between the individuals capabilities and the task requirements.

This fit is highest when the task requirements match the capabilities of the individual. Fit can be maximized by decreasing the physical task requirements through task analysis and redesign or by increasing the capabilities of the worker through, for example, physical conditioning or training.

Some general workplace factors which must be considered in the optimization of the relationship between the human and the working environment include the following issues which are discussed:

Forces required to perform the task.

Postures involved in the task.

Energy required to perform the task.

Frequency at which the task is performed.

Rest between exertions.

Environmental conditions.
Occupational Safety
Authors: Bloswick Donald S. , Sesek Richard
Published: August 2005

The industrial revolution has had a profound impact on production methods in the United States. Since the last half of the nineteenth century, production processes have changed from craft shops to mechanized processes. These changes have expanded the quantity and variety of products available to the average American but have also expanded the types of hazards which are present in the industrial workplace. This has resulted in an increased need for and development of industrial workplace safety programs.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that in 1996 there were nearly 1.9 million injuries and illnesses requiring time away from work. The National Safety Council estimates that in 1997 there were 5,100 work related fatalities (including 2,100 involving motor vehicles) and 3,800,000 disabling injuries.

The high costs of injuries, facility damage, equipment downtime, and product loss due to accidents, make it critical for the manager and safety personnel to understand and control the conditions that can lead to accidents and illnesses.

To be effective, a safety program must have both management commitment and employee involvement. First‐level supervisors must understand the importance of safety and be held accountable and responsible for enforcing employee compliance with safety standards and safe work practices. Management must take responsibility supporting safety personnel in the initiation and enforcement of a strong safety plan. Regular inspections of the work environment, equipment, and work practices as well as initial training and periodic retraining of employees will help ensure that work environment remains as safe as possible. Mechanical hazards should be designed out and safe operating and emergency response procedures should be considered during the design phase for equipment and facilities.
Health and Safety Factors In Designing An Industrial Hygiene Laboratory
Authors: Lieckfield Robert G. , Poore Ronald C.
Published: August 2005

Health and safety are important concerns in any laboratory. Because the industrial hygiene laboratory, in particular, exists to help ensure worker protection, it should be the exemplary safe and healthful workplace. A well planned and well executed laboratory design, including the care, knowledge, and foresight that go into its planning, will do much to ensure the safety and health of its occupants and even the surrounding community. This chapter discusses health and safety factors that must be considered in designing the industrial hygiene laboratory and is intended to help management plan new laboratory construction or remodel existing laboratory spaces. The bibliography listed at the end of this chapter may be consulted for more information on the broad topic of laboratory design.
Noncancer Risk Assessment: Principles and Practice in Environmental and Occupational Settings
Authors: Haber Lynne T. , Dollarhide Joan S. , Maier Andrew , Dourson Michael L.
Published: August 2005

The approach to assessing the risks of noncancer toxicity generally differs from that used to assess the potential risks of carcinogenicity. Assessment of risks of carcinogenicity most often assumes that a small number of molecular events can evoke mutagenic changes in a single cell, ultimately leading to self‐replicating damage and carcinogenicity. Generally, this is considered a nonthreshold effect because presumably no level of exposure does not pose a small, but finite, probability of generating a response. In contrast, it is most often assumed that noncarcinogenic changes have a threshold, a dose level below which a response is unlikely, because homeostatic, compensating, and adaptive mechanisms in the cell protect against toxic effects.

This chapter describes the general framework for noncancer risk assessment and some salient principles for evaluating the quality of data and formulating judgments about the nature and magnitude of the noncancer hazard. Highlights of noncancer risk assessment methods used by a variety of agencies and organizations, and examples of how occupational risk assessment is moving toward a more systematic use of risk assessment principles are presented.

This chapter also has several specific aims. The first is to provide scientifically supportable quantitative risk assessment procedures to meet the risk assessment goals listed following. A second aim is to provide a scientific rationale that may be used to deter‐mine whether new quantitative risk assessment procedures not specifically examined in this chapter are scientifically supportable. The final aim of this chapter is to provide a basis for developing new or improved quantitative risk assessment procedures.

