bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Man‐Made Mineral Fibers
Authors: Singh Jaswant , Coffman Michael A.
Published: August 2005

Concerns about the adverse health effects of exposure to asbestos have prompted widespread removal of asbestos‐containing materials, resulting in the increased use of substitutes composed of both naturally occurring and synthetic materials. Man‐made mineral fiber asbestos substitutes are mineral fibrous materials such as fibrous glass, rock wool, slag wool, and refractory (ceramic) fibers.

Because of the similarity of the chemical composition and morphology of these substitute fibrous materials to those of asbestos, serious questions have been raised about their health implications. In particular, there is growing concern whether such substitutes pose a carcinogenic risk similar to that of asbestos. These health concerns are even more pronounced considering that man‐made mineral fibers (MMMF) have found wide applications in commerce, in addition to their use as asbestos substitutes in the building industry.
Occupational Dermatoses
Authors: Cohen David E.
Published: August 2005

Diseases of the skin caused by physical or chemical agents or conditions at work continue to outnumber all other work‐associated illnesses. They occur in most occupations and vary from a minor dermatitides to life threatening eruptions and benign and malignant neoplasms. Descriptive titles associated with particular illnesses allow the nosology of illnesses to be easily elucidated, for example, asbestos wart, cement burn, chrome holes, fiber glass itch, hog itch, oil acne, rubber rash, and tar smarts. In view of the variety of skin lesions known to result from contactants within the workplace, the term “occupational dermatoses” is preferred because it includes any abnormality of the skin resulting directly from or aggravated by the work environment.
Potential Endocrine Disruptors In the Workplace
Authors: Tolbert Paige E.
Published: August 2005

In recent years, increasing attention has focused on the possibility that some chemicals present in the general environment may disrupt endocrine function in humans and lead to serious health consequences. These chemicals have been labeled
environmental endocrine disruptors
. The science underlying this area of concern is rapidly evolving, and enormous gaps in our understanding remain to be addressed. While there is general agreement in the scientific community that the implications of such endocrine disruption could be far‐reaching and profound, there is considerable controversy regarding the plausibility of the hypothesis and extent of the actual problem.

The goal of this chapter is to highlight some of the major findings to date in the field of environmental endocrine disruption that may be of interest to industrial hygienists and toxicologists. A number of reviews and consensus workshops regarding this topic have been conducted, including a comprehensive assessment of the evidence recently completed by the National Academy of Sciences. In addition, an encyclopedic description of the major chemicals suspected to have endocrine‐disrupting activity, their chemical properties, regulatory status, and summary of endocrine‐related findings has been recently published

This overview is limited to chemicals occurring in the environment; agents used therapeutically will not be covered, other than brief mention of diethylstilbestrol because of its historical importance. Phytoestrogens, estrogenic compounds naturally present in certain plants such as soybeans, are also beyond the scope of this chapter.

Much of the literature on this topic has focused on exposures to the general population occurring through the food chain, such as DDT and its degradation products and polyhalogenated biphenyls. These chemicals were banned in the United States and many other countries in the 1970s but because of their persistence and bioaccumulation in the food chain, exposures through food continue to be of concern. While current exposure to these chemicals in occupational settings should generally be minimal or declining, evidence from these reports may be useful in (
1
) determining whether endocrine disruption by environmental agents is occurring, and (
2
) predicting activity of structurally similar chemicals still present in workplaces. Thus, while this chapter is intended to be useful to industrial hygienists and toxicologists dealing with occupational exposures, the evidence from nonoccupational exposures is also described.

A recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency–sponsored workshop on research needs for the risk assessment of health and environmental effects of endocrine disruptors defined the term
environmental endocrine disruptor
to be “any exogenous agent that interferes with the production, release, transport, metabolism, binding, action, or elimination of natural hormones in the body responsible for the maintenance of homeostasis and the regulation of developmental processes”. This definition will apply for the purposes of this review.
Industrial Noise and Conservation of Hearing
Authors: Michael Kevin L. , Byrne David C.
Published: August 2005

Exposure to industrial noise and the resulting effect of occupational hearing loss is a common problem across nearly all industries. High noise levels also cause interference with verbal communication and warning signals, which can have a significant impact on safety and work performance. Finally, noise can be considered as a source of stress for workers, producing unwanted physiological and psychological effects that can lead to a degraded quality of life.

