Archives Of Occupational Health
Volume:3 Issue: 1, Jan 2019

One of the main components of air quality management is modeling of atmospheric pollutants. The models by predicting and analyzing the emitted pollutant from various sources of pollution can contribute to effective implementation of policies to control and reduce the effects and costs resulting from these emissions. In this regards, simultaneous application of several models in a project and comparing the results obtained from these models could have considerable contribution on air quality managers for taking a more efficient decision. In this study, the stack of an industrial plant in the southwest of Isfahan was selected as the emission source and the total suspended particles emitted from this stack was simulated by applying AERMOD and ISCST3 models. Here the modelling process was conducted using MM5 meteorological data in a 50 50 km extent with 2000m network distance for each of the models. Results indicated that the highest simulated concentration for both models occurred in a 2000 meters distance in the east of the stack. Moreover, the highest simulated concentration applying AERMOD was lower than that of applying ISCST3 in all term averages which is due to existing differences between applied algorithms in these two models. consequently, applying AERMOD due to the use of more advanced and up to date algorithms have priority over ISCST3 model. Applying ISCST3 can also be useful for small projects that require less input data compared to the AERMOD.

The sustainability and strength of an organization strongly depends on the mental, physical, and physiological health of its employees. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of fatigue and stress on the incidence of musculoskeletal disorders, job performance and their relationship considering some demographic variables in this society. This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted in 2017. The study populations were administrative employees of the power plant, and sampling was done by census method. Three standard questionnaires about job fatigue and job performance and Nordic questionnaire were distributed among 62 employees. Data were analyzed by SPSS 20; descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation test. All 62 samples were male, and the mean and standard deviation of their age were 41.52 (7.71) years and the mean of work experience was 12.13 (6.25) years. According to the results, 53% of the samples showed high and very high fatigue; the fatigue score was 3.96 that indicated the moderate level. The job performance score was 38.3, which was considered at the low level. Also, there was an inverse and significant relationship between fatigue and job performance (P = 0.03, r = -0.37), and there was a significant relationship between fatigue, performance and neck and back areas (p <0.05).

Musculoskeletal disorders are one of the most common occupational diseases, and in recent years, several methods have been developed to evaluate risk factors for these types of disorders. In this cross-sectional study, 40 tasks in small industries including carpentry, turning, welding, loading and unloading, and sewing were recorded with a video camera and in the second stage, the postures were reviewed and evaluated by six raters. In total, forty of the worst and most frequent postures were analyzed by self-raters and then, the same risk levels were determined for the six methods and analyzed with correlation and Kappa agreement coefficient tests using SPSS (version 19), and then they were compared with each other using the Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The results revealed the importance of Kappa Coefficient in which it shows the risk level of different method and specified pair OCRA/SI =0.25, OCRA/HAL=0.2, SI/HAL= 0.32, SI/ RULA= 0.33, REBA/OCRA = 0.4, QEC/SI= 0.27, QEC/ RULA= 0.23Inter-rater Reliability of the methods was found as follow:ICCOCRA=0.3, ICCSI= 0.67, ICCHAL= 0.8, ICCRULA= 0.85, ICCREBA=0.8, ICCQEC=0.972. The results showed that there was no complete agreement among the methods. This agreement among methods is evaluated from poor to good (0.2-0.4). The ICC showed high reliability in the methods except in the OCRA method.

In recent years, the foundry industry has had a significant impact on Iran's economy. However, the health and safety conditions of this industry are in an unfavorable status, and these conditions have caused a lot of accidents. In this regards, one of the most important ways to prevent accidents in this industry can be identifying hazardous points and adopting appropriate control measures. The aim of the study was to identify hazardous points in foundry industry using a hybrid safety approach. This descriptive-analytic study was conducted in the foundry industry of Iran, in 2016. The study method consisted of two parts. First, the accidents of foundry were analyzed. Second, the Energy Trace and Barrier Analysis (ETBA) technique was used to identify hazards and assess the risks. The collected and obtained data of accidents and risk assessment were entered into the statistical SPSS software, version 22, and descriptive statistics (mean, percent) were used for analyzing. Also, Microsoft Excel was used to plot the graphs. A total of 128 risks is identified, including 17 unacceptable risks, 93 undesirable risks, 13 acceptable risks with revision and five acceptable risks without revision. The mechanical and physical energies had the highest percentage of hazards. The results of accidents analysis showed that the cause of most accidents (40%) was mechanical, while 23% of them was the potential type. The study results indicated that accidents analysis along with risks identification can be useful in identifying all the dangerous locations (points). In addition to validating the results of risk assessment through the analysis of accidents, other causes affecting the occurrence of accidents can also be covered by accident analysis, including unsafe behaviors and organizational causes that are not seen in the risk assessment.

