A Comparative Review of Environmental Policies and Laws Involving Hazardous Private Dams: \u27Appropriate\u27 Practice Models for Safe Catchments

Generally, the world’s largest dams have been erected and managedby governments, while individual owners have been responsible for privatedams. Both kinds of dams have experienced technical failures thathave resulted in tragic losses of life as well as disastrous damage to propertyand environment, and this has generated serious concerns regardingdams’ safety worldwide. In Australia, despite the fact that attention hasbeen focused on the physical and technical integrity of medium- to largescaledams, the smaller private dams have been virtually ignored withregard to their serious potential and actual problems. Specifically, privatedams pose threats to downstream communities and environmentin larger catchments due to these dams having potential cumulativesafety dangers. This paper establishes the significance of this problem.The main issues and concerns surrounding the (lack of) implementationof private dam safety assurance and environmental protection laws havebeen identified and illustrated with Australian case studies. An internationalcomparative review of private dam safety assurance policies, laws,and management practices has been conducted in order to provide a basisfor addressing these issues. The practices analyzed comprise Australia(including New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania), the United States(including Michigan and Washington), Canada (including Alberta), theUnited Kingdom, South Africa, and Finland. The review/analysis hasidentified benchmarks for and elements of “best” and “minimum” practicethat can and do exist successfully to control the safety management ofprivate dams and minimize both individual and cumulative dam safetythreats within catchments. These elements have led to the developmentof models of “best” and “minimum” practice and guidelines for selecting“appropriate” practice suitable for varying jurisdictional circumstances;their application is illustrated with an Australian case study. The modelsand associated comparative guidance provided here enable appropriatelaw and policy arrangements for private dam safety assurance to bedetermined and/or checked for any jurisdiction worldwide

Developing health-related indicators of climate change: Australian stakeholder perspectives

Published: 22 May 2017Climate-related health indicators are potentially useful for tracking and predicting the adverse public health effects of climate change, identifying vulnerable populations, and monitoring interventions. However, there is a need to understand stakeholders' perspectives on the identification, development, and utility of such indicators. A qualitative approach was used, comprising semi-structured interviews with key informants and service providers from government and non-government stakeholder organizations in South Australia. Stakeholders saw a need for indicators that could enable the monitoring of health impacts and time trends, vulnerability to climate change, and those which could also be used as communication tools. Four key criteria for utility were identified, namely robust and credible indicators, specificity, data availability, and being able to be spatially represented. The variability of risk factors in different regions, lack of resources, and data and methodological issues were identified as the main barriers to indicator development. This study demonstrates a high level of stakeholder awareness of the health impacts of climate change, and the need for indicators that can inform policy makers regarding interventions.Maryam Navi, Alana Hansen, Monika Nitschke, Scott Hanson-Easey and Dino Pisaniell

What can musicians' claims data reveal about their musculoskeletal conditions?

Published online: 07 May 2019.Musculoskeletal (MSK) symptoms are common amongst professional musicians. No study has reported on workers' compensation claims (WCCs) of musicians to determine the proportion of claims and costs attributed to MSK conditions. We analyzed Australian WCCs for professional musicians 2004/2005-2015/2016. MSK conditions accounted for 69.78% of claims; 50.46% of which were for upper limb conditions. MSK conditions also accounted for 77.76% of costs for musicians' WCC. The most common reported mechanism for MSK claims was body stressing (72.48%), and the most common agency was "other non-powered equipment" (including musical instruments; 39.71%), which also accounted for 51.27% of upper limb claims specifically. For the first time, we showed that MSK conditions account for the majority of musicians' WCC, and the majority of the cost of claims, making them the biggest health issue for professional musicians.Jessica Stanhope, Philip Weinstein and Dino Pisaniell

Are workers at risk of occupational injuries due to heat exposure? A comprehensive literature review

Rationale: There is increasing concern about occupational illness, injury and productivity losses due to hot weather in a changing climate. Most of the current understanding appears to relate to heat-induced illness, and relatively little regarding injuries. Objectives: This paper sought to summarise the evidence on the relationship between heat exposure and injuries, to describe aetiological mechanisms and to provide policy suggestions and further research directions. Methods: A literature review was conducted using a systematic search for published and grey-literature using Embase, PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, Science Direct and Web of Science databases as well as relevant websites. Results and conclusions: There was a diversity of studies in terms of occupations, industries and methods utilised. The evidence suggests an imprecise but positive relationship between hot weather and occupational injuries, and the most likely mechanism involves fatigue, reduced psychomotor performance, loss of concentration and reduced alertness. The findings reflect an increased awareness of injury risk during hot weather and the economic benefits associated with averting injury, poor health outcomes and lost productivity. Implications: More work is required to characterise specific injuries and the workers at risk. Policymakers and employers should be aware that heat exposure can lead to occupational injuries with information and training resources developed to aid prevention.Blesson M. Varghese, Alana Hansen, Peng Bi, Dino Pisaniell

