CURRENT ISSUE
CHEMICAL AND MATERIAL HAZARDS
Dermal Sensitizers
Skin sensitization is one of the most frequently encountered hazards in the workplace, yet one of the most perplexing to predict and prevent. Why is it so difficult to predict if an individual will react with a skin sensitization, and how can sensitization be prevented?
WORK-MANAGEMENT TIPS
Battling the Reptilian Brain
Distractions are all around us. Between work assignments, meetings, emails, family issues, social media, and the current political climate, it’s a wonder any of us accomplish anything. Fortunately, becoming a top performer in a world of distractions is quite simple. We just need to refine a few basic skills.
Preparing for the Future
Earlier this year, AIHA conducted a comprehensive environmental scan of the industrial hygiene profession. But what is an "environmental scan," and what does it mean for industrial hygienists?
BOARD PERSPECTIVE
CHEMICAL AND MATERIAL HAZARDS
Versatile and Vexing
From the December 2016 issue: The multipurpose compound peracetic acid has applications in several industries and is considered environmentally friendly. But it is also an irritant to workers, and little health and safety guidance exists for its use.
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Making Career Decisions with AIHA’s Salary Survey
Whether you're just entering the profession, searching for a new job, or trying to move up the ladder at your current company, AIHA's salary and compensation report can be a useful resource for your career development plan.
BY THE NUMBERS
Nurses and Fatigue
At a recent NIOSH forum on sleep and workplace fatigue, Holly Carpenter, a senior policy advisor for the American Nurses Association, presented data from an ANA survey that asked nurses to provide information on shift length and fatigue.
SPONSORS
IH PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
Cost Estimates for OEHS Recommendations
To provide or ensure a safe and healthy environment, every OEHS professional makes recommendations to management. There is always a cost associated with any such recommendation. Sometimes determining the cost is simple, like finding the price of a respirator in a catalog. Often, however, estimates are more complex than that.
BACTERIA AND VIRUSES
Appreciating the Role of IH in Infectious Diseases
Mark Ames, AIHA's director of Government Relations, recently attended a meeting in Washington, D.C., focused on the United States' preparedness for pandemics. It was the first-ever combined workshop of public and private partners to discuss supply chain issues related to the Strategic National Stockpile.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
CHEMICAL AND MATERIAL HAZARDS
The Ear Poisons
From the November 2018 issue: Noise is not the only etiology of hearing loss. Enter ototoxicants—chemical substances that cause hearing loss once they are introduced to the body through the traditional routes of exposure.
CHEMICAL AND MATERIAL HAZARDS
Electronic Cigarettes and the IH
From the May 2019 issue: AIHA’s white paper on e-cigarettes was recently updated to discuss the latest research on e-cigarette hazards. How should industrial hygienists and safety and health professionals address the occupational and public health concerns associated with e-cigarettes?
Although the print version of The Synergist indicated The IAQ Investigator's Guide, 3rd edition, was already published, it isn't quite ready yet. We will be sure to let readers know when the Guide is available for purchase in the AIHA Marketplace.
My apologies for the error.
- Ed Rutkowski, Synergist editor
Disadvantages of being unacclimatized:
- Readily show signs of heat stress when exposed to hot environments.
- Difficulty replacing all of the water lost in sweat.
- Failure to replace the water lost will slow or prevent acclimatization.
- Increased sweating efficiency (earlier onset of sweating, greater sweat production, and reduced electrolyte loss in sweat).
- Stabilization of the circulation.
- Work is performed with lower core temperature and heart rate.
- Increased skin blood flow at a given core temperature.
- Gradually increase exposure time in hot environmental conditions over a period of 7 to 14 days.
- For new workers, the schedule should be no more than 20% of the usual duration of work in the hot environment on day 1 and a no more than 20% increase on each additional day.
- For workers who have had previous experience with the job, the acclimatization regimen should be no more than 50% of the usual duration of work in the hot environment on day 1, 60% on day 2, 80% on day 3, and 100% on day 4.
- The time required for non–physically fit individuals to develop acclimatization is about 50% greater than for the physically fit.
- Relative to the initial level of physical fitness and the total heat stress experienced by the individual.
- Can be maintained for a few days of non-heat exposure.
- Absence from work in the heat for a week or more results in a significant loss in the beneficial adaptations leading to an increase likelihood of acute dehydration, illness, or fatigue.
- Can be regained in 2 to 3 days upon return to a hot job.
- Appears to be better maintained by those who are physically fit.
- Seasonal shifts in temperatures may result in difficulties.
- Working in hot, humid environments provides adaptive benefits that also apply in hot, desert environments, and vice versa.
- Air conditioning will not affect acclimatization.
Acclimatization in Workers