Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene最新文献

{"title":"\"The Action Level^®\".","authors":"J Thomas Pierce","doi":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2530343","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15459624.2025.2530343","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16599,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene","volume":"22 7","pages":"D19-D20"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144663959","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":"Evaluating asbestos exposures of occupational non-users at three refinery and petrochemical complexes using the U.S. EPA draft existing chemical occupational exposure value for asbestos.","authors":"Lindsey Malek, Robert Tutt, David Altom, Steven Lacey","doi":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2475104","DOIUrl":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2475104","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16599,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene","volume":" ","pages":"515-518"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144004431","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":"RNA therapeutics-An evaluation of potential occupational health hazards and a strategy to establish occupational exposure limits (OELs).","authors":"S Araya, E Lovsin Barle, L Wiesner, K Blum, K Hashimoto, C Fisher, M Schwind, G Galati, C Sehner, T Pfister, D Witzigmann","doi":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2485080","DOIUrl":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2485080","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>RNA therapeutics represent a rapidly expanding and innovative group of pharmaceuticals. These new modalities necessitate the establishment of Occupational Exposure Limits (OELs) to ensure safe occupational handling. While there is an established methodology for setting OELs for small molecule therapeutics, this methodology is not readily applicable to large molecule RNA therapeutics that deserve additional considerations in their safety assessment, particularly for aspects related to their unique modes of action. This research, which involves an extensive review of the data available for RNA therapeutics to derive substance-specific OELs and to propose a strategy for low-characterized RNA therapeutics, fills this crucial gap. It is recommended to apply an activity correction factor (ACF) in the OEL formula for large molecules, as representative of the \"α\" in the OEL formula for small molecules, considering differences in route of administration, critical effects, mechanism of action, and the RNA delivery platform. Additionally, it is proposed to consider lower OEL values for mRNA vaccines as compared to other RNA therapeutics. Finally, it is suggested that the exposure assessment experience that has already been acquired when handling therapeutic proteins can also be used to define containment strategies for RNA therapeutics.</p>","PeriodicalId":16599,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene","volume":" ","pages":"565-584"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144078611","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 scoping review of surface wipe sampling for antineoplastic drug contamination in patient care areas.","authors":"AnnMarie L Walton, Melissa A Powell, Leila Ledbetter, Margaret A Bush","doi":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2471397","DOIUrl":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2471397","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Antineoplastic drug (AD) exposure can cause adverse health effects for healthcare workers. AD contamination on surfaces persists despite interventions to reduce it. The United States Pharmacopeial Convention recommends surface sampling as a measure of exposure control but does not offer guidance regarding specific ADs, surfaces in patient care areas, or size of surface area to sample. This scoping review of literature published since January 1, 2004 aimed to identify specific surfaces in patient care areas which were tested and found to be contaminated with ADs. The authors describe (a) which ADs were assessed, (b) the percent of surfaces contaminated; and sizes of sampling areas for surface testing, and (c) whether personal protective equipment (PPE) or closed system transfer devices (CSTDs) were utilized to reduce healthcare worker exposure and AD surface contamination. The majority of studies were conducted in North America or Europe. The most common location for testing was hospitals. Most studies sampled for one to three marker drugs of interest, with cyclophosphamide being the most common. Most studies utilized a standardized surface area with 100 to 900 cm² being the most common. Time of day varied, but most sampling was conducted at the end of the workday before cleaning. Gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MSMS) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MSMS) were the most frequent analytical methods used. Contamination was found most often on floors, nursing counters, armchairs, intravenous (IV) poles/pumps, patient tables, hazardous drug (HD) waste containers, doorknobs/handles, storage shelves, bathroom surfaces, HD vials/bags, and telephones. PPE and CSTD use were not consistently reported. Based on this review, the authors make several recommendations for the standardization of data collection and reporting of findings. Key among these is the need to measure and report data on the use of PPE and CSTDs to modify environmental contamination and, critically, healthcare worker exposure to ADs.