Occupational Health Department Research Articles

Statistical Analysis of Occupational Fatal Accidents for Risk Assessment

Abstract According to Malaysia's Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), workplace accidents have increased dramatically as the country's economy has grown rapidly. The purpose of this study is to identify the trends that lead to fatal workplace accidents in Malaysia. This study investigated 505 fatal accident instances from fifteen industries, using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The DOSH discovered and reported these fatalities (2010-2020). Data was organized and coded, then analyzed using Spearman's rank order correlation, frequency analysis, Eta squared, Cramer's V, and Chi-square. Moreover, neurolinguistic programming was used to generate the word cloud and sentiment analysis. Furthermore, light gradient-boosting machine learning was used to better understand the causes of fatalities. The outcomes indicated that fatal falls from heights were the leading cause of fatal accidents (32%). General laborers were the most susceptible to fatal accidents (60%). Contract workers were more likely to die in construction accidents (64%). The findings of this study gave useful insights into workplace fatal accident trends and preventive measures throughout sectors.

An Accident Prediction Model Based on ARIMA in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Using Time Series of Actual Accidents and Related Data

Recently, there has been an emerging trend to analyse time series data and utilise sophisticated tools for optimally fitting time series models. To date, Malaysian industrial accident data is underutilised and lacks informative records. Thus, this paper aims to investigate the Malaysian accident database and further evaluate the optimal forecasting models in accident prediction. The model’s input was based on available data from the Department of Occupational Safety and Health, Malaysia (DOSH), from 2018 until 2021, with 80% of the dataset to train the models and the remaining 20% for validation. The negative binomial and Poisson distribution prediction showed a mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 33% and 51%, respectively. It indicated that the negative binomial performed better than the Poisson distribution in accident frequency prediction. The available time series accident data were gathered for four years, and stationarity was checked in R Studio software for the Augmented Dickey-Fuller test. The lowest Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) and other error values were used to justify the best model, which was the ARIMA(2,0,2)(2,0,0)(12) model. The ARIMA models were considered after the data showed autocorrelation. The MAPE for both ARIMA in R and manual time series were 40% and 49%, respectively. Therefore, the accident prediction by using R Studio would outperform the manually negative binomial and Poisson distribution. Based on the findings, industrial safety practitioners should report accidents to DOSH truthfully in the era of digitalisation. It could enable future data-driven accident predictions to be carried out.

Major Hazard Competent Person Profession in Malaysia: A document analysis of trends and demands

Introduction: The Malaysian Control of Industrial Major Accident Hazard (CIMAH) Regulations introduced in 1996 resulted in the creation ‘Major Hazard Competent Person’ (MHCP) profession. However, after two decades of its establishment, there has been limited study conducted on this specific profession. The objectives of this study are to analyze 1) the trend of application and passing rates of MHCP registrations; and 2) the trend of Major Hazard Installations (MHI) registrations, and its relationship with the available supply of registered MHCP. Methods: The study used a document review approach, involving the extraction, examination, and interpretation of data from both published and unpublished documents by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), the regulatory body responsible for overseeing both MHCP and MHI registration status in Malaysia. The study looks into data from 1996 (beginning of 1996 CIMAH Regulation) to 2023, though the available data found and analyzed were from 1998 to 2021. Results: The study reveals a concerning lack of growth in the number of professionals being certified as MHCP, despite an increase in the number of MHIs over the past two decades. Potential causes of this shortage identified include a demanding certification process, limited availability of MHCP competency courses, and a lack of clear career paths and growth opportunities in the profession. Conclusion: The inadequate supply of MHCPs could potentially undermine their ability to provide sufficient coverage for MHIs, indirectly jeopardizing the quality of risk management in major hazard facilities. Therefore, there is merit in periodically reviewing the regulations and reforming the MHCP profession in response to changing trends.

Semi-quantitative health risk assessment of heavy metal dust exposure among nail technicians using the SQRA technique and Monte Carlo simulation.

