Electric accidents in the production, transmission, and distribution of electric energy: a review of the literature. (73/1061)

Many work related electric accidents occurred in electric energy industries and they were very often fatal. The situation of electric accidents in electric companies worldwide is investigated by reviewing the scientific literature, to offer perspectives on the types and kinds of statistics available, the factors regarded as influencing their occurrence, their consequences, and also methodological shortcomings. Worldwide, reliable comparable data exist and indicate a downward trend in fatal electric accidents. Difficulties were encountered in compiling international statistics because of differences in how accident data were defined and recorded, variations in mandatory practices, lack of suitable data and indices, accident insurance systems, and lack of correlation between technical, financial, and medical aspects.  (+info)

Physical agents in the occupational environment in Estonia. (74/1061)

Physical agents cause several physical and mental health disorders and reduce human capability for work, in most severe cases they cause disability. Usually the influence of these physical factors takes place in the work environment and depends on the factor's intensity, exposure time, and individual characteristics. Influence is cumulative and may manifest itself after a long period of time, in several years. It is recommended to follow internationally recognized limit values of factors and introduce medical control of people before they start working as well as periodical medical control. From the most widespread risk factors, this article deals with noise with the data obtained from objective studies on Estonia.  (+info)

Advantages of the rapid HIV-1 test in occupational accidents with potentially contaminated material among health workers. (75/1061)

In occupational accidents involving health professionals handling potentially contaminated material, the decision to start or to continue prophylactic medication against infection by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has been based on the ELISA test applied to a blood sample from the source patient. In order to rationalize the prophylactic use of antiretroviral agents, a rapid serologic diagnostic test of HIV infection was tested by the enzymatic immunoabsorption method (SUDS HIV 1+2, MUREX) and compared to conventional ELISA (Abbott HIV-1/ HIV-2 3rd Generation plus EIA). A total of 592 cases of occupational accidents were recorded at the University Hospital of Ribeirao Preto from July 1998 to April 1999. Of these, 109 were simultaneously evaluated by the rapid test and by ELISA HIV. The rapid test was positive in three cases and was confirmed by ELISA and in one the result was inconclusive and later found to be negative by ELISA. In the 106 accidents in which the rapid test was negative no prophylactic medication was instituted, with an estimated reduction in costs of US$ 2,889.35. In addition to this advantage, the good correlation of the rapid test with ELISA, the shorter duration of stress and the absence of exposure of the health worker to the adverse effects of antiretroviral agents suggest the adoption of this test in Programs of Attention to Accidents with Potentially Contaminated Material.  (+info)

Use of narrative analysis for comparisons of the causes of fatal accidents in three countries: New Zealand, Australia, and the United States. (76/1061)

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the utility of narrative analysis of text information for describing the mechanism of injury and to compare the patterns of the mechanism of injury for work related fatalities in three countries. METHODS: Three national collections of data on work related fatalities were used in this study including those for New Zealand, 1985-94 (n=723), for Australia, 1989-92 (n=1,220), and for the United States, 1989-92 (16,383). The New Zealand and Australian collections used the type of occurrence standard code for the mechanism of injury, however the United States collection did not. All three databases included a text description of the circumstances of the fatality so a text based analysis was developed to enable a comparison of the mechanisms of injury in each of the three countries. A test set of 200 cases from each country dataset was used to develop the narrative analysis and to allow comparison of the narrative and standard approaches to mechanism coding. RESULTS: The narrative coding was more useful for some types of injury than others. Differences in coding the narrative codes compared with the standard code were mainly due to lack of sensitivity in detecting cases for all three datasets, although specificity was always high. The pattern of causes was very similar between the two coding methods and between the countries. Hit by moving objects, falls, and rollovers were among the five most common mechanisms of workplace fatalities for all countries. More common mechanisms that distinguished the three countries were electrocutions for Australia, drowning for New Zealand, and gunshot for the United States. CONCLUSION: Narrative analysis shows some promise as an alternative approach for investigating the causes of fatalities.  (+info)

Non-fatal occupational injuries and illnesses treated in hospital emergency departments in the United States. (77/1061)