Typically, noise‐induced hearing loss develops slowly, and usually goes unnoticed until a significant impairment has occurred. Fortunately, occupational hearing loss is nearly always preventable. Prevention of noise‐induced hearing loss benefits the employer as well as the individual employees. An effective hearing conservation program promotes good labor‐management relations, which can lead to increased morale and productivity. Employers enjoy the benefits of reduced medical expenses and worker compensation payments, and employees can expect to maintain their hearing health well into their retirement years.
Nonionizing Radiation
Authors: Wilkening George M.
Published: August 2005

The development and proliferation of electronic devices that either intentionally or inadvertently emit nonionizing radiation have brought about immense interest in the subject. The promise of an increase in the number and use of such devices has concerned many persons who believe that the radiation hazards have not been sufficiently studied. Those who express concern about an inadequate understanding of the biological effects of nonionizing radiations point out that many electronic devices have already found their way into common use (e.g., microwave ovens, radar for pleasure boats, scanning lasers in supermarket checkout counters, near‐ultraviolet radiation in fluorescent lighting fixtures, and a variety of high‐intensity light sources). Other concerns include the many infrared, ultraviolet, microwave, and laser devices that might produce excessive occupational exposures. Because of the heightened public interest in electromagnetic radiation hazards, Congress enacted the Radiation Control for Health and Safety Act. The declared purpose of the act is to establish a national electronic product radiation control program, including the development and administration of performance standards to control the emission of electronic product radiation. The act covers both ionizing and nonionizing electromagnetic radiations emitted from any electronic product. This includes X‐rays and gamma rays and particulate, ultraviolet, visible, infrared, millimeter wave, microwave, radio‐frequency, and, interestingly enough, sonic, infrasonic, and ultrasonic radiation. Since the inception of the act, the federal government has conducted or funded research into the biological effects of radiation, with special emphasis on low‐level effects. Standards have been developed and promulgated for television set receivers, medical X‐rays (amendments to existing standard), cathode ray tubes, microwave ovens, and lasers. Calibration, measurement, and product testing laboratories have been established to ensure proper evaluation of accessible radiation from electronic products, and a compliance program has been developed to obtain manufacturers' adherence to established standards. During the course of standards development efforts, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been required to consult with the Technical Electronic Product Radiation Safety Standards Committee (TEPRSSC), an advisory body established under the Act. Unlike some federal advisory committees, TEPRSSC has the authority to develop and recommend its own standards directly to the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Other federal agencies that are actively concerned with nonionizing radiation hazards include the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).
Physiological Effects of Altered Barometric Pressure
Authors: Piantadosi Claude A.
Published: August 2005

Scientists of the twentieth century have been fortunate to participate in the most exciting period of discovery in human environmental physiology. New biomedical knowledge coupled with a technological revolution has given human beings the opportunity to visit and explore the depths of the ocean and the frontiers of space. Such extreme environments present the physiologist with the challenge of defining reasonable parameters for physiological tolerance so that life support systems can be engineered to maximize our opportunity to interact with the environment. Among the most troublesome environmental factors are heat and cold, exposure to radiation, effects of acceleration and microgravity, hypoxia and hyperoxia, and extremes of barometric pressure. Nonetheless, humans can survive for many weeks or months in many exceptional environments ranging from high altitude near the vacuum of space to simulated undersea depths of more than 70 atmospheres of pressure absolute (ATA).

Abrupt or extreme changes in barometric pressure account for many of the injuries and deaths connected with the practice of aviation and diving. Physiological problems arise most commonly in association with rapid decompression from a higher pressure to a lower one, such as rapid ascent from depth under water, or to high altitude. These problems may arise from technical or procedural failures and from our incomplete understanding of inert gas transport and gas elimination from body tissues.

High‐pressure environments have an important role in modern society for many reasons. The earliest engineering application of high pressure, to maintain dry working conditions in caissons and tunnels, continues today, and it extracts a toll in decompression sickness and aseptic bone necrosis from workers who undergo daily decompression after long shifts in compressed air. As the demand to exploit undersea resources such as oil has increased, so has the working depth and time, and hence the medical vulnerability, of the diver. In relatively shallow diving with air and mixed gases, many commercial and military divers rely on surface supplied gear to provide respirable gas and continuous communication with surface tenders. These diving rigs provide an unlimited supply of breathing gas to the working diver in open, semiclosed, or closed (rebreathing) circuits. In addition, thousands of commercial, military, and scientific divers also have been trained to use self‐contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) to work in shallow water. For some 50 years, the availability of lightweight, open‐circuit SCUBA and low‐resistance regulators has opened up recreational diving possibilities for thousands of sports divers. Finally, the growth of therapeutic hyperbaric oxygen as well as and the need to provide recompression therapy to the injured diver results in the routine exposure of patients, physicians, nurses, and other medical personnel to hyperbaric environments.
Control of Biohazards
Authors: Heinsohn Patricia A.
Published: August 2005

