IH 4 U

At home vs. at home

2011-02-15T10:26:00.000-06:00

270,000 people have been killed at home by guns since September 2001, according to Doonesbury

PolitiFact, one of my favorite news critique sources, decided to Fact Check Doonesbury, rating the statement "mostly true".

The assessment of statistics, however, reveals what each of us ought to be asking every time we read numerical claims.
1. Where did you get the data?
2. What did you do with the raw data in order to arrive at your own number? math, extrapolations, further assumptions, etc.
3. How do you define your key words?
The reduction in Truth-o-Meter is due to the fact that most people would assume the statement meant "at or near my home". Whereas Trudeau meant at home to be the opposite of abroad.

Pow - advocates of stricter gun laws see a huge number and embrace it as a supporting pillar of their dogma without asking if it's right.
Pow - advocates of looser gun laws see a huge number and immediately assume it's wrong because it doesn't support their dogma.

Radioactivity waste site leaking

2010-12-16T11:31:00.000-06:00

Der Spiegel (in German) Doppelt so viel radioaktive Flüssigkeit in der Asse wie bislang bekannt

Innerhalb nur eines Jahres hat sich die radioaktive Flüssigkeit in dem früheren Salzbergwerk verdoppelt.

Not sure what's behind the increase of radioactivity within the past year in the salt mine where radioactive waste is being stored.

Lies, Truth, and the Graphs in between

2010-12-02T12:07:00.000-06:00

I really like the Flowing Data website/blog. The blog is a wonderful presentation of the myriad and often intriguing ways of presenting data. Sometimes data I really could care less about, but sometimes data that gives me a chance to look at what's meaningful in the method of presentation.

Lisa's course (PubH 6172, IH Applications) included a lecture on data presentation. It was the first time I had a coherent, planned discussion about the whole matter. One can look at something and say "that's not very clear" ... but why? how do I improve it? Have I lost the whole point I'm trying to make? Could it be presented with a different style of graph to make it better? Is it a 2"x2" picture in the paper which, in fact, only has 3 data points amidst the colorful image? (data density)

This is not only applicable to the NYTimes or Strib. I'm trying to figure out how to present the data for my masters' paper. The question is not only what to present ... the questions to ask are:
Do the graphs have enough data?
Do they have too much data?
Can I show the graphs to someone without the text of the thesis and explain my research?

The books Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics and How to Lie with Statistics are some of many books on the topic of being deceived by statistics (intentionally or not). If you are actively trying to avoid being lied to - or - are trying to assure you don't inadvertently deceive someone ... learning all you can about the topic is critical.
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Food Safety Regulation revision

2010-12-01T14:57:00.013-06:00

A legislative fight over new food safety rules spawns a repetition of 1906 fight.

The text of bill S510, FDA Food Safety Modernization act is here:

Interview with Prof. Craig Hedberg (UMN School Public Health) is here:

Yes, it passed ... unfortunately not nearly strict enough.

Too much procrastination & stressing over thesis. Hopefully blog will be updated not only more often but more articulately. Really, really, really, really want to have it completely written before Christmas.
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[law rev.] Suppression of Environmental Science

2010-11-29T14:44:00.000-06:00

30 Am. J. L. and Med. 333
Suppression of Environmental Science

If you've never read a law review article, here's one to cut your teeth:

Summary (their version of an abstract)
... In recent years, research results, rather than the scientist's religion or politics, have motivated attacks on scientists. ... Suppression of environmental science raises serious concerns about scientific freedom and threatens public health and the environment. ... The examples of suppression set out above suggest three areas of the law that may impact the
scientific freedom of environmental scientists: defamation; scientific misconduct rules; and protection of employee speech. ... Given the public's interest in issues of environmental science and the likely broad dissemination of the statement, as well as the likely impact of the statement on public health or the environment, an environmental scientist's research and opinions about issues of environmental science are likely to be considered statements of public concern and given enhanced First Amendment protection. ... Therefore, where an environmental scientist's research concerns an unresolved scientific issue or methodology or is expressed in cautionary fashion, proving false facts would be difficult. ... A 1996 report for the Public Health Service's Office of Research Integrity ("ORI") found that 60% of exonerated
scientists experienced at least one adverse consequence as a result of being accused of scientific misconduct. ... In a number of ways, federal scientific misconduct whistleblower protection rules may condone unfounded misconduct allegations against environmental scientists. ...

Nowhere woman

2010-11-29T12:44:00.000-06:00

Must write thesis
Must write thesis

hey, this is funny
bonus Geek Points if you think the bottom frame is funny, too

must write thesis
must write thesis

Vuvuzela

2010-06-30T12:12:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I've been procrastinating about writing due to the World Cup. I feel positively European, since I can tell you which 8 games went on this week and who's advancing and when the next games are. One of the big to-dos about the games in South Africa is the use of the Vuvuzela, a traditional horn used there for soccer games.

At one of the U.S. games (I think it was England, if not it was Algeria), I saw two men in the American fan section wearing ear plugs. I was so amused (pleasantly). You could see the little yellow ear plugs, which means they probably weren't inserted exactly the right way. But, given the fact that these traditional horns can produce up to 120 dB(A) at 1 meter @ 1 kHz, I finally agree that any amount of noise reduction is a good thing. What I really want to know is who these two fellows are and why they thought that was a good idea. Do they already have occupational exposure to noise? Are they industrial hygienists or safety professionals or occupational medicine nurses/doctors? Or did they just decide 'hey, this is going to be really really loud, let's bring ear plugs!"

There are countless studies published on noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) and many involving sports-related exposure. Two months ago, immediately prior to the World Cup in South Africa, several articles have been published about the vuvuzula in particular, as well as - of course! - a Wikipedia page on health effects.

So, in summary, they're really really really loud.

original cited research (if the article is on-line, I included a link):

Swanepoel D, Hall JW III, Koekemoer D. Vuvuzela – good for your team, bad for your ears.
S Afr Med J (2010) 100, 4, 99-100.
with a follow up report from the authors explaining their noise measurement method & providing a table of results: 122 dB(A) at 1000 Hz and 2000 Hz at the bell opening.

Swanepoel D, Hall JW III. Football match spectator sound exposure and effect on hearing: A pretest-post-test study.
S Afr Med J (2010) 100, 4, 239-242

Berglund B, Lindvall T, Schwela DH, Goh KT, eds. Guidelines for Community Noise. Technical Report. Geneva: World Health Organization, 1999.

According to South African media Sports24, 1.5 million of these things have been sold in Europe since October. If they were all being manufactured in South Africa, I would be more likely to believe the ever-present claims of sports proponents about how wonderful things like this are for the local economy.

One manufacturer has designed a vuvuzula which reportedly produces 20 fewer decibels. While 100 dB dropped down to 80 dB will get you by in the workplace, it still ignores the fact that Soccer City in Johannesburg will hold up to 84,490 people for the World Cup this year. Noise exposure is additive. The end result of 20,000 (or more) people blowing is going to be far above 80 dB even with the new gadgets.

Picture of warning symbol on vuvuzula

One of these things turned up at the Riverview last week during the US : Slovenia game. With the theater at almost capacity (I'd guess 90% of 700 person capacity), the vuvuzula was surprisingly loud. Everyone turned around at the first blast and immediately knew what it was without seeing it. One of them was a nice, if loud, addition to the game since it was only blown about a dozen times in short blasts. In a really large movie theater, one was enough for me sitting at least 20 yards away. I think it was at the back of the theater and I was sitting almost down front.

Last Sunday at the Germany : England game, someone brought a small (18") version to a restaurant. It was an unholy racket. Luckily he only blew it about 3-4 times before the game started. The restaurant, needless to say, was much smaller than a movie theater.
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Sports and Risk Perception

2010-06-30T11:31:00.000-05:00

This is an astonishing example of public risk perception. The public health advice is also shocking.

Soer, who was present when the study was done and is knowledgeable of the findings, gave some simple advice on how to avoid any danger.

"Wear earplugs to the games," she said. "Either buy them at a pharmacy or make them yourselves and take it with you to the soccer games.

make them yourself... ? And this comes from a medical doctor?
I don't know what Communication Pathology is. I infer from their limited website it is infectious diseases. One of study foci was transmission of disease by sharing horns, so I understand a pathologist being involved. But she obviously isn't familiar with how ear plugs work. Does she think a wad of cotton is going to help? Or is there some common item South Africans use for this purpose?

With poor risk communication from professionals, it is unsurprising that individuals are not making optimum choices.

"I am not worried," said Matthew M'Crystal, a 24-year-old law student. "Anyway, it won't kill us."

The chronic excuse: 'it won't kill me'. Well, one of these days, being a lawyer, he's going to decide to sue someone over his noise-induced hearing loss by claiming "But I didn't know it was bad for me!"

"I could have died in Mexico," said Ricardo Avila, a 56-year-old soccer fan visiting South Africa for the tournament. "So no, it does not bother me."

Here is a different problem with individual risk perception. Even when you give a perfectly clear explanation of the risks of exposure, and the employee really does understand it ... her risk comparison may be standardized against something other than yours.

"You have a 1:100 probability of losing your hearing"
"Yes, but I live in the area of town with the highest crime rate, gang activity and there was a drive-by shooting on my block last night. Losing my hearing isn't so bad."

There will be a few more posts about noise and the World Cup.

I think I might borrow a noise meter from the U's IH lab to see how loud it gets on Saturday during the Germany-Argentina game over at the Glockenspiel in StPl. I'm considering playing hookey with my spouse on Friday to watch the Brazil-Netherlands game. Maybe I can compare the two? Get a publication? lol
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BP & OSHA citations & data presentation

2010-06-08T11:17:00.000-05:00

Following the ecological disaster in the Gulf, British Petroleum is in the news about all of the myriad failures to comply with regulations. Of course, the regulators are also in the news about failing to do the regulating. I'm wondering if OSHA is going to come under fire? Or if anyone will notice OSHA's inspection frequency compared to MSHA.

Flowing Data is a great site with interesting examples of data presentation. The OSHA citation frequency for BP is notable due to its calculation based upon production in barrels of oil, rather than dollars of profit/cost. The worker hazard exposure is the same regardless of whether crude is $50 or $200/barrel.

I like the presentation even more because the author cites the data and provides links to it. The presentation of prostitution in San Francisco as a 3-D topographic over a map of the city is not so data-dense, but certainly visually impressive.

With the post on BP's citations, I am really amused by the posts discussing different ways to normalize or present the data. Something any scientist should be trained to do.

Back in the saddle again?

2010-06-08T11:05:00.000-05:00

The 3 sentences I want to hear:

You should start writing.

You should stop writing.

Congratulations, you passed.

one down, two to go.