Exposure of agriculture workers to pesticides: the effect of heat on protective glove performance and skin exposure to dichlorvos

Dichlorvos is a toxic organophosphate insecticide that is used in agriculture and other insecticide applications. Dermal uptake is a known exposure route for dichlorvos and chemical protective gloves are commonly utilized. Chemical handling and application may occur in a variety of thermal environments, and the rates of both chemical permeation through gloves and transdermal penetration may vary significantly with temperature. There has been no published research on the temperature-dependent kinetics of these processes for dichlorvos and thus, this study reports on the effects of hot conditions for the concentrated and application strength chemical. Dichlorvos breakthrough times for non-disposable polyvinyl chloride (PVC) gloves at 60 °C were approximately halved compared to 25 °C for the concentrate (2 vs. 4 h) and more than halved at application strength (3 vs. >8 h). From permeation experiments covering 15–60 °C, there was a 460-fold increase in cumulative permeation over 8 h for the concentrated dichlorvos and the estimated activation energy halved. Elevated temperature was also shown to be a significant factor for human skin penetration increasing the cumulative penetration of concentrate dichlorvos from 179 ± 37 to 1315 ± 362 µg/cm² (p = 0.0032) and application strength from 29.8 ± 5.7 to 115 ± 19 µg/cm² (p = 0.0131). This work illustrates the important role temperature plays in glove performance and health risk via dermal exposure. As such, it is important to consider in-use conditions of temperature when implementing chemical hygiene programs.Leigh Thredgold, Sharyn Gaskin , Chloe Quy and Dino Pisaniell

What Do Safety Data Sheets for Artificial Stone Products Tell Us About Composition? A Comparative Analysis with Physicochemical Data

Artifcial stone (AS) is a composite material that has seen widespread use in construction, particularly for kitchen benchtops. However, fabrication processes with AS have been associated with serious lung disease. Safety data sheets (SDSs) aim to provide important information pertaining to composition and health risks. In the case of a complex mixture, SDSs may be problematic in terms of specifc information on overall health risks. To assess this issue, we compared empirically determined mineral, metallic, and organic resin content of 25 individual AS products across six suppliers, with the corresponding SDS information. X-ray diffraction was used to quantitate the mineralogical components of AS samples, and X-ray fuorescence was used to estimate the metallic components. Organic material (resin content) was estimated using weight loss during calcination. Although the resin content for all AS samples was within the SDS-reported ranges, there was considerable variability in the crystalline silica content when comparing with supplier’s SDS. Potentially toxicologically relevant metallic and mineral constituents were not reported. Some supplier SDSs were found to provide more information than others. Only one of the six suppliers provided crystalline mineral content other than silica, and only two suppliers provided any information about metals. There remains a limited understanding of lung pathogenesis from AS, and this study highlights the need for more comprehensive and standardized SDS information for risk assessment and management.Chellan Kumarasamy, Dino Pisaniello, Sharyn Gaskin, and Tony Hal

Perceptions of workplace heat exposure and controls among occupational hygienists and relevant specialists in Australia

With warmer weather projections, workplace heat exposure is presenting a growing challenge to workers’ health and safety. Occupational hygienists are the specialist group conducting measurements and providing advice on heat stress management to industry. In order to provide insights into hygienists perceptions on workplace heat exposure, current and future preparedness for extreme heat, and barriers to possible heat adaptation strategies, a self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted during a national conference of the Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists. Nearly 90% of the 180 respondents were at least moderately concerned about extreme heat and 19% were dissatisfied with current heat stress prevention measures. Barriers recognized by the participants were lack of awareness (68%), insufficient training (56%), unsatisfactory management commitment (52%), and low compliance with prevention policies (40%). The findings suggest a need to refine occupational heat management and prevention strategies.Jianjun Xiang, Alana Hansen, Dino Pisaniello, Peng B

Understanding skin absorption of common aldehyde vapours from exposure during hazardous material incidents