The quantitative risk assessment procedures described in this chapter have been developed to meet some of the risk assessment goals for various purposes. Although the protection of the public and occupational health is a common theme that runs through these separate risk assessment goals, they are sufficiently different to warrant separate and distinct procedures. Examples of such goals are

to rank chemicals as to possible hazard

to determine and/or estimate a level of daily exposure that is likely to be without an appreciable risk of deleterious effects during a lifetime

to determine and/or estimate the likely human response to exposure to various levels of a particular chemical

Moreover, differing amounts of toxicity data are needed for various quantitative procedures. Thus, the amount of data available affects the choice of procedure.
Use of Toxicological Data in Evaluating Chemical Safety
Authors: Rachamin Gloria
Published: August 2005

More than 70,000 chemicals are currently registered in the chemical substances inventory under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in the United States (U.S.), and every year new chemicals are introduced to the market. Each chemical can produce toxic effects that may be reversible or irreversible. Exposure to chemicals in the workplace can result in a wide range of adverse health outcomes, for example pulmonary disease skin irritation and sensitization, neurotoxicity, lung and liver function impairment, cancer, and hereditary diseases.

Toxicological data provide the basis for evaluating the potential health risks of chemicals to humans. Information from human and animal studies is used to characterize the nature of the toxic effects of chemicals and to predict their risk to human health under given exposures. The ultimate goal of using data from such studies is to determine “safe” levels of human exposure to toxic substances. Because it is not possible to assure absolute safety to everyone for any chemical, “safe” does not imply risk‐free but a level of risk that is acceptable in our society.

The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the process of chemical safety evaluation in the context of the regulatory risk assessment paradigm from the perspective of occupational toxicology. Toxicological data from studies of the chemical in humans and animals, including physicochemical, toxicokinetic, and mechanistic data, are used in this evaluation. First, the adverse effects are identified and categorized by toxic end point. Next, the dose–response relationship for each end point is characterized, and the overall evidence is evaluated to determine the hazard class of the substance. If the toxicological database for a chemical is adequate, potential health risks to humans are then estimated, and exposure limits are derived by using risk assessment methodologies. Depending on the dose—response relationship (threshold or nonthreshold) of the adverse effect that is observed at the lowest dose (critical effect), three general risk assessment approaches can be applied: safety/uncertainty factor, low‐dose extrapolation risk model, and a unified benchmark dose approach. Note that various risk assessment procedures have been developed over the years and continue to evolve as science advances. A new terminology has also emerged in large part from environmental risk assessment work that focuses on community exposures to chemicals.

Toxicological principles are an integral part of chemical risk assessment, so basic toxicological concepts and references are included.
Talc
Authors: Cohrssen Barbara , Powell Charles H.
Published: August 2005

Talc is a natural mineral of the general chemical composition Mg3Si4O10(OH)2. The composition varies widely from one geologic deposit to another and even within the same deposit. The main component, crystalline hydrated silicate of magnesium, is usually found as plates but rarely may also be found as fibers. In many talc deposits, other silicates such as the amphiboles, tremolite and anthophyllite, as well as serpentines, antigorite, lizardite, and even chrysotile, may be present. This chapter discusses only the health effects associated with talc that does not contain asbestiform fibers. However, a number of studies have been conducted to determine the health effects of talc in which the purity of the material was not known.
Fiberglass
Authors: Lemen R. A.
Published: August 2005

This article contains information on fiberglass only. Chemical and physical properties, production and use, workplace assessment of exposure and toxic effects of fiberglass are given.
Cotton and Other Textile Dusts
Authors: Merchant James A.
Published: August 2005

Byssinosis is a generic term applied to acute and chronic airway disease among those occupationally exposed to vegetable dust arising from the processing of cotton, flax, hemp, and possibly other textile fibers. Observations regarding respiratory disease attributable to these vegetable dusts date to the early eighteenth century.