Microbes inhabit every environmental niche on the earth, and some have adapted to survival under extremely harsh conditions. Most do not cause disease in humans or animals. Indeed, they have many beneficial uses. Fungi can deteriorate organic materials, including, textiles, leather, wood, foods, paper, and paint. Molds synthesize chemical reagents and medicines and are used in food fermentation, pest control, and other industrial processes. This chapter deals only with microorganisms that can cause occupational disease.
Philosophy and Management of Engineering Control
Authors: Burgess William A.
Published: August 2005

This chapter covers the engineering methods widely used to minimize adverse effects on health, well‐being, comfort and performance at the workplace and in the community. Major attention will be given to controls for chemical airborne contaminants, although many of the control principles are also applicable to biological and physical hazards. Brief case studies illustrate the applications of the techniques. The target for control may be a hand tool, a piece of equipment or a device, an integrated manufacturing process such as an electroplating line, or a complete manufacturing facility in a dedicated building such as a foundry.

The critical zones of contaminant generation, dispersion, and exposure are shown. Ideally the goal is to design each element of the process to eliminate contaminant generation. If it is impossible to achieve this goal and a contaminant is generated, the second defense is to prevent its dispersal in the workplace. Finally, if these defenses fail and the material released from the operation results in worker exposure, the back‐up control is collection of the air containing the contaminant by exhaust ventilation. Frequently the contaminant is removed from the exhaust air stream by air cleaning before returning the air to the workplace or the general environment. Unfortunately, in the United States little emphasis is often given to the prevention of contaminant generation and release and we rely on ventilation as a principal remedy. In this chapter the author confirms the importance of ventilation but emphasis will be placed on the primary controls associated with process and material design to minimize generation and release of the contaminant.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) considers engineering controls as any modification of plant, equipment, processes or materials to reduce employees' exposure to toxic materials and harmful physical agents. Authors have used a variety of approaches to classify the various engineering control techniques. These approaches provide a useful outline for discussion and act as checklists to ensure a comprehensive review.

In this chapter, engineering controls include all techniques except personal protective devices and administrative controls, those changes made in the work schedule to reduce the time weighted average exposure of the worker.
Industrial Hygiene Engineering Controls
Authors: Soule Robert D.
Published: August 2005

One of the primary responsibilities of the industrial hygienist is to control health hazards in the work environment. Although diseases suspected of being related to the work environment were recognized more than 2500 years ago (e.g., lead poisoning of workers engaged in mining operations), the systematic application of industrial‐hygiene‐engineering controls is a recent technical development, that is, within the last few decades.

The importance of engineering control of the work environment among the alternative solutions to industrial hygiene problems is evident in every current industrial hygiene textbook. All list the hierarchy of control strategies in priority fashion as engineering controls, good work practices, administrative controls and, as a last resort, use of personal protective equipment. Many decisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission make it clear that engineering control of specific substances must be attempted even when complete control is not feasible just by engineering means. In other words, the use of personal protective equipment alone cannot be justified simply by analyzing a problem and determining that complete engineering control cannot be provided. Instead, the language of federal regulations has been interpreted as mandating that engineering controls be provided to the extent feasible and, in the event these are not sufficient to achieve acceptable limits of exposure, use of personal protection or other corrective measures may be considered.

It is clear that application of engineering controls, as a component of the total responsibility of the industrial hygienist, will remain a primary objective in the foreseeable future. All professionals in the field of environment/safety/health (ESH) must be cognisant of the principles of engineering controls, and the engineering professional must be familiar with the details of implementing the control concepts. This chapter presents material useful to the industrial‐hygiene engineer and nonengineer alike in applying their resources to the industrial‐hygiene problems occurring in their respective settings. The focus here is on control of airborne contaminants; control of other types of stress, for example, noise, heat stress, and radiation, is discussed elsewhere in this Work.
Odor: a Legal Overview
Authors: Allan Ralph E.
Published: August 2005