Nail technology, including the application of artificial nails and nail care, is a developing sector of the global beauty industry. Nail technicians are exposed to a variety of chemical substances through inhalation, as they spend extended periods of time in close proximity to these materials. This study aimed to evaluate the semi-quantitative health risk of dust-containing heavy metals among nail technicians. This analytical descriptive study employed the risk assessment method provided by the Singapore Occupational Health Department to evaluate the health hazards of lead, cadmium, nickel, chromium, and manganese. Dust samples from nail filing were collected from the respiratory zone of 20 nail technicians following the NIOSH 7300 method. The samples were analyzed using ICP-OES instrumentation. Monte Carlo simulation was utilized to characterize the risk and its uncertainties. Manganese and cadmium had the highest and lowest mean concentrations, respectively. The risk scores of the metals ranked from highest to lowest were as follows: . All five metals had risk rankings below 2.8, signifying a minimal risk level. Sensitivity analysis using Spearman's correlation coefficient demonstrated a positive relationship between concentration, daily hours of exposure, and the number of workdays per week with the risk score (RR) and exposure level (ER). Conversely, the variable of weekly working hours (W) showed a negative correlation with these parameters. Despite the low-risk level of the examined metals, continuous exposure and potential long-term effects on nail technicians warrant preventive measures. Recommendations include implementing local exhaust ventilation systems, using table fans, establishing work-rest cycles, wearing N95 dust masks, and using reputable and high-quality nail polishes.

Prevalence of Latent Tuberculosis Infection Among Nurses Working in Critical Areas at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Introduction Tuberculosis is a critical health issue worldwide.Most infected persons are asymptomatic and categorized as having a latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). Healthcare workers (HCWs) are more prone to being infected with tuberculosis and should be enrolled in a screening program for early detection. Objectives The study aims to estimate the prevalence of LTBI among nurses working in critical areas which include adult intensive care units, pediatric intensive care units, emergency departments, oncology departments, dialysis departments, tuberculosis labs, isolation rooms, and cardiac center intensive care units. Methods A record-based cross-sectional survey measured the prevalence of LTBI among nurses working in critical areas at Prince Sultan Military Medical City (PSMMC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We reviewed the occupational health records of all nurses working in critical areas from June 1, 2021, to June 1, 2022. We recorded the data reviewed throughout the year in the Occupational Health Department at PSMMC. We excluded all participants with previously documented positive tuberculin skin test (TST) from the study. We analyzed the sociodemographic data, working years, working location, job title, and TST results. Results We included a total of 771 out of 2025 nurses in this study. Participants were mostly women (88%) and in the 26-35-year age group (67.7%). Most of the participants were originally from the Philippines (66.3%). The overall LTBI prevalence among nurses was 34.5%. The highest prevalence of LTBI was among nurses working in the cardiac intensive care unit (53.5%), and the lowest prevalence was among nurses working in the isolation department (8.9%; p-value <0.0001). Those who worked more in the hospital were significantly more infected with LTBI (p-value <0.04). Conclusion LTBI remains a significant health risk worldwide andin the Middle East as well as among HCWs. This underscores the necessity of comprehensive pre-hiring screening, annual screening, infection control protocols, and active management of HCWs with LTBI.

Virtually prepared: designing remote environmental health practicum experiences

The push for virtual education modes continues to grow and develop following unprecedented acceleration during the COVID-19 pandemic. Environmental and occupational health education echoes that demand, where programs are seeing the focus expand from lab-based bench work to include greater practice emphasis in areas such as environmental health equity, environmental justice, environmental policy, and environmental health literacy. Part of the educational foundation for Environmental and Occupational Health MPH programs includes a practicum designed to provide students with “real-world” experience beyond classroom applications. Given the expected increased demand for virtual educational models from students and virtual employees from the professional sector, higher education programs that require practicum experiences must seek innovative approaches that meet both student and employer needs. The University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Environmental and Occupational Health is a practicum host site for local universities. Recently, faculty have sought to co-create virtual environmental health practicums in response to requests for these types of opportunities. This article expands upon work on “virtual” or “remote” practicum placements and builds upon best practices to contribute to continuing research in this area. The article also shares insight into creating additional virtual opportunities in the environmental health field. This work presents a case study of the development of a virtual student practicum, documents the processes and procedures followed to develop work grounded in best practices, and shares lessons learned and recommendations for developing future virtual practicums for public health students. The student and practicum host provide reflections on the practicum design and experience.

