Respirator decision logic

"Prepared by a subcommittee of the NIOSH Respiratory Protection Committee"--P. iv."May 1987."Updated 2004 by NIOSH respirator selection logic published as NIOSH pub. no. 2005-100.Also available via the World Wide Web.Bibliography: p. 35-39

Application of standardization for the design and construction of carbon nanotube-based product pilot lines in compliance with EU regulation on machinery

The "PLATFORM" manufacturing ecosystem for pilot production of pre-commercial CNT-based nano-enabled products, consists of three pilot lines (PPLs) for the manufacture of buckypapers, doped prepregs and doped veils. The PPLs have been constructed with the ultimate goal to commercialize these products in the European market in 2020/2022.This goal requires having the PPLs in compliance with the applicable product safety regulation by that date (CE marking). The main EU regulation for new machinery (as the PPLs) is the Directive 2006/42/EC on Machinery (MD). This Directive sets out the general mandatory Essential Health and Safety Requirements (EHSRs) related to the design and construction of machinery, while particular technical specifications for fulfilling them are provided in European harmonized standards. Application of harmonized standards is voluntary but confers a presumption of conformity with the EHSRs they cover. The PPLs are unique machines for own use and must comply with the MD before they are put into service, in 2020/2022. But the MD does not provide specific EHSRs for nanosafety and no harmonized standards are available in this field for the safe design of the PPLs. In this context, this paper shows the standardization strategy followed by the project PLATFORM (GA 646307) to design the PPLs in compliance with the EHSR referred to the risks to health resulting from hazardous substances emitted by machinery (MD, Annex I, EHSR 1.5.13). In the absence of nanosafety harmonized standards to satisfy the aforementioned EHSR, the design and design verification of the PPLs were carried out through A & B - type harmonized standards (e.g. EN ISO 12100, EN ISO 14123-1/2), and other European and international standards.The projects PLATFORM and OASIS have received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, under grant agreements Nº 646307 and Nº 814581, respectively. This paper reflects only the authors’ views, and the Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein

Effects of impulsive noise on marine mammals : investigating range-dependent risk

This work was funded as part of the Department of Energy and Climate Change's Offshore Energy Strategic Environmental Assessment programme, with additional resources from the National Capability funding from the Natural Environment Research Council to the Sea Mammal Research Unit (grant no. SMRU1001). Recordings of piling and seismic noise from the Moray Firth were collected with the support of the Department of Energy and Climate Change, Scottish Government, Oil and Gas UK Ltd., COWRIE, EU DOWNVInD project, Talisman Energy (UK) Ltd. and Scottish & Southern Energy. Thanks also to Helen Bailey and Keith Needham for making field recordings, Francesca Marubini for comments and suggestions on drafts of the manuscript, and to Stephen Robinson at the National Physics Laboratory and Douglas Gillespie at the Sea Mammal Research Unit for discussions and guidance about acoustic analyses.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The Personal protective technology program at NIOSH: reviews of research programs of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Maintaining the health and safety of workers in the United States and globally is accomplished in part by reducing hazardous exposures through the use of personal protective equipment. Personal protective technologies (PPT) include respirators worn by construction workers and miners; protective clothing, respirators, and gloves worn by firefighters and mine rescue workers; and respirators and protective clothing worn by healthcare workers. An estimated 5 million workers are required to wear respirators in 1.3 million U.S. workplaces. For some occupations, such as firefighting, the worker's protective equipment is the only form of protection against life-threatening hazards; for other workers, the PPT is a supplement to ventilation and other environmental, engineering, or administrative hazard controls. In the United States, federal responsibility for civilian worker PPT is integral to the mission of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). This book examines the NIOSH Personal Protective Technology Program (PPT Program) and specifically focuses on the relevance and impact of this program in reducing hazardous exposures and improving worker health and safety.Summary -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Relevance of the NIOSH PPT Program -- 3. Impact of the NIOSH PPT Program -- 4. Emerging issues and research areas in personal protective technology -- 5. Recommendations for PPT program improvement -- Appendix A: Framework for the review of research programs of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health -- Appendix B: Methods: Committee information gathering -- Appendix C: Information Provided by the NIOSH PPT Program -- Appendix D: Biographical sketches of committee membersCommittee to Review the NIOSH Personal Protective Technology Program, Board on Health Sciences Policy, Institute of Medicine and National Research Council of the National Academies.Also available via the World Wide Web.Includes bibliographical references