The practice of industrial hygiene has changed tremendously since the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. With the issues of indoor air pollution generally and tight building syndrome specifically becoming a part of an industrial hygienist's daily involvement, odors are and will continue to be more and more an issue of contention. Is odor an index of hazard potential? Can it be such an index? How should odors be handled in reference to industrial hygiene activity? What are the legal issues considering an odor present without a quantitative determination of hazard potential? Currently we do not have all the answers available to answer fully all questions posed. However, history sometimes reveals indications of the future.
Pharmacokinetics and Unusual Work Schedules
Authors: Paustenbach Dennis J.
Published: August 2005

The concern about the adverse health effects of night shift work has existed for over 100 years. In 1860, for example, some scientists were worried that bakers might be at increased risk of physical and emotional illness because they always worked at night and, subsequently, some effort was made to try to regulate their work hours and their working conditions. Since then, it has been shown that some persons who have been very productive while working standard 8‐hr/day, 40‐hr/week daytime schedules can become especially fatigued, unhappy, less productive, and perhaps even more susceptible to the effects of chemical agents and physical agents after they are placed on shift work. Even though many studies have been conducted, the degree to which shift work effects a worker's capabilities, longevity, mortality, and overall wellbeing is still not fully understood.

So‐called unusual work shifts and work schedules have been implemented in a number of industries in an attempt to eliminate or at least reduce, some of the problems caused by normal shift work that require three work shifts per day. These unusual or “other‐than‐normal” shifts have been termed odd, novel, extended, extraordinary, compressed, nonnormal, nonroutine, prolonged, exceptional, nonstandard, unusual, peculiar, weird, and nontraditional. In 1981 the AIHA established a committee to address the potential occupational health aspects of shift work and the need to adjust exposure limits for persons who work schedules that were markedly different than the “normal” workweek, which consists of five consecutive 8‐hr daylight workdays followed by two days off. At the committee's first meeting, it was agreed that the term
unusual work shift
should be used, for sake of consistency, to describe these other‐than‐normal shifts. The committee completed its work by 1990 and it was retired.

In general, most unusual work schedules will involve workdays markedly longer than 8 hr in duration, however, because many persons are regularly exposed to high concentrations of xenobiotics for very short periods during shifts and, because TWA occupational exposure limits were not necessarily intended for use during short exposures, these exposure periods were also classified as “unusual” by the committee. The assessment of the health aspects of unusual shifts is complex since some of these schedules require the worker to alternate between night and day work every few days (rapid rotation). These schedules have been called rapidly rotating, fast, or simply rapid‐roto shifts.

In order for the health professional to ensure protection of workers who are exposed to airborne chemicals during unusually long or unusually short work periods, he or she should be familiar with the toxicology and pharmacokinetics of the chemical of interest as well as understand the rationale for its occupational exposure limit, since most limits were established to prevent injury following exposure during a normal 8‐hr/day, 5‐day/workweek schedule.
Industrial Hygiene Survey, Records and Reports
Authors: Phillips Carolyn F.
Published: August 2005

An integral and essential part of any good occupational health and industrial hygiene program is the administrative effort that supports and documents the work done by the hygienist. Often this is not perceived as one of the “fun” or challenging aspects of health and safety, but it is very necessary to maintain an effective program. The administrative activities include financial support for conducting the programs and suitable and useful records and reports, including program audits.

Industrial hygienists collect, maintain, and use data for recognizing, evaluating, and controlling health hazards. Evaluation of exposure data for trends can be a useful tool for anticipating potential problems. Hygiene records include, but are not limited to, assessment of hazards, exposure measurements, development and maintenance of controls, training and education, and auditing. The industrial hygienist will need information to document which employee has worked at which job for what time period, including job descriptions from an exposure viewpoint and representative exposure data for the jobs.

Record keeping in itself serves no useful purpose unless certain objectives have been defined and the records are translated into some form of report. The industrial hygienist must present data in a report format that is readily understandable, and in sufficient detail to permit the user to make adequate decisions. The report should reflect the special expertise of the industrial hygienist to interrelate all facets of the worker and the worker's environment in evaluating the potential impact on the worker's health. Effective reports can assist in future budget preparation and justification.

One key report is an audit. A thorough audit is crucial to maintaining a strong program. The main purpose of an audit report is to keep senior management up to date on both the strengths and the opportunities for improvement. The industrial hygiene audit can stand alone or be integrated with safety and environmental audits.

