OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH: WORKPLACE

INJURIES AND DISEASES

Conrad (Dan) Volz, DrPH, MPH Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Director, Center for Healthy Environments and Communities Director, Environmental Health Risk Assessment Certificate Program

Assistant Professor of Law (Secondary Appointment)

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Bridgeside Point, 100 Technology Drive Room 334, BRIDG Pittsburgh, PA 15219-3130 Email: cdv5@pitt.edu

At first, the school focused on occupational and industrial health and hygiene, especially in Pittsburgh. At that time, Pittsburgh was the

world's largest producer of steel. So prominent was GSPH's research that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration used only

GSPH data to create the first national standards for worker safety and health on the job.

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND OCCUPATIONAL MEDICINE

HAVE A LONG PROUD HISTORY AND WERE CENTRAL TO

THE FORMATION AND MISSION OF THE GRADUATE

SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

T01: Abridged List of Noteworthy Figures in the History of Occupational Health

T02: Names of Classic Occupational Diseases Found in Historical Literature

02: Patient afflicted with phossy jaw.

Source: Reprinted from New Zealand Department of Labour, Occupational Safety and Health

Service. Jaw—Phossy. Available at: http://www.osh.dol.govt.nz/kidz/gore/jphossy.shtml.

Accessed April 5, 2010. © Crown copyright [2002].

T03: Categories of Occupationally Associated Diseases or Injuries, Agent

Factors, and Associated Work Settings

T04: Occupationally Associated Respiratory Diseases

07: Occupational contact dermatitis.

Source: Reprinted from MM Key, AF Henschel, J Butler, et al., eds. Occupational Diseases: A Guide to Their

Recognition. (Rev. ed.) Washington, DC: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; 1977:78.

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH

ADMINISTRATION

HTTP://WWW.OSHA.GOV/

OSHA's mission is to assure the safety and health of America's workers by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach, and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual improvement in workplace safety and health.

THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR OCCUPATIONAL

HEALTH AND SAFETY (NIOSH)

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/homepage.html

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

(NIOSH) is the federal agency responsible for conducting

research and making recommendations for the prevention of

work-related injury and illness. NIOSH is part of the Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the

Department of Health and Human Services.

SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS OF NIOSH

Develop recommendations for occupational safety and health standards;

• Perform all functions of the Secretary of Health and Human Services under Sections 20 and 21 of the Act • Conduct Research on Worker Safety and Health (Section 20)

• Conduct Training and Employee Education (Section 21)

Develop information on safe levels of exposure to toxic materials and harmful physical agents and substances

FUNCTIONS OF NIOSH CONTINUED.

Conduct research on new safety and health problems;

Conduct on-site investigations (Health Hazard Evaluations)

to determine the toxicity of materials used in workplaces (42

CFR Parts 85 and 85a); and

Fund research by other agencies or private organizations

through grants, contracts, and other arrangements.

ADDITIONAL NIOSH FUNCTIONS UNDER THE FEDERAL

MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH AMENDMENTS ACT OF 1977

Develop recommendations for mine health standards for the

Mine Safety and Health Administration;

Administer a medical surveillance program for miners,

including chest X-rays to detect pneumoconiosos (black

lung disease) in coal miners;

Conduct on-site investigations in mines similar to those

authorized for general industry under the OSH Act; and

Test and certify personal protective equipment and hazard-

measurement instruments

STATISTICS RELEVANT TO OCCUPATIONAL

DISEASES AND INJURIES

Number of illness cases in private industry by type of illness, 1972–2001

Injuries and illnesses in private industry, 2001.

Distribution of injuries and illnesses by nature, 2008.

Number of deaths of U.S. residents aged 15 or older with pneumoconiosis

recorded as an underlying or contributing cause on the death certificate,

1968–1999.

05: Number of illness cases in private industry by type of illness, 1972–2001.

Source: Sestito JP, Lunsford RA, Hamilton AC, Rosa RR, eds. Worker Health Chartbook 2004.

NIOSH Publication Number 2004-146. Cincinnati, OH: Department of Health and Human

Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupa

04: Injuries and illnesses in private industry, 2001.

