Survey of Correlation between Two Evaluation Method of Work Related Musculoskeletal Disorders Risk Factors REBA& RULA

Background and aims   Musculoskeletal disorder is one of the biggest occupational health problems in workplaces of industries. According to the national statistics, the proportion of musculoskeletal diseases of all occupation diseases in the United States is 44% (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1996). On the basis of report of National Institute Occupational Safety and Health of USA(NIOSH), WMSDs is in the second place between the work-related diseases. Poor working  postures constitute one of the main risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders. Recognition,  evaluation and control action for prevention of occur disorders is important to protect and  promotion of workers health. For evaluation of WMSDs risk factor, various methods have been  presented. Two practical methods for analyzing and controlling poor working postures in  workplaces are REBA and RULA.   Methods   This research is a cross-sectional study that was conducted in order to survey of  correlation between two evaluation methods of WMSDs risk factors REBA& RULAin one of the ophthalmic lens manufacture factory.At first, jobs were surveyed and all subtasks of jobs recognized and 40 jobs out of 77 were selected. Then REBA& RULAmethods were carried out  for this jobs. Also, The final scores and action levels were determined.   Results   The result revealed that: there was a significant correlation between final score of two  methods (r = 0.781) and action levels of two methods (r=0.821). Compare to action levels, two  methods in all jobs showed that There was no significant difference between action levels at jobs  (p = 0.16) also between action levels of two methods in any of workplaces separately.  Result of REBA& RULAmethods revealed that risk level of lower arm, upper arm and wrist was  higher than trunk, neck, and legs because of awkward posture of the mentioned parts. Result of  RULAand REBAtechnique indicated that, action levels of all jobs were not acceptable.   Conclusion   On the basis of mentioned result above, this study indicated that, there was no  significant correlation between two methods and methods have a strong correlation in identifying  critical work site and determining critical limb. Therefore, both methods are recommended for   evaluation of work-related musculoskeletal disorders risk factors in industrie

Quantitative and qualitative measurement of styrene in Tabriz Petrochemical Complex

Background and aims   Beside the vast usages of styrene in different industries, this compound can be considered as an important organic air pollutant. Styrene, in one hand, can adversely affect on workers and on the other hands can cause air pollution in the environment. In this study, Tabriz Petrochemical Complex was selected for evaluation of styrene.   Methods   Measurements were performed separately in production lines of olephin and styrene and sampling sites were selected randomly in both olephine and styrene lines. For evaluation of styrene, occupational sampling was performed based on method number 834 recommended in the book "Air sampling analysis". The method was extended using some correction factors. Sampling  process was performed in seasons Summer and Autumn. To draw isoline curves of Pollution,   Surfer software version 504 was used.    Results & Conclusion   The results showed that, there were no significant difference between concentration of pollutants and seasons. Agreement between styrene concentration and prailing winds showed a significant difference between styrene and prailing winds.  

Presence of Atrazine in the Biological Samples of Cattle and Its Consequence Adversity in Human Health

Background: Cattle can be considered as an important source for herbicides through nutrition. Therefore, herbicide residue in animal products is a potential human exposure to herbicides causing public health problems in human life. Triazines are a group of herbicides primarily used to control broadleaf weeds in corn and other feed ingredients and are considered as possible human carcinogens. To evaluate trace residue of these pollutants molecular imprinted solid phase extraction (MISPE) method has been developed, using biological samples.Methods: Blood samples were taken from the jugular vein of 45 Holstein cows in 3 commercial dairy farms in Khuzestan Province, Iran. Urine samples were also taken from the cows.Results: The mean ± SD concentrations of atrazine in serum and urine samples of the study group (0.739 ± 0.567 ppm and 1.389 ± 0.633 ppm, respectively) were higher (P < 0.05) than the concentrations in serum and urine samples of the control group (0.002 ± 0.005 ppm and 0.012 ± 0.026 ppm, respectively).Conclusion: Atrazine in the feed ingredients ingested by cattle could be transferred into the biological samples and conse­quently can be considered as a potential hazard for the public health

Evaluation of AirPollution Control fromViewpoints of Cost- Benefit Analysis in a Tile Industry