This chapter reviews the scope and contents of record keeping and reports and gives a few examples of workable forms. It also covers regulatory requirements and the role of the computer in record‐keeping systems. Another key administrative factor for the industrial hygiene program is obtaining business support and financing for the programs. Historically, this was known as budgeting, but in today's environment it is often a more complex issue, and there is a growing need to show the business value added by the industrial hygiene programs.
Data Automation
Authors: Patnoe Richard A.
Published: August 2005

This chapter presents the basic concepts of electronic data processing (EDP) systems and describes the steps necessary to plan, design, and implement an effective computer application. Industrial health applications are also discussed and references are provided to assist those interested in pursuing additional aspects of data automation. A data processing glossary is included for reference.

Discussions with industrial hygiene professionals about the demands of their jobs reveal that many are spending a significant amount of time arranging, refining, and manipulating data. Of the time spent working with data, many people estimate that 80% of the time is related to the above tasks and that 20% or less is concerned with interpretation of the data and in adding value to the results. This is a tragic waste of effort since the 80% discussed above are activities that can very easily, speedily, and conveniently be handled by automation. Computers and computing technology do a fantastic job of manipulating, collecting, and sorting of data. When industrial hygienists are working on these aspects of the problem, their talents and value to the enterprise are not being fully utilized. The industrial hygienist truly becomes valuable when efforts are spent in interpretation of data, deciding what additional data is needed, and presenting this data. The use of data automation frees up industrial hygienists to do the advanced and technical aspects of their jobs. Everyone is interested in making the maximum contribution to their job/employer and increasing their worth to the enterprise. Certainly, the employer shares that interest. Thus, the quest becomes one of how to optimize the effectiveness of the industrial hygienist. Automating data management can contribute to this. This chapter discusses how automating data can help to increase this value.
Risk Analysis for the Workplace
Authors: Tardiff Robert G.
Published: August 2005

Occupational exposures to chemicals, often inevitable, are generally viewed as without consequence to the health of the workers, provided that the doses are no greater than limits set by some recognized authority.

Risk analysis (also referred to as risk estimation) is often vital to decisions on controlling risks and to communicating about the significance of risks before and after abatement of emissions. By its nature, the risk analysis process enables the systematic evaluation of data and the quantitative presentation of complex information. It facilitates both comparisons among alternatives and incorporation of seemingly disparate information (e.g., technological choices, economics, and policy goals) into complex decision‐making processes.

Applied to emissions of chemicals in the work environment, risk analysis (
1
) characterizes injurious effects that might be associated with an activity, (
2
) enables comparison of health risks of existing technologies with health risks or benefits of proposed replacement or supplemental technologies, (
3
) helps to distinguish between major and minor sources of risks and their relative impact on health for resource allocations, and (
4
) permits establishment of priorities in cases presenting multiple potential health problems with limited resources to address them. With an understanding of the extent and seriousness of potential health effects, reasoned choices can be made about allocation of resources and about engagement in specific activities.

Selections of one technological approach over another to reduce emissions of chemicals to the atmosphere can be greatly influenced by an understanding of the degree of health safety or health risk associated with each option. Furthermore, knowledge of the health benefits from a specific selection can be shared with those exposed to ease the concern for their well‐being.

This chapter first provides an overview of risk analysis and describes some detailed procedures applied to the interpretation of physical, chemical, and toxicity data to estimate risks. Next, an illustration of the estimation of risks from exposure to a carcinogen in the workplace is presented. That is followed by a comparable illustration to demonstrate the derivation of the degree of safety from workplace exposures to reproductive toxicants. A variety of resource documents are available to the reader that provide more detailed information about risk analysis procedures and their applicability.
Health Surveillance Programs In Industry
Authors: Zavon Mitchell R.
Published: August 2005

There is no universal agreement on what is included or what should be included in the term
health surveillance in industry
. Some apply a narrow interpretation, for example, making it synonymous with “health effects monitoring” or “the periodic medical– physiological examinations of exposed workers with the objective of protecting health and preventing occupationally related disease. The detection of established diseases is outside the scope of the definition”. It was defined as distinct from
biological monitoring
, “the measurement and assessment of workplace agents or their metabolites either in tissues, secreta, excreta, expired air or any combinations of these to evaluate exposure and health risk compared to an appropriate measure.”. This discussion, however, is not limited to such a narrow definition of health surveillance; the maintenance and protection of worker health must include evaluations of exposure as well as evidence of biologic effects, if any.

