Occupational risk from static magnetic fields of MRI scanners

The health care staff operating magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners are exposed to static magnetic field of significant spatial heterogenity and high level of flux density—usually existing permanently during the shift. The personnel can also be exposed to pulses of magnetic field of high rate of rise/fall, so-called gradient fields, which exist only during examination of patients. The level of workers’ exposure depends both on the type of the magnet and on the ergonomical characteristic of design of the particular MRI scanner. This paper presents the current state of the art on occupational exposure to static magnetic field health effects, gaps in scientific data, MRI workers’ exposure characteristics, research needs, and suggestions for the exposure assessment protocol for future investigations.     

2006年促进职业安全与健康框架公约和建议书介绍及相关问题探讨

《2006年促进职业安全与健康框架公约》(C187,2006)和《职业安全与健康框架建议书》(R197,2006)的公布是为了进一步减少全球发生的大量职业性伤病和死亡,保护工人免受因就业而引发的病患和伤害,降低职业性伤病和死亡对劳动生产率和经济与社会发展的负面影响。本文对《公约》及《建议书》的主要内容,包括《公约》中的定义、《公约》制定的目标、国家政策、国家制度、国家计划等进行了详细的介绍和分析,以期继续推广预防性安全健康文化建设。     

How Well Does Brazil's Environmental Law Work in Practice? Environmental Impact Assessment and the Case of the Itapiranga Private Sustainable Logging Plan

/ The Itapiranga Sustainable Logging Plan provides an example of how Brazil's licensing system functions for logging companies in the state of Amazonas. Two questions need to be dealt with: "How sustainable can logging in the Amazon be?" and "What and how effective are existing legal mechanisms to deal with logging projects?" The environmental impact assessment (EIA) and environmental impact statement (EIS, known as the RIMA in Brazil), present relatively detailed accounts of biodiversity and the need to adopt conservation strategies to protect it. However, social and health impacts are only superficially addressed. The economic sustainability of the operation over multiple cycles is not demonstrated. The multidisciplinary teams responsible for the EIA and EIS (RIMA) reports are hired by the project proponent, an arrangement inherently carrying the risk of biasing the result. Logging reduces biodiversity, releases greenhouse gases and inflicts social and health costs. These impacts reduce the ability of Amazonian forests to provide environmental services and to supply food and livelihood security to local populations. The reports inflate positive effects such as employment: the estimated number of jobs was cut by more than half in a revision made after the EIA and EIS (RIMA) had been approved. Not only do the reports need to be more realistic in assessing both positive and negative consequences of proposed projects, but better means are needed to ensure that promised mitigatory measures are enforced in practice. Many of the lessons that can be drawn from the Itapiranga Plan are not unique to logging projects and apply to licensing of development activites generally in Brazil and elsewhere.     

Can social psychological models be used to promote bicycle helmet use among teenagers? A comparison of the Health Belief Model, Theory of Planned Behavior and the Locus of Control

PROBLEM: The bicycle helmet use rate is still low among teenagers despite the cumulating evidence that bicycle helmets can prevent cyclists from serious injuries and death. The objective of this study was to investigate the usefulness of the Health Belief Model (HBM; Health Education Monographs, 2 (1974) (1), Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB; Ajzen, I. (1988). Attitudes, personality and behavior. Open University Press, Milton Keynes) and Locus of Control model (LC; Psychological Monographs, (1966) (80) in understanding the intention to use bicycle helmet use among bicycle helmet owners. METHOD: Data were collected at two schools in Helsinki, Finland. Students (N=965) completed a questionnaire including three social psychological models applied to helmet use. Models were compared by structural equation modeling techniques. SUMMARY: Results showed that the TPB and LC model fitted the data well, whereas fit of the HBM model was lower than the fit of TPB and LC models. All components of TPB and external LC orientation were significantly related to the intention to use a helmet. TPB together with LC model provide a promising theoretical framework for helmet use promotion campaigns. Practical suggestions for future bicycle helmet campaigns were provided.     