Published online: 15 February 2019The toxic release of aldehyde vapours during a hazardous material (HAZMAT) incident primarily results in respiratory concerns for the unprotected public. However, skin absorption may be an important concurrent exposure route that is poorly understood for this scenario. This study provides experimental data on the skin absorption properties of common aldehydes used in industry, including acetaldehyde, acrolein, benzaldehyde and formaldehyde, in gaseous or vapour form using an adapted in vitro technique. Two of the four tested aldehydes were found to penetrate the skin in appreciable amounts following 30-min exposure at HAZMAT relevant atmospheric concentrations: acetaldehyde (5.29 ± 3.24 μg/cm²) and formaldehyde (3.45 ± 2.58 μg/cm²). Whereas only low levels of acrolein (0.480 ± 0.417 μg/cm²) and benzaldehyde (1.46 ± 0.393 μg/cm²) skin penetration was noted. The aldehydes demonstrated differing levels of interaction with fabric. Formaldehyde and acetaldehyde adsorbed strongly to denim, whereas benzaldehyde and acrolein displayed no sink properties. However, denim was shown to be an initial protective barrier and reduced penetration outcomes for all aldehydes. This study provides important information to assist first responders and confirms the relevance of using physicochemical properties (e.g. solubility, molecular weight, partition coefficient) to predict skin permeation potential in the absence of empirical data during HAZMAT incidents involving different types of aldehydes.Leigh Thredgold, Sharyn Gaskin, Linda Heath, Dino Pisaniello, Michael Logan, Christina Baxte

Extreme heat and health: Perspectives from health service providers in rural and remote communities in South Australia

Among the challenges for rural communities and health services in Australia, climate change and increasing extreme heat are emerging as additional stressors. Effective public health responses to extreme heat require an understanding of the impact on health and well-being, and the risk or protective factors within communities. This study draws on lived experiences to explore these issues in eleven rural and remote communities across South Australia, framing these within a socio-ecological model. Semi-structured interviews with health service providers (n = 13), and a thematic analysis of these data, has identified particular challenges for rural communities and their health services during extreme heat. The findings draw attention to the social impacts of extreme heat in rural communities, the protective factors (independence, social support, education, community safety), and challenges for adaptation (vulnerabilities, infrastructure, community demographics, housing and local industries). With temperatures increasing across South Australia, there is a need for local planning and low-cost strategies to address heat-exacerbating factors in rural communities, to minimise the impact of extreme heat in the future.Susan Williams, Peng Bi, Jonathan Newbury, Guy Robinson, Dino Pisaniello, Arthur Saniotis and Alana Hanse

Heatwave and work-related injuries and illnesses in Adelaide, Australia: a case-crossover analysis using the Excess Heat Factor (EHF) as a universal heatwave index

Purpose: Heatwaves, or extended periods of extreme heat, are predicted to increase in frequency, intensity and duration with climate change, but their impact on occupational injury has not been extensively studied. We examined the relationship between heatwaves of varying severity and work-related injuries and illnesses. We used a newly proposed metric of heatwave severity, the Excess Heat Factor (EHF), which accounts for local climate characteristics and acclimatization and compared it with heatwaves defined by daily maximum temperature. Methods: Work-related injuries and illnesses were identified from two administrative data sources: workers' compensation claims and work-related ambulance call-outs for the years 2003-2013 in Adelaide, Australia. The EHF metrics were obtained from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. A time-stratified case-crossover regression model was used to examine associations between heatwaves of three levels of severity, workers' compensation claims, and work-related ambulance call-outs. Results: There was an increase in work-related ambulance call-outs and compensation claims during low and moderately severe heatwaves as defined using the EHF, and a non-significant decline during high-severity heatwaves. Positive associations were observed during moderate heatwaves in compensation claims made by new workers (RR 1.31, 95% CI 1.10-1.55), workers in medium-sized enterprises (RR 1.15, 95% CI 1.01-1.30), indoor industries (RR 1.09, 95% CI 1.01-1.17), males (RR 1.13, 95% CI 1.03-1.23) and laborers (RR 1.21, 95% CI 1.04-1.39). Conclusions: Workers should adopt appropriate precautions during moderately severe heatwaves, when the risks of work-related injuries and illnesses are increased. Workplace policies and guidelines need to consider the health and safety of workers during heatwaves with relevant prevention and adaptation measures.Blesson M. Varghese, Alana Hansen, Monika Nitschke, John Nairn, Scott Hanson, Easey, Peng Bi, Dino Pisaniell