Any discussion of health surveillance in industry must take into account the reasons for such surveillance. First and foremost in the rationale for such a program should be concern with health maintenance and health protection of those in the work force. This should not exclude mental health, an area of concern which has rarely been addressed when looking at health surveillance in industry. Any discussion of health surveillance in industry must, however, take into account the important influence of government regulations. These regulations will differ greatly around the globe. This discussion will be directed primarily toward the American experience and regulations. These include mandates by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC), and others. There are also influential guidelines by nonregulatory agencies, such as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The specific requirements embedded in regulations promulgated by these agencies, and some of the fallacies therein, will be addressed after a more general review of current medical and scientific concepts regarding the role of such surveillance in worker health protection.

Although the emphasis in this chapter will be on hazard‐oriented health surveillance aimed at protection of workers, it is still important to regard this as part of a broader program of health maintenance. The effective incorporation of special elements into a more general health program is the preferred approach. For this reason it is not feasible to discuss hazard‐oriented examinations out of the context of examinations to detect preexisting conditions or the development of abnormalities unrelated to the work environment.
Explosion Hazards of Combustible Gases, Vapors, and Dusts
Authors: Hertzberg Martin
Published: August 2005

An explosion is a gas‐dynamic process by which a marked increase in system pressure generates destructive forces. The cause of the pressure rise is a rapid, exothermic chemical reaction, which propagates as a combustion wave, and which markedly increases the gas temperature behind the wave. Those destructive forces can damage or destroy structures, and endanger personnel nearby. Such chemical explosions are a major hazard in homes, commerce, and industry, and it is essential to understand the factors that cause them in order to prevent their occurrence. The rapid chemical reaction that generates the explosion is usually the oxidation of a fuel in air, which leads to such a rapid energy release from the exothermic reaction that the system temperature increases markedly. Limits of flammability and application to practice; Prevention and control; Explosion probability in typical scenarios are discussed.
Air Pollution
Authors: McKee David J. , Bachman John D.
Published: August 2005

Air pollution has been affecting human health since the dawn of mankind. Whether caused by human activity, such as the burning of carbonaceous fuels, or natural events, such as wildfires and volcanic eruptions, it has been recognized for millenia that air pollution can adversely affect human health and even result in the death of some individuals. Some of the best known air pollution disasters occurred in Europe and the U.S. (e.g., Meuse Valley, Belgium in 1930; Donora, Pennsylvania in 1948; London in 1952) during this century and were documented better than any previous air pollution events. These events and growing public support in the 1960s provided the impetus for passing the Clean Air Act of 1970, legislation designed specifically to improve air quality in the U.S. This chapter documents results of implementing the Clean Air Act and health effects of many of the air pollutants regulated by the Act.

This chapter provides a summary of sources, health/environmental effects, and trends in air quality of the six principal ambient air pollutants (commonly known as air quality criteria pollutants) and discusses other air pollution problems, including global warming, stratospheric ozone depletion, and visibility impairment. A detailed discussion of the health effects of the six principal air pollutants is given.
Hazardous Wastes
Authors: Simkins Lisa K.
Published: August 2005

This chapter provides an introduction and overview of hazardous waste management issues. The topics include major regulatory requirements pertaining to hazardous waste, waste characterization, management options, and health and safety considerations. Owing to the vast number of local, state, and federal regulations pertaining to this subject, the practicing professional must always consult the latest regulations before embarking on a hazardous waste management program. This chapter can be viewed as a starting point that provides basic background information for the industrial hygienist or environmental professional involved in one or more facets of hazardous waste management.
Selection of Personal Protective Equipment (Excluding Respirators and Hearing Protection)
Authors: Stull Jeffrey O.
Published: August 2005

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) comprises items of clothing and equipment that are used by themselves or in combination with other protective clothing and equipment to isolate the individual wearer from a particular hazard or a number of hazards. PPE can also be used to protect the environment from the individual such as in the case of cleanroom apparel and medical devices for infection control.

PPE is considered the “last line of defense” against particular hazards when it is not possible to prevent worker exposure by using engineering or administrative controls. Engineering controls should be first used to eliminate a hazard from the work place by modifying the work environment or process to prevent any contact of workers with the hazard. When neither engineering nor administrative controls are possible, PPE should be used.

Workers should not rely on PPE exclusively for protection against hazards, but should use PPE in conjunction with guards, engineering controls, and sound manufacturing practices in the workplace setting. While PPE is designed for protection of personnel against various hazards, PPE cannot provide protection to the wearer against all hazards under all conditions. The use of PPE itself may create additional hazards for the wearer including heat stress; reduced mobility, dexterity, and tactility; and impaired vision or hearing. Therefore, PPE must be selected not only for the level of protection that it provides, but also for the specific wearer hazards that it creates, or its impact on worker productivity.