In recent years, the foundry industry has had a significant impact on Iran's economy. However, the health and safety conditions of this industry are in an unfavorable status, and these conditions have caused a lot of accidents. In this regards, one of the most important ways to prevent accidents in this industry can be identifying hazardous points and adopting appropriate control measures. The aim of the study was to identify hazardous points in foundry industry using a hybrid safety approach. This descriptive-analytic study was conducted in the foundry industry of Iran, in 2016. The study method consisted of two parts. First, the accidents of foundry were analyzed. Second, the Energy Trace and Barrier Analysis (ETBA) technique was used to identify hazards and assess the risks. The collected and obtained data of accidents and risk assessment were entered into the statistical SPSS software, version 22, and descriptive statistics (mean, percent) were used for analyzing. Also, Microsoft Excel was used to plot the graphs. A total of 128 risks is identified, including 17 unacceptable risks, 93 undesirable risks, 13 acceptable risks with revision and five acceptable risks without revision. The mechanical and physical energies had the highest percentage of hazards. The results of accidents analysis showed that the cause of most accidents (40%) was mechanical, while 23% of them was the potential type. The study results indicated that accidents analysis along with risks identification can be useful in identifying all the dangerous locations (points). In addition to validating the results of risk assessment through the analysis of accidents, other causes affecting the occurrence of accidents can also be covered by accident analysis, including unsafe behaviors and organizational causes that are not seen in the risk assessment.

Identification of human errors and their related factors in nurses dealing with the health of humans is important. Considering that much workload can increase the risk of human error, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between workload and human errors among nurses working in educational hospitals of Kerman University of Medical Sciences. This descriptive-analytical study was performed on 145 nurses from educational hospitals affiliated to Kerman University of Medical Sciences in 20. The workload was evaluated using the NASA-TLX questionnaire and human errors with SHERPA technique. The statistical test used was logistic regression model and the statistical significance level was considered <0.05 and the samples were selected randomly. The sample size was selected based on the percentage of functional errors reported by a study on human error assessment related to the duties of nurses in Semnan. A total of 138 probable errors were detected in the nursing staff of these hospitals, 74% of nurses committed errors in seven main duties during their service. Patient medication with the highest frequency (34%) followed by the injection of the drug to the patient with a frequency of 23% were the most frequently committed errors by nurses. The findings of the research showed that workload in 53.1% of the nurses was very high and in 43.1% of the nurses was high, the results of the logistic regression model showed that there was no significant relationship between errors and workload in nurses. The results of the study showed that the average workload and human error in the nurses were high. Therefore, control strategies such as holding training sessions, implementation of clinical governance program in all wards, recruitment of adequate nurses, reduction of workload, reduction of work hours and the appropriate patient/nurse ratio should be given attention by the hospital managers depending on conditions; as well as the prevention of the two reported errors should be given top priority in corrective measures

Waste water networks were constructed and established to collect and transfer the swage in cities. In this regard, the occupation related to the operation of wastewater networks was created and flourished to improve and study the application of networks. One of the hazards that threaten the life of wastewater operators is poisoning by inhalation of hydrogen sulfide gas produced by wastewater. The aim of this study was to investigate the effective safety and health measures in prevention of hydrogen sulfide gas poisoning among the wastewater network operators. This qualitative study was carried out on 23 operators who worked in the main lines of wastewater transfer in Tehran. In order to collect the data, we used the focused group discussion in five months; from August 1, 2017 to the end of December 2017. The results were collected using the databases' analysis and the focused group discussions. The collected information was implemented and practiced in various maneuvers under probable scenarios and the possibility of operating them was investigated. The average age of participants was 34.8 years and they were in the range of 24- 51 years. Participants were male and their educational degrees included diploma and lower degrees (N =4), bachelor's degree (N =11), and master's degree (N =3). The effective control measures to prevent H2S poisoning were classified into three categories of engineering controls, managing controls, and using the personal protective equipment. The results showed that the highest frequency of efficient control measures was related to engineering controls, which indicated the high effect of engineering maneuver on the prevention of H2S poisoning among operators of wastewater networks. Management controls and use of personal protective equipment were in the next steps, respectively. In order to have complete efficiency, we should consider the control measures in all three areas.

