Bridge Workers Research Articles

The Laryngologist Who Saved the Brooklyn Bridge.

To understand the role of a single laryngologist, Andrew Heermance Smith, in elucidating the mechanisms of Caisson Disease and controlling it effects on bridge workers. Scientific and lay publications, letters and records of the Roebling family, obituaries and internet sources. Historical review. AH Smith combined physiological observations and experiments in the Brooklyn Bridge caissons with a review of the existing engineering and medical literature to describe the Caisson Disease and to devise strategies to ameliorate its effects. Despite an incorrect conclusion about the pathophysiology of decompression sickness, Smith's stringent standards and timely interventions allow completion of the masonry towers of the Brooklyn Bridge. NA Laryngoscope, 134:3044-3048, 2024.

Does Work after Retirement Matter? Sleep Features among Workers in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health.

A growing number of people keep working after retirement, a phenomenon known as bridge employment. Sleep features, which are related to morbidity and mortality outcomes, are expected to be influenced by bridge employment or permanent retirement. The objective of this study was to analyze sleep duration and quality of bridge employees and permanent retirees compared to nonretired, i.e., active workers, from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil). Participants (second wave of ELSA-Brasil, 2012–2014) comprised permanently retired (n = 2348), career bridge workers (n = 694), bridge workers in a different place (n = 760), and active workers (n = 6271). The associations of all studied retirement schemes and self-reported sleep quality and duration were estimated through logistic and linear regression analysis. Workers from all studied retirement schemes showed better sleep patterns than active workers. In comparison to active workers, bridge workers who had changed workplace also showed a reduced chance of difficulty falling asleep and too-early awakenings, which were not found among career bridge workers. Bridge employment and permanent retirement were associated with a reduced chance of reporting sleep deficit. Bridge work at a different place rather than staying at the same workplace seems to be favorable for sleep. Further study is needed to explain mechanisms.

An organization based cross-sectional study of occupational injuries among bridge construction workers in an urban area of Mumbai

Background: Occupational injuries are matter of consideration and purport to be raising cost directly like in illnesses and accidents, loss of employment, disability and loss of productivity and subsequently to families and Society. However, there is paucity of studies to elucidate the state of affairs in most of the part of India. The Present study dictates the prevalence of injury and associated factors among Bridge Construction workers in urban area of Mumbai. Objectives are (1) to study prevalence of injury among bridge construction workers, (2) to identify the factors related to such occupational injuries. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among bridge construction workers in urban area of Mumbai from August 2017 to December 2017. Sample size was 150 by convenient method sampling which were selected randomly.Results: The prevalence of injury among Bridge making was 25.7% in past 3 months. Factors like not using protective devices, smoking, tobacco chewing, lack of sleep, work experience were factors associated with suffering.Conclusions: In the study dictating construction workers health and safety in an urban area of Mumbai, where higher prevalence of injury (25.7%) reported in bridge workers in an urban area of Mumbai. If intense mediation are not established then work absenteeism, drooping of work output, occupation related ailments, disabilities and casualties would remain in existence a major problem among construction workers .Therefore programmes to alleviation the load exhibited by construction related injuries should focus on work safety training, monitoring of health and substance abuse in work area.

Bridge Over an Aging Population: Examining Longitudinal Relations Among Human Resource Management, Social Support, and Employee Outcomes Among Bridge Workers.

This two-wave complete panel study aims to examine human resource management (HRM) bundles of practices in relation to social support [i.e., leader–member exchange (LMX), coworker exchange (CWX)] and employee outcomes (i.e., work engagement, employability, and health), within a context of workers aged 65+. Based upon the social exchange theory and the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) framework, it was hypothesized that HRM bundles at Time 1 would increase bridge workers' outcomes at Time 2, and that this relationship would be mediated by perceptions of LMX and CWX at Time 2. Using a longitudinal design, hypotheses were tested in a unique sample of Dutch bridge employees (N = 228). Results of several structural equation modeling analyses revealed no significant associations between HRM bundles, and social support, moreover, no significant associations were found in relation to employee outcomes. However, the results of the best-fitting final model revealed the importance of the impact of social support on employee (65+) outcomes over time.