IH Job @ Sandia Nat'l Labs (Albuquerque)

2010-05-11T09:06:00.002-05:00

We at Sandia National Laboratories are currently seeking an entry-level
Industrial Hygienist. In recruiting for this position, we are asking
that you circulate this job description and application information to
any of your graduates that may be interested. This is a full-time,
technical staff position at our Albuquerque, NM location. The attached
file describes the position and provides instructions on accessing our
careers website to apply. In addition to applying at the careers
website, I ask that any interested persons also contact me directly via
email. I am also available by telephone at 505.845.8040 to answer any
questions. Thanks in advance. -Mike


Michael C. Oborny, CIH
Dept. 4127, MS-0792
Sandia National Labs
PO Box 5800
Albuquerque, NM 87185-1050

Tel: (505) 845-8040
Fax: (505) 844-0636
e-mail: mcoborn@sandia.gov

Abatement fraud in NYC

2010-04-27T10:52:00.000-05:00

How good is your data? Spending countless hours as a chemistry major at university, and then working as a chemist for many year, good documentation practices have been driven into my subconscious. But that only applies to me generating data. I am confident of the quality of the data in my lab notebook: after all, it's mine.

What about the lead analysis I did at my internship? I'm sure about how the samples were collected. But what about the lab reports? Are the numbers even real? Well, I'm forced to assume they are. I got the numbers directly from the laboratory.

What about the mercury sampling I had done at my last house? I watched them do the sampling. But what about the results?

How do I know they weren't lying?

I haven't given much though to what I, as an ordinary person, would do in the situation of needing environmental testing. The people I purchased that house from had done lead testing. What would I do? Just call an 'inspector'? How does a person verify their honesty/quality, beyond calling to verify the license is current?

This fellow, creating a ruckus in New York City, demonstrates both the fractured nature of public offices as well as the consequences of underfunding government agencies. The result? Moaning and wringing hands over the inability of the state to control this, then crying that too many agencies aren't working together. Is anyone going to sit down, ask "so how can we do this better?" and then change something? change anything?

What's up

2010-04-26T17:11:00.000-05:00

Graduation is in a couple weeks (May 17). I'm trying to get the 2nd half of my research done so that my poster, which just got accepted, will be able to go to AIHce. I'm trying to find someone to share a room with, so that I can go to AIHce. I keep forgetting to track down the person suggested for the 3rd person on my committee...

and

... I keep thinking of the shocking news stories recently about occupational fatalities, especially the Upper Big Branch Mine in WV and the oil rig in the Gulf. more soon

Fatality Perspective

2010-04-07T21:20:00.000-05:00

The explosion at the Upper Big Branch coal mine in West Virginia on Monday killed 25 people.

21 people died during the whole of 2009 in the entire state of Minnesota.

Nervous about job interview

2010-04-07T21:01:00.000-05:00

"How would you like to come in for an interview?"

ahhh, the magic words a grad student wants to hear before graduation.

So - I have an interview tomorrow afternoon with Minnesota OSHA. Like any responsible person, one researches the potential employer. Sure - I'm already in the business. Sure - everyone knows what OSHA does, right? Nevertheless, I did.

Their website is fairly user-friendly. Detail dense, but with a little looking around, it didn't seem hard to find what I wanted.

I'm looking forward to the opportunity to visit many different types of worksites. Construction, meatpacking, chemical processing, paper mills, etc. Then, I found the list of 2009 Fatalities and Serious Injury Investigation Summary. It hit me. What's the sure-fire guaranteed way to get a compliance inspector at your worksite?

1 - kill one of your employees
2 - injure a bunch all at once
3 - complaint

I never considered doing what compliance inspectors have to do: fatality investigations. It's horrible enough 1,000 miles away listening to the news about the Big Branch Coal Mine in WV. Can you imagine being the MSHA compliance officer who has to do the investigation after they open the mine?

I have never encountered a workplace fatality. I've even managed to make it to this point in life without having many people I know die. I've only had 2 friends die: chronic medical problems and power tool accident(or suicide, depending on who you ask). I've had 3 co-workers die: motorcycle accident, drug o.d., and cancer(not related to our mutual job). Suddenly I found an aspect to this job that is rather unsettling.

Of course, I'm nervous about having a job interview. What questions should I ask them? Should I ask

How do you cope with doing fatality investigations?

Do you ever run into employers who are verbally abusive when you do an unannounced inspection?

Do you like your job after 5 years?

What's the average time before someone leaves & why do they do it (other than money)?

What's the worst place you've ever had to do an inspection?

(not) user-friendly websites

2010-03-31T13:14:00.000-05:00

The AIHce website really doesn't cut it for user-friendly. It should be relatively intuitive to find basic information, like a Call for Submissions instructions. I should not need Google to find it. And, the requirements for abstracts should be directly available on-line. It doesn't make much sense to require me to interrupt someone's day to ask for the information. Especially since I doubt I'm unique in submitting it at the last minute. I really hope that the information is adequate, beyond the actual abstract, e.g. title, formatting, author names, etc.

Someone at AIHA told me that at least 60% of the abstract submissions come on the last day.

oops - sorry - I can't even claim my dog ate it. I can claim that I missed 3 days within the last week due to puking children, fevers, sick children, and sick grad students. Oh, and perhaps even more so - I've never written one of these things before. I really feel sorry for my prof, even if I appreciate the time he took to help with this.

I'm left wondering if
a) it will get accepted, and
b) if anyone else from our program is going, and
c) I'll get altitude sickness in Denver.

value of networking

2010-03-31T13:07:00.000-05:00

I have a job interview next week. My first in 13 years - I've been employed, or voluntarily unemployed, or a student. I'm not sure if the intern-interview 2 years ago counts - considering how utterly horrible it went, I've decided that it doesn't count.

I told my prof/adviser of the news. His response: a summary road map of people/information to allow me to make a better impression.

Sure, I think he's a nice man, and a good researcher, but this information is what makes someone a good colleague.

Now, I just need to convince the interviewer that I'd make a good colleague.

another smaller world

2010-02-26T00:32:00.000-06:00

Yet again a reason to give consideration, before uttering the Truth about your boss. No matter how true it is, eventually you'll say it in front of someone who knows her/him. And, with a relatively small profession like industrial hygiene, it will likely be sooner rather than later.

I'm going to be working through a consultant to do a project for the firm I did my internship with last year. I mentioned I'm taking a law course, and he of course asked who my teacher is. Yup - consultant knows my prof. They used to work together. Discussing the course material, I mentioned one of my classmates works here at the U. Yup, consultant knows him, too. Both people, in turn, also know the consultant personally.

Interestingly, the opinions expressed by the various parties was rather amusing, when taken as a whole.

It's also the sort of thing that reminds me that there are other folks out there who know me professionally, and whose opinion of my abilities and personality can quite easily be passed on to some total stranger. Which leaves me wondering what sort of opinons they are tossing around.

Hmmmm.... yup, maybe I ought to keep my opinion of my boss/co-worker/etc. to myself. Or, at least, keep the entire truth to myself.

Response to failure

2010-02-26T00:10:00.000-06:00

Today at Rodent U.'s Industrial Hygiene lab
we return to the on-going saga of our grad student's valiant efforts to get data.
In the last episode, her experiment actually produced data!
We open on the scene of her meeting with her research adviser,
Dr.P:

meet with Dr.P --- ok

The missing peak in last experiment is supposed to be missing --- ok

the annoying peak at 0.7 is still there and pretty much just as big --- hmmm

check out experimental set up, connections, tubing --- how many gallons of oil were needed to make all of this Tygon tubing??

Find wiggly thing that's not supposed to be wiggly --- hmmm

find a the leak --- good

correct leak --- even better

annoying peak at 0.7 gone --- great

have finally gotten really ready to get to the meat of the experiment

set up power source --- ok

turn power source on

power source "on" light lights up --- yea!

power source makes the right kind of ticking noises --- good

fiddle with voltage regulator --- looks right

loud pop --- huh?

flash of white light at ammeter scale --- wow, pretty lights

no more voltage

no more joy

Dr.P & I looked at each other and sighed ...

I might as well laugh; at least it doesn't make my nose run afterwards.

Thesis tip

2010-02-26T00:00:00.000-06:00

When you decide to be supportive of your classmate, and attend her thesis' defense ...

and you realize the only people in the room besides yourself are the degree candidate, and her 3 committee members ...

make sure you think of something really intelligent to ask at the end of the presentation.

So that when her advisor (who also happens to be yours) turns to you and asks, "So, at this point, we'd like to ask our guest if she has any questions" ...

you can whip out that great, insightful observation and impress a) your advisor and b) the other departmental prof sitting there, whom you want to have on your committee.

Without Precedent

2010-02-25T20:59:00.000-06:00

This is absolutely beyond the pale; totally unbelievable; without precedent... a true story:

I am working on a project this week with a couple other people. They were doing their thing, I was going to the next part of the facility to make sure it was ready for my colleagues. I went into a small aluminum foundry. This is:
In a noisy location in the factory; clearly labeled as needing hearing protection; has been required for years. As a matter of fact, I am the one who did the last noise monitoring, and am quite certain it's over the company's OEL.

Me: are those ear phones?
Worker: yes
Me: you do realize those won't protect your hearing? You do know you're supposed to be wearing earing protection, right?
Worker: these are okay
Me: actually, no, they're not. You need to have real ear plugs in.
Worker: it's not such a big deal.
Me: The Safety Department is going to get on your case about this. Actually, I am getting on your case about it to.

Enter two other men, one of whom is a supervisor.

Supervisor: What's going on? friendly tone
Me: I was just getting on his case about wearing hearing protection. friendly tone
Supervisor to Worker: How many times do we have to tell you? tone of frustration
Me: (thinking "all right!")
Supervisor to Worker: is that a radio you're listening to?
Worker: No
Supervisor: come on .tone of 'don't try to pull one over me'
Worker: No, it's an iPod
Me: Bah
Worker: well it is; it's different
Me: well the ear plugs are still not protecting your ears
Worker: they're okay
Me: actually, no, they're not. You're taking all of the noise in here already and just adding more noise to it. You really need to use real ear plugs
Supervisor: waves his hand dismissively and says "don't bother with it"

I was beyond stunned

Me to Supervisor: Are you blowing me off?
Supervisor: yes
pause
Me: That is totally inappropriate.

Quite unfortunately, I was in the middle of leaving when this happened. So, my immediate departure was likely percieved, or claimed to be, storming off in a snit. When he said "yes" about blowing me off, he said it in a perfectly normal tone of voice as if it was perfectly natural and obvious.

I went off to an unoccupied part of the plant. Where I swore and cussed a lot. Loudly. Unfortunately some of it was heard by the other two contractors. It doesn't happen often, that I get so totally enraged. I waited until I had calmed down, then called the Safety Department manager. I've worked for him before, and we have a good working relationship. I asked him what I should or could do. Unfortunately, the supervisor's ID badge had been flipped around, and I was stuck not being able to immediately identify him by name.

I figured I would just let it be until later. The photographic org chart was on my desk; I could identify him with it. Less than 30 minutes later, we were progressing on to the next area of the plant. Lo, and behold! The supervisor was standing right there. I was undertain to which group the area belonged, and we needed to know. So, I walked over to the supervisor and asked him. I figured this would be a perfectly natural thing to start talking to him; then bring up the issue of his disrespect. Maybe manage to get his name.

