CONTENTS:

Articles:

PROTECTION OF HUMAN IN THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT

International Research Into Occupational Safety and Health Protection Karlheinz Meffert & Dietmar Reinert, 347-354       Design of Optimal Noise Hazard Control Strategy With Budget Constraint Krisada Asawarungsaengkul & Suebsak Nanthavanij, 355-367       Synergy Between Visual and Auditory Signals and Its Influence on the Follow-Up Regulation Quality Jerzy Słowikowski, Marek Dźwiarek & Maria Konarska, 369-377       Costs of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) in Developing Countries:Colombia Case Hugo Piedrahita, 379-386       Allowing for MSD Prevention During Facilities Planning for a Public Service: An a Posteriori Analysis of 10 Library Design Projects Marie Bellemare, Louis Trudel, Élise Ledoux, Sylvie Montreuil, Micheline Marier, Marie Laberge & Patrick Vincent, 387-397

PROTECTION OF HUMAN AT THE WORKSTATION

A Study of the Workload of Underground Trammers in the Ranigang Coal Field Area of West Bengal, India Netai Chandra Dey, Amalendu Samanta & Ratnadeep Saha, 399-407       Association Between Perceived Demands and Musculoskeletal Disorders Among Hospital Nurses of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences: A Questionnaire Survey Alireza Choobineh, Abdolreza Rajaeefard & Masoud Neghab, 409-416       Work Ability of Workers in Different Age Groups in a Public Health Institution in Brazil Maria Silvia Monteiro, Juhani Ilmarinen & Heleno Rodrigues Correa Filho, 417-427       Injury Risk in Behind Armor Blunt Thoracic Trauma Cameron R. Bass, Robert S. Salzar, Scott R. Lucas, Martin Davis, Lucy Donnellan, Benny Folk, Ellory Sanderson & Stanley Waclawik, 429-442       Evaluation of Workers’ Exposure to Methylene Diphenyl Diisocyanate (MDI) in an Automobile Manufacturing Company, Iran Hossein Kakooei, Seyed Jamaleddin Shahtaheri & Hossein-Ali Karbasi, 443-449

International Research Into Occupational Safety and Health Protection
Karlheinz Meffert & Dietmar Reinert

Are we doing the right thing? Are we setting the right priorities for the future in occupational safety and health research? How does BG (Institution for Statutory Accident Insurance and Prevention) research compare nationally and internationally? As a mosaic of answers to these questions, this article explores international research on priorities in occupational research and analyses these against the backdrop of the nearly 1,000 research projects conducted by 9 institutions from 8 countries in the year 2003.

Design of Optimal Noise Hazard Control Strategy With Budget Constraint
Krisada Asawarungsaengkul & Suebsak Nanthavanij

An analytical design procedure to determine optimal noise hazard control strategies for industrial facilities is presented. Its objective is to determine a set of appropriate noise controls to eliminate or reduce noise levels so that workers’ daily noise exposure does not exceed a permissible level. From a given noise control budget, engineering controls will be firstly implemented, followed by administrative controls, and then the use of hearing protection devices. Six optimization models are developed and sequentially applied to select appropriate noise controls without exceeding the budget. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the application of the proposed design procedure.

Synergy Between Visual and Auditory Signals and Its Influence on the Follow-Up Regulation Quality
Jerzy Słowikowski, Marek Dźwiarek & Maria Konarska

The study aimed at verifying a hypothesis that supporting a visual signal of regulation deviation with an auditory one could improve the quality of regulation; the operator would have better information on machine operation. A special simulator was applied to follow-up tracking with a manual lever which controlled vertical movements of a cursor on a monitor screen. Simultaneously with visual information on screen, the operator was provided with an auditory deviation signal of pre-determined characteristics. 33 young males underwent the test. It was found that supporting a visual signal with an auditory one resulted in an improvement in the regulation quality by 5–6%, which proved synergy between those signals. The results may be used in designing tele- and servo-mechanisms, especially for remote control machinery, e.g., inspection robots or micromanipulators controlled by operators in a follow-up system.

Costs of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) in Developing Countries: Colombia Case
Hugo Piedrahita

The real burden of occupational diseases, specifically work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), and its impact on workers’ productivity is not known. The situation is critical in developing countries where only cases that cause workers’ disability are recorded. In this study, the incidence of MSDs in Colombia was estimated by using the age and gender specific double incidence rate of repetitive strain injuries diseases in Finland for 2002. The results showed that the estimated number of MSDs recorded in Colombia during 2005 was 23,477 cases at the rate of 11.6 cases per 10,000 workers. The estimated total cost of these MSD cases relative to workers’ productivity was US $171.7 million, representing around 0.2% of Colombia’s Gross Domestic Product for 2005. The systematic appraisal of the incidence of MSDs and their associated cost on workers’ productivity are necessary in developing countries to reduce the costly impact on productivity and to increase workers’ well-being.

Allowing for MSD Prevention During Facilities Planning for a Public Service: An a Posteriori Analysis of 10 Library Design Projects
Marie Bellemare, Louis Trudel, Élise Ledoux, Sylvie Montreuil, Micheline Marier, Marie Laberge & Patrick Vincent

Research was conducted to identify an ergonomics-based intervention model designed to factor in musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) prevention when library projects are being designed. The first stage of the research involved an a posteriori analysis of 10 recent redesign projects. The purpose of the analysis was to document perceptions about the attention given to MSD prevention measures over the course of a project on the part of 2 categories of employees: librarians responsible for such projects and personnel working in the libraries before and after changes. Subjects were interviewed in focus groups. Outcomes of the analysis can guide our ergonomic assessment of current situations and contribute to a better understanding of the way inclusion or improvement of prevention measures can support the workplace design process.