Blended work and opportunities for knowledge sharing: Human resource management practices to increase innovative work behaviour and life satisfaction of bridge workers

This research tests aims to verify in a sample of bridge workers (192) the mediating role of occupational self-efficacy on the relationship between availability of blended work and opportunity for knowledge-sharing with younger workers (or opportunities for generativity), as well as life satisfaction and innovative work behaviour. The results of bootstrap show that the availability of blended work has an indirect effect on life satisfaction and innovative work behaviour via occupational self-efficacy. Also, they reveal that the opportunity for knowledge transfer to younger workers, or generativity, impacts the life satisfaction and innovative work behaviour via occupational self-efficacy.

Blended work and opportunities for knowledge sharing: human resource management practices to increase innovative work behaviour and life satisfaction of bridge workers

Blended work and opportunities for knowledge sharing: human resource management practices to increase innovative work behaviour and life satisfaction of bridge workers

A Purposive Approach to Whistleblower Protection: A Comment on Merk v. International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers, Local 771

Case comment on <i>Merk v International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers, Local 771</i>.

링크분석에 의한 우리나라 근해대형트롤선의 선교 레이아웃 개선에 관한 기초연구

The purpose of this study is to obtain a basic data on layout of the trawlers` bridge equipment. The task activities of bridge workers involved in the navigation and fishing operation were analyzed by link analysis methods. The results are as follows. It was found that the movement pattern and frequency of bridge workers are different accordance with the bridge work (navigation, casting net, towing net and hauling net). The central workstation of movement of the bridge workers was a radar workstation, a steering workstation and a trawl winch workstation in the bridge work. But the radar did not show up as the center of movement during the hauling net. Workstations related deeply to the central workstations of the movement on the bridge were as below. Radar workstation was related to a GPS plotter, a microphone location for external communication with VHF and MF/HF equipment and a steering in the case of the navigation, the steering, the GPS plotter and the net monitor in the case of the fishing operation. Steering workstation was related deeply to the GPS plotter, the radar in the case of the navigation, a speed controller, the GPS plotter, a fish finder, the net monitor and the microphone location in the case of the fishing operation. Trawl winch workstation showed deep relation with the GPS plotter and the speed control during the fishing operation. Through this study, it was found that Workstations related deeply to the central workstation of the movement of the bridge workers in accordance with the bridge work. The results of this study might be utilized as the basic data on the bridge layout to minimize the fatigue degree due to a physical movement of the bridge workers.

Hospitalized injuries among bridge and tunnel construction workers

The aim of the present study was to compare relative risks for hospitalizing injuries among 7761 Danish workers engaged in the construction of different types of major tunnel and bridge traffic links during 1991–2000 in order to determine construction types with high injury risk. Standardized hospitalization ratios (SHR) for injuries were calculated by type of construction (low‐level bridge, high‐level bridge, bored tunnel and submerged tunnel). All employed males in the total population of Denmark were used as the standard population. Neither the SHR nor the distribution of injury types were independent of the construction type (p<0.05). The hospitalization ratio was highest for bored tunnel workers (SHR = 1.91; 95% CI: 1.65–2.21) and here toxic gases and smoke were a major problem, whereas head injuries were more frequent among workers engaged in other types of construction. The substantial variation in SHR values with construction type might be an argument for inclusion of workers safety in pre‐project decision making.

