Lead exposure in the construction industry: results from the California Occupational Lead Registry, 1987 through 1989.
(17/95)
The construction industry is exempt from the medical monitoring portions of the US Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration General Industry Lead Standard. Of 28 construction workers reported to the California Occupational Lead Registry through March 1989, 11 (39%) had blood lead levels of 2.90 mumol/L (60 micrograms/dL) or greater, the level at which immediate removal from lead exposure is mandated in nonconstruction industries. Many workers had not been warned of possible lead exposure. The exemption of the construction industry from the General Industry Lead Standard should be reconsidered. (+info)
Impact of OSHA final rule--recording hearing loss: an analysis of an industrial audiometric dataset.
(18/95)
The 2003 Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Occupational Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting Final Rule changed the definition of recordable work-related hearing loss. We performed a study of the Alcoa Inc. audiometric database to evaluate the impact of this new rule. The 2003 rule increased the rate of potentially recordable hearing loss events from 0.2% to 1.6% per year. A total of 68.6% of potentially recordable cases had American Academy of Audiology/American Medical Association (AAO/AMA) hearing impairment at the time of recordability. On average, recordable loss occurred after onset of impairment, whereas the non-age-corrected 10-dB standard threshold shift (STS) usually preceded impairment. The OSHA Final Rule will significantly increase recordable cases of occupational hearing loss. The new case definition is usually accompanied by AAO/AMA hearing impairment. Other, more sensitive metrics should therefore be used for early detection and prevention of hearing loss. (+info)
Highway repair: a new silicosis threat.
(19/95)
OBJECTIVES: We describe an emerging public health concern regarding silicosis in the fast-growing highway repair industry. METHODS: We examined highway construction trends, silicosis surveillance case data, and environmental exposure data to evaluate the risk of silicosis among highway repair workers. We reviewed silicosis case data from the construction industry in 3 states that have silicosis registries, and we conducted environmental monitoring for silica at highway repair work sites. RESULTS: Our findings indicate that a large population of highway workers is at risk of developing silicosis from exposure to crystalline silica. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure control methods, medical screenings, protective health standards, and safety-related contract language are necessary for preventing future occupational disease problems among highway repair workers. (+info)
Costs of occupational injury and illness across industries.
(20/95)
OBJECTIVES: This study has ranked industries using estimated total costs and costs per worker. METHODS: This incidence study of nationwide data was carried out in 1993. The main outcome measure was total cost for medical care, lost productivity, and pain and suffering for the entire United States (US). The analysis was conducted using fatal and nonfatal injury and illness data recorded in large data sets from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Cost data were derived from workers' compensation records, estimates of lost wages, and jury awards. Current-value calculations were used to express all costs in 1993 in US dollars. RESULTS: The following industries were at the top of the list for average cost (cost per worker): taxicabs, bituminous coal and lignite mining, logging, crushed stone, oil field services, water transportation services, sand and gravel, and trucking. Industries high on the total-cost list were trucking, eating and drinking places, hospitals, grocery stores, nursing homes, motor vehicles, and department stores. Industries at the bottom of the cost-per-worker list included legal services, security brokers, mortgage bankers, security exchanges, and labor union offices. CONCLUSIONS: Detailed methodology was developed for ranking industries by total cost and cost per worker. Ranking by total costs provided information on total burden of hazards, and ranking by cost per worker provided information on risk. Industries that ranked high on both lists deserve increased research and regulatory attention. (+info)
Long-term ethylene oxide exposure trends in US hospitals: relationship with OSHA regulatory and enforcement actions.
(21/95)
OBJECTIVES: We assessed long-term trends in ethylene oxide (EtO) worker exposures for the purposes of exposure surveillance and evaluation of the impacts of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 1984 and 1988 EtO standards. METHODS: We obtained exposure data from a large commercial vendor and processor of EtO passive dosimeters. Personal samples (87,582 workshift [8-hr] and 46,097 short-term [15-min] samples) from 2265 US hospitals were analyzed for time trends from 1984 through 2001 and compared with OSHA enforcement data. RESULTS: Exposures declined steadily for the first several years after the OSHA standards were set. Workshift exposures continued to taper off and have remained low and constant through 2001. However, since 1996, the probability of exceeding the short-term excursion limit has increased. This trend coincides with a decline in enforcement of the EtO standard. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate the need for renewed intervention efforts to preserve gains made following the passage and implementation of the 1984 and 1988 EtO standards. (+info)
Work-related deaths in construction painting.
(22/95)
Analysis of investigation records of the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) concerning work-related deaths in Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 1721, construction painting, showed a higher risk of fatal injury than expected from cohort studies including injuries on and off the job. Work-related death rates were 2.3 x 10(-4)/year (ie, three to five times that of general industry). Of the 129 deaths investigated, the largest category was falls (N = 65), followed by electrocution (N = 40) and asphyxiation from solvents or oxygen deficiency (N = 6). Eighteen deaths had other causes. The average OSHA fine for the employer was USD 607.00/fatality. Only 31% of the deaths occurred at firms covered by a union contract. Risk of fatal injury was the highest for small firms with fewer than 10 employees. Cohort mortality studies based on records from unions or large employers probably exclude many small firms and so underestimate the risk of fatal injury to painters. (+info)
Occupational disease and workers' compensation: coverage, costs, and consequences.
(23/95)
Most of the costs of occupational disease are not covered by workers' compensation. First, the authors estimated the deaths and costs for all occupational disease in 1999, using epidemiological studies. Among the greatest contributors were job-related cancer, chronic respiratory disease, and circulatory disease. Second, the authors estimated the number of workers' compensation cases, costs, and deaths for 1999, using data from up to 16 states representing all regions of the country. Unlike the epidemiological studies that emphasized fatal diseases, the workers' compensation estimates emphasized nonfatal diseases and conditions like tendonitis and hernia. Comparisons of the epidemiological and workers' compensation estimates suggest that in 1999, workers' compensation missed roughly 46,000 to 93,000 deaths and 8 billion US dollars to 23 billion US dollars in medical costs. These deaths and costs represented substantial cost shifting from workers' compensation systems to individual workers, their families, private medical insurance, and taxpayers (through Medicare and Medicaid). Designing policies to reduce the cost shifting and its associated inefficiency will be challenging. (+info)
Standards Improvement Project-Phase II. Final rule.
(24/95)
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) through this final rule is continuing to remove and revise provisions of its standards that are outdated, duplicative, unnecessary, or inconsistent, or can be clarified or simplified by being written in plain language. The Agency completed Phase I of the Standards Improvement Project in June 1998. In this Phase II of the Standards Improvement Project, OSHA is again revising or removing a number of health provisions in its standards for general industry, shipyard employment, and construction. The Agency believes that the changes streamline and make more consistent the regulatory requirements in OSHA health and safety standards. In some cases, OSHA has made substantive revisions to requirements because they are outdated, duplicative, unnecessary, or inconsistent with more recently promulgated health standards. The Agency believes these revisions will reduce regulatory requirements for employers without reducing employee protection. (+info)