Today the production of cotton products is commercially important to developed and developing countries alike. Processing of flax and hemp remains regionally important industries, which continue to provide traditional textile products. Thus several million workers are occupationally exposed to these vegetable dusts worldwide. In the United States more than 300,000 workers are directly exposed to cotton dust, primarily in the textile industry, but also in cotton ginning, cotton warehousing and compressing, cotton classing offices, cottonseed oil and delinting mills, bedding and batting manufacturing, and utilization of waste cotton for a wide variety of products.

Two febrile syndromes characterized by fever, cough, and other constitutional symptoms including headache and malaise are also associated with byssinosis and textile manufacturing. These occur most frequently with exposure to low‐grade, spotted cotton. Mattress‐maker's fever and weaver's cough may be considered together because of their characteristically high attack rate and probable similar etiology. Mill fever, which is characterized by fever, malaise, myalgia, fatigue, and often cough, was a common complaint among workers first exposed to high levels of these vegetable dusts, with the prevailing cotton dust levels in the Western world it now rarely occurs. These febrile syndromes are similar to other febrile syndromes described among agricultural workers exposed to high levels of contaminated vegetable dusts. It is now also clear that symptoms typical of byssinosis are observed among others occupationally exposed to vegetable dusts. Many of those exposed are employed in agriculture, which typically involves daily exposure, rather than the cyclical workweek exposure of textile workers. It is also clear that exposure to organic dusts in textile and nontextile operations will often result in clinical asthma. This often results in self‐selection or transfer of the affected worker out of dusty jobs or entirely out of the industry. There is also now evidence that exposure to textile dusts results in heightened airway reactivity and that atopy is a risk factor for the development of vegetable‐dust‐induced bronchoconstriction. These observations are likely to become more relevant with regulation of cotton dust to lower levels. This may allow toleration of lower exposure to cotton dust by many of those who were previously selected out of these industries because of asthma, thereby resulting in increased risk to the development of chronic airway disease.
Magnesium, Calcium, Strontium, Barium, and Radium
Authors: Genter Mary Beth
Published: August 2005

Magnesium, calcium, strontium, barium, and radium are among the alkaline‐earth metals, found in group IIA of the periodic table. Sir Humphrey Davy first described the electrochemical isolation of barium, magnesium, calcium, and strontium in 1808, and the isolation of a radium salt from waste uranium ore was described by the Curies in 1898. These metals are being presented separately from other metals in this edition. Beryllium, the lightest of the alkaline‐earth metals, is also being handled separately from the alkaline earths covered in this chapter, as beryllium has a number of special immunological and pulmonary toxicology concerns that impact workplace practices and industrial hygiene concerns. Topics covered include chemical and physical properties, production and use, exposure assessments, toxic effects, standards regulations and guidelines for each matter.
Alkaline Materials: Sodium, Potassium, Cesium, Rubidium, Francium, and Lithium
Authors: Pierce Stevan W.
Published: August 2005

The primary health hazards arising out of exposures to the alkaline chemicals are mainly those of irritation and corrosion of sensitive body tissues that come into direct contact with the agent. The most commonly encountered alkaline materials include the alkaline salts of ammonia, calcium, potassium, and sodium. The tissues most susceptible to biological damage are the eyes, which, if not treated rapidly after exposure, can be severely damaged. Most exposures come about as a result of accidental spills by way of splashes of solid and liquid materials through mishandling. The alkaline metals readily and rapidly form hydroxides from moisture which can become explosives. Employee training, process control, and the use of appropriate personal protective equipment are the most effective ways to reduce or minimize exposures.

In addition to appropriate training, process control, and proper use and care of personal protective equipment, all facilities using or handling alkaline materials should have emergency eye washes available in readily located areas for immediate and prolonged washing of the eyes with water in the case of exposure. Direct contact of the alkaline materials with the skin or respiratory tract may result in irritation and corrosion, because these chemical agents react directly with tissue proteins to form aluminates. Long‐term respiratory exposure, even for low airborne concentrations, can result in permanent damage to the respiratory system.