Landslide in gold mine in Erzincan caused alarm!

Üsküdar University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Head of Occupational Health and Safety Department, Asst. Prof. Rüştü Uçan evaluated the soil discharge in a gold mine in Erzincan and the workers being under cyanide soil.

Mitigating healthcare worker risk during the COVID-19 pandemic - experience from a large tertiary maternity centre in the United Arab Emirates.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, healthcare workers (HCW) have been leading the charge in combating it, in spite of being disproportionately affected by the disease compared to the general population. This study describes the measures instituted at the largest maternity center in the United Arab Emirates during the pandemic to mitigate the risk of HCW contracting COVID-19, as well as the effectiveness of those measures. The incidence of COVID-19 amongst healthcare workers at the facility was compared to that in the general population over a 13-month period from February 2021 to February 2022. Data on population testing was obtained from the database maintained by the regional testing lab, while HCW testing data was obtained from the occupational health department at the hospital. The incidence of COVID-19 in HCWs and the general population was compared using summary statistics and charts. Several mitigation measures were instituted to protect HCW during the pandemic including patient traffic management, adequate provision of personal protective equipment, staff vaccination campaigns, infrastructure enhancement, workforce planning, and structured occupational health policies. During the study period the overall positivity rate in the general population was 5.78% (83,005/1.4 million tests) and that for staff was 1.19% (401/33,228 tests). The peaks and troughs on staff turning positive for COVID-19 coincided with peaks and troughs of the pandemic in the general population. The hospital instituted effective mitigation measures in protecting the staff and keeping COVID-19 rates well below the ones encountered in the general population.

Survey on Preparedness, Concerns, and Support Demands for Autonomous Management of Chemical Substances

The management of workplace chemicals shifted from a regulatory-based to a self-managed approach as of April 2023. To assess readiness, concerns, and necessary support for this change, a free-response questionnaire survey was conducted for the participants of the "Promoting self-management of chemicals in enterprises" seminar held by the Department of Occupational Health, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, in January-February 2023. Text-mining using KH Coder (Ver.3) was conducted to investigate relationships between words that appeared in sentences using a co-occurrence network and hierarchical cluster analysis. From the questionnaire's description text, combinations of the terms "information" and "collection," "small and medium-sized" and "enterprise," and "chemical" and "substance" were extracted. Results suggest a need for "information gathering" and "support for small and medium-sized enterprises."

Restaurant managers knowledge and intention to improve building ventilation and indoor air quality using control measures in a middle-income country

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 virus can occur via aerosol in inadequately ventilated indoor spaces, including restaurants. Despite the introduction of guidelines to ensure good indoor air quality (IAQ) and ventilation, business owners in low- or middle-income countries (LMIC) remain unsure about the regulations. This study aims to evaluate the level of knowledge and intention to improve IAQ and building ventilation among restaurant managers, and whether it is reflective of the implementation of control measures during COVID-19. This cross-sectional study involved restaurants from eight study sites at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, selected using cluster randomised sampling. A survey was conducted using a questionnaire adapted from the guidance note on ventilation and IAQ for non-residential setting during the COVID-19 pandemic by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health, Malaysia. Data collected were analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 27. Low knowledge level (median score: 4, range: 1–7) and moderate intention level (median score: 6, range 2–8) were reported among restaurant managers; however, the level of knowledge and intention were not correlated with the implementation of control measures. Insights from this study will be useful in informing the authorities to assess and review the practicality of current standard operating procedures and guidelines. The study findings are also expected to be translated to other airborne infectious diseases to increase the country's preparedness in managing future pandemics.