Two Outbreaks of Occupationally Acquired Histoplasmosis: More than Workers at Risk

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the etiology and risk factors for acute histoplasmosis in two outbreaks in Illinois among laborers at a landfill in 2001 and at a bridge reconstruction site in 2003.Design: We performed environmental investigations during both outbreaks and also performed an analytic cohort study among bridge workers.Participants: Workers at the landfill during May 2001 and those at the bridge site during August 2003 participated in the study. At the landfill, workers moved topsoil from an area that previously housed a barn; at the bridge, workers observed bat guano on bridge beams.Evaluations/Measurements: We defined a case by positive immunodiffusion serology, a ≥ 4-fold titer rise in complement fixation between acute and convalescent sera, or positive urinary Histoplasma capsulatum (HC) antigen. Relative risks (RR) for disease among bridge workers were calculated using bivariate analysis.Results: Eight of 11 landfill workers (73%) and 6 of 12 bridge workers (50%) were laboratory-confirmed histoplasmosis cases. Three bridge workers had positive urinary HC antigen. At the bridge, seeing or having contact with bats [RR = 7.0; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.1–43.0], jack-hammering (RR = 4.0; 95% CI, 1.2–13.3), and waste disposal (RR = 4.0; 95% CI, 1.2–13.3) were the most significant job-related risk factors for acquiring histoplasmosis.Conclusions: Workers performing activities that aerosolized topsoil and dust were at increased risk for acquiring histoplasmosis.Relevance to Professional and Clinical Practice: Employees should wear personal protective equipment and use dust-suppression techniques when working in areas potentially contaminated with bird or bat droppings. Urinary HC antigen testing was important in rapidly identifying disease in the 2003 outbreak.

Acute pulmonary histoplasmosis in bridge workers: a persistent problem

Acute pulmonary histoplasmosis in bridge workers: a persistent problem

Opportunities for the development and use of biomarkers

Limitations m understanding the relationship between occupational and environmental exposures and disease present opportunities for using biological markers to fill gaps in knowledge. Three situations can be identified that could foster the development and use of biomarkers, where epidemiological evidence is (1) definitive, (2) equivocal, and (3) lacking. When there is clear epidemiological evidence of disease risk given an exposure, biomarkers could be used to identify high- and low-risk subsets of a cohort that might benefit from differential practices such as counseling about job risks, varying frequency and intensity of medical surveillance, and using protective equipment. Biomarkers could also be used to test the effectiveness of environmental controls. Assessment of blood lead in bridge workers and purified protein derivative (PPD) testing in health care workers illustrates biomarkers that have been used to evaluate control efforts. When epidemiological evidence is equivocal, a broad and consistent database on intermediate biomarkers in the path between exposure and disease could provide a compelling case as to whether a substance should be treated as hazardous. The case of ethylene oxide illustrates this situation: the epidemiological evidence of risk of lymphohematopoietic cancer is equivocal but there is an informative database on genetic and cytogenetic changes in various species consistent with carcinogenicity. Biomarker data also can be used to assist in the interpretation of inconclusive epidemiological information as is illustrated in the case of styrene where markers provide a mechanistic rationale for the epidemiologic findings. When there is little or no epidemiological evidence of risk in an exposure situation, such as around hazardous waste operations or with new technologies, biological markers can serve as early warning indicators of exposure or risk. In such cases it is important to have an underlying biological theory and an appropriate epidemiological study design if the principal results are to be of value in indicating risk and preventing disease.

Ten Cases of Acute Lead Intoxication among Bridge Workers in Louisiana

We report the cases of ten construction workers who developed acute lead intoxication while repairing a bridge in Louisiana. All but one patient received a five-day course of edetate calcium disodium (calcium EDTA) chelation therapy; one patient received five doses instead of five days of treatment. Calcium EDTA 25 mg/kg q12h was administered for ten consecutive doses by intravenous infusion over two hours. Each dose was diluted in NaCl 0.9% 500 mL. No adverse drug effects were observed during treatment. The posttreatment mean whole blood lead (PbB) concentration was significantly reduced compared with the pretreatment mean PbB (1.48 +/- 0.70 vs. 3.8 +/- 1.68 mumol/L; p = 0.0012, Student's paired t-test). This indicates that the body lead burden of these patients was effectively reduced with calcium EDTA. Eight patients had complaints on admission that were suggestive of lead intoxication. These included malaise, numbness of the extremities, arthralgia, myalgia, abdominal discomfort, sleep disturbance, and lower back pain. Patients had no complaints on discharge. Eight patients had mild anemia that was consistent with acute lead intoxication (mean pretreatment hemoglobin (+/- SD), 128.6(+/- 17.2 g/L), but calcium EDTA therapy did not appear to effect any change in the pretreatment hemoglobin values. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) lead standard requires that manufacturers provide employees at risk for occupational lead exposures with proper respirators and medical surveillance to prevent lead intoxication. The construction industry is exempted from these standards except in Maryland. We believe that amendment of the OSHA lead standards, to provide specific lead regulation of the construction industry, would be helpful in preventing similar cases of occupational lead intoxication.