Cesium, rubidium, and lithium are indicated as clinical treatments for psychiatric disorders.
Aldehydes and Acetals
Authors: Morandi Maria T. , Maberti Silvia
Published: August 2005

More than 300 aldehydes occur in foods, water, and air. Due to the electrophilicity of the carbonyl carbon, particularly when proximal to a carbon–carbon double bond, aldehydes react with thiols and amines to form protein–protein, DNA–protein, and DNA–DNA cross‐links. Despite their potential for causing cell damage, toxicological and exposure data for a large number of aldehydes are lacking. Inhalation and ingestion studies have demonstrated that a number of aldehydes are irritants and can induce tumors in animal models. Formaldehyde which is a suspected carcinogen is the most widely studied of these compounds. The physicochemical properties of saturated aldehydes are summarized. Toxicological and health effects are presented.
Monohydric Alcohols—C1 to C6
Authors: Bevan C.
Published: August 2005

This chapter reviews both linear and branched monohydric aliphatic C1to C6alcohols. The C7to C20monohydric alcohols are covered in Chapter 78.

The low molecular weight alcohols, including methanol, ethanol, 1‐propanol, and isopropanol are used extensively in industry (16). These alcohols exist as volatile liquids at ambient temperatures, and exposure can occur in both industrial and nonindustrial environments.

This review discusses primarily dermal and inhalation routes of exposure, which are the major routes of occupational exposure to alcohols. Many of the high‐production alcohols such as methanol, ethanol, propanols, and butanols cause adverse effects when ingested; ingestion, however, is not a major route of occupational exposure. There are some alcohols that have produced adverse effects in humans, including death, in an occupational environment. Nevertheless, alcohols have been used extensively in the workplace generally with few or minor problems. Occasionally, methanol, ethanol, and the propanols produce a skin sensitizing response in humans. In some, but not all, cases the sensitization response was considered to be due to contaminants and not to the alcohol itself.

A common property of some of the alcohols is to produce local irritation to the skin, eyes, and respiratory tract, and the effect or potency varies for the type of alcohol. Many alcohols produce minimal or no adverse effects in humans, possibly because of low exposure combined with the low toxicity potential of the alcohol.

Few alcohols produce neuropathic effects in humans. Abuse of products containing methanol and ethanol has produced some indications of neurotoxicity in humans, but nothing has been reported in an occupational environment. 2‐Hexanol produces neurotoxicity by the oral and intraperitoneal routes in animals, but there is no evidence of such an effect having occurred in the workplace.

There is no clear evidence that occupational exposures to alcohols represent a carcinogenic risk to humans. Based on epidemiological data, there is an association between the manufacture of ethanol and isopropanol by the strong acid process (a process no longer used in the United States) and an excess of upper respiratory tract cancer in humans. The effect has been attributed to by‐products such as dialkyl sulfates and sulfuric acid, not the alcohols themselves.

Some of these alcohols such as ethanol and isopropanol can enhance the toxic effects of various chemicals, particularly hepatotoxins. It is thought that the effects may be due largely to an inductive effect of the alcohol on microsomal enzymes, particularly the cytochrome P450 system, which may allow a greater metabolic conversion of the hepatotoxin to its toxic metabolite.
Synthetic Polymers
Authors: Walker Bailus , Burton Laureen
Published: August 2005

Polymers are among the oldest chemicals known to humans. Since ancient times, natural polymers, including silk, wool, rubber, and cellulose, have been known and exploited. For a century and a half now, synthetic fibers, plastics, and modified natural polymers have been part of everyday life. The early history of these materials is being documented, and new generations are being taught about their production and fabrication. In the United States, a number of institutions have been established to preserve and transmit knowledge of polymer technology. Natural polymers such as proteins occupy a central position in the architecture and function of living matter. Nucleic acid polymer, called deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), automatically controls the formation of another nucleic acid, ribonucleic acid (RNA), that controls the formation of a specific protein. These natural polymers are increasingly important, especially in agriculture and medicine, and much has been written about them. They are not considered here.