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the number and rate of occupational injuries and illnesses treated in hospital emergency departments and to characterize the nature, event, and source of injury and illness. SETTING: Twenty four hour emergency departments in hospitals in the United States. METHODS: Surveillance for occupational injuries and illnesses was conducted in a national probability based sample of hospital emergency departments through the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS). Worker demographics, nature of injury and disposition, and incident circumstances were abstracted from emergency department medical records, typically within 24-72 hours of treatment. RESULTS: Approximately 3.6 million occupational injuries and illnesses were treated in emergency departments in 1998. Younger workers, particularly males, continue to have the highest rates of work related injuries. Together, lacerations, punctures, amputations, and avulsions represented one fourth of the emergency department treated injuries, mostly to hand and fingers. Sprains and strains, largely to the trunk, also accounted for one fourth of the injuries. The three leading injury events were contact with objects, bodily reactions and exertions, and falls. CONCLUSIONS: Despite apparent decreases in rates, youth continue to have a high burden of injury in the workplace. However, three fourths of all emergency department treated injuries occur to workers 20-44 years of age. Emergency department surveillance is particularly amenable to capture of young worker injuries and provides a wealth of injury details to guide prevention efforts--efforts that will likely reduce occupational injuries as these workers age. Emergency department surveillance also provides injury estimates with few demographic or employer constraints, other than the medical venue used.  (+info)

The Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation program's role in the prevention of occupational fatalities. (78/1061)

OBJECTIVES: The objective of the Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) program is to prevent traumatic occupational fatalities in the United States by identifying and investigating work situations at high risk for injury and formulating and disseminating prevention strategies to those who can intervene in the workplace. SETTING: The FACE program is a research program located in the Division of Safety Research, a division of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). NIOSH is an agency of the United States government and is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. NIOSH is responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for prevention of work related illnesses and injuries. FACE investigators conduct traumatic occupational fatality investigations throughout the United States and provide technical assistance to 15 state health or labor departments who have cooperative agreements with NIOSH to conduct traumatic fatality surveillance, targeted investigations, and prevention activities at the state level. METHODS: Investigations are conducted at the worksite using the FACE model, an approach derived from the research conducted by William Haddon Jr. This approach reflects the public health perspective that the etiology of injuries is multifactorial and largely preventable. FACE investigators gather information on multiple factors that may have contributed to traumatic occupational fatalities. Information on factors associated with the agent (energy exchange, for example, thermal energy, mechanical energy, electrical energy, chemical energy), host (worker who died), and the environment (the physical and social aspects of the workplace), during the pre-event, event, and post-event time phases of the fatal incident are collected and analyzed. Organizational, behavioral, and environmental factors contributing to the death are detailed and prevention recommendations formulated and disseminated to help prevent future incidents of a similar nature. RESULTS: Between 1982 and the present, more than 1,500 fatality investigations have been conducted and reports with prevention recommendations distributed. Findings have been published in scientific and trade journals; safety professionals and policy makers have used FACE findings for prevention efforts; and working partnerships have been formed to address newly emerging safety concerns. CONCLUSIONS: FACE investigations identify multiple factors contributing to fatal occupational injuries, which lead to the formulation and dissemination of diverse strategies for preventing deaths of a similar nature.  (+info)

Fire incidents involving regulators used in portable oxygen systems. (79/1061)

OBJECTIVES: To address the causes and prevention of fire incidents involving aluminum bodied oxygen regulators used by firefighters or emergency medical technicians. METHODS: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the United States Food and Drug Administration, and an independent forensic investigator examined several incidents involving injury to firefighters and emergency medical technicians to determine why regulators in these incidents flashed. RESULTS: Data and test results from investigations revealed that aluminum was a contributing factor, and there were a number of safe handling techniques which firefighters and emergency medical technicians could use to reduce the risk of regulator fires. A provisional test method was proposed by the American Society for Testing and materials (ASTM) in late 2000 to identify designs that would have a propensity for flashing. Results of the test method show good correlation with actual fire incidents. CONCLUSION: Development of the ASTM standard and associated testing will be helpful to oxygen regulator designers to design safer oxygen regulator systems. As well, there are a number of additional safe handling procedures that firefighters and emergency medical technicians can follow to reduce the risk of a regulator fire.  (+info)

Preventing tractor rollover fatalities: performance of the NIOSH autoROPS. (80/1061)

Approximately 132 agricultural tractor overturn fatalities occur per year. The use of rollover protective structures (ROPS), along with seat belts, is the best known method for preventing these fatalities. One impediment to ROPS use, however, is low clearance situations, such as orchards and animal confinement buildings. To address the need for ROPS that are easily adapted to low clearance situations, the Division of Safety Research, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), developed an automatically deploying, telescoping ROPS (Auto-ROPS). The NIOSH AutoROPS consists of two subsystems. The first is a retractable ROPS that is normally latched in its lowered position for day-to-day use. The second subsystem is a sensor that monitors the operating angle of the tractor. Ifa rollover condition is detected by the sensor, the retracted ROPS will deploy and lock in the full upright position before ground contact. Static load testing and field upset tests of the NIOSH AutoROPS have been conducted in accordance with SAE standard J2194. Additionally, timed trials of the AutoROPS deployment mechanism were completed. The design of the retractable ROPS and sensor, as well as the results of the different testing phases are discussed.  (+info)