A Study of the Workload of Underground Trammers in the Ranigang Coal Field Area of West Bengal, India
Netai Chandra Dey, Amalendu Samanta & Ratnadeep Saha

Thirty healthy trammers were examined in underground haulage mines during their normal activity. Physiological strain in terms of heart rate (HR) varied between 101.6 and 104.7 beats/min with mean net cardiac cost of 33.06 and 34.06 beats/min for younger and older groups respectively. The average relative cardiac cost was lower for younger subjects than for older ones. Oxygen consumption (VO2) was measured with an Oxylog-II machine (UK); subsequently values were estimated. Maximum aerobic capacity was estimated with an indirect method following a standard step test protocol. The responses revealed that the average VO2 during the activity was 0.75 and 0.8 L/min, which corresponded to energy expenditure (EE) of 3.8 and 3.97 Kcal/min for younger and older subjects respectively. The workload in terms of HR and EE was moderate, whereas the aerobic strain experienced by aged workers was above the acceptable level.

Association Between Perceived Demands and Musculoskeletal Disorders Among Hospital Nurses of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences: A Questionnaire Survey
Alireza Choobineh, Abdolreza Rajaeefard & Masoud Neghab

Excessive demands on nurses may result in high rates of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). This study was conducted among hospital nurses of Iran’s Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS) to determine the prevalence of MSDs and to examine the relationship between perceived demands and reported MSDs. In this study, 641 randomly selected nurses from 12 SUMS hospitals participated. The Nordic musculoskeletal disorders questionnaire and Job Content Questionnaire were used as collecting data tools.
The results showed that 84.4% of the participants had experienced some form of symptoms of MSDs during the past 12 months. Lower back symptoms were found to be the most prevalent problem. Perceived physical demands were significantly associated with MSDs (OR = 1.5–2.7). No association was found between perceived psychological demands and reported symptoms. It was concluded that any intervention program for preventing MSDs among SUMS hospital nurses had to focus on reducing physical demands, particularly excessive postural demands.

Work Ability of Workers in Different Age Groups in a Public Health Institution in Brazil
Maria Silvia Monteiro, Juhani Ilmarinen & Heleno Rodrigues Correa Filho

Objectives. The aim of this study was to determine the associations between demographics, work, lifestyle, housework, and the work ability of workers. Methods. Employees between the ages of 20 and 69 (N = 651), employed at a Brazilian public institution, responded to a questionnaire on demographics, work, lifestyle characteristics, and work ability. Results. Work ability decreased significantly with age among the women. The younger group had higher scores on the work ability index than the older age groups, except for mental resources. The logistic regression analysis showed that higher age, lower education, and long work history at the institution were significantly associated with reduced work ability. Conclusions. The progressive aging, the low level of education, and the long duration work in the studied institution were related to a reduction in work ability, which increases the risk of work disability or early retirement.

Injury Risk in Behind Armor Blunt Thoracic Trauma
Cameron R. Bass, Robert S. Salzar, Scott R. Lucas, Martin Davis, Lucy Donnellan, Benny Folk, Ellory Sanderson & Stanley Waclawik

First responders and military personnel are particularly susceptible to behind armor blunt thoracic trauma in occupational scenarios. The objective of this study was to develop an armored thorax injury risk criterion for short duration ballistic impacts. 9 cadavers and 2 anthropomorphic test dummies (AUSMAN and NIJ 0101.04 surrogate) were tested over a range of velocities encompassing low severity impacts, medium severity impacts, and high severity impacts based upon risk of sternal fracture. Thoracic injuries ranged from minor skin abrasions (abbreviated injury scale [AIS] 1) to severe sternal fractures (AIS 3+) and were well correlated with impact velocity and bone mineral density. 8 male cadavers were used in the injury risk criterion development. A 50% risk of AIS 3+ injury corresponded to a peak impact force of 24,900 ± 1,400 N. The AUSMAN impact force correlated strongly with impact velocity. Recommendations to improve the biofidelity of the AUSMAN include implementing more realistic viscera and decreaing the skin thickness.

A Evaluation of Workers’ Exposure to Methylene Diphenyl Diisocyanate (MDI) in an Automobile Manufacturing Company, Iran
Hossein Kakooei, Seyed Jamaleddin Shahtaheri, Hossein-Ali Karbasi

Evaluation of personal inhalation exposure to methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) among 39 employees,working in the window fixation and window glue processes in an automobile manufacturing company was performed. This study was conducted for both case and control groups. After sampling and sample preparation processes,MDI was determined with a UV-VIS spectrophotometer at 590 nm; the lung function was assessed with a digital spirometer, too. The average concentration of MDI in the window fixation, and window glue workplaces were 34.53 and 27.37 μg/m³, respectively, which was lower than the threshold limit value (TLV) recommended by the American Hygienists (ACGIH) (51 μg/m³). Respiratory symptoms in the exposed group were significantly different Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) (51 μg/m³). Respiratory symptoms in the exposed group were significantly different compared to the unexposed group (p < .05).Lung capacities in the case group were lower than in the control group (p < .05). Therefore, MDI can be easily measured making it possible to evaluate the adverse effects caused by occuational exposure.