Many of the general considerations discussed in the chapters on synthetic polymers in the fourth edition ofPatty's Industrial Hygiene and Toxicologyare still applicable. To update those portions that need alteration, literature since 1994 when the fourth edition was published has been searched using primarily the National Library of Medicine's Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB) and ToxLine. Other sources including the polymer science literature were reviewed for useful information. However, there has been no intent to compile an exhaustive bibliography. References to the multiple dimensions of synthetic polymers are so numerous that it has been necessary to limit citations to those that are most useful to understanding and controlling the toxicological problems of polymers in the occupational environment.
Synthetic Polymers, Polyesters, Polyethers, and Related Polymers
Authors: Cragg Steven T.
Published: August 2005

Commercial use of polyester resins dates from the early twentieth century, when alkyd resins were first used in surface coatings. The polyesters are found today as fibers, films, laminating resins, molding resins, and engineering plastics. The high‐molecular‐weight polyethers are known primarily as engineering plastics (an exception is high‐molecular‐weight polyoxyethylene, a water‐soluble packaging polymer), as are the polysulfides and the polysulfones. Some basic properties are given.

Production data for the general categories are listed in Table 92.2. Processing techniques vary widely and are discussed in the appropriate subsection.

Clearance for certain food contact applications with many of these materials has been obtained under Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Those specifically listed include polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyoxymethylene, polyoxyethylene derivatives, polyphenylene sulfide, and polysulfone. Specifications concerning mechanical and other types of performance depend on end use summarized.

Industrial hygiene concerns with these polymers depend on the type of resin in use. Chemicals released in significant quantities may include (1) styrene during the fabrication of unsaturated polyester resins and in any subsequent release of styrene, (2) other volatile products generated at elevated temperatures or in fires, and (3) dust or particulate generated in the manufacturing and processing of polyester fibers. The use of styrene in polyester resins that are fabricated into glass‐reinforced plastics can provide the greatest intensity of exposure to styrene in workplace situations. Toxic vapors can also be released by solvent systems, particularly at elevated temperatures, and during fabrication of engineering resins. For example, the processing of polyoxymethylene (acetals) in a poorly ventilated space may release biologically significant amounts of formaldehyde into the adjacent atmosphere.

Sulfur‐containing engineering resins typically have a high resistance to thermal deterioration but may yield hydrogen sulfide or sulfur dioxide if heated to decomposition temperatures.

Inhalation tests in rats indicate no particular hazard to humans from particles of commercial polyester fiber but suggest that sufficient inhalation of cyclic ethylene terephthalate trimer dust may produce a granulomatous tissue response. Both types of particles produced a nonspecific inflammatory tissue response when first introduced into the lungs. This initial response was transitory and was not followed by collagen formation or any development of fibrosis. However, small particles of crystalline cyclic ethylene terephthalate trimer dust produced more prominent foreign body giant cell reactions than small polyester fiber particles. The latter, formed during high‐speed processing by abrasive fracture of the surface of commercial fiber, produced a modest response consisting mostly of macrophages; the large nonrespirable particles produced artifactual foreign body granulomas.
Cold Stress and Strain
Authors: Mahar Harry
Published: August 2005

The human body has the thermoregulatory capacity to maintain its body temperature within about 1°C of normal (i.e., 37°C) under a variety of external environmental temperatures. When the body's heat loss to the environment is greater than its ability to maintain its internal homeostatic temperature, the body undergoes cold strain in response to the external cold temperature stress. Prolonged exposure to any temperature less than normal body temperature to which the body's thermoregulatory capacity cannot accommodate may result in cold‐related injuries to tissues or cause other systemic changes, including hypothermia and death. Those injuries may involve local tissue damage that results when the tissue actually freezes (e.g., frostbite) or that can result from nonfreezing conditions in tissue sufficient to cause temporary or permanent vascular damage (e.g., chilblain, immersion foot). Heat loss sufficient to overcome the body's thermoregulatory mechanisms can produce a critical drop in the body's deep‐core temperature and eventually hypothermia and death.

