Qualitative Fitting Characteristics of Elastomeric Half Face-Piece Respirators Using Isoamyl Acetate Agent

To examine the fitting testing of elastomeric half face-piece respirators (EHRs), a total of 41 candidates were randomly assigned into seven EHRs equipped with organic vapor (OV) cartridges which were commonly used in the Iranian industrial workplaces. The qualitative fitting into the facial dimensions was assessed using the Allegro Isoamyl Acetate fit test kit. While the studied EHRs showed very low passing fit testing rates, the 3M, AoSafety (Medium), and AoSafety (Large) had the highest passing rates with 22.0%, 14.60%, and 9.76%, respectively. The AoSafety ‎(All sizes) delivered a higher passing fit test rate than the 3M brand (29.30 vs. 22.0%). The one size fits all respirators including the DUO and Climax showed lower proportions of passing fit tests compared with AoSafety three-size system brands (2.40% and 4.90% vs. 29.30%). Low fit test passing rates were determined among different respirators. The respirators with various sizes and styles had more opportunities for different wearers to pass the fit test than single size models. The initial and annual fit testing requirements shall be developed by local government. Also, the manufacturers are required to pay attention to respirator features and subject characteristics during the production to obtain satisfactory protection for the end-users

Permeation of Ethoxy- and Butoxy- Ethanols Through a Disposable Nitrile Glove

The purpose of this study was to investigate the permeation of the glycol ethers, 2-ethoxyethanol (2-EE) and 2-butoxyethanol (2-BE) through disposable, nitrile exam gloves using a modified ASTM closed-loop module. The purple unsupported, unlined, powderless nitrile glove from Kimberly-Clark was challenged by the two pure glycol ethers. Their permeation parameters were measured with the aid of a 2.54 cm ASTM F739 closed-loop permeation cell using water collection at 35.0±0.5 0C in a moving tray water bath, and capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for quantification. Each set of experiments consisted of four standard permeation cells with water as the collection solvent. The steady state permeation rate for 2-EE of 4.83±0.45 µg/cm2/min was about 4 times that of 2-BE (1.27±0.11 µg/cm2/min). Permeation of the more nonpolar 2-BE was less than for 2-EE. Both solvents exceeded the ASTM threshold normalized breakthrough time in the closed-loop testing module. Glove samples failed to pass permeation criteria defined by Kimberly Clark and Ansell. Such gloves are not recommended as personal protective equipment for exposure to 2-butoxyethanol or 2-ethoxyethanol, even for very short period exposures. Glove manufacturers should reconsider existing permeation testing method for low volatile compounds and apply the closed-loop module due to higher sensitivity and accuracy

Occupational Health Practices Among Dental Care Professionals Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a substantial burden on dental care professionals. While dentistry is known as one of the most exposed and high-risk professions, dental care professionals are indeed at even greater risk. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess knowledge, attitudes, occupational health practices, personal protective equipment usage, and mental stressors during COVID-19 pandemic among dental care professionals. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among dental care professionals who were subscribers to a dental hygiene journal using a self-administered online survey (n = 1047 respondents). Cross-tabulations were performed to determine differences in the responses to the statements related to different domains. RESULTS: COVID-19 impacted the healthy work-life balance (p \u3c  0.001) and caused sleeping difficulty among the respondents (p \u3c  0.001). Moreover, a lower response on changing respirators and gloves for each patient compared with before viral pandemic was observed (p \u3c  0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Ongoing training on infection control, occupational health practices, and PPE usage can prevent the transmission of COVID-19 among dental care professionals and the public. Lack of adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) is a burden for applying occupational health practices in dental clinics and present a risk to the public. COVID-19 may contribute to developing psychological stress and disrupt healthy work-life balance among dental professionals

Assessment of Aloe Vera for Qualitative Fit Testing of Particulate Respirators: A Logistic Regression Approach

