Are Noise and Neurotoxic Chemical Exposures Related to Workplace Traumatic Injuries?

Details

• Personal Author:
  Doney B ; Henneberger, Paul K. ; Humann M ; Kelly BK
• Description:
  Objective: Occupational histories combined with a job exposure matrix (JEM) can be used to assess work-related exposures when direct measurements are not available. The objectives of this study were to use the occupational histories of adult participants in the Keokuk County Rural Health Study to describe the distribution of jobs among rural residents and their occupational exposures to vapor-gas, dusts, and fumes (VGDF). Methods: The Keokuk County Rural Health Study was a long-term prospective cohort study of residents living in a rural county in the US state of Iowa. Data collection was conducted in three rounds, each lasting 5 years, between 1994 and 2011. Over the three rounds, 1,893 adult participants completed study questionnaires that included an occupational history documenting all jobs since age 12. US Census 2000 occupational codes were assigned to all reported jobs and combined with a JEM for airflow limitation to yield exposure levels of never/low, medium, or high for total VGDF. We assigned an exposure level for each participant based on the last job in their occupational history. Results: The combination of the farm, fishing, and forestry occupational group with farmers and farm managers from the management group accounted for 20.5% of participants at last job. The next four most common occupational groups were office and administrative support (14.0%), sales (9.0%), production (7.7%), and education, training, and library (6.3%). The 20.5% of participants in farming, fishing, and forestry jobs was considerably greater than the comparable national figure of 1.3% from the 2000 US Census. For VGDF exposure in last job, the distribution of participants in the high, medium, and never/low exposure categories was 28.1%, 17.8%, and 54.1%, respectively. This is in contrast to findings from a predominantly urban population where the distribution by the same exposure categories based on the last job was 5.3% high, 9.8% medium, and 85.0% never/low. Conclusions: These results suggest that the unique work history (e.g., farming and other manual labor) of rural residents may lead to higher occupational exposures to VGDF. We will be using the assigned occupational exposures in an upcoming study to investigate whether they are associated with decrements in the spirometry of adults living in a rural county, in order to inform strategies for prevention. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Cohort Studies Dust Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Particulate Matter Safety Solvents
• Keywords:
  Airborne Particulates Cohort Studies Dusts Fumes Gases JEM Job Exposure Matrix Occupational Exposure Occupations Vapors
• Publisher:
  American Industrial Hygiene Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Iowa ; Maryland ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 7 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  RHD - Respiratory Health Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  30-31
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20065988
• Citation:
  AIHce 2016: American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition Pathways to Progress, May 21-26, 2016, Baltimore, Maryland. Falls Church, VA: American Industrial Hygiene Association, 2016 May; :30-31
• Contact Point Address:
  M. Humann, Respiratory Health Division, CDC/NIOSH, Morgantown, WV
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2016
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of Iowa, Iowa City
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20010930
• Source Full Name:
  AIHce 2016: American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition Pathways to Progress, May 21-26, 2016, Baltimore, Maryland
• End Date:
  20270929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:2ff7e9c5696d0cabd5959d7830ec2c01264f609ace47c660650cd8ab9141e2d8183e12e384f918f9ba262a897da1e3c189e32c9902ca9271a06836871712532e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/209080/cdc_209080_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.41 MB ]