Waste water networks were constructed and established to collect and transfer the swage in cities. In this regard, the occupation related to the operation of wastewater networks was created and flourished to improve and study the application of networks. One of the hazards that threaten the life of wastewater operators is poisoning by inhalation of hydrogen sulfide gas produced by wastewater. The aim of this study was to investigate the effective safety and health measures in prevention of hydrogen sulfide gas poisoning among the wastewater network operators. This qualitative study was carried out on 23 operators who worked in the main lines of wastewater transfer in Tehran. In order to collect the data, we used the focused group discussion in five months; from August 1, 2017 to the end of December 2017. The results were collected using the databases' analysis and the focused group discussions. The collected information was implemented and practiced in various maneuvers under probable scenarios and the possibility of operating them was investigated. The average age of participants was 34.8 years and they were in the range of 24- 51 years. Participants were male and their educational degrees included diploma and lower degrees (N =4), bachelor's degree (N =11), and master's degree (N =3). The effective control measures to prevent H2S poisoning were classified into three categories of engineering controls, managing controls, and using the personal protective equipment. The results showed that the highest frequency of efficient control measures was related to engineering controls, which indicated the high effect of engineering maneuver on the prevention of H2S poisoning among operators of wastewater networks. Management controls and use of personal protective equipment were in the next steps, respectively. In order to have complete efficiency, we should consider the control measures in all three areas.

With the development of technology and its increased use, potential dangers in industrial environments has increased. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the attitudes of the Fajr Institute's Health & Safety Executive (HSE) personnel toward safety. The study population consisted of HSE staff (n: 39). Data gathering tool in this descriptive-analytical study was a researcher-developed, 30-item questionnaire with acceptable validity (1.9) and reliability (0.87). Data were analyzed using the SPSS 19. Samples were selected by census sampling and the entire study population was studied. Statistical methods used were mean, variance, standard deviation, t-test, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and factor analysis. The average age of the participants was 28.6 years, 56.5% of them were single and 43.5% married. The average work experience of the participants was 5.2 years. Bachelor's degree (54%) and Master's degree (23%) were the most and least frequent academic degrees, respectively. The Pearson correlation coefficients showed age and work experience were not correlated with safety attitudes. The t-test results showed there was a significant difference between the viewpoints of single and married workers and attitude variable (P<0.01).The t-test results also showed there was no significant difference between education level and attitude. According to the factor analysis results, items were classified into four categories: management factors, educational factors, communication factors, and regulatory factors.

Process units, due to performance conditions at high pressure and high temperatures, are prone to many health risks that can lead to adverse effects during work. In order to identify health hazards, assess their risks and make appropriate decisions to control the risk and improve the health of individuals in this regard, the assessment of health risks is of particular importance. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess and prioritize health risks in a refinery. This cross-sectional study was conducted in a refinery in 2012. In this study, 14 important chemical substances were identified and analyzed. Excel analysis was used to analyze the data. To assess the health risks due to chemical exposure the methodology proposed by the Department of Health Care in University of Singapore was used. First, important chemicals were identified and then the degree of risk and degree of exposure to chemicals were calculated and finally the level of health risk due to exposure to chemicals was determined. The results showed that from 14 identified cases, exposure to diglycol diamine had a risk level of 4.47 (very high), hydrogen sulfide a risk level of 3.87 (high level), and molybdenum and nickel base catalysts a health risk of 3.87 (high), all of which were in a range of unacceptable risk. In this study exposure to diglycol diamine, hydrogen sulfide, and molybdenum and nickel based catalysts was in the range of unacceptable risk. Using management and engineering controls such as personnel training, shortening the work shift of individuals, pre-recruitment and periodical examinations, designing a ventilation system, and the use of detectors and discovery equipment are recommended to reduce the level of risk.