Airborne formaldehyde concentrations can be measured using several different techniques, including laboratory-based methods and direct-reading instruments. Two commercially available direct-reading instruments, an RKI Instruments Model FP-30 and a PPM Technology Formaldemeter htV, were compared with National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Method 2016 in different test environments...

HYPOTHESIS Exposure to certain new surgical instruments and operating room devices during procedures could cause hearing damage to patients and personnel. BACKGROUND Surgical instruments and related equipment generate significant sound levels during routine usage. Both patients and physicians are exposed to these levels during the operative cases, many of which can last for hours. The noise l...

According to Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) data, during 2008-2012 in the U.S., there were, on average, 65 lost-time accidents per year during routine mining and maintenance activities involving remote-controlled continuous mining machines (CMMs). To address this problem, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is currently investigating the implementatio...

Falls remain a leading cause of unintentional injury mortality nationwide [corrected].Among workers, approximately 20% of fall injuries involve ladders. Among construction workers, an estimated 81% of fall injuries treated in U.S. emergency departments (EDs) involve a ladder. To fully characterize fatal and nonfatal injuries associated with ladder falls among workers in the United States, CDC's...

BACKGROUND Manual material handling is one of the major health and safety hazards in industry. This study aims to assess the lifting tasks, before and after intervention using NIOSH lifting equation and Manual Handling Assessment Charts (MAC). METHODS This interventional study was performed in 2011 in a tile manufacturing industry in Hamadan, located in the West of Iran. The prevalence of mus...

PURPOSE To assess possible damage to the hearing of experimental and companion animal subjects of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. MATERIALS AND METHODS Using animal hearing threshold data and sound level measurements from typical MRI pulse sequences, we estimated "equivalent loudness" experienced by several experimental and companion animals commonly subjects of MRI scans. We compared...

BACKGROUND Welding can produce dangerous fumes containing various metals especially carcinogenic ones. Occupational exposure to welding fumes is associated with lung cancer. Therefore, welders in Gas Transmission Pipelines are known as a high-risk group. This study was designed to determinate the amounts of metals Cr, Ni, and Cd in breathing zone and urine of welders and to assess the possibili...

OBJECTIVE The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Revised Lifting Equation (RNLE) was adapted to derive recommended weight limits (RWLs) for pregnant workers and to develop corresponding guidelines for clinicians. BACKGROUND In the past three decades there has been a large increase in the number of women employed outside the home and remaining in the workforce during...