Disability among adults injured in motor-vehicle crashes in the United States

INTRODUCTION: Little population-based information exists about the long-term effects of motor-vehicle crash-related injuries. METHOD: We analyzed data from the 1995 National Health Interview Survey Disability (NHIS-D) Supplement to estimate the prevalence of crash-related disability among noninstitutionalized U.S. adults aged 18 years and older. RESULTS: More than 1.2 million adults were living in their homes with the disabling effects of motor-vehicle crash-related injuries in 1995. The prevalence of crash-related disability was highest for persons in their mid-life years, ages 35-64. Half of the respondents had sustained the injuries more than 5 years before the interview. Forty-one percent of working-aged individuals reported being unable to work because of their disability. CONCLUSIONS: Because crash-related disability is most prevalent during the mid-life years, quality of life and productivity may be affected for decades. These findings highlight the personal and societal burden associated with motor-vehicle crash-related disability in the United States.     

职业安全卫生管理体系(OHSMS)第一讲 OHSMS的起源

职业安全卫生管理体系(简称OHSMS),是完善企业职业安全卫生管理,保证企业职业安全卫生绩效持续改进的科学管理模式。国家经贸委1999年10月发布了《职业安全卫生管理试行标准》后,如何实施和建立职业安全卫生管理体系受到社会和企业的普遍重视与关注。 本系列讲座主要论述：OHSMS的起源、发展与意义;OHSMS的基本概念与理论;OHSMS的基本内容、结构与要素;如何建立和实施OHSMS;如何通过OHSMS的评审和认证等。     

Combined amendment reduces soil Cd availability and rice Cd accumulation in three consecutive rice planting seasons

The scientific application of stabilized materials has been considered an effective method for the in situ remediation of Cd-contaminated soil. This study aimed to investigate the persistence of the effect of a combined amendment of limestone and sepiolite(LS) on soil Cd availability and accumulation in rice grown in a mildly Cd-contaminated paddy field(0.45 mg/kg of Cd) over three consecutive rice seasons. 1125–4500 kg/ha of LS was applied to the soil before the first rice planting season and 5...     

基于健康风险的危险废物智能化分级分类研究

在分析国内外危险废物分级管理经验的基础上,结合健康风险的评估步骤,提出了基于全过程危险废物污染物释放情景的精细化-动态健康风险评价方法。充分考虑处理利用工艺、企业管理水平等因素对于危险废物中污染物释放概率和能力的影响,并基于污染物向环境介质的迁移转化,定量评估危险废物的健康风险。基于危险废物污染特性数据库和事故情景数据库,结合全过程信息采集技术,构建危险废物分级分类管理平台,进行涉废企业的风险级别划分,实施差异化管理,形成更加科学有效的危险废物全过程精细化管理体系。     

Human geography of New Orleans’ high-lead geochemical setting

Previous soil lead studies in New Orleans focused on the geochemical footprint and its health impacts. This study examines the human geography of race, income, and age in pre-Katrina metropolitan New Orleans within the context of lead accumulation in soils. Sample points of soil lead data (n = 5,467) collected in 1998–2000 were mapped in a geographic information system (GIS), binned into 9 ranges, and queried by (1) 2000 Census racial demographic data, (2) 1999 median household income, and (3) 2000 age data. The absolute population generally declines as lead levels increase except at lead levels from 200–400 to 400–1,000 mg/kg when population increases; the African–American population comprises a disproportionate share of this cohort. The high-lead areas occur in the inner city, home to the largest populations of African-Americans in New Orleans. The mean household income curve indicates that lower economic groups are at risk to higher levels of lead. A total of 44,701 children under the age of 5 years, plus 123,579 children aged 5–17, lived in census block groups containing at least one sample point with over 100 mg/kg lead, and these include 23,124 and 64,064 young people, respectively, who live near at least one point over 400 mg/kg. Lead exposure affects a panoply of outcomes that influence the health and welfare of the community. Unless corrected, children are likely to return to the same or, because of lack of lead-safe practices during renovation, even higher exposure risks than before the flooding of New Orleans.     

电解铝厂氟化物对周围农作物的影响评价

通过对某电解铝厂周围的大气环境及农作物中氟化物含量的监测,分析评价电解铝生产过程中排放的氟化物对其农作物的影响,并提出氟化物的治理措施及建议。