Me: "Is this area part of Section A?"
Supervisor: No, it's one of my areas.

Pow! I was holding a list of the areas and corresponding supervisors. At least I would have a name now. About 5 minutes later, after my colleagues got started, I approached the supervisor again.

Me: Were you serious when you said you were blowing me off?
Supervisor: Not really
Me: That wasn't particularly nice to do in front of the other workers. I was trying to help them.
Supervisor: Well, you know they're not going to pay attention to you. You're an independent contractor. They'll listen to me because I'm another supervisor.

This was becoming surreal.

About half an hour later, my colleagues and I had progressed on to the foundry area. They started their project. I checked the worker. Still no PPE. I approached the only other worker there. He was wearing a different over-coat, and I thought he might be the team leader. (The company has Manager > Supervisor > Team Leaders > Workers.)

Me: Can you tell me who the team leader is?
Him: I am.
Me: I would appreciate it if you could tell your worker over there that he needs to wear ear plugs. (pointing at the worker)
Team Leader: The Supervisor said those were okay.
Me: Well, he was wrong. They aren't okay. They won't protect his hearing.

I leaned over to look at the worker again, since he had just started up another machine.

Me: Well, perhaps you could go talk to him because right now there's absolutely nothing in his ears at all...

I give kudos to the man in question, since he at least had the balls to blow me off to my face. Beyond that, though ...?

He has, pretty much without hope of redemption, completely lost all professional respect I might have had for him. Pow! Five minutes and someone now thinks he's an ignorant schmuck.
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at last!

2010-02-10T22:12:00.001-06:00

I have data!

It's not what I wanted, and there's something wrong (hopefully with the apparatus & not design) ... but, what the hell?!

I have data!

IH standard baggage

2010-01-20T22:36:00.000-06:00

While at work today, I stopped to talk to one of the workers, to explain what was going on regarding a project before the team arrived. I noticed rather quickly that his work station was particularly loud. I asked if he was required to use hearing protection. He said no, but then qualified his statement by pointing out he had only been on the job for 2 months. Stunning me with his initiative, he walked to the next work station and asked his group leader. No, no noise PPE required.

Not being convinced this assessment was correct, and being chronically curious, I went to the safety office to get a noise meter. I returned, only to discover that the 2nd work station was no longer running. Ah, well. Loud, but not the same.

He asked me about what I was doing. I of course answered him,
explained there is a limit for how much noise you can have,
showed him the meter was measuring noise,
explained the meter read-out, and
explained how that number relates to the company's exposure limit.
He was satisfied and thanked me for my time. Just what every IH wants, eh?

If only I hadn't needed to spend 10 minutes finding a noise meter!

I often find myself wishing I had a standard bag-of-tricks to carry around. Sure, there's always the things I might personally really need, like a spare pair of non-prescription safety glasses that I know fit over my prescription glasses or ear plugs. (I do always carry a spare set of ear plugs in my pocket - even if I'm already wearing mine. I've given them away 2 times in the past 3 days.) With the advent of smaller and smaller electronics, I would definitely add a noise meter to the bag. The one I used a couple years ago for my internship was pretty compact. It wouldn't need to be fancy; only functional. A Dräger hand pump (the simplistic kinds) with a set of tubes for VOCs and CO. A particle meter. ... hmmm... a professional shopping list.

justice? Or just ...

2009-12-12T17:55:00.000-06:00

While looking for a case indicating the liability specifically of the individual owner/operator, rather than the corporate entity, I thought "Grace!" I couldn't find the final court decision, only some motions regarding evidentiary matters. The media, however, carried it. They don't cite case numbers, unfortunately. One of the respondents was quoted saying something along the lines of "it's regretable that anyone was injured, but that's not what this case was about." What did he think it was about? Or was he just weasel-wording it to separate public health from environmental contamination? The U.S. lost its case. I'd really like to read the opinions to see what the justification was, for morbid curiosity, if nothing else. Especially, given that quotation, to see which law was cited as being violated.

Age

2009-12-09T16:01:00.000-06:00

It is bizarre to find myself looking at an obituary of a classmate, who was likely 10 years my junior. Cancer is certainly an insidious disease. Yvonne looked fine a few months ago. She was so enthusiastic and passionate about her studies. I read that she had passed away and was left thinking 'that can't be the same Yvonne', since I didn't know what her family name was. Unfortunately it was the same woman. It's just strange. I know only 2 people my own age who have died. Something to come to grips with as one ages.

2008 BLS stats

2009-11-24T09:53:00.000-06:00

The Bureau of Labor and Statistics has released the official Injury and Illness statistics for the 2008 calendar year. http://www.bls.gov/news.release/osh2.nr0.htm Table 23 is usually one of particular interest to me: this breaks down the data by causation, rather than industry. Not that the social demographics aren't interesting - but I can't control the demographics of my work place. The cause (fall, exposure, etc.) are what industrial hygienists are out to control. Hopefully the fatality data will be later today.

Ammonia - again

2009-11-19T22:21:00.000-06:00

Monday afternoon in Twin Cities: 1 trucker dies and another is seriously injured after a release of anhydrous ammonia. Wednesday afternoon on border between MN / SD: tractor-trailer accident carrying 40,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia caused evacuation of SD town. No one killed; injuries from exposure for truck drivers. "... estimated that between 500 and 1,000 pounds of chemical leaked, creating only a small cloud."

age-limited access to health care

2009-11-17T11:19:00.000-06:00

Access to health care is usually presented as a function of income, proximity to services, or cultural dictates. Oddly, it can also be a function of age: Children also need a birth certificate to be eligible for the vaccination programme available to under five year olds. Those who are ineligible are left vulnerable to preventable diseases, a common problem in Cameroon. Given the child mortality rates (i.e. deaths under 5 yrs age) in under-developed countries, and the urgency to vaccinate as a public health measure ... I'm stunned that the gov't would refuse to vaccinate anyone under 5 just because of a birth certificate. I understand the need to control when the child gets vaccinated and make sure the child doesn't get too many. Although I'm equally sure that if the parents are well-off they could get their kid the shots.

Lego safety

2009-11-03T11:14:00.000-06:00

Of course, you go looking for one thing on YouTube, you find zillions. This is totally awesome:

Bad engineering?

2009-11-03T10:57:00.000-06:00

Sure, knock down the end of the shelves ... knock over all of the boxes ... but this degree of destruction? Holy cow. According to the video poster, it's in a Russian vodka warehouse. Now, lest you think we are exempt from disasters due to employee ignorance/inadequacy: WGN, a radio station in Chicago, has a video that's rather amusing, especially the last 20 seconds of their commentary.

Making up for lost time?

2009-10-30T11:22:00.001-05:00

No. However, it is nice to see OSHA trying to look scary. The explosion at Imperial Sugar in Georgia has the Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board report released earlier this week. The 3rd paragraph of the story in the NYTimes has a link to the document. Lots of pretty good photographs, with diagrams, etc. I haven't read one of their reports before. 89 pages of reading for a chilly Autumn evening. The Times article reports the proposed $8.7 million fines. This popped up on my radar right after the news today brought up the fines announced against BP following their explosion in Texas a few years ago. In both cases, I'm far more curious about how much these companies will actually pay. We all know that "proposed fines" bears no semblance to "actual fines". The Times article about BP included: Labor Secretary Hilda Solis has repeatedly said that “there’s a new sheriff in town,” signaling that she would take a more aggressive approach in enforcing wage and labor laws, after what she said was lax enforcement under President George W. Bush. This might be more plausible, if OSHA hadn't been so lax for the past 39 years. How often do they prosecute anyone for anything? BP is cited for 439 willful and egregious violations. This is finally the trigger to request the Attorney General to prosecute criminal charges. Are they going to? If 15 deaths & 439 willful violations don't do it .... what will? The Strib also reported (the only point in their article which wasn't in the Times): Since the 2005 accident, four additional people have died at the Texas refinery, including one employee and three contractors. BP was fined $50m by the Department of Justice in 2007 to settle criminal charges stemming from the Texas explosion. Reports the BBC News. This subtly gets to the point most in the US miss. These criminal charges are from failure to comply with the Clean Air Act. In other words, the EPA had them prosecuted. These people likely won't be criminally prosecuted from OSHA. Like everything else with the gov't: wait and see ... wait and see ...

Air Quality Index - AIQ

2009-10-29T14:52:00.000-05:00

This is posted on the MPCA website for Twin Cities Minnesota .

Colt v. US

2009-10-29T12:40:00.000-05:00

COLT INDUSTRIES, INC., Plaintiff/Cross-Appellant, v. THE UNITED STATES, Defendant-Appellee No. 89-1165 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT 880 F.2d 1311; 1989 U.S. App. LEXIS 10672; 89-2 U.S. Tax Cas. (CCH) P9450; 64 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5231; 30 ERC (BNA) 1179; 19 ELR 21450 July 24, 1989, Decided Taxpayer was assessed civil penalties in a consent decree because it failed to eliminate violations of the Clean Air Act. In satisfaction of the civil penalties imposed by the consent decree, the taxpayer remitted payment. The taxpayer then claimed the payment as an ordinary business deduction under I.R.C. § 162(a). Does anything more clearly demonstrate the fact businesses see non-compliance fines as just an ordinary business cost?

Hazmat Hounds

2009-10-29T09:17:00.000-05:00

Now this is the sort of thing that is just tooo strange to make up: What do you do with dog vomit after Fido eats the rat poison you stupidly left lying around? Question from health official: We have had two cases in the state recently where a dog has eaten zinc phosphide rat poison. The dog is rushed to the vet, they make it vomit and are overcome by the phosphine. We are going to send out an advisory suggesting that this procedure be performed outside of the facility, think behind the building, so we can get adequate ventilation. The issue then becomes what to do with the dog barf? Do we have them direct the dog to a plastic garbage bag and seal it up? Since we have had two cases of this there must have been others somewhere in the US, do you know of anyone who has an experience with it? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Response from EPA: Inducing vomiting is the right treatment. But acid or water causes decomposition and release of phosphine gas. Recommendation is to flood away barf with copious water, while wearing respirator. (Look up respirator in NIOSH) They recommend disposal in a DRY soil pit, but you have to get it there. Level B, or at least supplied air, is my best guess. What about Baking Soda, the all-purpose solution? At least it's not an acid. The following is from Google search on decontaminating sodium phosphide: SYNOPSIS A rodenticide of high mammalian toxicity which in the presence of dilute acid will decompose to liberate phosphine. It is not cumulative in body tissues. SELECTED PROPERTIES Physical characteristics: A grey powder of high melting point which sublimes when heated in the absence of oxygen. Solubility: Practically insoluble in water and ethanol. Soluble in benzene and carbon disulfide. Stability: Stable when dry but decomposes slowly in moist air. It reacts violently with acids with decomposition to the spontaneously inflammable phosphine gas. Vapour pressure: Very low. Phosphine odour detectable at 1.5-3.0 ml/m3 of air, depending on its purity.

