A discussion of the history of substitutions in industrial solvent use is presented, and animal carcinogenicity studies with certain chlorinated hydrocarbon solvents are reviewed. The present knowledge on the association between occupational exposure to chlorinated hydrocarbon solvents and human carcinogenicity is summarized, including a critical review of 23 studies pertaining to human carcinogenicity. Several deficiencies are identified in these studies that make interpretation of the results uncertain, including poor characterization of exposures in qualitative and quantitative terms, the small numbers of deaths or cases, and short follow-up periods. Despite these weaknesses, we conclude that, when viewed collectively, the evidence strongly suggests that occupational exposures to chlorinated hydrocarbon solvents are associated with an excess human cancer risk. The literature supports an association between occupational exposures to chlorinated hydrocarbons and elevated risks of leukemia, lymphoma, and urinary tract cancer. Parental occupational exposures are consistently associated with an elevated childhood cancer risk in the offspring.
To better understand occupational lead exposures in Los Angeles County, we undertook a questionnaire survey of lead-using industrial facilities not previously identified by county health department staff. Previously our staff had identified 112 lead-using companies with approximately 2,000 lead-exposed workers countywide. For this survey, we developed a database of 1,353 possible lead-using industrial facilities from several sources, including community "right-to-know" databases, air pollution or sewer permit records, or other environmental databases. A questionnaire interview was completed with 1,001 (81%) of these companies, yielding 178 previously unidentified facilities employing 7,734 workers with potentially significant occupational lead exposures. Compliance with the OSHA lead standard was often poor in these facilities, particularly for workplaces with 20 or fewer employees. Devoting more public health resources to targeted identification of such industrial facilities and to educational outreach would likely help control occupational lead exposure.
: Industrial firefighters share many characteristics with municipal firefighters; however, employers frequently have not addressed or characterized the unique job duties, hazards, and specific physical/mental demands associated with industrial firefighting. In addition, gaps exist in the medical literature with regard to industrial firefighter demographics, behavioral risk factors, and chronic diseases. Finally, the proper methodologies for fitness-for-duty assessment of employees acting in this capacity are lacking. To address these gaps, the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) convened a Task Force in 2014, to develop fitness-for-duty guidance for industrial firefighters. This document highlights these gaps and suggests research opportunities to enhance the health and safety of this population. While an extensive literature review found a lack of studies for this population-thus excluding the development of an evidence-based document-sufficient materials were available from which to draw preliminary conclusions, considerations for best practices, and recommendations for future studies.
Objectives/Scope Organizational resilience is an enterprise's capability to respond rapidly to unforeseen challenges, even chaotic disruption. It is the ability to bounce back with speed and effectiveness. Much of the organizational resilience literature focuses on crisis management, specifically the ability of organizations to rebound after chaos or in response to change and transition. Two types of organizational resilience have been described– inherent and adaptive resilience. Inherent resilience refers to dealing with routine challenges that organizations face, while adaptive resilience describes the response to crisis. Adaptive resilience can also be bolstered by inherent resilience. Methods, Procedures, Process This paper describes how inherent and adaptive resilience were addressed in the response of a corporate medical department in a multinational oil and gas company to Hurricane Harvey, which hit the Houston area in August 2017. Additionally, it explores the value of resilience at the individual and organizational level in creating effective organizational cultures, and examines leadership behaviors that can support organizational resilience. We present a case study describing the role of occupational health and wellness programs in supporting Houston operations before, during and after Hurricane Harvey. To provide contextual information, interviews were also conducted to understand the perceptions of senior leaders about the importance of organizational resilience for their organizations. Results, Observations, Conclusions Corporate medical teams participate routinely in emergency response and crisis management efforts. In addition to addressing medical and occupational health issues, health and wellness teams provide psychosocial and well-being support. Hurricane Harvey demonstrated the comprehensive nature of the adaptive response of a multinational oil company. Inherent resilience supports are routinely provided through individual, team and leadership resources and campaigns have been designed to provide peer to peer awareness. Insights into the organizational culture were provided through interviews with organizational leaders. Strong leadership was identified as necessary for dealing with the unexpected, and the ability to effectively respond to change. Organizational resilience was derived from organizational learning – with learning from normal work allowing organizations a chance to focus on proactively preparing for chaos. Novel/Additive Information Employee well-being and engagement have been identified as core elements of building inherent resilience. Both elements are routinely measured as part of the company's global employee surveys. Indeed, well-being, as measured by employee self-assessment, is a major driver of engagement – a consistent finding in the last three global employee surveys. Organizations that provide employees with emotional well-being resources and remove barriers to resilience provide environments that can promote inherent resilience. Enhancing personal resilience as an important step towards developing organizational resilience may also contribute to the safety culture and safe operations, especially during times of chaos.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.