摘要:

We investigated the relationship between air lead levels and blood lead levels in 132 lead-acid battery workers in two plants who were followed for 30 months between 1983 and 1985 with frequent air lead and blood lead determinations. Both plants converted to more modern, expanded-metal battery manufacturing technologies around 1978 with associated reductions in mean air lead exposures from greater than 100 to less than 30 µg/m3. In multiple regression analyses including consideration of job category, seniority, age, ethnicity, gender, and smoking habit as covariates, there was a highly significant association of blood lead in µg/dL with air lead in µg/m3(partial R2=.20, P < .0001) among the 68 workers in plant B but no association (P = .91) in plant A. Restriction of the regression analysis to those 44 workers in plant B with <or=22 years of seniority yielded the most significant air leadblood lead assooiation (partial R2= .36, P < .0001). Among the remaining 24 plant B workers, seniority, but not air lead, had a significant positive association with blood lead. Despite very stable air lead levels over the 30-month study, the 51 workers in plant A with more than 20years' seniority had a mean decline of 0.04 µg/dL in mean blood lead over the study period, whereas the 13 workers in plant A with <or=20 years' seniority had a mean increase of 7.6 µg/dL. These findings suggest that substantially higher exposures to lead-in-air 20 or more years prior may influence significantly the blood lead levels in workers with subsequent much lower exposure. These findings may have substantial social and economic implications should the current blood-lead level that triggers mandatory removal from exposure under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Lead Standard be lowered.

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1991

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Participation rates of health care workers in voluntary free hepatitis B virus immunization programs are 35% to 40%. University teaching hospital employees at risk for hepatitis B virus and presenting for immunization were surveyed as to vaccine preference. Both plasma-derived and recombinant hepatitis B virus vaccines were available. During a 10-month period, 173 health care workers enrolled in the study. One hundred seventeen received recombinant vaccine, and 56 received plasma-derived vaccine; 66 were immunized postexposure. Concern of a relationship of human immunodeficiency virus to hepatitis B virus plasma-derived vaccine was acknowledged by a small number of health care workers as important in vaccine selection. Recombinant hepatitis B virus vaccine rapidly and substantially supplanted plasma-derived vaccine but did not increase program participation. We suspect that mandatory immunization or proof of immunity will be necessary ifhepatitis B virus protection rates in health care workers are to improve.

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1991

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Four-year results are presented on 2086 participants of a medical surveillance program of current and retired employees at a manufacturing complex in Illinois. Annual complete blood cell count testing and intensive follow-up of all out-of-normalrange results began in 1985 on a voluntary basis. The program to date has not identified any evidence for an unusual distribution of out-of-range complete blood cell count results. Active employees with out-of-range complete blood cell count values had no increase in adverse health outcomes compared with those with in-range values. Retired employees with out-ofrange values were more likely to have a serious underlying medical condition, but this appeared to be more a function of age than of occupational exposure. Four cases of myelodysr plastic syndrome were brought to our attention as a result of the program, but there is no similarly followed population available for comparison to determine whether this represents an increase over expected cases. The lack of correlation of out-of-range complete blood cell count results in active employees with serious hematologio disease raises significant questions about the utility of such surveillance for chemically exposed groups (eg, benzene-exposed workers) when exposure levels are low and well controlled.

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1991

数据来源: OVID

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1991

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

We examined deaths due to injury on the job reported from three readily accessible data sources in California for a 1-year period. Of 682 deaths identified as of February 1990 as having occurred on the job in 1983, county coroners identified 607 (89.0%), workers' compensation records identified 294 (43.1%), and the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigated 141 (20.7%). Most fatal injuries at work resulted from events that are not covered by current California Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards: transportation vehicle accidents and homicides. Demographic patterns suggest that fatal injuries on the job are nonrandom events, which may be prevented by additions to existing standards or increased enforcement of workplace safety standards and by efforts to target groups at highest risk. Improved surveillance of fatal occupational injuries will require changes in existing reporting mechanisms, similar to those proposed by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1991

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

To review and evaluate whether the investigation of disease clusters continues to play an important role in establishing disease-toxin connections in the workplace, 87 original disease cluster reports were identified that established disease-toxin connections in occupational medicine (from 1775 to 1990). Four advantages of the workplace with regard to cluster discovery and investigation were identified: natural denominator boundaries, shared exposures, the ability to form intermediate hypotheses, and the possibility of locating comparable populations in which to study these hypotheses. Because new products, intermediate products, and procedures are introduced into working environments faster than epidemiologic and toxicologic studies can be designed to evaluate their potential risks, disease cluster investigations will remain central to the understanding of disease, and to protecting workers.

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1991

数据来源: OVID

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1991

数据来源: OVID