Weekly Fatalities

2009-10-22T10:35:00.000-05:00

It's sad that they can actually report this by week. The U.S. Department of Labor has a Weekly Reports of Fatalities, Catastrophes, and Other Events. I wish there was a note as to which ones were fatalities. Especially since a few of the entries read:

Victim was cleaning out a pit at a grain elevator. He was walking near the unguarded opening and fell through, 15-20 feet, to the bottom of the pit. - now this I assume is a fatality
Victim fell from a 3-step ladder. -- how is this on the list at all, unless it was a fatality?

There is a note: There are 26 OSHA State Plan States. Since there is no reporting requirement, a number of states have elected not to report their fatalities to OSHA. .

Old OSHA Videos

2009-10-21T21:23:00.000-05:00

Well, thank goodness for YouTube. The following 3 videos are all dated from 1980 (according to the info on YouTube). All three are produced for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to promote itself and workers' rights regarding occupational safety. There are a couple scenes in the history of OSHA video which I just cannot imagine being included in a video today. According to the notes on all 3, the videos were banned & destroyed by the incoming OSHA Secretary in '81 (read: Bush I). They are all about 30 minutes. If they were produced for the government, they are in the public domain.

History of OSHA

Unfortunately, the beginning of this will not trigger the emotional response it did in 1980. The comparison of the death toll of the Vietnam War to the fatality rate here in the US during the same year was a great point. But, then again, I remember the end of the war. We can't provide the same statistics (thank God) about either Gulf War.

Can't Take No More

history of worker safety movement

Worker to Worker

I like the opening tune: Take This Job & Shove It. A look at the different kinds of hazards one can find at work.

that's all, folks

2009-10-21T18:11:00.000-05:00

Title 29 - Labor Chapter 15 - Occupational Safety & Health Sec. 666 - Civil and criminal penalties (e) Willful violation causing death to employee Any employer who willfully violates any standard, rule, or order promulgated pursuant to section 655 of this title, or of any regulations prescribed pursuant to this chapter, and that violation caused death to any employee, shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or by imprisonment for no more than six months, or by both; except that if the conviction is for a violation committed after a first conviction of such person, punishment shall be by a fine of not more than $20,000 or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by both. Now, here we go: > "civil and criminal penalties" gives a first impression that the plural applies to criminal, as well as civil. Nope. There's only one criminal provision under the federal (and Minnesota) Occupational Safety & Health Act. It's here. You need to actually achieve killing your employee. Not only that, but it also needs to meet the legal definition of "willful", which isn't the same as used in normal conversation. There's one of those op-ed pieces on a blog bemoaning the state of affairs when killing your worker carries a lower penalty than assaulting a burro on federal property. A claim I've read before. The author, however, failed to provide a bibliography along with the word 'bibliography'. So, I'm not sure how valid his numbers are, or where they're from. Which is sad, because I would like to use some of them & would have been happier if I didn't need to go looking for the information from primary sources. Like the burro. Or ... "By comparison with other federal agencies, OSHA is hardly the big bully it is often painted as. For example, the penalty for killing a burro on federal land is one year in jail, and the penalty for mail fraud is up to 30 years behind bars. The Environmental Protection Agency [in the course of] one year obtained prison sentences totaling 256 years." e.g. I'd like to know which year that was & where the burro law is. He also stated: "... there are fewer OSHA compliance officers than there are U.S. fish and game wardens. In other words, the large mouth bass and the wild turkey are afforded better [protection] than U.S. workers."

Myth (the myth of objective educated opinions)

2009-10-20T11:43:00.000-05:00

Myths pervade even public health. Yesterday's Midmorning program had as guests professors of

infectious diseases @ Mayo

public health professor @ Pitt, and

pediatrics @ Indiana U.

Public health officials are trying to figure out why a majority of Americans, including many public health nurses and doctors, have told pollsters recently they are wary of the H1N1 vaccine. Wary to the point that they're not sure they will get the shot against H1N1 flu. A look at medical myths and what fuels the fear of vaccines.

This I need to hear. My opinion, prior to doing so, is that medical & public health officials are

a) inadequately educated about vaccines & how they are made

b) subject to the ignorance of peer-education. Rather than peer pressure, this is peer pressure exerting influence about facts. If all of my patients/clients believe it, it must be true.

Behind stupid executive decisions

2009-10-20T11:07:00.000-05:00

Wow - the EPA actually thought greenhouse gases are bad.

Wow - the Bush II administration refused to accept science.

The Environmental Protection Agency released a long-secret document last week that reveals the agency's conclusions on global warming while President Bush was in office. The December 2007 document says greenhouse gases are dangerous and need to be regulated under the Clean Air Act.

1st Time Ever - follow up

2009-10-19T14:54:00.000-05:00

I passed by the site two days later. The only thing which had changed was a thin little red plastic fence around the biggest pit. The kind of thing that's intended to be a visual "don't enter", and has not real ability to keep anything out. Fair enough. But ...

Still no sign. Still nothing to keep kids out of the other pits.

A couple days later I drove by again (it's actually on my way to 95% of the city). Nothing new. However, they were digging a trench - oh, about 5-6 feet deep (1.75 m). The worker is standing in the trench watching the excavator's shovel come down right in front of his face.

What possesses people to stand in a trench/pit while it is being excavated, with the bucket coming down right in front of their face? In all seriousness, is this just a macho-thing? At my 'field experience' last Summer, I ran into this, too. Luckily, the IH who was a real employee pulled a "get out of there now". It was like watching someone deal with my 5 year old.

I haven't had a chance to ask MN-OSHA if they made a site visit?

Hidden in Statistics

2009-10-15T14:52:00.000-05:00

Since I've had children, I have repeatedly heard mothers demonized for letting their baby sleep in bed with mom. After a few months of insanity with child #1, I seriously thought I was coming down the post partum depression. The shrink said, "you're not depressed, you're sleep deprived."

I let my baby sleep with me. Nurse him every 2 hours by getting out of bed? When he would sometimes nurse for half an hour? Are you kidding me? No. Let Jr. sleep next to me: he nursed, I slept. This is not something which requires me to be awake. Of course, I'll probably be demonized for not looking adoringly on as my baby validated my womanhood and bonding with my child.

So - what do the statistics actually tell us?

Study says: Increased risk of crib death by 50%.

Oh, my god, get the baby out of the bed!!

But ... What are those risk factors?

Drinking and taking sedating drugs.

What if we only look at mothers who don't have those risk factors?

Wow - there is no increased risk of crib death.

Handwashing factors

2009-10-15T14:50:00.000-05:00

A study in the UK indicates that shame is a greater motivating factor than previously anticipated. The rates of handwashing cited, however, are rather gross.

1st Time Ever

2009-10-08T09:25:00.000-05:00

I've never filed a complaint with OSHA before. 877-470-6742 The response was professionally satisfying. I plan to call tomorrow to see what happened. It was nice being able to finally use my professional knowledge again for something other than homework. It was also gratifying to hear the response after describing the problem when I used the phrase "I'm an industrial hygienist". The city building inspector was my 2nd call. 612-685-8505. A thoroughly dissatisfying call. I got an answering machine(that's not a problem). What annoyed me was the lack of any option for "immediately dangerous situation". Not even "if this is urgent, please call 911". The voice mail indicates they will try to be out within 24 hours, maybe 48. They probably won't be out until Monday. There's a gas station going in on the corner of 36th St. & Cedar Ave. I stopped by the site last night on the way home after looking a the gargantuan pit as I drove by. The place occupies about 2 or 3 lots along Cedar. There is a pit the size of a standard swimming pool. (presumably for the UST for gas) Several other trenches and pits are present. There are no fences to keep kids out. There aren't even any signs saying "keep out". The soil is soft. One of the large excavators is parked right next to the large big pit. Trenching without shoring. Two of the walls are sloped shallow enough that they might not need reinforcement. But the side with the 20 foot (6.5 m) pile of dirt?

There is a large excavator parked between two pits. It's been raining quite a bit. The soil is pretty soft. I am quite certain that someone standing at the edge of the pit would have an imminent risk of slipping in. Followed by an imminent risk of quite a lot of soil falling in after her.

OHS prosecution in UK

2009-10-06T21:02:00.000-05:00

Apparently we aren't the only ones who complain about the lack of prosecution for occupational safety failure.

The Guardian is pro-labor, left-leaning paper (left in the sense the the US uses it).

Business OHS references

2009-10-06T20:33:00.001-05:00

OSHA & other occ. health info. Links to news sources, presented from the business point of view

I often find it interesting reading the pro-business articles. Mostly what is left out or how the pro-IH position is presented. Now, mind you, the same goes for reading my own profession's publications.

Fire in the Hole!

2009-10-06T15:42:00.000-05:00

Now this makes me wonder if they need a stationary source permit for discharging so much combustion by-products. I think I might drive by this evening with the kids. Big fire - might have the Minneapolis F.D. on hand.

Fatality: cage washer

2009-09-29T15:24:00.000-05:00

I've never seen a walk-in version of these. This is - like just about any other occupational cause - a gruesome way to die. The story isn't new; it was brought up in my law course discussing torts. In short, a worker became trapped in a cage washer (like a giant dishwasher for animal cages) and was fatally scalded. Steam burns are horrid, horrid things. Minnesota's Dept. Labor states: "Because there's a fatality here that caused or contributed to, there's a non-negotiable penalty of $25,000 per penalty." The article cited an average of 72 occupational deaths per year in Minnesota. Details of the inspections were not made public, but each [Minnesota] OSHA citation pointed to a specific safety rule involving equipment safety: ...employees must be able to open an exit route door from the inside at all times without special knowledge or tools ... the guarding device... shall be designed and constructed as to prevent the operator from placing any part of his body in danger zone during the operation cycle. ... each machine shall be equipped so it is possible for the operator to cut off the power without leaving the position at the point of operation. I'm not clear on how that would have mitigated this specific incident. The hospital planed to contest the findings and the fines. How is it possible that fines be "non-negotiable" and yet "contestable"? My understanding has always been that 'contesting' fines generally means "pleading them to a lower amount". .

[resource] Topics in German

2009-09-29T14:46:00.000-05:00

From the Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizine (BAuA) - Topics from A to Z. This is the German Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, like our NIOSH. There's a version in English. .

Pilgrimage & Polio

2009-09-29T10:26:00.000-05:00

Saudi Arabia: Pilgrims Who Travel to Mecca This Fall Will Get an Oral Polio Vaccine on Arrival By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr. Published: September 28, 2009 New York Times Saudi Arabia has announced that everyone arriving for the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in November will have to swallow a dose of oral polio vaccine under the eyes of health officials. The kingdom has become more and more aggressive in its fight against polio, which has hovered on the brink of eradication for years. Until recently, the Saudi authorities asked for proof of vaccination when pilgrims applied for visas and forcibly vaccinated only those arriving from countries where polio was endemic. In New York last week, the country’s foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, and Ted Turner, the cable television billionaire and chairman of the United Nations Foundation, announced that Saudi Arabia would donate $30 million toward global polio eradication. While that is only a small contribution to the $6.1 billion spent over the last 20 years, it is symbolically important. Polio is endemic in only four countries: Pakistan, Afghanistan and regions of Nigeria and India with a Muslim majority. It persists largely because of a persistent rumor that the vaccine is a Western plot to sterilize Muslim girls. Each year, travelers from endemic countries seed outbreaks in other poor countries, where vaccination drives had been dropped when the disease was thought to have been eliminated. In some years, it has reached Saudi Arabia, where millions of pilgrims live close together in tent cities for the holy week.