PPE covers a broad range of different clothing and equipment items, including: full and partial body protective garments; protective gloves and other handwear; protective footwear; protective headwear; protective face and eyewear; respirators; and hearing protectors or hearing protection devices.

The selection and use of PPE is relevant to several different industries, where different hazards exist requiring: physical protection; environmental protection; chemical protection; biological protection; thermal protection; and electrical protection.

OSHA regulations dictate the use of PPE when hazards exist and require employers to select PPE based on a risk assessment and to provide proper training in the use of selected PPE.

Because of the broad range of PPE types and applications, this chapter focuses on those areas in which there is less information available to industry for selection of “appropriate” PPE. The chapter emphasizes information and processes for PPE selection. This chapter specifically excludes respiratory protection and hearing protection that are covered in other chapters.
Occupational Dermal Exposure Assessment
Authors: Nylander‐French Leena A.
Published: August 2005

The skin is generally considered to be a good barrier to the systemic absorption of chemicals. However, many chemicals can partially or fully breach the skin where they may be metabolized, and interact with dermal macromolecules or components of the skin immune system, and then be systemically absorbed and distributed. Thus, dermal exposure to chemical substances can contribute significantly to the total systemic dose as well as result in acute or chronic skin toxicity and disease.

Skin diseases related to occupational exposure are the second most prevalent type of occupational disease. From 1983 to 1994, occupational skin diseases increased by 26%. In 1994, approximately 66,000 cases were reported, which accounted for 13% of all occupational related disease. Since occupational skin diseases are believed to be severely under‐reported, the actual rate may be much higher. Total costs (including lost productivity) have been estimated at $1 billion annually. Given such widespread prevalence of skin diseases, we need better measures for predicting, quantifying, and preventing dermal exposure to hazardous agents.

Dermal exposure to hazardous chemicals in the workplace has become an important occupational hygiene issue and a growing field of interest to health professionals in occupational hygiene and dermatology. Dermal exposure has been indicated as the primary source for the systemic exposure from chlorophenols, polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), glycol ethers, chlorpyrifos, acrylamide, cyclophosphamide, and 4,4’‐methylene dianiline. Exposure to chemicals, which may interact with endogenous nucleophilic sites in the skin directly (e.g., electrophilic isocyanates) or following metabolism to reactive metabolites (e.g., benzo[a]pyrene diolepoxide), has not been systematically investigated and is poorly understood. The deposition, absorption, and uptake of chemicals into and through the epidermis, and the biological consequences of dermal penetration are also difficult to measure. Thus, the significance of adverse health effects associated with dermal exposure is difficult to evaluate.

A major limitation to our understanding and development of this area of research has been the absence of a reliable noninvasive method to determine chemical‐specific skin deposition and to investigate mechanisms of dermal toxicity. Thus, the threshold dose required to induce an adverse effect and toxicity from occupational and environmental exposure conditions cannot be determined accurately.

Methods to assess the significance of dermal exposure are limited in number and scope. The current methods available for measuring dermal exposure, e.g., removal tecniques, surrogate techniques, fluorescence techniques, all suffer from fundamental problems and have not been adequately documented and validated. This chapter reviews and summarizes our current knowledge on dermal exposure assessment, and reviews and evaluates the current sampling methods.
Industrial Toxicology: Origins and Trends
Authors: Bingham Eula , Zapp John
Published: August 2005

Industrial toxicology is a comparatively recent discipline, but its roots are shadowed in the mists of time. The beginnings of toxicology, the knowledge or science of poisons, are prehistoric. Earliest human beings found themselves in environments that were at the same time helpful and hostile to their survival. They found their food among the plants, trees, animals, and fish in their immediate surroundings, their clothing in the skins of animals, and their shelter mainly in caves. Their earliest tools and weapons were of wood and stone.

It was in the very early period of prehistory that humans must have become aware of the phenomenon of toxicity. Some fruits, berries, and vegetation could be eaten with safety and to their benefit, whereas others caused illness or even death. The bite of the asp or adder could be fatal, whereas the bite of many other snakes was not. Humans learned from experience to classify things into categories of safe and harmful. Personal survival depended on recognition and avoidance, so far as possible, of the dangerous categories.

In a unique difference from other animals, humans learned to construct tools and weapons that facilitated their survival. Stone and wood gave way in time to bronze and then to iron as materials for constructing these tools and weapons. The invention of the bow and arrow was a giant step forward in weaponry, for it gave humans a chance to kill animals or other people from a safe distance. And humans soon used their knowledge of the poisonous materials they found in their natural environment to enhance the lethality of their weapons.

