Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene最新文献

{"title":"Occupational exposures to halogenated waste anesthetic gases in healthcare professionals.","authors":"Eun Gyung Lee, Suzanne E Tomasi, Allyson W O'Connor, Madison Lawless, Yong-Sook Eo","doi":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2542346","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15459624.2025.2542346","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Waste anesthetic gases (WAGs) are anesthetic gases and vapors that are released or leaked into the surrounding environment during the delivery of anesthesia to patients and anesthesia recovery. In the last few decades, considerable efforts have been made to reduce WAG exposure for healthcare professionals who work in operating rooms (ORs) by using control measures such as scavenging systems and enhanced ventilation. Limited information is available regarding exposure assessment for healthcare workers in postanesthetic care units (PACUs) in hospitals. WAGs are associated with several adverse health effects, including reproductive-related health outcomes. However, previous studies have reported conflicting findings regarding the association between reproductive outcomes and WAG exposure. Before researching the associations between WAG exposures among PACU workers and health risks, it is essential to assess the current levels of exposure to WAGs in PACUs. This review paper describes the existing status of healthcare workers' exposure to WAGs in PACUs, discusses knowledge gaps, and provides recommendations on future research priorities.</p>","PeriodicalId":16599,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene","volume":" ","pages":"1-14"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145040352","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mapping review of musician well-being literature.","authors":"Yoko E Fukumura, Aviva Wolff, Melanie T Kijel, Evonne Lin, Shawn C Roll","doi":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2544749","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15459624.2025.2544749","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>While musician health literature has grown significantly in the past three decades, a holistic understanding of musician well-being remains lacking. This mapping review aimed to create a topographical review of existing literature on musician well-being to identify key knowledge gaps. This review sought to identify the aspects of musician well-being that have recently been studied, the musician populations that have been studied, and the study designs that have been used to assess musician well-being. This mapping review design was informed by the Focused Mapping Review and Synthesis (FMRS) approach. Studies were categorized and visualized based on study design, type of musician sampled (i.e., profession, instrument, musical genre), and well-being determinants, using the Ecology of Musical Performance (EMP) Model as a foundational framework. This review found that the majority of well-being studies identified focused on musculoskeletal health. Additionally, few intervention studies were identified, and all involved samples of music students in intervention studies were in K-12 or higher education programs. While the EMP model proposes a holistic approach to understanding musician well-being, many crucial well-being determinants highlighted by the model have not been recently studied within the musician health research. Addressing these gaps will provide a more comprehensive foundation for improving the health and well-being of all musicians.</p>","PeriodicalId":16599,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145040453","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Employee health index based on health checkups and its association with future absent workdays.","authors":"Felix Forster, Stephan Weiler, Katja Radon, Jessica Gerlich","doi":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2544744","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15459624.2025.2544744","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Employee health is an important factor that influences the productivity and economic success of companies. The goal of health management in companies is to improve employee health by implementing different kinds of interventions, including checkups (voluntary preventive health examinations) that cover a broad set of tests and questions, to give a comprehensive snapshot of the employee's health and uncover priorities for prevention and health promotion. By analyzing health checkup information on a company-wide level, subgroups with increased need for health management interventions may be identified before productivity loss occurs. This study thus analyzed data from a company's health checkup to form an employee health index (EHI) using principal component analysis (PCA) to adequately summarize the data. Additionally, this study investigated whether EHI values were associated with the number of absent workdays on the department level. The study population consisted of employees of a German automotive company. In total, data from 71,054 voluntary health checkups conducted between 2006 and 2016 were analyzed. PCA resulted in five components in three different health aspects (musculoskeletal disorders, mental health, and physiology). Based on these components, departments were categorized as having low, medium, and high needs for health management interventions. Poisson regression was used to analyze differences in absent workdays between departments with low compared to medium or high need for health management interventions. Components describing musculoskeletal disorders and physiology were associated with a change in the rate of absent days per employee. However, results were inconsistent over different time intervals. Therefore, although the presented EHI was to a certain extent associated with future absent workdays, using checkup data to investigate more specific health problems and outcomes related to individual job-related activities or tasks instead of general measures seems to be a more appealing approach.