Xcel & others prosecuted

2009-08-31T11:21:00.000-05:00

People say the strangest things: It was just an accident. Xcel Energy is being prosecuted by the U.S. Justice Department (upon the request of OSHA) for the deaths of 5 people a couple years ago. More interesting to me is that individual people are being prosecuted as well, not just the corporation. Two people from the sub-contractor doing the work. The original story from 2007 in the NY Times has a nice photo showing the exterior of the worksite. Minneapolis-based Xcel issued a statement Friday that said the fire was an accident, not a criminal act. Do these people actually think the two are mutually contradictory? Well, I guess they do. Or at least, they want you to. ... occurred during the renovation of a large empty metal pipe down which water normally flowed to create hydroelectric power. Five employees of RPI Coating were trapped in the pipe when chemicals being used in the renovation caught fire and blocked their only exit. well, since Xcel is here and the fatalities were there, the Denver paper has a better article. workers were in a drained water tunnel, known as a penstock, connected to the plant, cleaning a sprayer with a flammable solvent. Vapor from the solvent ignited, causing the fire ... There is a link at the bottom of this article to a .pdf copy of the Federal Indictment. I suppose there should be a standard disclaimer: this is my personal opinion, blah blah, based upon information available at the time blah blah.

environmental clean up

2009-08-28T15:24:00.000-05:00

Clean up of PFCs in Woodbury starts next week. .

Just gross

2009-07-28T12:02:00.000-05:00

Photographs of the 'shroom infestation in the yard. Two close-ups for ID. One wider-angle to see extent of problem. Fungi gross me out. Ever since I saw a photo of an aspergillis infection on someone's leg ... eww... Of course, it was one of those high-quality, high-resolution medical photographs. I was very glad the lecture was just before lunch. I spent half an hour last week trying not to puke simply from the psychological effort of picking them. The top photograph is the yard after being left for 3 days without eradication. This is posted for the benefit of the Extension Officer I contacted for assistance. If anyone else, however, has suggestions short of a nuclear device, please let me know.

[resource] NIOSH science blog

2009-07-28T11:07:00.000-05:00

NIOSH has a science blog here. Finally a blog that has intelligent comments. Well, compared to the drivel I find on my local newspaper after something "scientific". An interesting collection of different topics. And, the posts are long, designed to be educational and informative to the occupational health & safety professional. Some of the last posts:

horse racing safety & health
second hand smoke and casino dealers
no-nose bicycle saddles
firing range exposures

There are only one or two posts per month.

[resource] MCOHS training list

2009-07-28T11:03:00.001-05:00

Training programs from the Midwest Center of Occupational Health & Safety. MCOHS also has a monthly seminar on campus at Mayo Hall, usually 1-125.

Build it, and they will ... dump?

2009-07-28T09:09:00.000-05:00

The MPCA (Minnesota Pollution Control Agency) is excavating the landfill in Washington County to install a modern containment system. As the Strib dubbed it, an "history-making landfill do-over". 33 acres of garbage. $20,000,000. wow. ever notice that people write $20M or $20 million? It doesn't seem so impressive without all the zeros. That has led to one of the biggest attempts to go back and undo decades-old environmental practices that the metro area has ever seen. At the bottom of the 90-foot pit, four dozers were spreading clay that will form the base of the landfill. Compactors with huge spiked rollers were smoothing it. ... The landfill will have three layers of heavy plastic liner, separated by layers of geosynthetic material. Lewis said the new landfill will hold mainly old garbage but is designed with a higher level of protection often used to handle hazardous wastes. It will have three distinct layers to prevent any contaminated water in the landfill from reaching ground water: two feet of compacted clay at the bottom, three layers of heavy plastic above that, and two feet of sand and a collection and drainage system above the liners. an MPCA senior engineer, said no surprises have come to light so far in the nearly 300,000 cubic yards of waste removed. -- now, that in itself is a surprise The state has received some complaints about construction noise since work began in early June, he said, and one call about odor. The contractor is spraying the waste with a slurry of cement and cardboard paper to reduce odors, ... What kind of precedent is being set? Can I complain about the landfill in my part of town (hypothetically) and have the MPCA bring it up to modern standards? Does this remove any grandfather compliance clause about environmental protection? And really, what's the difference - ethically or scientifically - between cleaning up 3M (and other people's) waste and cleaning up the arsenic floating around the Philips Neighborhood over here? Oh, I know the difference. 3M has tons of money and can afford to spend $8,000,000 to help cleanup. The pesticide company which operated in Philips doesn't exist anymore. and, of course: NIMBY "I don't understand how this could have been a viable solution -- to dig this up, put in a liner, and then put it all back into the ground," said ---, who lives a half-mile east of the landfill. She and others at public meetings advised MPCA officials to truck the trash away to be burned or buried elsewhere. "I don't understand" = MPCA didn't do a good enough job communicating the risk management -- or the person quoted represents people who aren't willing to expend the energy to understand. "I don't understand" just isn't the same as "I don't agree with" or "I do understand and I still think this is a poor choice". I do sympathize with people who don't understand it, and don't have the scientific knowledge to know which questions to ask. If someone doesn't understand, and they're not an environmental toxicologist or hazardous waste controller ... how do we expect them to even be able to question our decisions? Ah, back to my criticism of modern American educational system. Although, I would likely have supported hauling it off to incinerate it. Still, this "make this someone else's problem" just aggravates me. I don't like the fact there's arsenic in the neighborhood near mine - but it's not like the MPCA or EPA is going to pull up the top soil for an entire neighborhood and bury it somewhere else. Until someone figures out how to make money at it. .

Less = more?

2009-07-27T15:37:00.000-05:00

Fewer mosquitos!!!! Yea!!! Lower risk of bug-borne infectious diseases? uh, probably No risk? unfortunately, no. I have taken advantage of the opportunity to sit in the front yard in the evenings and simply enjoy the utterly delightful weather we've been having this Summer. It is, quite honestly, the nicest Summer weather I can recall in my adult life; it's definitely the nicest since we've moved here to the Mosquito State.

Safety assays for vaccines

2009-07-23T12:48:00.000-05:00

FDA struggles how to verify vaccine safety with such a high-pressure rush to produce? [radio story]

Chrality & smell

2009-07-13T11:43:00.000-05:00

D-form amino acids tend to taste sweet, whereas L-forms are usually tasteless. Spearmint leaves and caraway seeds, respectively, contain L-carvone and D-carvone - enantiomers of carvone. These smell different to most people because our olfactory receptors also contain chiral molecules that behave differently in the presence of different enantiomers. how odd - I really like spearmint, and I absolutely loathe the taste and smell of caraway seeds. This applies to chemical enantiomers, as well. Hence the stark difference between n-butanol and t-butanol. I recall seeing some chiral compounds being sold as "artificial" sweeteners. Whatever the compound was, it tasted sweet, but it was the wrong handedness to be metabolized. I wondered why that didn't take the place of aspartame (which was at the time the big new 'sweetener' in the wake of sacchrine's PR downfall).

PTFE Exposure

2009-07-09T09:28:00.000-05:00

PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) is Teflon(TM), which people will tell you causes cancer or whatever. It might. If you ever get exposed to it. The science is absolutely clear: Teflon-coated pans are safe up to about 780F, a temperature at which anything in the pan will have caught fire. So, as a rule of thumb, you should be careful when flames start shooting out of your nonstick pan. Soon it might get hot enough to emit toxic Teflon particles. People scream about "Risk!" without comprehending what it really means, even qualitatively. Risk = exposure * hazard. therefore .... No exposure = no risk. No doubt this is one of the most difficult problems to overcome, psychologically. Even if the worker intellectually knows this ... their definition of "no exposure" is rarely the same as mine. Well, I suppose "no exposure" is the same. It's the "acceptable exposure" whichis the sticking point ... unfortunately, Teflon doesn't help with this no-stick problem. .

2009-06-19T16:13:00.000-05:00

HSE chair Judith Hackitt said children needed to learn how to manage risk. [HSE = Health & Safety Executive - the English sort-of cognate to OSHA] Wow - what a concept! Nearly half of teachers believe the health and safety culture in schools is damaging children's learning and development, a survey suggests. When questioned by Teachers TV, teachers complained about a five-page briefing on using glue sticks and being told to wear goggles to put up posters. I am curious about whether the 'five page briefing' was actually an MSDS...

The plague all over again

2009-06-19T16:02:00.000-05:00

BBC is reporting an outbreak of bubonic plague in Lybia. I'm in the midst of reading Camus' The Plague. I was inspired to read it by the conspiracy idiots (read: FBI) reports after the anthrax-letters in '01. The reports stated one of the suspects was extra suspicious due to his collection of books in his office. Quite a few of which are sitting on my shelf. The Plague, however, I hadn't read. Maybe it will make me suspicious (since in 2001 I had access to lots of anthrax)? The book is well written and interesting so far.

MDR Malaria?

2009-05-29T22:13:00.000-05:00

An on-going concern about long-term disease control or eradication is the development of resistance to various control mechanisms, such as antibiotics Malaysia is reporting malarial parasites developing resistance to antibiotics.

And in those earlier cases, resistance also started in Western Cambodia, and in a similar way.

No-one is sure why this area seems to have become a nursery for anti-malaria drug resistance.

One factor could be the inappropriate use of drugs, related to a lack of medical supervision.

The public health system is weak. Government clinics often run out of drugs or may be closed when patients want access to them.

Sure, I'm biased after working for an American pharmaceutical firm and dealing with the obsessive compulsive regieme of the FDA. [after being in the hospital and staring at a bag of solution being pumped straight into my body - that will make you change your mind about how good it is for document control and quality assurance.] But really - this is beyond the pale of people here:

All pharmacies are supposed to be licensed. But the stallholder told me he didn't have a licence. He'd applied for one, he said, but the paperwork had never been processed.

Many others running pharmacies, he said, were in the same position.

I watched him and his wife make up their own packets of drugs on the glass-topped counter, shaking a variety of coloured tablets into unlabelled plastic bags.

Employment in Urals

2009-05-29T22:06:00.000-05:00

New jobs for IH/evironmental in the Urals in Russia, decommissioning weapons of mass destruction.

Bed Bugs

2009-05-16T21:43:00.000-05:00

The Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite Act of 2009 seriously ... that's what it's called. Where do these people get the names for their bills? There are times when I think they must have hired the Schoolhouse Rock staff for writing the names I'm just a bill / yes I'm only a bill / and I'm sittin' here on Capitol Hill ... The EPA held its first-ever bedbug summit last month. Did the attendees stay in a hotel room for the conference? The biggest bedbug outbreak since World War II

holy cow ...