The Health Hazard Evaluation Program at NIOSH: reviews of research programs of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

It is the unique mission of the Health Hazard Evaluation Program within the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to respond to requests to investigate potential occupational health hazards. In contrast to other NIOSH programs, the Health Hazard Evaluation Program is not primarily a research program. Rather, it investigates and provides advice to workplaces in response to requests from employers, employees and their representatives, and federal agencies. The National Research Council was charged with evaluating the NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation Program and determining whether program activities resulted in improvements in workplace practices and decreases in hazardous exposures that cause occupational illnesses. The program was found to play a key role in addressing existing widespread or emerging occupational health issues. This book makes several recommendations that could improve a very strong program including more systematic use of surveillance data to facilitate priority setting, and greater interaction with a broader array of workers, industries, and other government agencies.Committee to Review the NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation Program, Division on Earth and Life Studies, National Research Council and Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.Title from electronic title page (viewed Apr. 7, 2009).Also issued in print.Adobe Acrobat required for PDF version.Mode of access: World Wide Web.Text in GIF and PDF format.Sponsored by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 211-2006-19152 001Includes bibliographical references

Evaluation of existing control measures in reducing health and safety risks of engineered nanomaterials

While the risk management of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) receives significant attention, there is still a limited understanding of how to select optimal risk management measures (RMMs) for controlling and mitigating the risks associated with exposure to ENMs. Clearly, there exists a need to expand current risk management practices to ensure safe production, handling and use of ENMs. Moreover, the performance of the existing RMMs should be re-evaluated for ENMs since control options that are proven to be effective for preventing or limiting risks associated with traditional particles might give unsatisfactory results in the case of nano-scale particles. This paper has brought together the evidence on the adequacy of traditional controls to minimize potential health and environmental risks resulting from exposure to ENMs. The aim here is to advance our understanding of the risk management approaches relevant for ENMs, and ultimately to support the selection of the most suitable RMMs when handling ENMs. To that end, evaluative evidence collected from the review of relevant literature and survey of nanotechnology institutions are combined and summarised to understand the level of protection offered by each control measure, as well as the relative costs of their implementation. The findings suggest that most relevant risk control options are based on isolating people from hazard through engineering measures (e.g. ventilation and chemical fume hoods) or personal protective equipment (PPE), rather than eliminating hazard at source (e.g. substitution). Although control measures related to the modification of ENMs have high efficiency in the occupational risk control hierarchy, they are not widely employed since there is currently a high degree of uncertainty regarding the impact of manipulating nano-characteristics on the performance of final product. Lastly, despite its low cost, PPE is the least effective category in the occupational risk control hierarchy and should not be used on its own when significant risk reduction is required. Clearly, further quantitative data is needed to fully assess the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of risk control options to prevent risks from exposure to ENMs. When there is little information on the efficiency of control measures specific to ENMs, the default efficiencies can be used for initial assessment purposes although it should not be considered exhaustive

Safety by design: dialogues between designers and builders using virtual reality

© 2015 The Author(s). Published by Taylor & Francis.Designers can contribute to enhancing the safety of construction work by considering how their decisions impact on both the physical environment in which construction workers operate and the means and methods they use. To do so, however, designers require knowledge about safety hazards on site and the opportunity to examine their designs early in projects. Through a set of studies virtual reality tools were used to examine the potential for collaborative dialogue between designers and builders to provide a forum for learning and proactive change of a design to make a project safer to build. In the tests, participants viewed proposed designs using virtual reality to examine various alternative design and construction scenarios. The study shows that consultation and dialogue with an experienced construction professional are highly beneficial for designers to appreciate the implications of designs on safety, and that designers are more willing to adapt design details than to change aesthetic aspects of their designs