Local government institutions in Ghana: Core partners in health and safety performance in the construction industry

The potential contribution of district assemblies to improving health and safety in Ghana's construction industry has not been investigated. This paper attempts to identify the local government responsibilities that could influence health and safety performance in the construction industry and to develop a confirmatory factor model based on these responsibilities. The paper adopted a positivist philosophy and a deductive methodology. A literature search was conducted to identify the local government factors that could potentially impact health and safety performance in the Ghanaian construction industry. These factors were adapted and designed into a questionnaire, and the generated questionnaires were distributed to respondents for their feedback. It was identified using the relative importance index that “the development of sanctions for violating occupational health and safety statutory obligations,” “the institution of local government occupational health and safety approval and certification for new projects,” and “the creation of occupational health and safety departments and committees that are adequately resourced to assist the Department of Factories Inspectorate” were the three most important roles that district assemblies could play as partners to improve health and safety in the construction industry. Conversely, the multivariate analysis identified the evaluation of the safety policies and risk management plans of contractors and suppliers as the most important role local government institutions could play in improving health and safety in the construction industry. The result of the study suggests that local government efforts, when given the needed attention and support, could advance health and safety in the industry. The practical implication of the study is that it identifies the roles of district assemblies that could enhance health and safety in Ghana's construction industry. All district assemblies should consider implementing these health and safety initiatives in their districts and ensuring they are regularly enforced and evaluated.

Physical parameters influence the microbial quality of indoor air in research laboratories: A report from Malaysia

The quality of air conditioning and ventilation systems in laboratories is vital to ensure optimum health of the users and guarantee the accuracy of experiments conducted. Moreover, recent studies show that the average quality of air conditioning and ventilation systems in labs can pose health risks to occupants. The study aims to examine the relationship between physical parameters and microbial pollutants in research laboratories' indoor air quality (IAQ) by quantifying and characterising the bacteria and fungi in the indoor environment of research laboratories using the settle plate method; whereby our Petri dishes containing media are exposed to the air for sample collection. This study was conducted over the course of 3 ​day ​at three different research laboratories: Virology Lab (VL), Genetic Lab (GL), and Aquatic Lab (AL). The physical parameters such as air temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide were measured using FLUKE 975 air meter, whereas the microbial parameters were assessed using the settle plate method with Tryptone Soya agar and Sabouraud Dextrose agar for the bacterial and fungal count, respectively. Our results showed that the high temperature and relative humidity, exceeded the standard threshold for temperature (23–26 ​°C) and relative humidity (40–70%) set by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH). Additionally, because of poor air conditioning and ventilation system maintenance, there were high total bacterial counts in GL (CFU/m3 234.34 ​± ​30.93) and total fungal counts in VL (CFU/m3 589.34 ​± ​53.03). We also showed that the most commonly isolated bacteria and fungi in research laboratories were Staphylococcus spp. (72.2%) and Cladosporium spp. (76.7%). In conclusion, we reported that there was a correlation between the physical parameters and microbial pollutants in the research laboratories. Therefore, regular monitoring of indoor air quality (IAQ) parameters and maintenance of the air conditioning and ventilation system should be carried out to ensure a good and safe indoor environment in research laboratories.

The Acceptance Level of New Safety Helmet Design among Palm Oil Plantation Harvesters in Johor, Malaysia

Agriculture has the highest number of occupational accident cases reported to the Department of Occupational Safety and Health, Malaysia in 2022. The most serious concern is a head injury, which can lead to serious injury or death. Because of the fundamental issue of discomfort, the current level of safety helmet usage is extremely low. The purpose of this study is to determine the level of acceptance of a new safety helmet design. This single group pre and post-test study were conducted on 124 harvesters in three Johor palm oil plantations by using a modified structured questionnaire. A training session on proper helmet use was conducted via video presentation. For three days, harvesters wore the new safety helmet design. Field observation was conducted on the practice item for the post-test. Descriptive analysis shows harvesters have a high score for knowledge, attitude, and practice. There is no significant difference (p&gt;0.05) in practice before and after the implementation of training. There is a significant increase (p&lt;0.001) in the acceptance level of the parameter (comfort, safety, ventilation, peak, fit, design, and heat) of the new safety helmet design on day 1, day 3 and day 6 among palm oil plantation harvesters. Overall, the harvesters have high knowledge, attitude and practice level and the new safety helmet design is well accepted by the harvesters. Training session implemented is helpful, however, the module needs to be improvised to increase the practice level.

Unblinding in the lecanemab trial in Alzheimer's disease.