2009-05-01T23:18:00.001-05:00

So, we all have our opinions about PPE. We express them to our employers / employees. Most likely repeatedly. In detail. We wonder at times (or at least I do), where all this information goes. Does an employee take this to another job? Does my colleague tell his kid to be safe? Well, I just had the most amazing thing happen. I got quoted on Minnesota Public Radio's Marketplace website. I have never had my professional opinion put forth in such a public manner. Of course, what happens? My husband then starts arguing about whether this statement is actually 100% true. Well, what if Respirator A is actually a bit more effective than Respirator B, although both are marketed as N-95? If A is more expensive than B, then my statement to MPR is invalid ... I suppose I should have argued in that case, if B is more expensive than A, then I could equally have said cheaper is better, and been equally wrong. As if anything in the world is ever 100% exactly the same 100% of the time ...

Libby, part 2

2009-04-28T12:38:00.001-05:00

earlier in the saga, the EPA posted Q&A about the earlier suit: Q : Can Grace sue me to recover money it is required to pay EPA for cleanup of my property?

A : Yes. Grace has the right to sue you, but the court must first decide to what extent you may be held responsible. EPA provided No Action Assurances to owners of residential and business properties in Libby. These assurances indicate that EPA will not seek the cost of cleanup from you. The No Action Assurance will tell the court that EPA does not believe you should be held responsible for those costs.

So, the EPA won't screw you out of money to pay for this??? What in god's name do they think funds the EPA? My taxes. Oh, okay - so EPA won't see restitution from the residents - they get it from me! Grace being able to sue a homeowner to recoup money they need to spend to cover their illegal/unethical activities which caused the homeowner to get asbestosis(read: lung cancer)? How much more obscene can you get?

Libby, part 1

2009-04-28T12:27:00.000-05:00

Well, a bit delayed with posting ... From February... W.R. Grace was back in the news with a new lawsuit. This is the owner of the vermiculite mine in Libby, Montana. The stupendous point of this is that the defendants in the suit are the Grace executives, not the company. This is the first time the EPA has tried this. They - unlike OSHA - are allowed to directly bring suit against individuals. Actually, I’m not sure OSHA is even allowed to sue anyone, just implement fines. I’m sure the rest of the legal community is waiting with baited breath (assuming we don’t have asbestosis, of course). The company did ban smoking at the mine in 1978 — smoking compounds the dangers of asbestos, doctors say — and also issued respirator masks to workers. But showers that the miners could have used at the end of their shifts before heading home were ruled out, because they might have overly worried people. In the largest judgment after trial (in 2003) in the history of the federal Superfund law, the Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency announced that the District Court of Montana has ordered W.R. Grace & Co. to pay over $54.5 million to reimburse the federal government for the costs of investigation and cleanup of asbestos contamination in Libby, Montana. There is asbestos all over the entire town. Usually asbestos abatement brings an image of workers in Tyvek suits & respirators working behind plastic sheeting. This abatement is somehow supposed to be the entire city of Libby.

Bitrex

2009-04-28T09:46:00.000-05:00

Good heavens, this stuff tastes gross! Last night's class on respirators ended with a call for volunteers to go through a qualitative fit-test with a filtering face-piece respirator. How do you know if it's a respirator or a dust mask? If it says NIOSH, it's a respirator. There being only 6 people in the class, it's not as though one can hide in the back of the room. No one seemed to be leaping at the opportunity, so I volunteered. I guess there's benefits of being the oldest student - I'm pretty immune to most things that embarrass my younger classmates. I've never done qualitative fit testing before, only the quantitative method. They used bitrex as the sensory stimulus. They asked if I knew what it tasted like, simply to avoid having to check. I got a whiff of it once, being in close proximity to someone getting this done. Blech. Since we weren't waiting 1 minute for each of these activities (reading, turning head, lifting chin, etc), I was getting one whopping huge amount of bitrex pumped into the Bag On Head. They're looking kind of curious - I'm not sure why. The whole point is to demonstrate that even an N95 (read: not an N100) is perfectly capable of protecting against this stuff. Then ... wham. The standard bug-eyed, open mouth, sounds of disgust and grabbing for the hood. An hour later walking through campus with some classmates, I licked my lips only to realize it was still there. I think recommending employees rinse their face should be required, whether or not they fail. I failed on the step requiring someone to bend over. I'm not toooo surprised. It wasn't fitting really well under my chin. I was actually surprised it fit as well as it did. I'm curious about what size I was wearing - despite being a woman, I have a fairly broad face. I wear a size Large for full-face respirators, and depending on the manufacturer either Medium or Large for the half-face fitted ones. Yet another reason to offer multiple sizes to employees and make them try on more than one size. Of course you have them, because you're required to (1910.134 Apdx A - first point made) - but you should make them try more than one. Curiously, a rep from 3M told me that different chemicals are used in different countries. Not a surprising statement, eh? But ... apparently there is a distinct difference in sensitivity to some of the compounds. Americans have a lower sensitivity to one of the sweet-smelling chemicals, presumably due to the high sugar content of our regular diets.

Process Man (a.k.a. Chemical Worker's Song)

2009-03-29T18:51:00.000-05:00

Well, if you're from Newfoundland, you've likely heard of these men: Great Big Sea. I've loved their music since I saw them on some Canadian channel playing outdoors at a ski resort in shorts in the Winter while it was snowing. This is also one of my favorite of their songs. The original version on Up (and that I heard live, about 12 feet from the stage in Ann Arbor) was powerful in the way that a capella music can be. This recording has either poor audio detail, or the lead singer was having vocal problems & slurring a bit, just a bit. I mention this only in that - if you like this - the standard studio recording is even better for the clarity (as is often the case). Process Man - the ballad of a fellow stuck in the chemical manufacturing world. work & breathe among the fumes that trail across the sky... and it's go boys, go, they'll time your every breath ... 'cause every day you're in this place you're 2 days nearer death ...

[chem free] Makeup

2009-03-28T09:53:00.000-05:00

This is the cosmetic "makeup"; not the "amount needed to equalize something (e.g. make up air); and not emotional reattachment (e.g. make up with my girl friend). So, I'm curious ... from a stealth-ad: Mineral makeup is make-up that's made of all natural, finely ground minerals from the earth, without any of the chemicals, dyes, and preservatives found in traditional makeup. It gives you a light, natural, long-lasting glow that simply can't be duplicated by other types of makeup. One of my favorite phrases is "chemical free". I've seen it on food, on coffee, and now on (of all things) make up. What do these people think is in this stuff, if not chemicals? Because the way it's written certainly implies it's chemical free. Note the prepositional phrase (in traditional makeup) is waaaaaay down the long sentence. What you read is without any chemical, dyes or blah blah blah. If these are so wonderfully healthy for you, and are great for sensitive skin - what kind of exposure control systems do they have in the manufacturing plant? I can pretty much guarantee there's an amazing amount of ventilation to cope with the really fine powder. I'd also bet dermal PPE is required to avoid getting this stuff on your skin because it's irritating. (of course, this is sold as a mixture direct-to-customer-not-hazardous product, so there's no MSDS for it). Did they mention that asbestos is a very nice, naturally occurring "chemical free" and "dye free" mineral? Not that there's necessarily anything wrong with these product. I've got a bottle of eye shadow powder that I like. But I bought it because I liked the color; I have no delusions that any of my cosmetics are actually good for me.

HF leak on highway

2009-03-21T12:28:00.000-05:00

The picture is far more impressive than the text: managed to stop the slowly dripping liquid . Of course, I'm curious: How slow is 'slowly dripping' compared to 16 tons [just over 14,500 kg] ?

Cutting off the nose to save the penis

2009-02-18T00:26:00.000-06:00

what a title! Definitely not the ordinary work hazard. One expects reproductive hazards from radiation or chemical exposure. I never would have thought of bicycle riding. NIOSH bicycle saddles and reproductive health prolonged riding with certain types of bicycle saddles (the seat) results in higher pressure to the urogenital area (crotch) for male cyclists, reducing male reproductive function. These studies focused on police departments with a bicycle patrol as part of the force. Changing the style of seat for 6 months improved the man's function. The title is from the "nose-less" bicycle seats which were studied.

Mercury increase in Great Lakes

2009-02-17T20:16:00.000-06:00

Levels of mercury in pike and walleye increasing from: Minnesota Public Radio

February 17, 2009

St. Paul, Minn. — Mercury levels are increasing in pike and walleye in Minnesota. Minnesota Pollution Control Agency scientist Bruce Monson studied data from the past 25 years.

Monson found that from the 1980s through the mid 1990s mercury levels decreased, but since then they've been on the rise. Monson says that corresponds to an increase in global mercury emissions from 1990 to 1995.

"We're affected by global emissions. 90 percent of the mercury that gets deposited is actually from outside the state." [READ: China]

Minnesota has already greatly reduced its mercury emission levels, and it will cut emissions again by 93 percent by 2025. The state is also working with other states to push the federal government into take action to cut mercury pollution globally.

100 pounds of Hg

2009-02-08T22:52:00.000-06:00

largest mercury spill in 20 years the fact that this isn't simply the largest is scarier. Reading the idiocy posted by idiots reading the papers is even scarier. "He said he was unaware of any damage to workers' health." It's amazing what you can be unaware of, simply by not being told. No one could possibly know within 24 hours whether or not the workers' health is impaired. Still ... I had a job once where I was explicitly told to "take your time getting back here", so that the corporate president could go on TV and say "we don't have that information yet". Of course not, I had it. So, I'm not really impressed anymore with "I'm unaware of ...." He added he did not know which company employed the supervisors who gave his employees their instructions. -- this is just a prime example of failure to stay on top of your employees' safety. If anyone is giving my employees directions involving their health, I damn well want to know who they are. I might now know what was said/done, but I would at least know who ran my safety program. ...notified the state's Office of Emergency Services about a spill of one pint of mercury - equal to 14 pounds. About three weeks later, the company amended its report to 90 pounds. ... reported the [second] spill to the state as six pounds and about a week later amended that amount to 90 pounds do you think someone might have checked into this, after the first amendment? Changing it to a larger amount doesn't surprise me - once you have a better idea of what happened, I would expect the number to increase. But from 14 to 90? That's not just a little blip, that's a 500% increase. Under laws effective last year, any company failing to notify the center promptly about a reportable spill could face a fine of up to $32,500 a day, EPA officials said. come on ... does ANYONE actually think the EPA will even try to fine these people? He added that the law now requires a professional survey assuring asbestos has been removed from a site, but "there is no similar requirement to have a professional survey for mercury and other hazardous materials." I might understand this, in a general sort of way. Tearing down the Gustavus Adolphus building on 16th & Lake really wouldn't warrant one's attention for hazardous materials. But a manufacturing site, which is known to have used hazardous chemicals in large quantities? Anyone who has ever dealt with older companies and especially older facilities in disrepair knows that it is almost a sure-fire guarantee to find 'unexpected' items. (I could tell you horror stories about cleaning a deep freezer which had, at one time, belonged to an infectious disease laboratory.) Hazardous materials assessment should precede demolition or major construction activities at any facility. That could be as simple as "looked around, it was an office, no asbestos, no radon, check" - or in the case of an old pesticide plant, like the one just west of me in the Philips Neighborhood: "um, old pesticide manufacturing plant, no one owns it anymore, it's a Brownfield, there's arsenic all over the neighborhood ...".

