Haz-Map updated to include more information about occupational exposures to hazardous substances

Search  as

From a 4 May 2011 National Library of Medicine listerv item 

Haz-Map now includes 1212 new chemical agents and twelve chemical
categories with significance regarding occupational exposure.

The twelve categories of chemical agents include metals, solvents,
pesticides, mineral dusts, toxic gases and vapors, plastics and rubber,
biological agents, nitrogen compounds, dyes, physical agents, other
classes, and other uses.
http://hazmap.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/hazmap_cgi?level=0&tree=Agent

Haz-Map is an occupational toxicology database designed to link jobs to
hazardous job tasks which are linked to occupational diseases and their
symptoms.

The Haz-Map Jobs table is based on the 1997 Standard Occupational
Classification (SOC) system. The Industries table is based on the North
American Industry Classification System (NAICS). The Diseases table is
based on the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9).

Information from textbooks, journal articles, and electronic databases was
classified and summarized to create the database.

Other NLM toxicology databases include

• Household Products Database -Potential health effects of chemicals for common household products
• Tox Town -Interactive guide to potentially toxic substances and environmental health issues in everyday places

• TOXNET –Databases on hazardous chemicals, environmental health, and toxic releases

Related Articles

• NIOSH Chemical Hazards V2.1 for iPhone and iPad Released (themactrack.com)
• Who’s exposed – and what can they do about it? Biomonitoring for consumer products and workplaces (scienceblogs.com)
• US must strengthen efforts to restrict chemicals that threaten health, say researchers (yubanet.com)
• Chemical law fails to protect kids’ health: MDs (cbc.ca)
• Environmental Toxins (education.com)
• 83,000 Chemicals And Growing: Is It Time To Stop Regulating and Start Banning? (worldtruthtoday.com)
• The Environment Factor: How They Arises and What Should be Done? (socyberty.com)
• HazMasterG3 Only CBRNE/HME System Compatible With Army’s First SmartPhone (prweb.com)
• Study describes health effects of occupational exposures in Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant workers (physorg.com)
• Women Action For Ecology WOMEN MORE VULNERABLE TO TOXIC EFFECTS OF… (preetlari.wordpress.com)

Working With Pesticides May Affect Memory and More

From a December 2, 2010 Health Day news item by Robert Preidt

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 1 (HealthDay News) — Being exposed to pesticides over a long period of time might be linked to dementia, a new study of agricultural workers suggests.

The research effort included 614 vineyard workers in France who were in their 40s and 50s and had worked for at least 20 years in the agricultural sector. Their intellectual abilities were assessed twice, using nine tests designed to measure memory and recall, language retrieval, verbal skills and reaction time.

The workers’ exposure to pesticides during the six-year span of the study varied. About 20 percent were never exposed to pesticides and more than half had been directly exposed, which included mixing or applying pesticides and cleaning or repairing spraying equipment. The rest had either been indirectly exposed by coming into contact with treated plants or possibly indirectly exposed through their work in buildings, offices, cellars and the like.

On seven of the nine tests, workers who had been exposed to pesticides were most likely to do worse the second time they were tested, the researchers found. The study also reported that pesticide-exposed workers were up to five times more likely than the others to have lower test scores on both occasions and were twice as likely to show a drop of two points in the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), which tests cognitive functioning and is frequently used to determine if a person has dementia.

The decline in MMSE score “is particularly striking in view of the short duration of follow-up and the relatively young age of the participants,” Isabelle Baldi, of the Institute de Sante Publique d’Epidemiologie et de Developpement in Bordeaux, France, and colleagues wrote in the report published in the Dec. 2 online edition of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

“The mild [cognitive] impairment we observed raises the question of the potentially higher risks of injury in this population and also of possible evolution towards neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias,” the study authors added.

Related Articles

• Types of Pesticides (everydayhealth.com)
• Dangerous Exposure: Farmworker Children And Pesticides (Medical News Today)

Skin Exposures and Effects in the Work Place

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recently published a new Work Place Safety and Health Topic.

The Skin Exposures and Effects notes the following

It is estimated that more than 13 million workers in the United States are potentially exposed to chemicals that can be absorbed through the skin. Dermal exposure to hazardous agents can result in a variety of occupational diseases and disorders, including occupational skin diseases (OSD) and systemic toxicity. Historically, efforts to control workplace exposures to hazardous agents have focused on inhalation rather than skin exposures. As a result, assessment strategies and methods are well developed for evaluating inhalation exposures in the workplace; standardized methods are currently lacking for measuring and assessing skin exposures.

This CDC skin exposure Web page includes information about skin anatomy and function, skin hazards, occupations at risk,
skin absorption into the body , and contact dermatitis.

Content source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Education and Information Division

Adding Recess to the Workday Gains Backers

Programs to get adults up and moving may have business as well as personal rewards

Excerpt

TUESDAY, Sept. 28 (HealthDay News) — Think recess, and you’ll probably smile. What wasn’t to like about a break in the school day set aside for running and playing, for friends and fun?

Now fast-forward to your adult life. What if your workplace started offering recess on the job?

Some medical experts think it’s not only a good idea but possibly one of the most solid tactics dreamed up for getting an increasingly out-of-shape America up and moving.

Adult recess would involve a 10-minute break in the workday, when employees would be led through a series of fun routines involving dance and sports-like moves.

The idea may be catching on. Employer-sponsored exercise is a big part of the U.S. National Physical Activity Plan, a cooperative effort by a number of health and fitness organizations to promote physical activity in public settings such as businesses, schools and churches. Partners include the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Heart Association, the YMCA and the AARP.

“When we can build physical activity into an easy, achievable part of our day, it’s a lot less daunting for people,” said Allison Kleinfelter, a consultant with the National Physical Activity Plan. The program, she said, “is looking at changing places where we live and work to support physical activity.”

The benefit of adult recess hinges on physical activity guidelines put out by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which recommend that all adults receive at least 150 minutes of exercise each week, Kleinfelter said.

But a person doesn’t need to stack up those minutes during just a few sessions, according to the guidelines, because moderate or vigorous effort will benefit overall health even if each session is as short as 10 minutes.

One work site where adult recess has been implemented is Latino Health Access, a nonprofit group in Santa Ana, Calif. Many of the 55 workers there participate in a 20-minute walk every other day and daily 15-minute aerobics classes, said Alejandro Espinoza, the group’s chronic disease program coordinator.

The benefits have been terrific, he said. Workers feel more energetic and focused and are less likely to feel lethargic in the afternoon.

“They look forward to it,” he said. “I’m one of the exercise team leaders. They come and tell me, ‘Alex, it’s time to do our exercise.’ “

Farm, Food Service Jobs Tied To Heart Disease Risk

Americans in certain lines of work, including transportation, food service and farming, may have a relatively high rate of risk factors for heart disease, diabetes and stroke, a new study finds.

“The findings, according to the researchers, do not prove that any given occupation increases or decreases the risk of metabolic syndrome. They do, however, suggest that people in certain job fields need to be especially aware of ways to control their risk factors for heart disease and diabetes. That includes watching their diets and getting regular exercise, not smoking and, if necessary, taking medication to control their blood pressure and cholesterol.”