</p>","PeriodicalId":16599,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene","volume":" ","pages":"1-8"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145040459","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Computational modeling for PPE filtration: Informed by material characterization, microbial penetration, and particle mechanics.","authors":"William Kastor, Andrew Martin, Sang Hyuk Lee, Xiao Fu, F Selcen Kilinc-Balci, Christian Coby, Ethan Cohen, David M Saylor, Robert Elder, Katherine Vorvolakos, Marc Donohue, Steven C Wood, Enusha Karunasena","doi":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2499611","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15459624.2025.2499611","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This work assesses the current characterization framework of single-use personal protective equipment (PPE) per recognized consensus standards and presents a novel quantitative approach to refining characterization of barrier materials and predicting PPE performance. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and image analysis software (Diameter J) were used to examine the microscopic fiber and pore structure of filter layers of surgical N95 filtering facepiece respirators, before and after exposure to chemicals used in decontamination modalities (vaporized hydrogen peroxide or ozone). The effect of porosity on penetration was assessed by bacterial filtration efficiency (BFE) testing. Results from these experiments were incorporated into a physics-based computational model of overall filtration efficiency (OFE). Material thickness, fiber thickness, and packing density were introduced as inputs into a sequence of mathematical expressions to calculate OFE for filtration layers from surgical N95 respirators. OFE derived from the computational model was compared with experimental data for <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> filtration (per ASTM F2101-23). The resulting output from the model is conservative and predictive when compared with experimental results to assess OFE and filtration efficiency relative to specific particle-size ranges. The model functions may be used to help inform or expedite design or manufacturing decision-making on surgical N95 respirators.</p>","PeriodicalId":16599,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene","volume":" ","pages":"1-18"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145023550","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A pilot study on the impact of wearing powered air-purifying respirators on speech intelligibility.","authors":"Ikenna Orji, Elizabeth L Beam, Kelli R Kopocis, Terry L Stentz, John J Lowe","doi":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2549011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15459624.2025.2549011","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Powered air-purifying respirators (PAPR) have become an increasingly utilized form of respiratory protection against highly infectious aerosols. In the United States, PAPRs have been used in high-level clinical isolation settings to care for patients infected with viral hemorrhagic fevers and, more recently, during the COVID-19 pandemic. PAPRs have long been used for biocontainment care and experienced increased use during the pandemic because they provide full-face visibility and eye and respiratory protection. Despite their extended use, limited studies have explored the operational usability and limitations of these devices, especially during patient care and communication. For this pilot study, the speech intelligibility of two commonly used PAPR brands was examined in a clinical setting using some requirements from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) standard testing procedure (NIOSH TEB-CBRN-APR-STP-0313 Determination of Communication Performance Test For Speech) for determining communication performance for speech conveyance in PAPRs. A total of 19 study participants were split into 17 speakers and two listeners. Speakers were assigned to test groups. Each speaker was provided with a word list, while listeners were provided with a response list. A modified rhyme test (MRT) was conducted to determine the communication performance rating of each PAPR brand. The 3M PAPR had a higher performance rating than MAXAIR across all test groups, despite having a 5 dBA higher internal noise. The difference in the mean performance rating of 3M (75) was significantly higher than that of MAXAIR (59) (95% CI: -23.66-9.09). Overall, the 3M PAPR was strongly preferred among study participants in terms of comfort, fit, and noise level. Interventions such as incorporating communication devices are of interest for future study, and an assessment of additional limitations is needed to optimize PAPR use in clinical care activities.