Risk taking and accident frequency among Finnish forestry workers

The results of previous studies on the relationship between risk taking and accidents have been contradictory. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between risk taking and accident frequency among Finnish forestry workers. The subjects were 228 forestry workers whose risk taking was measured on a questionnaire with 25 items. The accident frequency was calculated based on both company-recorded and self-reported accidents. There were no significant relationships between risk taking and accident frequency. Even after elimination of age and work experience by partial correlations, there was no significant correlation between risk taking and accident frequency. Of the personality traits of the forestry workers, impulsiveness and neuroticism correlated significantly with risk taking but not with accident frequency. Two explanations for the failure to find significant correlation between risk taking and accident frequency are given.     

High visibility safety apparel and nighttime conspicuity of pedestrians in work zones

PROBLEM: Every year numerous occupational fatalities result from pedestrians being struck by motor vehicles intruding into work zones. METHOD: Attributes of retroreflective personal safety garments on pedestrian conspicuity at night were assessed in a field study. Using instrumented vehicles on a closed track, participants drove through simulated work zones attempting to detect pedestrians located in the work zones. RESULTS: Configuration of the retroreflective trim, trim color, placement in the work zone, and driver age significantly affected pedestrian conspicuity. Intensity and the amount of retroreflective trim did not. DISCUSSION: Personal safety garments incorporating retroreflective trim significantly improve pedestrian conspicuity in work zones. SUMMARY: The results emphasize the importance of retroreflective trim on personal safety garments, particularly if the trim is located on garment sleeves. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: We examine the design attributes that contribute to making a personal safety garment conspicuous. The results have implications regarding preferred garment designs, industry standards, and service life of personal safety garments.     

Prevalence of low back pain in three occupational groups in Shanghai, People's Republic of China

PROBLEM: Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most prevalent work-related conditions affecting employed populations in developed countries, yet little is known about this condition among the world's largest, single-nation labor force: The People's Republic of China. METHOD: This is a cross-sectional study of the prevalence of low back pain (LBP) among garment workers, battery/kiln workers, and teachers in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Data were collected by personal interview and physical examination at six work sites. The overall response rate was 78%. RESULTS: The overall (N=383) self-reported annual prevalence of LBP symptoms lasting 24 hours or more was 50%. Garment workers had a higher annual prevalence of LBP (74%) than teachers (40%), prevalence ratio (PR=1.9, 95% CI=1.4-2.4). DISCUSSION: The overall annual prevalence of self-reported LBP (50%) was higher than that reported among 50 other Chinese employed study populations (30%). Healthy worker effects may have limited the conclusions from this cross-sectional study. SUMMARY: These results suggest that LBP is a prevalent condition in Chinese workers and that more work should be done to estimate its impact on the Chinese workforce. The findings for garment workers were consistent with increased risk of LBP among persons doing work in fixed, sedentary postures.     

A survey on occupational accidents’ reporting and registration systems in the European Union

This paper presents the results of a survey on the procedures for reporting occupational accidents in the EU countries. It focuses particularly on the reporting and registration systems, as well as on the main characteristics of National Databases being used for the production of official statistics. The survey shows that many European countries have different methods and procedures for collecting and compiling data on occupational accidents, which inevitably pose problems when comparing accident statistics between the EU member states.The paper includes a brief review of the main goals and achievements of the European Project ESAW (European Statistics on Accidents at Work), which was launched in 1990 by the Eurostat (European Statistics), for the harmonisation of occupational accidents’ statistics among the member states. It is believed that the new variables being introduced by the harmonised methodology will quickly affect the way in which managers and insurance companies carry out their current procedures in several EU member states.The International Labour Organisation (ILO) recommendations and the future trends are also analysed. In conclusion, the study identifies opportunities for further development and research in the reporting and registration systems of occupational accidents.     

火工烟火职业事故特点及防范研究

火工烟火职业历来把安全工作放在日常工作的首位。然而安全工作不应该只局限在监督检查的陈规旧套之中，而应赋于它更科学更积极的内涵、本文通过对火工烟火系统危险性及其职业事故特点的分析，提出了可由计算机管理的控制安全的平台滚珠模型理论，强调了操作者的心理素质对安全工作的重要影响和作用。     

铅职业危害及其防治

通过对某铅冶炼厂职业铅危害情况及防治现状进行调查分析,提出了防治铅中毒、铅吸收的措施。     

职业安全专业软件的应用及其产业化发展

概略介绍了国内外各类安全应用软件,并对安全软件产业化进行了实例分析,总结了安全软件产业发展的特点,并对我国安全软件的产业化提出了若干建议。     

Low dose effects and non-monotonic dose responses for endocrine active chemicals: Science to practice workshop: Workshop summary

A workshop was held in Berlin September 12–14th 2012 to assess the state of the science of the data supporting low dose effects and non-monotonic dose responses (“low dose hypothesis”) for chemicals with endocrine activity (endocrine disrupting chemicals or EDCs). This workshop consisted of lectures to present the current state of the science of EDC action and also the risk assessment process. These lectures were followed by breakout sessions to integrate scientists from various backgrounds to discuss in an open and unbiased manner the data supporting the “low dose hypothesis”. While no consensus was reached the robust discussions were helpful to inform both basic scientists and risk assessors on all the issues. There were a number of important ideas developed to help continue the discussion and improve communication over the next few years.     

浅析如何制定企业职业安全健康方针

制定适合企业自身发展的职业安全健康方针至关重要,然而目前这方面的研究相对较少。本文收集了国内27家、国外10家知名企业的职业安全健康方针,统计分析了国内外职业安全健康方针在形式和内容上的区别与联系。通过定性分析和定量研究,得出国外企业职业安全健康方针的共性特点和国内企业职业安全健康方针的最常见组合模式。理论联系实际,将我国《职业安全健康管理体系规范（》GB/T28001-2004）中方针的编写要求与研究结论相结合,探讨在新形势下,如何制定企业职业安全健康方针的方法。     

What kinds of injuries do OSHA inspections prevent?

Objective

OSHA's enforcement program is one of the major public efforts to protect American workers. We examine both the scope of injury prevention that inspections can contribute and the types of standards that contribute the most.

Methods

We linked Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry files for lost-time injuries and employment to calculate injury rates for 1998-2005 for all single-establishment manufacturing firms. We linked these to OSHA inspection records.

Results

Inspections with penalties did affect injury types unrelated to standards as well as those related. We also found again that citations for violations of the standard requiring personal protective equipment had the largest impact on preventing injuries.

Impact on Industry

Programs requiring protective equipment use deserve added attention from consultants and inspectors. In addition, some inspections spur managers to undertake safety measures that go beyond compliance with standards.