Source: Sestito JP, Lunsford RA, Hamilton AC, Rosa RR, eds. Worker Health

Chartbook 2004. NIOSH Publication Number 2004-146. Cincinnati, OH:

Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention, National Institute for Occupa

06: Distribution of injuries and illnesses by nature, 2008.

Source: Reprinted from US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Injuries,

Illnesses, and Fatalities. Case and demographic characteristics for work-related injuries and

illnesses involving days away from work. Available at: http://www.bls.gov/ii

08: Number of deaths of U.S. residents aged 15 or older with pneumoconiosis

recorded as an underlying or contributing cause on the death certificate,

1968–1999.

Source: Sestito JP, Lunsford RA, Hamilton AC, Rosa RR, eds. Worker Health Chartbook 2004. NIOSH

Publication Number 2004-146. Cincinnati, OH: Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupa

09: Section of a lung showing coal workers’ pneumoconiosis. The dark areas

are caused by coal deposits.

Source: Reprinted from MM Key, AF Henschel, J Butler, et al, eds. Occupational Diseases: A

Guide to Their Recognition. (Rev. ed.) Washington, DC: National Institute for Occupational Safety

and Health; 1977:102.

11: The worker shown is sawing bricks while unprotected from breathing silica

dust.

Source: Reprinted from CDC, National Institute for Occupational Safety and

Health (NIOSH). Silicosis: Learn the Facts. DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No.

2004-108. Washington, DC: NIOSH; 2004:6.

TYPES OF ASBESTOS- WHAT'S SO SPECIAL

ABOUT ASBESTOS?

chrysotile

amosite

crocidolite

tremolite

anthophyllite

actinolite

Asbestos splits longitudinally into finer and finer fibers that have aerodynamic equivalent diameters in the fraction that can be inhaled and retained in the deep lung.

OSHA Asbestos Factsheet: U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health

Administration 2002

DISEASES ASSOCIATED WITH ASBESTOS

EXPOSURE

Asbestosis

Mesothelioma

Lung Cancer

Asbestos exposure causes half the occupational health related cancer deaths worldwide. (ILO)

Asbestos disease is associated with the fibre type, size, dose, type of industrial processing and smoking history of the worker. (ILO)

There is no threshold for the development of cancer for chrysotile asbestos. (ILO)

WHAT ARE THE OSHA PERMISSIBLE EXPOSURE

LIMITS FOR ASBESTOS?

Employee exposure to asbestos must not

exceed 0.1 fiber per cubic centimeter (f/cc) of

air, averaged over an 8-hour work shift.

Short-term exposure must also be limited to not

more than 1 f/cc, averaged over 30 minutes.

Rotation of employees to achieve compliance

with either permissible exposure limit (PEL) is

prohibited.

OSHA Asbestos Factsheet: U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health

Administration 2002

ASBESTOS WORK FALLS WITHIN FOUR CLASSES:

Class I asbestos work, the most hazardous class of asbestos jobs, involves the removal of

asbestos-containing or presumed asbestos- containing thermal insulation and sprayed-on

or toweled-on surfacing material.

Thermal insulation includes asbestos-containing materials applied to pipes, boilers, tanks,

ducts, or other structural components to prevent heat loss or gain.

Surfacing materials may include decorative plaster on ceilings, acoustical materials on

decking, or fireproofing on structural members.

Oregon OSHA Asbestos Factsheet: www.orosha.org

ASBESTOS WORK FALLS WITHIN FOUR

CLASSES:

Class II work includes the removal of other types of

asbestos-containing materials that are not thermal

insulation, such as flooring and roofing materials.

Examples of Class II work include removal of floor

or ceiling tiles, siding, roofing, or transite panels.

Removing intact incidental roofing materials, such

as cements, mastics, coatings, and flashings, is

not regulated as Class II. And can be Class I if

done using mechanical abrasion.

Oregon OSHA Asbestos Factsheet: www.orosha.org

ASBESTOS WORK FALLS WITHIN FOUR

CLASSES:

Class III asbestos work includes repair and maintenance operations where asbestos-containing or presumed asbestos containing materials are disturbed. The primary purpose of the work is not to remove or disturb asbestos, although some removal or disturbance may occur. Examples of Class III work include repairing broken pipes that have asbestos wrapping, installing floor anchors in an area with asbestos floor tile, or installing electrical conduit through walls with asbestos insulation.

