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Hygiene RSS FeedsThe Flowers That Bloom In The Spring - Tra-la! At last the crocuses have bloomed.There is something about the first flower of spring that changes everything. It signals, to me at least, the beginning of the gardening season.I've been pulling up weeds from the rose beds for a few weeks now. For the most part, the roses themselves seem to have handled the winter well. Rosa multiflora already has leaves. Rosa akransana and Rosa woodsii ultramontana are budding out; the latter of which (which normally do Read More...Feed Source: www.wunderground.com You know the weather is weird when... - the tulips are coming up but there is not asnow crocus in sight.Yesterday we had record highs and I spent the daypulling weeds out of the rose beds. I have neverbefore pulled weeds in February. On the other handthe snow crocuses generally bloom on March 4th,every year like clockwork. This year, not a sign.There has been no moisture since my last post butthe koi pond is filling again; we'll see how longit lasts.Read More... Some Snow - Finally, we did get some snow; the heavy wet kind that's great for making lethal snowballs. We only got about aninch of it, and afterward, a hard freeze, and that morning for the first time I saw a sun pillar. It was a lovely sight. I had a feeling the freeze would kill off the roses which were budding out, but fortunately the roses are tougher than I thought. The hybrid teas didn't fare so well, but the Old Roses seem perfectly happy. The seedlings of Read More... An Extremely Dry Winter... Just a Phase? - The predicted snow didn't happen. We continue to have a protracted fall rather than a winter. The grass in the pasture crunches when you walk on it, and there are cracks in the ground that seem to go all the way down The last real winter we had was in the mid-'90s. We had two or three feet of snow that would stay around for a while, daytime temperatures below freezing. The roses went dormant with a vengeance. The pond, still full, froze over and the Read More... Hello From Beautiful Metropolitan Hygiene - Hello from 80533, a tiny outpost of Zone 5a in a morrass of Zone 4b. For those of you who don't know the place, Hygiene is the last tiny town on the Front Range. Hopefully it'll stay this way.Here it is nearing the end of January and I'm still waiting for Winter. We've had one or two cold nights (by cold I mean a really hard freeze) and it's snowed once or twice. But on the whole we've just had a long-extended late fall. The roses Read More... Captan Exposure and Evaluation of a Pesticide Exposure Algorithm among Orchard Pesticide Applicators in the Agricultural Health Study -
Pesticide exposure assessment in the Agricultural Health Study (AHS) has relied upon two exposure metrics: lifetime exposure days and intensity-weighted lifetime exposure days, the latter incorporating an intensity score computed from a questionnaire-based algorithm. We evaluated this algorithm using actual fungicide exposure measurements from AHS private orchard applicators. Captan was selected as a marker of fungicide exposure. Seventy-four applicators from North Carolina and Iowa growing apples and/or peaches were sampled on 2 days they applied captan in 2002 and 2003. Personal air, hand rinse, 10 dermal patches, a pre-application first-morning urine and a subsequent 24-h urine sample were collected from each applicator per day. Environmental samples were analyzed for captan, and urine samples were analyzed for cis-1,2,3,6-tetrahydrophthalimide (THPI). Task and personal protective equipment information needed to compute an individual's algorithm score was also collected. ... Sampling of High Amounts of Bioaerosols Using a High-Volume Electrostatic Field Sampler -
For studies of the biological effects of bioaerosols, large samples are necessary. To be able to sample enough material and to cover the variations in aerosol content during and between working days, a long sampling time is necessary. Recently, a high-volume transportable electrostatic field sampler for collection of fine particles has been described. The aim of this study was to investigate whether this sampler can be used for collection of high amounts of authentic bioaerosols that can subsequently be used for biological analysis. The investigation was carried out at a biofuel plant in a straw storage room and in a boiler room over two seasons. The sampled dust was quantified in terms of mass and characterized regarding microbial components and compared with dust sampled by Gravikon and GSP samplers. For the electrostatic field sampler, a prefilter was used to remove large objects. The prefilter was characterized for particle penetration and this testing indicated that the prefil... Respiratory Performance Offered by N95 Respirators and Surgical Masks: Human Subject Evaluation with NaCl Aerosol Representing Bacterial and Viral Particle Size Range -
Objectives: This study aimed at determining the protection factors (PFs) provided by N95 filtering facepiece respirators and surgical masks against particles representing bacterial and viral size ranges (aerodynamic size: 0.04–1.3 µm).
Methods: The protection levels of N95 filtering facepiece respirators (four models) and surgical masks (three models) were investigated while they were donned by 12 subjects performing the OSHA (US Occupational Safety and Health Administration) fit-testing exercises in a test chamber.
Results: About 29% of N95 respirators and ~100% of surgical masks had PFs <10, which is the assigned PF designated for this type of respirator by the OSHA. On average, the PFs of N95 respirators were 8–12 times greater than those of surgical masks. The minimum PFs were observed in the size range of 0.04–0.2 µm. No significant difference in PF results was found between N95 respirators with and without an exhalation valve.... Usage of Air Monitoring and Biomarkers of Isocyanate Exposure to Assess the Effect of a Control Intervention -
Exposure to isocyanates is known to have respiratory effects in workers and therefore it is essential to monitor the occupational exposure. An earlier study of a continuous foaming plant using toluene diisocyanate (TDI) showed that the exposure to isocyanates can be high. Since then several preventive actions were implemented at the plant. The aim of this study was to observe the effect of these actions measured by air and biological monitoring. Four workers were monitored in the year 2000 and six in 2005, with air measurements during the continuous foaming process, and with measurements of biomarkers in one plasma sample each year and with two urinary samples being collected in the year 2000 and one in 2005. The median TDI air concentrations in 2005 were ~20% of the 2000 levels and the median levels of biomarkers in 2005 were ~10% of the 2000 levels. According to our measurements the preventive action had a real effect to decrease the exposure to TDI. As the workers both before an... Health Survey of Workers Exposed to Mixed Solvent and Ergonomic Hazards in Footwear and Equipment Factory Workers in Thailand -
A cross-sectional health study was performed at four footwear and one equipment factory in Thailand to evaluate the prevalence of chemical- and ergonomic-related symptoms in Thai factory workers and to investigate associations between these symptoms and exposures to organic solvents, isocyanates and ergonomic risks. A 10-page health questionnaire was administered to 1784 workers across the four footwear and equipment factories. A total of 1675 questionnaires were returned, yielding a 94% response rate. The questionnaires asked about age, gender, use of chemicals, use of personal protective equipment and health outcomes. Without exception, the percentages of workers reporting symptoms after being hired were higher than those reporting symptoms before being hired for all the factories. The highest symptom percentages were related to ergonomic stressors. Multiple logistic regression was used to calculate adjusted prevalence odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. This study showed t... Filter Quality of Pleated Filter Cartridges -
The performance of dust cartridge filters commonly used in dust masks and in room ventilation depends both on the collection efficiency of the filter material and the pressure drop across the filter. Currently, the optimization of filter design is based only on minimizing the pressure drop at a set velocity chosen by the manufacturer. The collection efficiency, an equally important factor, is rarely considered in the optimization process. In this work, a filter quality factor, which combines the collection efficiency and the pressure drop, is used as the optimization criterion for filter evaluation. Most respirator manufacturers pleat the filter to various extents to increase the filtration area in the limit space within the dust cartridge. Six sizes of filter holders were fabricated to hold just one pleat of filter, simulating six different pleat counts, ranging from 0.5 to 3.33 pleats cm–1. The possible electrostatic charges on the filter were removed by dipping ... Copyright © 2008, Curse Buster Sound. All Rights Reserved. |