Journal Article Accepted manuscript Unblinding in the lecanemab trial in Alzheimer's disease Get access Willem A Van Gool Willem A Van Gool Department of Public and Occupational Health, Amsterdam University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Correspondence to: Willem A. Van Gool, Amsterdam UMC Locatie AMC - Public and Occupational Health, Meibergdreef 9 Amsterdam 1105 AZ, The Netherlands, E-mail: w.a.vangool@amsterdamumc.nl Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Brain, awad171, https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awad171 Published: 18 May 2023 Article history Received: 24 April 2023 Accepted: 13 May 2023 Published: 18 May 2023

Investigating patterns of workplace fatal fall injuries: Case study of Malaysia

Introduction: Falling from heights can be a serious and potentially life-threatening hazard. In Malaysia, falls from heights are one of the leading causes of workplace accidents and fatalities. The Malaysian Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) reported that the year 2021 recorded an alarmingly high number of fatalities, of which the majority of the injuries were due to falls from heights. Objective: The purpose of this study is to understand the relationship between the different variables associated with fatal falls from heights, which will help identify potential areas to work on to prevent these types of injuries. Methods: The study analyzed 3,321 fatal falls from height accidents from 2010 to 2020 DOSH data. Data were cleaned and normalized to extract relevant information for analysis, with agreement on variables and reliability achieved through independent sampling. Results: This study found that general workers were the most vulnerable category to fatal falls, with a 32% yearly average, whereas supervisors were the least vulnerable, with 4%. Roofers recorded a yearly fatal falls average of 15.5%, followed by electricians with 12%. Cramer’s V results ranged from negligible, weak, and strong correlations; strong to moderate correlation between the dates of injuries and the factors used in this study, whereas the direct and root causes recorded a weak to negligible correlation with the rest of the variables. Conclusions: This study provided a better understanding of the working conditions of the Malaysian construction industry. By analyzing fall injury patterns and uncovering the factors, direct and root causes relationship with other variables, it was clear how severe the Malaysian workplace conditions were. Practical Applications: This study will help better understand fatal fall injuries in the Malaysian construction industry and help develop prevention measures based on the uncovered patterns and associations.

Extreme heat and work injuries in Kuwait’s hot summers

BackgroundHot, desert Gulf countries are host to millions of migrant workers doing outdoor jobs such as construction and hospitality. The Gulf countries apply a summertime ban on midday work to...

Heat Stress and Noise Exposure Levels in a Manufacturing Plant

This paper analyses skilled workers’ heat stress and noise exposure levels at a pressure vessel manufacturing plant. Measurements were conducted at three partially enclosed workspaces of the plant where hot work and metal fabrications were conducted using a multi-function thermal environment data logger and a sound level recorder. A survey was developed to obtain the field workers’ perceptions of their immediate heat and noise environments. The findings suggested that the heat and noise conditions were generally acceptable. The calculated mean Wet-bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) indicated that there was only minimal risk of heat stress for the workers. It was also identified that the noise intensities in the sections studied were within the permissible exposure limit for an 8-hour duration specified in the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) guideline. Besides, questionnaire survey results showed that the thermal and noise conditions at the workplace were acceptable. The workers perceived their work environment as warm with sensible air movement, moderately humid, free from heat and noise-related injuries, and able to have clear conversations with their co-workers while working.

Control of industrial major accident hazard regulation in Malaysia: second decade in examination

The Control of Industrial Major Accident Hazards (CIMAH) regulations was introduced in 1996 to regulate workplaces with hazardous chemicals in their facilities. The Regulations provide a minimum standard to ensure precautionary measures related to major hazard risks are taken. Although the Regulations have been enforced for more than two decades in Malaysia, there have been limited efforts to review related information, trends and data since its inception. The study aimed to provide an overview of the position of CIMAH regulations after two decades of being enacted in Malaysia. Data were extracted from the published and unpublished reports and documentations by Department of Occupational Safety and Health of Malaysia (DOSH), as well as available publications from literary journals. Analysis of the contents revealed three categories of data: i) CIMAH regulations’ administrative governance changes; ii) major hazard industries–categorization and registration trends; and iii) CIMAH regulations’ punitive activities. The findings provide an overview of relevant trends and data related to CIMAH regulations in the past two decades, and may provide stakeholders such as policymakers, practitioners, and researchers a groundwork for improvement initiatives.