</p>","PeriodicalId":16599,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene","volume":" ","pages":"495-514"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144030387","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":"Evaluation of chemical exposures generated from n-free nail polishes.","authors":"Kimberly R Anderson, Perri Callaway, M Abbas Virjii","doi":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2468931","DOIUrl":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2468931","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Nail polishes contain over a dozen chemical compounds, including chemicals that can cause adverse reproductive outcomes and pose a risk to the high proportion of nail salon workers who are women of childbearing age. Consumer demand has resulted in a shift toward more natural products, with manufacturers attempting to remove harmful ingredients (n-free products). Many products that claim to have eliminated toluene, formaldehyde, and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) are labeled as \"3-free\"; however, studies have found these products often contain higher concentrations of toluene and DBP compared to products with no such claims. Products used only at salons are not required to list ingredients, leading to uncertainties as to the exact chemical composition and potential exposures. A better understanding of chemical exposures associated with nail polish products is necessary to understand potential worker exposures and develop effective control options. This study evaluated chemical exposures generated while painting nails with 20 n-free polishes using real-time and time-integrated air sampling. Total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs, PID, ION Science Inc.) and 22 individual compounds (FTIR, Gasmet Technologies) were measured in the breathing zone of the manicurist while two coats of polish were applied to artificial nails on a manikin in an exposure chamber and for 2 hr afterwards. Formaldehyde and toluene were measured in all polishes using the real-time FTIR, despite all claiming to be 3-free. Normalized geometric mean (GM) formaldehyde exposures from the FTIR ranged from 0.021 to 0.273 ppm/g, GM toluene exposures ranged from 0.068 to 0.534 ppm/g, and GM benzene exposures ranged from 0.076 to 0.752 ppm/g. Notably, formaldehyde, toluene, and benzene exposures did not significantly differ between different products. Neither DBP nor triphenyl phosphate (TPhP) was detected in any of the polishes. This study highlights that despite industry claims, n-free polishes may still contain chemicals associated with negative health effects and that more studies are necessary to understand the true chemical exposures of nail salon workers.</p>","PeriodicalId":16599,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene","volume":" ","pages":"482-494"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144018986","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":"Exploring aerosol-specific calibration and performance of three direct-reading photometers.","authors":"Karl O Braun","doi":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2473461","DOIUrl":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2473461","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Laser photometers provide real-time data on airborne aerosols. They are a valuable tool for assessing task exposures, as well as process and environmental changes. However, their performance compared to the validated National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH) method Particulates Not Otherwise Regulated, Respirable 0600 gravitational method is uncertain. NIOSH has established a criterion for sampling and analytical methods to be within 25% of the 'true' concentration. Manufacturers and research scientists cite the importance of using an aerosol-specific calibration factor to improve instrument correlation with the gravimetric method. Field data from three photometers are presented to illustrate instrument performance variability and evaluate single and averaged aerosol-specific calibration factors. Respirable particulate and respirable crystalline silica (RCS) were simultaneously measured ten times in an operating rock crushing facility using the NIOSH methods 0600 and 7500 Silica, Crystalline, by XRD (filter redeposition) and three factory calibrated photometers. Ten aerosol-specific calibration factors were calculated for each photometer and used to determine single and averaged aerosol-specific calibration factors. Single and averaged aerosol-specific calibration factors were mathematically applied to \"correct\" the factory calibrated instrument measurements. Performance was evaluated using absolute relative error. With the factory calibration, the average absolute relative error for each instrument exceeded 25%. A single-event aerosol-specific calibration factor reduced the average absolute relative error for all instruments, bringing it below 25% for one of the three photometers. A 3-run average aerosol-specific calibration factor reduced the average absolute relative error below 25% for all instruments. Further averaging of calibration factor provided no significant advantage. The 95th percentile of absolute error fell below 25% for one of the tested instruments when applying both a single and averaged calibration factor but remained above 25% for the other two instruments. Field testing of the single-run, three-run average and ten-run average calibration factors revealed that the absolute relative error exceeded 25% in at least one of the three CF-field tests for each instrument. The average absolute relative error in estimates of RCS varied from 7 to 38%.</p>","PeriodicalId":16599,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene","volume":" ","pages":"443-452"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143597151","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":"Feasibility of a virtual safety officer in detecting PPE donning and doffing violations.","authors":"Bo Lee, Bilal Ahmed, Naoru Koizumi, Carine Gonçalves Galvão, Neal Sikka, Claudia Ranniger","doi":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2471394","DOIUrl":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2471394","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A safety officer (SO) can assist healthcare workers in minimizing respiratory transmission of communicable diseases through verification of compliance with safety protocols, such as appropriately donning and doffing personal protective equipment (PPE). This project sought to determine if observation of PPE donning and doffing for detection of protocol violations by a virtual safety officer (VSO) was a feasible option to improve the safety of the workplace. Five healthcare workers with experience serving as safety officers were enrolled in a feasibility study in which they observed actors donning and doffing PPE in-person and noted errors using a curated checklist for documentation. One month later, the same participants viewed recordings of the in-person sessions and again recorded errors for seven trials. Five hundred and twenty-three responses recorded from the SOs across the in-person and virtual trials aligned 88.7% of the time. SOs were more accurate in the virtual setting than in the in-person setting (87.6% <i>vs</i>. 