Fit testing procedure is required for filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) to ascertain an acceptable fit between the skin and facepiece sealing surface. The present study seeks to compare the efficacy of Aloe vera (A. vera) and commercial BitrexTM as challenge agents of qualitative fit testing of particulate respirators. An herbal solution consisting of A. vera at seven different concentrations was developed. Threshold Screening Tests (TSTs) of A. vera solutions were compared to BitrexTM. To do so, solutions were administered randomly on a total of 62 participants. A placebo was also tested to ensure the taste response being valid. Statistical analysis was performed using R 3.2.5.0 software. There were no statistically significant differences between the A. vera (41.7, 58.3, 75, and 91.7 mg/ml) and BitrexTM threshold tests. Therefore, the minimum concentration of A. vera to develop the threshold solution was considered to be 41.7 mg/ml. When commercial products are expensive and unavailable, a cost-effective technique would be to replace A. vera solution with a commercial product as a challenge agent of qualitative fit testing of respirators

Influence of the Inherent Safety Principles on Quantitative Risk in Process Industry: Application of Genetic Algorithm Process Optimization (GAPO)

Inherent safety (IS) refers to a set of measures that enhance the safety level of processes and equipment, rendering additional equipment and/or add-ons. The early design phase of processes is suited best for implementation of IS strategies as some of such strategies either are impossible to be implemented at the operation phase or substantially increase costs. The purpose of this study is to present a new approach called genetic algorithm process optimization (GAPO), by which processes can be made inherently safer even at the operation phase. This study simulates the IS principle, assessing its impact on quantitative risk and the possible consequences of process incidents identified by Hazard and Operation Study (HAZOP). The principle of intensification was simulated through GAPO, and feasibility of implementation was approved by HYSYS. Moreover, the integrated inherent safety index (I2SI) was used to evaluate and quantify the level of IS following implementation of GAPO compared to the initial design. Our result shows that GAPO substantially reduced the risk of consequences and quantitative risks and concomitantly improved the I2SI. The proposed GAPO can be applied to process operation as an approach to enhance IS at no cost and without decrease in production

Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of Consideration of Future Safety Consequence (CFSC) Scale

Background: Personality traits, due to having a relative stability, are important factors for predicting employees’ safety behavior. Consideration of Future Safety Consequence (CFSC) is a personality trait that was recently introduced to predict the safety behaviors. The purpose of this study was to translate and assess the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the CFSC scale. Methods: In the first stage of this cross-sectional study, the instrument was prepared by the forward-backward forward translation technique and evaluated by 487 employees of a gas refinery. The validity of the scale was evaluated through face, concurrent, validity, and construct validity. The safety performance questionnaire was used to examine the concurrent validity. The reliability of the questionnaire was evaluated using internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha coefficient) and test-retest. Results: Content validity index was 0.885. The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the CFSC scale had a single factor. Also, Pearson correlation showed a positive correlation between the safety performance and the Persian version of CFSC (R=0.401). Test-retest reliability and internal consistency were calculated as 0.86 and 0.82, respectively. Conclusion: It is concluded that the psychometric properties of the Persian version of CFSC scale are desirable and can be used in future studie

Strategies for Controlling Violence Against Healthcare Workers: Application of Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process and Fuzzy Additive Ratio Assessment

Objective: The present study aimed to identify and prioritize control measures of violence against Healthcare Workers (HWs) using the Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) and Fuzzy Additive Ratio Assessment (F-ARAS). Background: Occupational violence is a pervasive problem in healthcare centers. Reducing violence against staff is one of the challenges for healthcare managers. Method: At the first stage, the most common criteria and control options for violence against HWs were identified and extracted using a review of previous studies. At the next stage, criteria for selection of control measures were prioritized using the FAHP. Finally, control measures of workplace violence were prioritized using the F-ARAS method. Results: Results of the FAHP indicated that safety and efficiency were the most important criteria. Results of the F-ARAS also revealed that increasing number of security personnel and training staff were the best recommendations for controlling violence against HWs. Conclusion: Based on expert\u27s opinions, administrative measures are the optimal ways to control violence at health centers; therefore, it is suggested that violence control programs should be more focused on administrative measures. Implications For Nursing Management: These results could assist nursing management to take best strategies for controlling occupational violence based on multi-criteria decision-making methods

Occupational Stressors Among Firefighters: Application of Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM)Techniques