questions for noise monitoring

2009-02-01T11:16:00.000-06:00

As I progressed with this project, I realized that I should ask more questions. Sure, these are patently obvious, and are probably mentioned in any text on the topic. But, hey, this is why the first time doing something is educational. And of course, some of these I realized ought to have been asked after getting data I didn't want. Do you move to other tasks in the day? If so, find out which ones & how long they are at each station. How long do you stay at this work station? If the answer is less than a full shift, find out where else they are (& what they're doing). Is this a normal day for you? Do you normally run this (gizmo) more? less? Is production running faster or slower? Are you doing more tasks than usual? How long have you been doing this task, i.e., years, months, weeks You should establish how much experience the worker has with this task, which might be different than their seniority/time-in-grade might indicate. 30 years with the company might mean she's been doing this task for 6 months. Are you working overtime today? Often? Will you need to set the measuring instruments to accommodate a longer measurement? When you do calculations, you'll need to know what their normal exposure is, if today is different. Who else does this task or works at this station? Do you have someone who just helps out occasionally? This might be different than the answer you get from the supervisor. You're more interested in finding the perhaps unofficial or unknown "helpers", to make sure the helpers get included in your surveillance program. Is this task done every day? If this isn't a routine task, find out how often it is done. You might manage to catch someone doing a quarterly or annual task. And, if you miss the infrequent/irregular jobs, find out when they happen so that you can catch it next time.* As with anything else, have a pre-printed sheet with all of these questions. If you expect to have standard answers, put the standard answer with the question, so that you can easily circle it, rather than write it. E.g.: How long have you been doing this task? less than 6 months 1 year 5 years more than 10 years How long are you at this work station? 8 hours 4 hours 2 hours other ________ The easier it is for you to gather information, the more relaxed the employees will be. If it's quick and painless, it won't interrupt their work (as much). * Especially with irregular jobs, I find it much better to be able to approach the Supervisor and ask for a very specific thing: "Please contact me the next time you shut down Machine 5 for cleaning?" If you already know what you want (because you got the information from the worker), the manager will be either a) impressed that you know what you want and hopefully b) more likely to do it, because she knows what you want. This will also benefit your relationship with the worker: Asking them for information indicates your respect for their professional competence.

Porcine ebola

2009-01-30T14:44:00.000-06:00

One doesn't normally think of infection control with slaughterhouses. And, if one does, it's more likely to be hoof & mouth or BSE, not ebola.

Jan 27, 2009 (CIDRAP News) – Health officials in the Philippines recently announced that a worker who had contact with sick pigs tested positive for antibodies to the Ebola Reston virus, a pathogen that was discovered about a month ago for the first time in pigs.

Eric Tayag, head of the National Epidemiology Centre, said the case represent the first known pig-to-human Ebola Reston virus transmission, If you haven't run across it, the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy ( CIDRAP) has a great website. This is, of course, one of those morbidly interesting sources. As we commented, after each of our environmental health courses: "oh my god, I never want to breathe, eat, or drink again, 'cause I'm gonna die!" The Journal of Emerging Infectious Diseases is also a great read Pro-Med Mail is an on-line public-input disease tracking system.

Herpes exposure control

2009-01-21T19:38:00.000-06:00

New drug may [great science word] prevent transmission of herpes virus. great for infectious disease prevention ... i'd be curious as to whether the majority of herpes cases are due to casual sex vs. long-term partner sex. An estimated one in five Americans have genital herpes, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while 100 million have HSV-1. okay, class - which is bigger? 1 in 5 or 100 million? I doubt they actually expect the average person reading this to know the current population. Which is, according to the U.S. Census Bureau 306 million ∴ 1 in 3 have HSV-1 Why not write: An estimated one in five americans have genital herpes,..., while one in three have HSV-1. ~or~ An estimated 60 million Americans have genital herpes,..., while 100 million have HSV-1. Perhaps they (reasonably) fear Jane Doe will think 1 in 3 is smaller than 1 in 5? Maybe they don't really want me to know how many people have HSV-2? Or perhaps they just don't really want me to know anything, such as: An estimated 1 in five Americans have genital herpes,..., while the number with HSV-1 is about one and a half times higher.

War on Science

2009-01-19T13:02:00.000-06:00

Slate.com declared the War on Science to be over. Meanwhile the Columbia Journalism Review reported: CNN, the Cable News Network, announced yesterday that it will cut its entire science, technology, and environment news staff, including Miles O'Brien, its chief technology and environment correspondent, as well as six executive producers. Mediabistro’s TVNewser broke the story. “We want to integrate environmental, science and technology reporting into the general editorial structure rather than have a stand alone unit,” ... "integrate" generally doesn't mean "eliminate and leave the rest hanging". Let's just eliminate the advertising department, Joe, and let the Marketing and Sales fellows cover it as an integrated unit, but only after we fire all of the advertising guys. "integrate" should be 'reorganize and then cut jobs'. The War on Science will be over when I'm long dead and gone, if ever. The ever-increasing number of parents who reject modern medicine in toto ... ... who seek to embrace 'natural' or 'homeopathic' or 'alternative' medicine while blissfully living encapsulated from disease in a society built on what they reject ... ... who refuse to acknowledge the potential for "science" to be able to explain better than the Bible ... ... Those who refuse to acknolwedge the potential for "science" to support religion** ... ... all of this simply reinforces an undeclared and often unacknowledged War on Science. ** Of the number of people I know who are devout scientists, a significant proprotion of them are concurrently devout theists.

Not really unprecedented

2009-01-12T11:48:00.000-06:00

Outbreaks of measles in U.K. mirrors problems we've had here. About 10 or so years ago, several universities started requiring incoming students to be vaccinated for measles.* This was at a point where the ACIP changed its recommendations for MMR vaccines (measles, mumps, and rubella/German measles). The traditional vaccination practices, they were discovering, were inadequate for long-term immunity. Fair enough; hey, this is why CDC has a reportable disease requirement. I realized that I am old enough to fall into that period. I figured I'd get vaccinated again. That's another story. I did. Not so for thousands of people who have decided to abrogate their personal & social responsibility. Yes, this is one point upon which I am both conversant and very strongly opinionated. Sure, I'm often opinionated; I try to be knowledgeable about it; I try to see other points of view. I've seen them here and they're irrational and scientifically unsubstantiated. Don't get me going on the whole thimerosal 'controversy' or 'conspiracy'. Maybe I'll make a different post on that, using the concepts of Risk Assessment to explain my opinion; it will take more time than I have right now to do this well and accurately. While I realize measles is far more common than mumps and rubella, and is therefore more immediate in people's minds, it is also the least risky of the 3 to long-term health. [I don't recall where I read this, so if it's not correct, please let me know.] It is a cogent example of ignoring a greater risk due to the fact that it's less likely to happen, and thus less likely for people to believe it has anything to do with them. Eventually the herd immunity will fall below the level necessary to effectively control these diseases. At which point, we're going to have an large outbreak, if not an epidemic. And, at which point, all of these "don't vaccinate my child; I'm the parent and know better" parents are going to line up and demand to know why the government hasn't done anything to prevent this. Failure to vaccinate your child or yourself against the major communicable vaccine-preventable diseases is inexcusable. Before you think I'm an ideologue on the point, there are other vaccine-preventable diseases for which I also consider less important. It's not an absolute yes/no question. But, it is not only the potential for disease, but also the potential consequences of communicating the disease. Polio - well, this is one where I understand a reluctance to vaccinate; however, considering the extent of global travel, it is no longer a valid argument that "we don't have it here, it's only over there [i.e., in some 3rd world country]." I understand, but do not agree with their argument. An interesting article in Minnesota Parent magazine addresses puts forth the problem in personal terms. (The stats are Minnesota-based.) There are also vaccines for rabies, anthrax, and monkey pox. I'm not about to get in line to have any of these, much less ask for them for my kids. [Although, as a point of disclosure, I have actually been vaccinated for the first two, but that was occupationally related and justified based upon a much higher risk of exposure than I have now.] Hey, cool - "Warning, some of these photos are quite graphic" notice for medical photos of these diseases (measles, mumps, rubella, polio (still & video), tetanus, diphtheria (personal note: these are the grossest) & pertussis . I bet if these were more widely available, it might change some people's choice about whether to get vaccinated, considering the current American obsession with body images. I realize there is legally an option to refuse to be vaccinated.** This in the past was generally used by some religious sects which object to any 'modern' medicine. We need to seriously and objectively assess the effectiveness and appropriateness of our current policies. The objectivity needs to be placed on all sides of the argument. * Currently, the Academic Health Center at the University of Minnesota (schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, pharmacology, veterinary medicine and public health) require vaccination for HepB, DTP, MMR and annual TB tests. What a pain trying to get all the documentation for this, when school started! ** Non Medical Exemptions to School Immunization Requirements, secular trends and association of state policy with pertussis incidence, Omer, Pan, Halsey, et al., J. Am. Med. Assoc., 2006;296:1757-1763 as pdf and .htm ~~ concludes that the looser exemption rules are, the higher the incidence of disease. Other information: Advisory Council of Immunization Practices has an extensive list of vaccine-preventable diseases and individual information on both the disease and vaccine. ACIP is part of the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). There is a new adult schedule posted here in .pdf and .htm versions. Summary of Notifiable Diseases (several years worth) The photos linked above are on the CDC website, but are from the Public Health Image Library.

Phthalates - EPA assessment?

2008-12-18T19:43:00.000-06:00

Oy! yet again, one is confronted with material from academic courses, and realizes 'hey, this actually was useful!" EPA considering risk assessment for phthalates

Phthalates have been used in toys, cosmetics, personal-care products, food packaging, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and cleaning and building materials. They have been found in products such as teethers and pacifiers that babies put in their mouths.

President George W. Bush signed a law this year banning three types of phthalates in children's toys and child care items, except for minute amounts, while temporarily banning three others pending further study. - well, even an idiot can get it right once in a while -

The same six phthalates have been banned in European toys for nearly a decade.

Risk Communication

2008-12-09T13:54:00.001-06:00

The Godfather Guru of Risk Communication, Peter Sandman, has quite a few columns on his website, www.psandman.com, including this one, Simplification Made Simple, published in the Sept. 2008 issue of The Synergist. The website has the unabridged version.