Exposure to cold stress may also produce physiological or metabolic changes or shifts in endocrine systems, affect judgment or behavior, or exacerbate existing medical conditions (e.g., cardiovascular disease). For acute exposures, the body's response to cold stress is a function of the rate of heat loss, the temperature to which the individual is exposed, and the duration of exposure. For chronic exposures which produce subtle endocrine and metabolic shifts, the diurnal or seasonal (e.g., circannual) periodicity of that exposure may be more important than the environmental temperature to which the person is exposed. In assessing the impacts of exposures to cold stress, one should differentiate between normal changes that result as the body accommodates to that stress (homeostatic response mechanisms) and actual damage or disruption that result when the body's homeostatic response mechanisms are exceeded.
Occupational Vibration
Authors: Wasserman Donald E.
Published: August 2005

Vibration is present in many of the routine activities of daily life, and we rarely think about it, such as when we drive our automobiles, ride in a bus, or other public transportation vehicle, or ski on snow or water‐ski, mow our lawns, trim the shrubs, use powered handtools, or perform a myriad of other tasks. However, in the workplace situation, where some 8 million U.S. workers are exposed daily, over a period of many years, to vibration as part of their jobs, the situation may not be so innocuous. This chapter addresses occupational vibration; its—how to recognize, measure, evaluate, and control it and how to determine its effects on worker health and safety. Occupational vibration is divided into two catagories depending on the vibration exposure route into the human body and vibrations's effects on the body: (1) hand–arm vibration (HAV), which is localized vibration exposure; and whole‐body vibration (WBV), which impinges on the entire body from head to toe. Since the recognition, measurement, evaluation, and control and the medical affects of HAV and WBV are quite different and rarely overlap, each is discussed separately, but first HAV and WBV do share common vibration physics, which is addressed.
Smoke and Combustion Products
Authors: Levin Barbara C.
Published: August 2005

Seventy‐six percent of the people that died in structural fires in 1990 died from the inhalation of toxic combustion products, not from burns (1). This percentage has been rising by about one percentage point per year since 1979. Although total deaths in fires are declining, the percentage attributed to smoke inhalation has increased. An area of research calledcombustion toxicityhas evolved to study the adverse health effects caused by smoke or fire atmospheres. According to the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), smoke consists of “the airborne solid and liquid particulates and gases evolved when a material undergoes pyrolysis or combustion” (2) and therefore, includes combustion products. In this chapter, a fire atmosphere is defined as all the effluents generated by the thermal decomposition of materials or products regardless of whether that effluent is produced under smoldering, nonflaming, or flaming conditions. The objectives of combustion toxicity research are to identify potentially harmful products from the thermal degradation of materials, to determine the best measurement methods for the identification of the toxicants as well as the degree of toxicity, to determine the effect of different fire exposures on the composition of the toxic combustion products, to predict the toxicity of the combustion atmospheres based on the concentrations and the interaction of the toxic products, and to establish the physiological effects of such products on living organisms. The ultimate goals of this field of research are to reduce human fire fatalities due to smoke inhalation, to determine effective treatments for survivors, and to prevent unnecessary suffering of fire casualties caused by smoke inhalation. Other reviews of various aspects of this subject can be found in Refs 3–8.
Microbial Contaminants
Authors: Reponen Tiina
Published: August 2005

Sources and characteristics of microbial contaminants, fungi and bacteria, are discussed in relation to their health effects. These health effects are caused by fungi producing microtoxins, bacteria producing endotoxins and the generation of volatile organic compounds. The potential exposures and the aerodynamic behavior of these toxins are reviewed as well as their respiratory and dermal health effects. Sampling methods, both direct and indirect are presented along with methods of analysis. Methods of prevention are also provided.