CURRENT ISSUE
HEALTHCARE
The Other Hygienists
Dental personnel face unique occupational exposures, including bacteria, viruses, dusts, gases, radiation, and other respiratory hazards. In addition, many dental offices are small employers that may be exempt from some OSHA requirements. What does all this mean for dental workers when it comes to workplace hazards?
CHEMICAL AND MATERIAL HAZARDS
Ototoxicants and Hearing Impairment
Noise has traditionally been considered the primary risk factor for hearing loss. However, recent evidence suggests that exposures to chemicals commonly found in industrial environments may affect hearing alone or in combination with noise exposure.
A Holistic Approach to Risk, Part 3
This article is the third in a series that focuses on the concept of risk throughout various industries. The content in this article stems from separate interviews with risk leaders from the technology industry.
RISK
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.
COMMUNICATION AND TRAINING
Teaching Health and Safety to Young Workers
Authors Roberta Smith and Rebecca J. Guerin describe recent efforts to raise awareness about workplace safety and health among Colorado students in grades 7 through 12.
BY THE NUMBERS
The Problem of PFAS
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine held a two-day workshop in September to address questions about exposure to and control of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS.
SPONSORS
IH PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
Sealing the Deal
Your company has decided that its financial performance supports “inorganic growth,” or making an acquisition. As the EHS professional, you will play a key role in this process.
SPONSORED CONTENT
Finger on the Pulse
Casella's Tim Turney writes: "Just as perceptions of asbestos shifted as its impacts on health came to light, we are now seeing a similar shift regarding a substance that many are hailing as 'the next asbestos'—crystalline silica."
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