Zamboni Inhalation Risks

2008-12-04T21:42:00.001-06:00

Zamboni: originally developed by Frank Zamboni in '49, registered as an international trademark, it is nonetheless used as a generic colloquialism for ice resurfacing vehicles in ice hockey arenas. Think of a giant ride-on lawn mower that melts the ice and then squeegees it smooth, using an internal combustion engine for power both to move & melt. They can slice your fingers off. [well, duh]. They can scare the bejeepers out of small children by leaving a bloody trail of crimson transmission fluid on the ice. They can become runaway weapons of vehicular mayhem if controlled by a vodka-swilling driver. When will society wise up to the inherent dangers of the seemingly innocent Zamboni? From the CBC comes yet another story of Zamboni baloney: Public health officials in Quebec City are alerting people who attended a weekend hockey tournament in Portneuf to be vigilant about any breathing problems, after a Zamboni used at the event emitted toxic fumes. Seven people were sent to hospital with chest pains and breathing problems after playing hockey at the St. Ubalde arena rink on Sunday. Two of them are still in intensive care, while another is suffering from a build-up of liquid in the lungs. Health officials suspect the patients inhaled nitrogen-oxide emitted by a Zamboni machine with an improperly calibrated motor, operating in an arena that wasn't very well ventilated. IAQ: Electric surfacers: apparently they leave the ice harder & players happier Problems in hockey rinks (esp. PM2.5): What's more, 14 per cent also tested higher than 100,000 particles of pollution per cubic centimetre, roughly the equivalent of the air quality that might be experienced standing next to Toronto's Highway 401, the busiest road in the country. --- parts per cubic centimeter? I realize the US (and industrial hygienists are even worse than most American scientists) is pretty oblivious to the whole concept of S.I. units or 'metric'. But why not ppm? or even per cubic meter (like us)? Guarding: Chop off kid's fingers Powered Industrial Trucks: ZUI: zamboni under the influence Totally unrelated to health, but really cool photos: looks like the zamboni ran over a penguin:

stupidity in action

2008-11-23T18:47:00.001-06:00

One of my biggest pet peeves is the "modern" belief that vaccinations are no longer necessary as a public health measure. of the measles patients, 33 were from Indiana and 1 resided in Illinois. Patients ranges in age from 9 to 49 (mean age: 12). Measles vaccination was documented for 2 persons, one of whom had received 1 dose, and one who had received 2 doses. [3 doses being the magic 'fully vaccinated' number]. MMWR, vol. 54, no. 42, pp. 1073-1074, 2005, Import-Associated Measles Outbreak Now, I realize that it is possible to get vaccinated and no have immunity (e.g., me). I also realize that vaccination does not provide life-long immunity (e.g., the patients over 40). But really, 31 of these people suffered through a case of the measles (and its attendant infection-related health problems) due to a simple refusal to vaccinate their children.

10 Germiest Jobs

2008-11-12T10:26:00.000-06:00

The magic list is supposedly: 1. Teacher/day-care worker 2. Cashier, bank employee 3. Tech support/computer repair 4. Doctor or nurse 5. Lab scientist 6. Police officer 7. Animal control officer 8. Janitor or plumber 9. Sanitation worker (AKA garbage man/woman) 10. Meat packer Hands down, I have absolutely no doubt about #1. Though the article thinks pest control workers climbing around in dark basements after rats should be added to the list. While I would not want the job, it would take one monster basement to be that 'germy'. The only biologically active thing in mine is the cat's litter box. The rats, not the basement, are going to be diseased.

Daylight Savings Time

2008-10-28T16:28:00.000-05:00

OHS online has their tip d'jour from the APHA. Dealing with time changes isn't quite something I would normally associate wiht either Public Health or emergency preparedness.

35W follow up

2008-10-28T16:26:00.000-05:00

well, the tenuous relationship this has to IH is that I was en route to the AIHA sectional meeting. I get on the highway & head north to the meeting place. I abruptly realize that I'm crossing the new 35W bridge. The memorial pylons (I'm assuming they're part of the memorial?) are really tasteful. This disaster, too, shall pass.

Review of disaster

2008-09-11T21:46:00.001-05:00

Living at this end of the Mississippi, the big disaster is the collapse of the I-35W bridge. A report has finally come out addressing the public health / medical issues. There is a summary of the article in journal Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness covers some highlights of "lessons hopefully learned". Unfortunately, I doubt that the infrastructure maintenance long-term financing has been noticed.

Drugs in Drinking Water

2008-09-11T21:44:00.000-05:00

Environmental concerns about the quality of source water suddenly include the active ingredients from pharmaceuticals/drugs. And people wonder why they're told they ought not dump old prescriptions in the toilet as a disposal method? Or put them in a landfill? Hmmmm ... where are they supposed to go? One recommendation I saw a couple years ago was to return it to the pharmacy where you bought it, since they will have a disposal program for their own waste. Of course, theirs could be going into a landfill, too - it just won't go in the ordinary trash. oooh, any my home town is on the map with a cute red "tested positive" dot. Yum yum. cholesterol medication nicotine derivative carbamazepine tranquilizers hormones "We plan to put this into some kind of context other than just scientific nomenclature, so folks can get some level of understanding about what it means," said Grubb. Wow ... what a concept. How are they going to explain parts per trillion? really, really small? Apparently since most of this stuff gets into the waters and sewers through human excretion, it might be an added incentive for more patient-specific dosing.

$8.8 million

2008-08-18T11:15:00.000-05:00

third largest fine in history $8,777,500 in fines 108 willful violations about combstible dust I'm left wondering if the inspectors simply cited every observation separately, rather than as one blanket "failure to comply with ...." I called OSHA to ask for a copy. I am in awe. Morbid, horrified awe.

Uncomfortable = Unworn

2008-08-14T10:29:00.001-05:00

So, (state) OSHA-man shows up on Tuesday for a random, unannounced inspection. My employer (for whom I'm doing an internship) handles this much, much more calmly and professionally than my last place of employment would have. I asked my boss, the Health & Safety manager for the whole plant, if I could tag along for part of the inspection. I've never been involved in one from OSHA before. Ones from CDC, USDA, DoD, state-EPA, yes; strangely enough, not state-OSHA. I'm excited when the answer is yes. So, yesterday afternoon, the boss says, hey, come along. We leave, walk across half of the plant, and meet OSHA-man and some union woman. 30 seconds after I walk into the room, union-woman looks at me and says, "you aren't wearing safety glasses." I am not exaggerating or being flip, when I say, this was the most embarrassing moment of my entire professional career. 7 years of riding people about wearing safety glasses as a safety professional, 6 years of doing it as a chemist. I wanted to crawl into a hole. So, why weren't they on? They're uncomfortable. I just got bifocals, and am getting accustomed to them. The frames got a bit twisted and lost a nose pad. They're down right annoying and are giving me headaches. So, of course, I took them off in my office & put on my regular specs. If it isn't comfortable, people simply won't wear PPE.

Tube Mill in Conneticut

2008-08-14T10:19:00.000-05:00

article doesn't specify when the audit happened, printed on 7 aug 2008 58 serious + 5 repeat + 7 other 5 repeat = $40,800 = $8,160 ea. 58 serious = $168,800 = $2,910 ea. 7 other = $2,400 = $323 = ea.

Too Helpful Employees

2008-07-26T10:29:00.000-05:00

I've discovered that one must anticipate the bizarre things employees might do, presented with the opportunity. No, I don't mean the zillion truly stupid things like standing on top of 30' ladders, plugging toasters into an area where flammable vapors accumulate, using a forklift to raise another forklift ... No, I mean the things they'll do in a sincere effort to help you. Or a sincere lack of understanding about what you're trying to accomplish. While performing personal noise exposure monitoring, I have discovered the instructions to the employee when applying the dosimeter must include:

Don't share. The employee understood that my primary concern was Machine A. She took the meter off, and gave it to the other worker when switching jobs. She wanted to make sure I found out how loud the machine was by keeping the meter with the worker at the machine.
It doesn't record things. Despite the fact that the meter does indeed "record" things, it doesn't actually record what you say. My boss advised this as part of the instructions. I would never have thought of it, but apparently others have.
"All day" means "until you leave". A couple employees seemed to either not care or not realize what data are recorded. I down-loaded the data & reviewed the dB v. time. I immediately noticed the last hour of data is 0 (i.e., uniformly less than the threshold). I also immediately realized the employee was not accurate in reporting it had been off for "20 minutes".
Have a reason for explaining why you picked on her/him. This week's measurements included a worker in an area already identified as in a hearing conservation program. 3 dB exchange rate or not, there's no way it was going to be less than the previously measured 92 dB. Standing next to a bright blue punch press that is at least 10 times larger than the '53 Plymouth I once owned, and was probably built in the same year, the operator asked rather plaintively, "why did you pick me?" My answer: "because I like blue". That wasn't my real rationale. But, it could have been. The reason was actually because he was the only one operating one of the giant beastie

The 300

2008-07-09T20:46:00.000-05:00

Well, actually more like 200. Yes, California Occupational Health and Safety Administration - or Cal-OSHA, has about 200 inspectors. For the whole state. After some pregnant teenage migrant worker died of heat, I guess they might do something. Send that 0.5% of the inspectors (i.e., 1) to start checking to see if all of those millions of acres of farmland are actually vaguely complying with OSHA or ACGIH. Nah.

How much is too much?

2008-07-09T07:22:00.000-05:00

A colleague mentioned yesterday that his new boss, the new Safety VP, who is also an industrial hygenist, was displeased by the 7 entries on the OSHA log to date (1/1-7/8). For a manufacturing facility of over 4,000 people in 600,000 sq. ft. Yes, anything could be worse. "The fatality rate is currently 183.6 deaths per 100,000 workers: Five tower workers died during one 12-day span earlier this year alone. 18 tower workers died on the job in 2006." Statistics check: if the death rate is 184/100,000 , how is it that 18 died in one year? Does that mean there are really only 9804 employees in the whole country? Media just spew forth numbers that look cool, or inflamatory.

Refusing Unsafe Work Conditions

2008-05-21T21:23:00.000-05:00

It's always difficult trying to explain to someone how to tactfully refuse to do something. It can be even more challenging trying to explain when they need to refuse and when they're just being a pain in the ass about it. Since it's bleeped-out, this would be good at the workplace.

There Really Are No Accidents

2008-05-21T21:06:00.000-05:00

Just to make Prof. Raynor happy: There Really Are No Accidents. These are from the Canadian WSIB (workplace safety & insurance board). I've posted them separately. This is the first one of the series I saw, immediately following Gabelstapelfahrer Klaus. Interesting comparison.

There Really Are No Accidents

2008-05-21T21:05:00.000-05:00

Just to make Prof. Raynor happy: There Really Are No Accidents. These are from the Canadian WSIB (workplace safety & insurance board). I've posted them separately.

There Really Are No Accidents

2008-05-21T21:03:00.000-05:00

Just to make Prof. Raynor happy: There Really Are No Accidents. These are from the Canadian WSIB (workplace safety & insurance board). I've posted them separately.

There Really Are No Accidents

2008-05-21T20:59:00.000-05:00

Just to make Prof. Raynor happy: There Really Are No Accidents. These are from the Canadian WSIB (workplace safety & insurance board). I've posted them separately.

PIT Safety Video

2008-05-21T20:55:00.000-05:00

Forklift truck driving safety video. German with English subtitles.