This article gives a detailed history of the origin of industrial toxicology, both experimental and industrial. Early studies in chemical carcinogenesis are listed. Trends include a section on toxicological testing, human genome, global workplaces, mixtures, and training and personnel complete this introduction chapter to the Work.
Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology
Authors: Kimmel Carole A. , Buelke-Sam Judy
Published: August 2005

This chapter provides a brief overview of normal reproduction and development, as well as examples of how toxic agents may impact these processes. It summarizes the types of studies conducted and data collected as part of routine toxicity testing. Assumptions that must be made in the risk assessment process and an evaluation of data from both animal and human studies used in this process are discussed. The integration of hazard data (both animal and human) and dose–response information is described, and exposure estimates in the final characterization of risk are summarized. Advances have been made in our understanding of reproductive and developmental toxicity, particularly as the integration of molecular biology and toxicology has grown. However, there are still many gaps in our knowledge of both normal and abnormal reproductive and developmental processes. Further research will continue to fill these gaps and enhance our ability to identify more specific susceptible events in these processes and ultimately reduce adverse reproductive and developmental outcomes due to chemical exposures.

The views expressed in this chapter are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Mention of trade names of commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.
Wood Dust
Authors: Dement John
Published: August 2005

Wood dust is any particle arising from processing or handling wood. Woods are classified into two broad botanical classifications; hardwood is the common name given to the botanical classificationAngiosperms, and softwood is the common name given to the botanical classificationGymnosperms.Gymnospermshave exposed seeds whereas angiosperms have encapsulated seeds. Although there are more than 12,000 species of trees recorded, most species are deciduous trees or hardwoods, and only about 800 species are coniferous trees or softwoods.

This article discusses production and uses of wood. Wood use depends on availability. Biologically active organic compounds in wood are described. Wood dust is not a component of the ambient environment in the vicinity of woodworking operations. Toxicity information is given for populations exposed to wood dust (mill workers, furniture makers, etc.). Diseases studied include, nonmalignant lung disease, lung cancer, digestive cancer, and Hodgkin's disease. Wood exposure limits for hardwoods and softwoods are listed.
Bloodborne Pathogens In the Workplace
Authors: Hunt Debra L. , Tulis Jerry J.
Published: August 2005

Occupationally acquired infections from bloodborne pathogens have been recognized since 1949, when a laboratory worker was reported to have been infected with “serum hepatitis” in a blood bank. In the early 1970s, serological tests became available for the diagnosis of infection with hepatitis A and hepatitis B viruses. Seroprevalence studies were then able to document the distinct epidemiology of these two viruses and the extent of transmission to healthcare workers. For example, Skinhoj reported subsequent increases in occurences of laboratory‐acquired hepatitis and found a sevenfold higher rate of hepatitis in laboratory workers when compared with the general population.

With the development of diagnostic tests for other bloodborne agents (e.g., human immunodeficiency virus (HIV‐1) and hepatitis C virus), studies continued to show that occupational infections with bloodborne pathogens were occurring. The potential occult infectivity of blood has been emphasized with the documentation of 54 occupationally transmitted infections with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV‐1) in the United States. Since the first occupational transmission was reported in 1984, healthcare and laboratory administrators, as well as those in the public sector, have reexamined the infection control aspects of their work practices and have begun to analyze and develop equipment and procedures to minimize exposures.

Because infection with HIV and other bloodborne pathogens is not always clinically apparent, and the infectious potential of blood and other body fluids is not always known, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommended “universal blood and body fluid precautions” in 1987. This approach emphasizes that blood and body fluid precautions should be consistently used forallpatients and their clinical specimens and tissues.

The “universal precautions” strategy has formed the foundation for federal guidelines through the CDC and regulations from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Both organizations recognize that this practical approach to safety will not only minimize the risk of occupationally acquired HIV‐1 infection but will also serve to protect against occupational infection with other bloodborne pathogens such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C, human T‐cell leukemia viruses I and II, HIV‐2, and, to a large extent, prions (agents causing Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease).

The risks to healthcare and laboratory workers are dynamic because of the availability of vaccines, antiviral treatment, and recognition of new agents and interactions with old ones. It is the purpose of this chapter to provide an overview of the epidemiology, risk of transmission, and the recommended or regulated strategies to prevent occupational transmission of HIV and other bloodborne pathogens.