Lead intoxication in Sydney Harbour Bridge workers.

Thirty-eight Sydney Harbour Bridge workers were assessed for possible lead intoxication. Forty-seven per cent were found to have significant lead intoxication as assessed by calcium disodium edetate chelation (Ca EDTA) testing and were subsequently effectively and safely treated with Ca EDTA. The prevalence of neurological, constitutional, gastrointestinal and musculoskeletal symptoms was significantly greater in those with, than those without, lead toxicity. Although blood lead levels and, to a lesser extent, hematological parameters were of some use in diagnosis, they were not sufficiently sensitive and thus should not be used in screening workers at risk of lead intoxication. Ca EDTA testing remains the diagnostic method of choice. Patients exposed to lead dust and fumes, in whom symptoms of lead intoxication are present, should undergo such testing and if a positive result is obtained, then EDTA chelation therapy should be instituted.

Cross‐sectional and longitudinal changes in pulmonary function associated with automobile pollution among bridge and tunnel officers

This study investigated the effects of emissions from the internal combustion engine on pulmonary function and respiratory symptoms in men collecting tolls and directing traffic in areas with high levels of air pollution. Bridge and tunnel officers (BTOs) were administered pulmonary function tests and respiratory questionnaires for up to 11 consecutive years (n = 944). Carboxyhemoglobin levels were also measured. Regression coefficients on year tested were calculated on 466 individuals (49% of all BTOs) tested at least 3 years. The tunnel workers had significantly lower FEV1S (forced expiratory volume at one second) and FVCs (forced vital capacity), respiratory symptoms, and higher carboxyhemoglobin levels than the bridge workers. BTOs working over 20 years had the lowest mean pulmonary function values, the steepest slopes, and the most respiratory symptoms. We believe that the data show an association between working as a bridge and tunnel officer and decreased pulmonary function and increased respiratory symptoms, but it was not readily evident whether the effects were of clinical importance.

Bat-associated histoplasmosis in Maryland bridge workers : Sorley DL, Levin ML, Warren JW, Flynn JPG, Gerstenblith J: Am J Med 67: 623–626, 1979

Bat-associated histoplasmosis in Maryland bridge workers : Sorley DL, Levin ML, Warren JW, Flynn JPG, Gerstenblith J: Am J Med 67: 623–626, 1979

Bat-associated histoplasmosis in Maryland bridge workers

An epidemic of acute prolonged febrile respiratory disease affecting nine of 19 workers on a Maryland State bridge maintenance crew was diagnosed as histoplasmosis by serologic testing in all and by isolation of the organism in one. In our investigation, it was revealed that work on a particular bridge was associated with disease. Culture of bat guano from the site two months later revealed H. capsulatum. Four previously uninfected epidemiologic investigators also became ill with histoplasmosis following collection of soil and bat guano. This outbreak reveals that bats and bat guano are a source of histoplasmosis, suggests that only brief exposure is necessary for acute infection and reemphasizes that histoplasmosis is not confined to the midwestern states.

Acute diffuse pulmonary granulomatosis in bridge workers

Two cases of acute diffuse pulmonary granulomatosis are reported. A causative organism was not recovered. Inhalation of dust, which was raised by bridge scraping in rural Maryland and which may have contained bat guano, is considered responsible for the illness. The syndrome of acute diffuse pulmonary granulomatosis and its etiology are reviewed briefly. Inhalation of finely divided organic matter containing Histoplasma capsulatum is suggested as the probable cause of this syndrome.