82.4%, respectively). However, Cohen's kappa showed lower inter-rater reliability when observing virtually than in-person, especially in the doffing steps of the protocol. A VSO may be a feasible option when assessing whether participants can correctly follow PPE donning and doffing protocols. Future work includes incorporating real-time observation, 360-degree cameras, virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR) to increase visualization, thereby increasing inter-rater reliability.</p>","PeriodicalId":16599,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene","volume":" ","pages":"437-442"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143998655","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":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2510836","DOIUrl":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2510836","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16599,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene","volume":" ","pages":"D17-D18"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144199425","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":"Toward rapid silica analysis of CPDM samples: A study of dust recovery and quartz estimation using lab and field samples.","authors":"August Greth, Garek Elie, Emily Sarver","doi":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2471392","DOIUrl":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2471392","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In US coal mines, the continuous personal dust monitor (CPDM) is frequently used to determine miners' exposure to respirable dust. Capabilities to analyze the respirable crystalline silica (RCS) content of that dust are needed, but the CPDM sample collection substrate (\"stub\") interferes with direct analysis. To overcome this challenge, a three-step method is proposed to recover the dust from the stub, deposit the dust on a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) filter, and analyze the recovered dust by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) to determine the quartz content (as a proxy for RCS). Recent work has established procedures for the latter two steps using representative dust samples suspended in isopropyl alcohol (IPA). That work is extended in the current study to also address the dust recovery step, testing both IPA and deionized water (H₂O) as recovery liquids. Here, blank CPDM stubs were subjected to the entire three-step method and results were used to establish a quartz mass correction for residue that is recovered from the stub itself. Then, the method and correction were applied to lab-spiked and field CPDM stubs. For spiked samples, predicted and expected quartz mass values were highly correlated (R² values >0.97 regardless of recovery liquid or application of the blank CPDM-stub correction); though predicted values were consistently lower than expected values (regression line slopes between 0.84 and 0.86), which might be related to effects of total recovered sample mass on the deposition pattern achieved on PVC filter. For the field samples, IPA proved to be a much more efficient recovery liquid than H₂O. Unfortunately, the evaluation of the predicted quartz mass results on the field samples was confounded by apparent issues with reference filter samples intended to determine expected values.</p>","PeriodicalId":16599,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene","volume":" ","pages":"460-473"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143597152","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 comparison of the ventilatory responses to wearing either a hood or a mask escape respirator with identical nose-cups.","authors":"Dror Ofir, Yehuda Arieli, Mirit Eynan, Ben Aviner, Yoav Yanir","doi":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2473463","DOIUrl":"10.1080/15459624.2025.2473463","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Differences in escape respirator design can influence the wearer's ventilatory response and impact inspired oxygen (O₂) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentrations. There has been minimal investigation into the differences between hood and mask designs as escape respirators that compare between the ventilatory responses of wearing either a hood or mask escape respirator with an identical nose-cup. Thirty-nine healthy young males participated in the study. Each subject participated in two 20-min sessions of monitored breathing, wearing either a hood-type filtering facepiece respirator \"CAPS 2000\" (Shalon Chemical Industries, Israel & Supergum Industries Ltd, Israel) or an \"Orange Diamond\" filtering facepiece mask-type escape respirator (DEA Mop, Israel). Inspired gas concentrations of CO₂ and O₂ as well as the ventilatory response were recorded through a nose-cup during the test. Inspired CO₂, minute ventilation, breathing frequency, and the index of central ventilatory drive (V_T/T_I) were all significantly higher (<i>p</i> < 0.05) while wearing a mask respirator compared to a hood respirator. The hood respirator evaluated in the present study outperformed the mask respirator in most indices when measured at rest. The hood respirator had a reduced ventilatory demand compared to the mask respirator and may be advantageous for individuals with weaker respiratory systems, such as the elderly or those who suffer from respiratory diseases.</p>","PeriodicalId":16599,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene","volume":" ","pages":"453-459"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143597192","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}