</p>","PeriodicalId":16599,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene","volume":" ","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145023591","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An assessment of occupational exposure to inhalable aerosols and airborne proteins in food manufacturing plants.","authors":"Christine Darbakk, Pål Graff, Raymond Olsen","doi":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2540832","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15459624.2025.2540832","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>As the range of allergens continues to expand and the food industry evolves, there is a growing need for more efficient, affordable, and comprehensive methods to monitor protein exposures. This study aimed to assess the concentrations of inhalable aerosols and soluble proteins (SP) in food manufacturing environments. Additionally, the study sought to optimize the extraction methods for determining SP across diverse food matrices. One hundred forty-six participants from 12 different dry food production facilities were included in the study. The mass of inhalable aerosols was determined using gravimetric analysis, and the concentration of SP was determined using a bicinchoninic acid (BCA) protein assay kit. A mixed-effects Tobit regression model was employed to assess the relationship between aerosol and SP concentrations across different production environments and work tasks. The optimized SP extraction method proved effective across a wide range of powder food matrices, although variability in relative extraction efficiency across matrices highlighted the importance of using multiple extraction rounds for accurate protein quantification. Significant differences in SP concentrations were found across production environments. Confectionery and chocolate production (<i>p</i> < 0.001) and snacks, nuts, and chips production (<i>p</i> = 0.007) were associated with significantly lower SP concentrations compared to bakery production. Tasks such as grinding and milling (<i>p</i> = 0.037) and weighing and mixing (<i>p</i> = 0.019) showed significantly higher SP concentrations. The positive association between inhalable aerosol and SP concentrations suggests that higher aerosol concentrations generally correspond to higher protein exposure, but the strength of this relationship varied across productions and tasks. This study demonstrates the feasibility and potential value of measuring SP concentrations as an addition to aerosol measurements in food manufacturing environments. Given the health risks associated with inhaled proteins, particularly in provoking allergic reactions and respiratory problems, measuring total SP concentrations may serve as a more reliable indicator of occupational exposures, especially during tasks and in production types where the relationship between inhalable aerosols and proteins is weak.</p>","PeriodicalId":16599,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene","volume":" ","pages":"1-12"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145023607","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exposure to fungi, bacteria, and endotoxin in a museum, with staff reporting work-related symptoms.","authors":"Anne Mette Madsen, Margit W Frederiksen, Hjördís Birna Árnadóttir","doi":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2499599","DOIUrl":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2499599","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Occupational exposure to airborne fungi in indoor environments may pose respiratory health risks. This study aimed to characterize exposure to fungi, bacteria, and endotoxin in a historical museum where the staff reported airway symptoms. Air samples were collected during three separate workdays using personal and stationary samplers. Fungi and bacteria were quantified and identified using MALDI-TOF MS, and the total inflammatory potential was measured through Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) production in a human cell line. The geometric mean of staff exposure was 5.9 × 10³ CFU/m³ fungi, 1.8 × 10³ CFU/m³ bacteria, and 7.93 EU/m³ endotoxin. Staff reported symptoms of the airways, with immediate symptoms upon entering two departments, which exhibited elevated fungal concentrations compared to other departments. The most prevalent fungal species were <i>Aspergillus conicus, A. domesticus, A. pseudoglaucus</i>, <i>A. pseudogracilis</i>, and <i>Cladosporium</i> spp. Concentrations of bacteria were highest when staff were present and without dominance by any particular species. Staff exposure and stationary samples induced ROS production in a cell line, which correlated with concentrations of fungi, bacteria, and endotoxin. Fungi were detected on the museum artifacts, and concentrations of fungi and bacteria increased during handling of the artifacts. In conclusion, staff in the two departments where airway symptoms were reported were exposed to 2 × 10⁴ to 7 × 10⁴ CFU/m³ of fungi, primarily <i>Aspergillus</i> spp. and <i>Cladosporium</i>. spp. This exposure constituted both xerophilic species and species commonly found in water-damaged buildings, and they seemed to have developed on artifacts. These findings underscore the importance of developing preventive strategies to protect the health of museum staff. Moreover, it highlights the challenge of managing fungi adapted to varying humidity conditions.