Occupational Health Impacts Due to Exposure to Organic Chemicals over an Entire Product Life Cycle

Kijko, Gaël; Margni, Manuele

doi:10.1021/acs.est.6b04434

Cited by 9 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Workers in various manufacturing settings use many different types of hand tools, including but not limited to grinders, impact wrenches, sanders and drills (Bovenzi 1988; McDowell et al 2016; Bovenzi et al 2005). Workers in this industry may also be exposed to awkward postures, repetitive motion, and various chemicals that can be inhaled or absorbed through the skin (Kijko, Jolliet,Margni 2016; Su et al 2013; Bovenzi 1988).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health effects associated with occupational exposure to hand-arm or whole body vibration

Krajnak

2018

Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B

100

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Workers in a number of different occupational sectors are exposed to workplace vibration on a daily basis. This exposure can come through use of powered-hand tools or hand-transmitted vibration (HTV). Workers can also be exposed to whole body vibration (WBV) by driving delivery vehicles, earth moving equipment, or through the use of tools that generate vibration at low dominant frequencies and high amplitudes, such as jack hammers. Occupational exposure to vibration has been associated with an increased risk of musculoskeletal pain in the back, neck, hands, shoulders and hips. It may also contribute to the development of peripheral and cardiovascular disorders and gastrointestinal problems. In addition, there are more recent data suggesting that occupational exposure to vibration may increase the risk of developing certain cancers. This paper provides a review of the occupations where exposure to vibration is most prevalent, and a description of the health effects associated with occupational exposure to vibration. The various experimental methods used to measure and describe the characteristics of vibration generated by various tools and vehicles, the etiology of vibration-induced disorders, and how these data have been used to assess and improve intervention strategies and equipment that reduces the transmission of vibration to the body. Finally, there is a discussion of the research gaps that need to be investigated to further reduce the incidence of vibration-induced illnesses and injuries.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health effects associated with occupational exposure to hand-arm or whole body vibration

Krajnak

2018

Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B

100

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“…A recently proposed framework to assess impacts on workers exposed along the entire supply chain provides a database to track sector-specific, empirically observed personal airborne chemical concentrations along with associated sector-specific labor hours (Kijko et al. 2015, 2016). Another approach uses reported illnesses for indoor industrial emissions (Scanlon et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advancements in Life Cycle Human Exposure and Toxicity Characterization

Fantke

Aylward

Bare

et al. 2018

Environ Health Perspect

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Background: The Life Cycle Initiative, hosted at the United Nations Environment Programme, selected human toxicity impacts from exposure to chemical substances as an impact category that requires global guidance to overcome current assessment challenges. The initiative leadership established the Human Toxicity Task Force to develop guidance on assessing human exposure and toxicity impacts. Based on input gathered at three workshops addressing the main current scientific challenges and questions, the task force built a roadmap for advancing human toxicity characterization, primarily for use in life cycle impact assessment (LCIA). Objectives: The present paper aims at reporting on the outcomes of the task force workshops along with interpretation of how these outcomes will impact the practice and reliability of toxicity characterization. The task force thereby focuses on two major issues that emerged from the workshops, namely considering near-field exposures and improving dose–response modeling. Discussion: The task force recommended approaches to improve the assessment of human exposure, including capturing missing exposure settings and human receptor pathways by coupling additional fate and exposure processes in consumer and occupational environments (near field) with existing processes in outdoor environments (far field). To quantify overall aggregate exposure, the task force suggested that environments be coupled using a consistent set of quantified chemical mass fractions transferred among environmental compartments. With respect to dose–response, the task force was concerned about the way LCIA currently characterizes human toxicity effects, and discussed several potential solutions. A specific concern is the use of a (linear) dose–response extrapolation to zero. Another concern addresses the challenge of identifying a metric for human toxicity impacts that is aligned with the spatiotemporal resolution of present LCIA methodology, yet is adequate to indicate health impact potential. Conclusions: Further research efforts are required based on our proposed set of recommendations for improving the characterization of human exposure and toxicity impacts in LCIA and other comparative assessment frameworks. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP3871

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“…40 The assessment of supply chain worker exposure relies on measured workplace concentrations either from first hand data when available for the production of target chemical and alternatives, or from existing databases combined with life cycle input-output data to cover the entire supply chain. 41,42 Tier 3: Optional assessment of product life cycle impacts…”

Section: Green Chemistry Papermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…65 Toxicity-related impacts on workers for the plasticizer supply chain were evaluated using an input-output matrix-based approach. 42 Additional details are provided in ESI (Section S1 †).…”

Section: Green Chemistry Papermentioning

confidence: 99%