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Sept. 2014, Page 1 ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH & SAFETY In this issue: CPR and First Aid Classes Available at 2 the Student Life Center On the Lighter Side 2 The Large Questions About Health Impacts from Tiny Dear EH&S 2 Nanoparticles by Sandy Smith NIOSH Launches ―Buy Quiet‖ Initia- 3 With little industry-specific regula- Airborne nanoparticle sampling was reveals those same amazing, game- tion, some occupational health not performed at the company, and changing properties can be harmful tive specialists and researchers are con- therefore was not available to deter- to unprotected workers. They also cerned that nanomaterial manufac- mine the exposures of workers to raise a lot of questions about poten- Web Bytes 3 turers and downstream users have nanomaterials. tial health impacts. been operating like the Wild West, After returning to work following Currently, there are thousands of with many of them unaware or Did You Know? 4 some time off, the chemist experi- U.S. workers handing nanoparti- choosing to ignore the potential enced a return of the symptoms – cles, according to Journeay, and by dangers to workers handing parti- even when working in other parts 2020 there will be an estimated 6 Bringing Safety cles so small that 100 million nano- 4 of the building – so she went to see million workers handling nanopar- Home particles could fit on the head of a an occupational physician. The ticles worldwide with 2 million of pin. occupational physician spoke with them in the United States. What We‘re Work- A new study, which examines the the company doctor about the need 4 "The implementation of nanotech- ing On case of a chemist who formulated for further assessment and a change nology into the workplace poses a polymers and coatings and devel- in how the nanoparticles were being challenge for occupational risk oped symptoms related to the use of handled. assessment because of difficulty nickel nanoparticle powder, pro- Eventually, the chemist had to isolating exposures to specific types vides new insight into the use of move to another lab that had no of nanoparticles and determining nanomaterials and the impact the metal chemistry work and her symp- the presence or absence of nanopar- lack of personal protective equip- toms improved dramatically. ticle toxicity," Journeay and Gold- ment (PPE) or engineering controls man noted in their study. could have for many nano workers. W. Shane Journeay, Ph.D., M.D. Department of and Rose H. Goldman, M.D., Workers may not know they are or The 26-year-old, non-smoking, fe- Environmental MPH, examined the case of the were exposed to nanomaterials until male chemist worked as a formula- Health & Safety chemist in a study published in the they suffer an adverse reaction, said tion chemist for 3 years in an indus- American Journal of Industrial Journeay. "The major difficulty is try involved with making metallic Medicine, "Occupational Handling lack of awareness of the differences inks for various applications. She Office: BSB D.111 of Nickel Nanoparticles: A Case in handling nanomaterials," he had no symptoms when doing work Report." noted. "Many of the nanomaterials that involved formulating polymers Phone: 710-2900 will be benign where others will be and making coatings, nor when As Journey and Goldman point out a problem and … we are finding Fax: 710-2405 working in the same laboratory with in the study, "Nanotechnology ap- that many companies do not have a metal -plating baths. plications continue to be used in an full understanding of the nuances increasingly diverse manner in the She usually used silver ink particles, of nanoscale EHS. This ranges from workplace, resulting in engineered One Bear Place #97046 but within one week of starting to management to the workers and nanoparticles with unique proper- work with nickel nanoparticle pow- therefore, if they treat nanomateri- Waco, TX 76798 ties. The science of nanotoxicology der weighed out and handled on a als like traditional chemicals, they is also developing as the unique lab bench with no protective may not realize the need for PPE." physicochemical properties of na- measures, she began to develop Website: www.baylor.edu/ noscale materials are discovered." Acute exposures can lead to symp- throat irritation, nasal congestion, ehs toms such as congestion, headache, post-nasal drip, facial flushing and While nanotechnology has some dermatitis, occupational asthma, Email: [email protected] new skin reactions to her earrings amazing properties that dramatically and belt buckle. will change many products, the study by Journeay and Goldman (continued on page 3) Sept. 2014, Page 2 ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH & SAFETY CPR & First Aid Classes Available at the Student Life Center Baylor Campus Recreation offers both CPR/ Friday, September 26: 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. tion, impaled object, amputation, eye injury, AED and First Aid certification classes to cur- Sunday, September 28: 2:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. and