Class IV operations include maintenance and custodial activities in which employees contact but do not disturb asbestos containing materials. These activities must be related to the construction project, usually resulting from Class I, II, or III activities.

Oregon OSHA Asbestos Factsheet: www.orosha.org

Dusts including fibers

Mists

Fumes

Gases

Vapors

Mixtures

TYPES OF AIR CONTAMINANTS

AIR CONTAMINANTS DUSTS

Dusts are solid particles generated by handling,

crushing, grinding, colliding, exploding, and heating

organic or inorganic materials such as rock, ore,

metal, coal, wood, and grain.

Dusts in the size range of from 1-10 microns in

aerodynamic equivalent diameter are respirable.

Silica, Grain Elevators, Coal etc.

AIR CONTAMINANTS FIBERS

Fibers are solid particles whose length is several

times greater than their diameter, such as asbestos.

Fibers have a length to width aspect ratio of 3 to 1 or

greater and can have aerodynamic equivalent

diameters of between 1-10 microns.

Asbestos Inhalation-asbestosis, lung cancer,

mesothelioma.

AIR CONTAMINANTS MISTS

The term mist is applied to liquid suspended in the

atmosphere. Mists are generated by liquids

condensing from a vapor back to a liquid or by a liquid

being dispersed by splashing or atomizing. Aerosols

are also a form of a mist characterized by highly

respirable, minute liquid particles.

Pickling and Coating Processes in Steel Production, Oil

Mists in Machining.

AIR CONTAMINANTS FUMES

Fumes are formed when material from a

volatilized solid condenses in cool air. In most

cases, the solid particles resulting from the

condensation react with air to form an oxide.

Examples-Welding fumes, soldering fumes-

leads to metal fume fever/zinc chills.

AIR CONTAMINANTS GASES

Gases are formless fluids that expand to occupy the

space or enclosure in which they are confined.

Gases can displace oxygen causing asphyxiation.

CO-binds preferentially with hemoglobin –

carboxyhemoglobin-decreasing the bloods ability to

carry oxygen.

Chlorine gas reacts with water to produce HCL in lung

tissue-pulmonary edema.

AIR CONTAMINANTS VAPORS

Vapors are the volatile form of substances that

are normally in a solid or liquid state at room

temperature and pressure.

Organic solvents like trichloroethylene and

aromatic hydrocarbons like benzene.

CONTROL OF WORKPLACE HAZARDS

Engineering Controls-First line of defense, removes contaminant before exposure can occur.

Work Practices-Never dry sweep toxic dusts, always wet clean.

Administrative Controls-rotation of workers so that they are not always performing the most hazardous work, or doing hazardous work in off hours.

Personal Protective Equipment-Last line of control, protective clothing, gloves and respirators.

Noise is a Physical Hazard.

Sound Waves have Amplitude by Frequency-so their health effects depend

both on amplitude and frequency.

OCCUPATIONAL HEARING LOSS

12: The outer, middle, and inner ear.

Source: Adapted and reprinted from National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The

effects of space flight on the human vestibular system. Available at:

http://weboflife.nasa.gov/learningResources/vestibularbrief.htm. Accessed May 14, 2010.

16: Permissible noise levels in the U.S. workplace.

Source: Reprinted from CDC, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

(NIOSH). Noise and Hearing Loss Prevention. Available at:

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/noise/pubs/lookatnoise. html. Accessed April 6,

2010.

14: Carpenters’ noise exposures from tools used for various tasks.

Source: Reprinted from CDC, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

(NIOSH). Noise and Hearing Loss Prevention. Available at:

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/noise/pubs/toolnoiselevel.html. Accessed April 6,

2010.

15: The average 25-year-old carpenter has the ears of a 50-year-old person

who has not been exposed to noise.

Source: Reprinted from CDC, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Noise and Hearing Loss

Prevention. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/noise/pubs/50yearold.html. Accessed April 6, 2010.