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New guidance documents explain importance of testing in reducing, preventing worker exposure to respiratory hazards
OSHA
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) developed two guidance documents, one for workers and one for employers, which describe the use of spirometry testing to help reduce and prevent worker exposure to respiratory hazards.More

Combination antidepressant therapy may not improve odds of remission among chronically depressed
NIH
A combination of two antidepressants may not be any more effective in treating chronic major depression than a single antidepressant, according to an NIMH-funded study published online ahead of print May 2, 2011, in the American Journal of Psychiatry.More

Effects of psychosocial characteristics of work on pregnancy outcomes: a critical review
PubMed
Birth outcomes may influence subsequent susceptibility to chronic diseases. With the increased number of women who continue to work during pregnancy, occupational stress has been hypothesized to be a potential contributor to adverse reproductive health outcomes. More

Cigarette smoking and arsenic exposure: a deadly combination
The University of Chicago Medical Center
Arsenic exposure and smoking each elevate the risk of disease. But when combined together, the danger of dying from cardiovascular disease is magnified, a new study finds.More

Moderate levels of secondhand smoke deliver nicotine to the brain
NIH
Exposure to secondhand smoke, such as a person can get by riding in an enclosed car while someone else smokes, has a direct, measurable impact on the brain - and the effect is similar to what happens in the brain of the person doing the smoking. In fact, exposure to this secondhand smoke evokes cravings among smokers, according to a study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health.More

Modeling the time profiles of organic solvent concentrations for occupational exposure assessment purposes
The Annals of Occupational Hygiene
Confronted by variable exposure scenarios characterized by intermittent concentration peaks, this study aimed to develop methods and determine mathematical functions reproducing organic solvent concentration profiles in order to assess health risks.More

Fatal injuries among grounds maintenance workers - United States, 2003-2008
CDC via MMWR
A total of 1,142 grounds maintenance workers (GMWs) were fatally injured at work during 2003-2008, an average of 190 each year. GMWs accounted for 3.4 percent of all occupational fatalities, and 31 percent of those GMWs were Hispanic or Latino. Approximately 83 percent of the Hispanic or Latino GMWs who died were born outside the United States.More

Occupational sensitization to soy allergens in workers at a processing facility
PubMed
Exposure to soy antigens has been associated with asthma in community outbreaks and in some workplaces. Recently, 135 soy flake processing workers (SPWs) in a Tennessee facility were evaluated for immune reactivity to soy. Allergic sensitization to soy was common and was five times more prevalent than in health care worker controls (HCWs) with no known soy exposure.More

US Department of Labor's MSHA extends comment period on proposed respirable dust rule
MSHA
The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration announced that it has extended the comment period on the proposed rule "Lowering Miners' Exposure to Respirable Coal Mine Dust, Including Continuous Personal Dust Monitors." In response to requests from interested parties, the comment period, which originally was to end May 2, has been extended until May 31.More

Subclinical abnormalities in workers with continuous low-level toluene exposure
PubMed
Short-term exposure to a high concentration (TWA > 100 ppm) of toluene can cause hepatotocixity and neurotoxicity in humans. Data on the effects of exposure to low levels of toluene, however, are controversial.More