The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) requests assistance in preventing organic dust toxic syndrome (ODTS), an acute respiratory illness in agricultural workers who inhale contaminated organic dust. This Alert describes four case reports in which a total of 29 agricultural workers developed ODTS following inhalation of organic dusts contaminated with microorganisms. ...

This paper reviews the 100-year history of federal electrical safety research in the U.S mining industry, originally by the US Bureau of Mines, and as carried on today by NIOSH. First, there is a brief historical review of the use of electrical power in mining and an examination of the associated shock, fire, and explosion hazards. These hazards were the impetus for government intervention to i...

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...

OBJECTIVES In the use of activated carbon beds as adsorbents for various types of organic vapor in respirator gas filters, water adsorption of the bed and test gas humidity are expected to alter the accuracy in the estimation of breakthrough data. There is increasing interest in the effects of moisture on estimation methods, and this study has investigated the effects with actual breakthrough d...

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...

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...