Background and Aims:Methyl Methacrylate (MMA) which is known as a long, skin and eyeirritant is the most common form of acrylic plastic used in dental laboratories. The aims of thisstudy were to evaluate dental technicians, exposure to MMAand to assess their health with a focuson respiratory and dermal symptoms.Method: Exposure to MMA, total dust and health symptoms were investigated in 20 dentallaboratories located in Tehran, Iran. Time weighted average (TWA) of MMA and peakconcentrations were determined , using XAD-2 tubes followed by GC-ID analysis. Total dustwere evaluated gravimetrically. Health symptoms were asked using a questionnaire.Results :The TWAfor technicians with direct and indirect exposure to MMAwere 327.28 + 79.42and 282.9 + 41.84 mg/m3, respectively. Peak concentration of MMA for those technicians were337.0 + 36.81 and 328.88 + 45.40 mg/m3, respectively. There were no significant differencesbetween TWAof MMAand peak concentration in different weakly workdays; low ever, within -day variations were observed (P<0.05). TWAof MMA and peak concentration correlation withthe laboratory volume were 0.61- 0.65, Dust exposure of technicians was 2.35 + 2.70 mg/m3.Cough and Skin dryness were the common health symptoms. Smoking and asbestos exposurehistory were factors influencing cough prevalence (P<0.005).Conclusion:It is concluded that the current short - Term Exposure Limit (STEL) is not low enoughto protect technicians against the adverse effects caused by MMA

Trace Analysis of Xylene in Occupational Exposures Monitoring

&quot;nBackground: Determination of organic pollutants usually requires extraction of the pollutants from samples, using hazard&amp;shy;ous solvent. Solid phase micro-extraction (SPME) is a solvent-free equilibrium extraction method, in which, proper calibra&amp;shy;tion can allow quantitative measurements of organic pollutants at a very good sensitivity without the use of any organic sol&amp;shy;vent. Because individual VOCs are generally present in urine only at trace levels, a sensitive and accurate determination technique is essential.&quot;nMethods: This study describes the optimization of headspace solid phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) followed by gas chromatography equipped with flame ionization detector (GC-FID) for xylene in spiked urine. Through this investigation, the parameters affecting the extraction and GC determination of xylene, including extraction time, temperature, desorption temperature, desorption time, salt addition, sample pH, sample volume and sample agitation were studied.&quot;nResults: An op&amp;shy;timized headspace extraction was carried out at 30&amp;deg;C for 6 min in presence of 0.2 gml-1 of NaCl in the sample solution. De&amp;shy;sorption of the xylene was carried out for 60 sec. at 250&amp;deg;C. The optimized procedure was also validated with three different pools of spiked urine samples and showed a good reproducibility over six consecutive days as well as six within-day ex&amp;shy;periments. In this study, the accuracy, linearity, and detection limits were also determined.&quot;nConclusion: The HS-SPME-GC-FID technique provided a relatively simple, convenient, practical procedure, which can be successfully applied for determination of xylene in spiked urine when an occupational exposure monitoring is required

Exposure to Methyl Methacrylate and Its Subjective Symptoms Among Dental Technicians, Tehran, Iran

Background and aims   Methyl Methacrylate (MMA) which is known as a long, skin and eye  irritant is the most common form of acrylic plastic used in dental laboratories. The aims of this study were to evaluate dental technicians, exposure to MMAand to assess their health with a focus  on respiratory and dermal symptoms.   Methods   Exposure to MMA, total dust and health symptoms were investigated in 20 dental  laboratories located in Tehran, Iran. Time weighted average (TWA) of MMA and peak  concentrations were determined , using XAD-2 tubes followed by GC-ID analysis. Total dust  were evaluated gravimetrically. Health symptoms were asked using a questionnaire.   Results   The TWAfor technicians with direct and indirect exposure to MMAwere 327.28 + 79.42  and 282.9 + 41.84 mg/m3, respectively. Peak concentration of MMA for those technicians were  337.0 + 36.81 and 328.88 + 45.40 mg/m3, respectively. There were no significant differences  between TWAof MMAand peak concentration in different weakly workdays; low ever, within -  day variations were observed (P<0.05). TWAof MMA and peak concentration correlation with  the laboratory volume were 0.61- 0.65, Dust exposure of technicians was 2.35 + 2.70 mg/m3. Cough and Skin dryness were the common health symptoms. Smoking and asbestos exposure history were factors influencing cough prevalence (P<0.005).   Conclusion   It is concluded that the current short - Term Exposure Limit (STEL) is not low enough to protect technicians against the adverse effects caused by MMA.