Categories: Personal protective equipment
February 14th, 2013 8:00 am ET -
Jaclyn Krah, MA
Happy Valentine’s Day! Today is the day of the year dedicated to showing our significant others just how much we care. Boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, and wives all scurry to make the day special with chocolates, flowers, romantic dinners, and thoughtful gifts. Why? Because good relationships take work. Good relationships take maintenance.
Have you ever thought about your relationship with your personal protective equipment? For instance, the men and women, such as firefighters, who use Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) know that this device is their life partner of sorts – providing them with a breathable air source in the midst of hazardous environments. SCBA respirator users must be aware that problems with their device can arise if it is not properly maintained. Correct inspection, cleaning, upkeep, and service procedures are all vital to ensure optimum SCBA operation. Whether you are the user or the service technician of the SCBA, never assume that you know the best methods of carrying out these procedures. Unlike your human significant other, your respiratory partner comes with instructions to keep the relationship running smoothly. Pay close attention to the guidelines issued by the SCBA manufacturer for proper care and maintenance. [See the NIOSH/NPPTL User notice].
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Categories: Chemicals, Exposure
February 4th, 2013 3:09 pm ET -
Ronald M. Hall, CDR, USPHS, MS, CIH, CSP
At least 14 workers have died since 2000 as a result of using stripping agents containing methylene chloride during bathtub refinishing. Many stripping products (including those that may also be available to consumers) contain high percentages of methylene chloride. Methylene chloride is extremely dangerous when not used properly. Alternative products and processes exist for bathtub refinishing. Products containing methylene chloride should be avoided when possible. Earlier this week NIOSH and OSHA released a joint Hazard Alert titled Methylene Chloride Hazards for Bathtub Refinishers.
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Categories: At-risk populations, Stress
January 28th, 2013 2:19 pm ET -
J. Paul Leigh, Ph.D. and Juan Du, Ph.D.
If workers earning low wages didn’t have enough stressors in their lives, they can now add hypertension to the list. Our new research finds that low wages are a risk factor for hypertension among working people. The research was recently published in the European Journal of Public Health, “Are Low Wages Risk Factors for Hypertension?”, and was partially funded by NIOSH.
Whereas low Socio-economic status (SES) has been linked to hypertension, the reasons why are unclear. This is the first study to examine wages, the largest component of income (one part of SES), as a risk factor for hypertension. Why is this important? Wages are an indicator of job quality and may be linked to feelings of self worth. Low wages can also create financial stress for families that find themselves short of funds to pay for rent, electricity, heat, and gas for their cars. Additionally, there are steps policy makers can take to adjust wages. For example, governments can raise minimum wages, make it easier for unions to organize, and increase the pay of low-wage government workers.
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Categories: Exposure, Health care, Personal protective equipment
January 15th, 2013 9:42 am ET -
William G. Lindsley, PhD
A sneeze in progress. Need we say more? Cover your mouth!
As we enter another influenza season, one question continues to vex medical and public health professionals: How do you stop people from catching the flu? The best way to prevent the flu is by getting an influenza vaccine every year. However, in the event of a large-scale influenza outbreak of a new virus strain or a pandemic, when influenza vaccine may not be promptly available, we will see tremendous demands on the health care system and its workers. Thus, it’s critical to understand how influenza is transmitted from person to person so that we can determine the best ways to protect health care workers while still enabling them to do their jobs.
The typical incubation period for influenza is 1-4 days (average: 2 days). Adults shed influenza virus from the day before symptoms begin through 5-10 days after illness onset. However, the amount of virus shed, and presumably infectivity, decreases rapidly by 3-5 days after onset in an experimental human infection model. Young children also might shed virus several days before illness onset, and children can be infectious for 10 or more days after onset of symptoms. Severely immunocompromised persons can shed virus for weeks or months.
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Happy Valentine’s Day! Today is the day of the year dedicated to showing our significant others just how much we care. Boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, and wives all scurry to make the day special with chocolates, flowers, romantic dinners, and thoughtful gifts. Why? Because good relationships take work. Good relationships take maintenance. 