Strategies for Improving Visual Inspection Performance

This paper summarizes recent results obtained in inspection studies including several studies performed by the authors. Both static and dynamic visual inspection tasks are included. Based on these results, a proposed new integrated design procedure for inspection tasks that will approach the optimal design has been formulated. The review of recent research results includes the following primary variables: the speed of the item passing the inspector, the spacing of items, the percentage of defective items, the illumination level, the contrast between the item being inspected and the background, and the effectiveness of individual versus group inspection. The authors have used their research results in combination with the results in the literature to formulate new integrated procedures for designing inspection stations and job procedures. The authors have also analyzed the effects of inspector performance on the overall quality control plans already in use in industry. The economic effects of changes in inspector performance which result from redesign of the inspection task are then demonstrated as a part of the overall design procedure.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Scientific Opinion on the re-evaluation of Quinoline Yellow (E 104) as a food additive:Question No EFSA-Q-2008-223

The Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources added to Food provides a scientific opinion re-evaluating the safety of Quinoline Yellow (E 104). Quinoline Yellow has been previously evaluated by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) in 1975, 1978 and 1984, and the EU Scientific Committee for Food (SCF) in 1984. Both committees established an Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) of 0-10 mg/kg body weight (bw). Studies not evaluated by JECFA and the SCF included a chronic toxicity and carcinogenicity study with a reproductive toxicity phase in rats and a study on behaviour in children by McCann et al. from 2007. The latter study concluded that exposure to a mixture of colours including Quinoline Yellow resulted in increased hyperactivity in 8- to 9-years old children. The Panel concurs with the conclusion from a previous EFSA opinion on the McCann et al. study that the findings of the study cannot be used as a basis for altering the ADI. The Panel notes that Quinoline Yellow was negative in in vitro genotoxicity as well as in long term carcinogenicity studies. The Panel concludes that the currently available database on semi-chronic, reproductive, developmental and long-term toxicity of Quinoline Yellow, including a study in rats not apparently taken into consideration by JECFA or the SCF, provides a rationale for re-definition of the ADI. Using the NOAEL of 50 mg/kg bw/day provided by the chronic toxicity and carcinogenicity study with a reproductive toxicity phase carried out in rats and applying an uncertainty factor of 100 to this NOAEL, the Panel establishes an ADI of 0.5 mg/kg bw/day. The Panel notes that at the maximum levels of use of Quinoline Yellow, refined intake estimates are generally well over the ADI of 0.5 mg/kg bw/day

A new shock tube configuration for studying dust-lifting during the initiation of a coal dust explosion

The traditional defence against propagating coal dust explosions is the application of dry stone dust. This proven and effective safety measure is strictly regulated based on extensive international experience. While new products, such as foamed stone dust, offer significant practical benefits, no benchmark tests currently exist to certify their dust lifting performance in comparison to dry stone dust. This paper reviews the coal dust explosion mechanism, and argues that benchmark testing should focus on dust lifting during the initial development of the explosion, prior to arrival of the flame. In a practical context, this requires the generation of shock waves with Mach numbers ranging from 1.05 to 1.4, and test times of the order of 10’s to 100’s of milliseconds. These proposed test times are significantly longer than previous laboratory studies, however, for certification purposes, it is argued that the dust lifting behaviour should be examined over the full timescales of an actual explosion scenario. These conditions can be accurately targeted using a shock tube at length scales of approximately 50 m. It is further proposed that useful test time can be maximised if an appropriately sized orifice plate is fitted to the tube exit, an arrangement which also offers practical advantages for testing. The paper demonstrates this operating capability with proof-of-concept experiments using The University of Queensland’s X3 impulse facility