Independent and Joint Association of Leukocyte Telomere Length and Lifestyle Score With Incident Stroke.

HomeStrokeAhead of PrintIndependent and Joint Association of Leukocyte Telomere Length and Lifestyle Score With Incident Stroke No AccessLetterRequest AccessAboutView PDFSections ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload citationsTrack citationsPermissionsDownload Articles + Supplements ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InMendeleyReddit Jump toSupplemental MaterialNo AccessLetterRequest AccessIndependent and Joint Association of Leukocyte Telomere Length and Lifestyle Score With Incident Stroke Haiqing Zhang, PhD, Xuefeng Lai, PhD, Qin Fang, PhD, Lin Ma, MM, Miao Liu, PhD, Huihua Yang, PhD, Wenting Guo, PhD, Meian He, PhD, Liangle Yang, PhD and Xiaomin Zhang, PhD Haiqing ZhangHaiqing Zhang https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6652-6417 Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Hubei, China. *H. Zhang and X. Lai contributed equally. Search for more papers by this author , Xuefeng LaiXuefeng Lai Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Hubei, China. *H. Zhang and X. Lai contributed equally. Search for more papers by this author , Qin FangQin Fang Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Hubei, China. Search for more papers by this author , Lin MaLin Ma Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Hubei, China. Search for more papers by this author , Miao LiuMiao Liu Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Hubei, China. Search for more papers by this author , Huihua YangHuihua Yang Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Hubei, China. Search for more papers by this author , Wenting GuoWenting Guo Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Hubei, China. Search for more papers by this author , Meian HeMeian He Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Hubei, China. Search for more papers by this author , Liangle YangLiangle Yang https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9751-1904 Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Hubei, China. Search for more papers by this author and Xiaomin ZhangXiaomin Zhang Correspondence to: Xiaomin Zhang, PhD, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 13 Hangkong Rd, Wuhan 430030, Hubei, China. Email E-mail Address: [email protected] https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3877-5242 Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Hubei, China. Search for more papers by this author Originally published28 Feb 2023https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.122.041126Stroke. 2023;0"Independent and Joint Association of Leukocyte Telomere Length and Lifestyle Score With Incident Stroke." Stroke, , pp. –Footnotes*H. Zhang and X. Lai contributed equally.For Sources of Funding and Disclosures, see page xxx.Supplemental Material is available at https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/suppl/10.1161/STROKEAHA.122.041126.Correspondence to: Xiaomin Zhang, PhD, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 13 Hangkong Rd, Wuhan 430030, Hubei, China. Email [email protected]com Previous Back to top Next FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Advertisement Article InformationMetrics © 2023 American Heart Association, Inc.https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.122.041126PMID: 36852686 Originally publishedFebruary 28, 2023 KeywordsstrokelifestylehabitsagingtelomerePDF download Advertisement SubjectsCerebrovascular Disease/StrokeEpidemiologyLifestyle

Hazard Identification and Physical Parameters Measurement in Dental Laboratories

Substances such as dental materials routinely used in dental procedures such as acrylate compounds, organic solvents, disinfectants can spread into air within the dental working environment and affect the indoor air quality (IAQ). This study aimed to identify the hazards at dental laboratories and measure the physical parameters of IAQ such as particulate matter (PM), temperature and humidity. Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Risk Control (HIRARC) analysis was conducted during walk through survey, then the area monitoring of PM10, PM2.5, temperature and humidity was conducted using particle air counter for eight hours at each dental laboratories: Prostethic Lab, Orthodontic Lab, Maxillofacial Lab, Plaster Room, Teaching Lab 1 and Teaching Lab 2. The concentration of PM10 and PM2.5 were below the acceptable level at each laboratory except for PM10 at the Prostethic Lab (205.8 μg/m3 in 2018 and 163.0 μg/m3 in 2020) which were above 150 μg/m3 as referred to the Industry Code of Practice on Indoor Air Quality 2010 by the Department of Occupational Health and Safety, Malaysia. It is important to assess the HIRARC and determine the physical parameters in dental laboratories to ensure the safety and health of the workers are guaranteed. Hence continuous monitoring and training should be conducted to ensure the prevention and control measures are efficient.