Background: Firefighters are exposed to a wide range of occupational stressors due to the nature of their job. Multicriteria decision-making technique (MCDM) is a method for identifying, evaluating, and preventing occupational stressors among firefighters. The purpose of this study was to identify and prioritize the occupational stressors among firefighters using the fuzzy delphi method (FDM) and fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP). Methods: This qualitative-descriptive study was carried out in two stages. First, the most important occupational stressors of firefighters were identified and screened using a systematic review of scientific references and expert opinions based on the FDM. Then, all of the screened stressors were weighted and prioritized by the FAHP using the opinions of experts. All results were analyzed using Excel software. Results: Among, the 52 occupational stressors of firefighters identified in the first stage, 27 stressors were selected to enter into the FAHP. The FAHP results showed that among the four main dimensions, the weight of managerial factors (0.358) was more than other dimensions. The overall result of the study, regardless of the stressors’ main dimensions showed that the most important stressors among firefighters were financial strain due to inadequate pay, fear of explosion at incident scenes, toxic smoke, and gases produced at fires and lack of attention given to job safety by management, respectively. Conclusion: According to the results of the study, most occupational stressors of the firefighters are caused by organizational factors. Therefore, the implementation of management strategies to reduce the occupational stress of firefighters is recommended

Permeation of Limonene through Disposable Nitrile Gloves in the Robot Hand Whole Glove and ASTM Closed Loop Models

The ultimate purpose was to assess if a whole glove dextrous robotic hand model provided results that differed from the reference modified closed-loop ASTM F739-99/12 glove permeation technique. The candidate compounds were low volatile solvents to minimize the influence of volatilization as a confounding factor. After preliminary closed-loop studies with 2-ethoxyethanol and 2-butoxyethanol showed the breakthrough times for purple nitrile disposable gloves were too short to be compared in the dextrous robotic hand model, limonene was selected to compare the permeation parameters of different disposable nitrile exam gloves (blue, purple, sterling, and lavender) In the modified closed-loop ASTM permeation model four 1-inch diameter standard permeation cells (3 cells with solvent as challenge and one air blank) were used with water as the collection solvent at 35oC. Samples were analyzed by capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and the internal standard method (4-bromophenol). For the static and moving whole glove model, a Yeager robotic hand and assembled. A circulating water system transferred water from between the outer test glove and the inner chemically protective glove of the doubly gloved robot hand in an incubator at 35.0±0.5 o C. The observed scheduled breakthrough time (SBRT) for blue, purple, sterling, and lavender glove specimens in the ASTM system was 70 ± 10 min, 30 ± 10 min, 15 ± 5 min, and 5 ± 5 min respectively. The two robot hand models showed similar SBRTs: 5 ± 5 min for lavender, 15 ± 5 min for sterling and purple, and 30 ± 10 min for blue gloves. The SBRTs for the blue and purple gloves for the robotic hand were significantly shorter than for the ASTM technique (P≤0.05). The average post-permeation thicknesses (before re-conditioning) for all glove materials for the moving and still robotic hand were more than 10% of the pre-permeation ones (P≤0.05) except for the blue gloves, although this was not so on reconditioning. The average steady state permeation rate (SSPR) for lavender glove for the static robotic hand was 0.423 ± 0.031 µg/cm2/min significantly higher (1.43 times) than for the ASTM method (0.295 ± 0.028 µg/cm2/min [P≤0.05]). Lavender gloves showed a significantly higher SSPR when the moving robotic hand was used (0.490 ± 0.031) compared to a non-moving one (P≤0.05). Although the respective SSPR for other gloves samples (blue, purple, and sterling) with the moving hand experiment appeared more than the static hand, the difference was not significant (P≤0.05). Here the exposed surface area was held constant as was temperature to assess if motion alone caused differences in permeation parameters. This suggests a thickness threshold for hand motion differences. The lavender, sterling, and purple gloves failed the Kimberly Clark Professional permeation breakthrough time criteria and Ansell's criteria for use, and therefore they should not be used as personal protective equipment for exposure to limonene, even for short exposure periods. Although blue gloves provided the highest performance against limonene compared to other gloves, they are safe for less than 20 minutes. Compared to the ASTM F739-99/12 model, the robotic hand permeation model is more sensitive and stringent in defining gloves' efficacy since it better simulates grip motions in the workplace