nosebleed. Also covered is proper burn rent Baylor students, faculty and staff. Courses care for minor and major burns caused by are designed to meet OSHA regulations and Monday, October 6: 7:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. heat, chemical, electrical and by the sun. current recommendations for workplace train- Friday, October 10: 3:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Participants will also learn how to provide ing programs. Classes are held in the Student Tuesday, October 14: 5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. first aid for a bone, muscle or joint injury. Life Center (SLC). Tuesday, October 21: 5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Also included is when and how to properly Friday, October 24: 2:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. splint or sling an injured body part. Follow- CPR/AED Certification: This is a 2.5 hour Sunday, October 26: 2:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. ing successful completion of the course, par- course in which the student will learn tech- Tuesday, October 28: 5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. ticipants are issued Course Completion Card niques such as Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation that is valid for two years. (CPR) and how to deal with airway obstruc- Tuesday, November 4: 5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. tions for choking situations. These important Friday, November 7: 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Bring your Baylor ID and sign up at the SLC skills are demonstrated and described for the Sunday, November 9: 5:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. front desk. The course fee is $35, and the adult, child and infant casualty. This program Tuesday, November 11: 5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. course is held in room 308. will also help the student to recognize and treat for someone who is suffering from a Friday, December 5: 3:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Classes are held on the following days: Heart Attack or Stroke, which are America's # Sunday, December 7: 2:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. 1 killers, also known as cardiovascular disease. (Room 314) Thursday, October 2: 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Following successful completion of the course, Saturday, October 25: 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. participants are issued Course Completion Card that is valid for two years. First Aid Certification: This 4.5 hour course Bring your Baylor ID and sign up at the SLC approved by American Environmental Health front desk. The course fee is $25, and the and Safety & American CPR Training, this course is held in room 308 (unless otherwise program shows how to handle various impact noted). injuries that may arise at home, work or play. This class provides the participant with Classes are held on the following days: knowledge and skills required to recognize and treat injuries such as major external and inter- Tuesday, September 16: 5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. nal bleeding. Students will also learn first aid Tuesday, September 23: 5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. for wounds such as cuts, scrapes, bruises, infec- On The Lighter Side Dear EH&S Dear EH&S, injury. Carpal tunnel syndrome is a well- known example of a repetitive use injury. What are ―ergonomics‖? Office work is an area where ergonomics -Inquiring Mind can come heavily into play. The chair, the desk, the positioning of the keyboard and screen—all of these are variables that Dear Inquiring, can be fit to the worker. This allows for an individual fit that is comfortable for If you want a formal definition, ergonom- the worker and hence increases productiv- ics is ―a science dealing with the applica- ity. tion of information on human physical and psychological characteristics to the If you are interested in an ergonomic design of the work environment‖1. To assessment of your work station, please put that into plain terms, it‘s designing contact [email protected]. the work to fit the worker. 1Nims, Debra K. (1999). Basics of Industri- If you do one thing over and over again al Hygiene. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Used with permission from Randy Glasbergen. for a long period of time, it can cause Sept. 2014, Page 3 ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH & SAFETY NIOSH Launches “Buy Quiet” Initiative Web Bytes News release— Figuring out how to turn down A Buy Quiet program can help to decrease the the noise in the workplace just got easier with risk of hearing loss at the worksite, minimize The ―Laboratory & Chemical Safety‖ sec- the release of new Buy Quiet web resources the impact of noise on communities, and assist tion of the EH&S website contains infor- mation on safety programs that apply pri- companies in complying with the Occupation- from the National Institute for Occupational marily to work in a campus laboratory.
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