</p>","PeriodicalId":16599,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene","volume":" ","pages":"713-725"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144174056","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"\"The Action Level^®\".","authors":"J Thomas Pierce","doi":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2558476","DOIUrl":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2558476","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16599,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene","volume":" ","pages":"D23-D24"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145124922","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Aerosol emission, transmission, and mitigation from performing singing and wind instruments.","authors":"Jun Wang, John Singletary, Tiina Reponen, Sergey Grinshpun, Michael Yermakov, James Bunte","doi":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2491486","DOIUrl":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2491486","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>During the COVID-19 pandemic, concerns about potential airborne virus transmission and exposure during musical performances were raised. Past studies suggest that aerosols are emitted from exhaling and talking with varying magnitudes. Meanwhile, little was known about aerosol emissions from singing and playing wind instruments. The objective of this study was to examine the spatial and temporal build-up of aerosol concentration in a typical studio room where singing, talking, and playing wind instruments are involved, to represent musical practicing and teaching scenarios at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). Four condensation particle counters were strategically placed throughout a room at various distances from the performer. Besides singing, musical professionals played seven instruments (clarinet, flute, French horn, saxophone, trombone, trumpet, and tuba). Two types of tests were conducted for each instrument: 10 min of playing and 10 min of combined playing and talking to mimic the teaching session. The results show that singing increased aerosol concentration to 3.9 × 10³ cm^-3 at the performing point, more than double the background (1.2 × 10³ cm^-3). Most wind instruments had minimal but detectable emission of aerosols over time, suggesting instruments could provide wall deposition for aerosols compared to singing. Particle concentrations decreased further from the performing point; however, they were still detectable over the background level at 10 feet away. Use of a portable high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtration reduced aerosol concentrations developed during musical performances to below background level. These findings suggest that there are risks associated with aerosolized transmission of infectious agents such as SARS-CoV-2 from musical performance if the performer is infected. Distancing beyond the 6 ft distancing recommendation and proper room and local ventilation combined with disinfecting procedures are needed to minimize the risk of exposure to infectious aerosols.</p>","PeriodicalId":16599,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene","volume":" ","pages":"733-742"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144023660","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Microbial exposure and diversity in Norwegian shrimp processing plants.","authors":"Fikirte Debebe Zegeye, Anne Straumfors, Peng Lei, Pål Graff, Johanna Samulin Erdem, Anani Komlavi Afanou","doi":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2491488","DOIUrl":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2491488","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Seafood processing workers have a high prevalence of respiratory symptoms and occupational asthma, primarily attributed to allergenic protein exposure. However, exposure to airborne microorganisms from raw materials can also contribute to allergic sensitization and other respiratory ailments. This study aimed to assess microbial exposure in shrimp processing plants and identify susceptible work tasks. Full-shift personal air samples were collected from two Norwegian shrimp processing plants across five distinct work processes: thawing, truck driving, cooking-peeling (technician), packing, and flour production. The samples were analyzed for the presence of endotoxin, Toll-Like Receptor (TLR) activation, bacterial and fungal DNA copies, and microbial composition. Endotoxin levels were generally low, with only one sample (98 EU/m³) exceeding the recommended occupational exposure limit (OEL). A significant TLR2 activation was observed among thawers, indicating the presence of microbial ligands capable of triggering an immune response. The median bacterial (75 × 10³ DNA copies/m³) and fungal (3,301 × 10³ DNA copies/m³) exposure were highest among the flour production workers, while the lowest bacterial and fungal exposure was among packers (1.5 × 10³ DNA copies/m³) and technicians (337 DNA copies/m³), respectively. Several bacterial and fungal species were identified, including ten allergenic and sixteen pathogenic species. <i>Sporobolomyces roseus</i> and <i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</i> were the two most frequently identified allergenic fungal species. Among the pathogenic bacterial species, <i>Prevotella nigrescens</i> and <i>Roseomonas gilardii</i> were the two most detected species. While the pathogenic species were identified mainly in the packing, truck driving, and flour production work processes, most of the allergenic species were found in all work processes. Altogether, work processes before the cooking of shrimp (thawing and truck driving) had higher endotoxin, bacterial load, and species richness than after cooking, suggesting that these work tasks are susceptible to bacterial exposure and that the cooking process significantly reduces bacterial exposure. By shedding light on microbial exposure and identifying high-exposure work tasks, this study enables the development of targeted interventions and implementation of measures for the prevention of occupational diseases.</p>","PeriodicalId":16599,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene","volume":" ","pages":"756-769"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144064075","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}