Union Efforts to Reduce COVID-19 Infections Among Grocery Store Workers.

Grocery store workers are essential workers, but often have not been provided with appropriate protection during the current pandemic. This report describes efforts made by one union local to protect workers, including negotiated paid sick leave and specific safety practices. Union representatives from 319 stores completed 1612 in-store surveys to assess compliance between 23 April 2020 and 31 August 2020. Employers provided the union with lists of workers confirmed to have COVID-19 infection through 31 December 2020. Worker infection rates were calculated using store employees represented by the union as the denominator and compared to cumulative county infection rates; outcome was dichotomized as rates higher or lower than background rates. Restrictions on reusable bags and management enforcement of customer mask usage were most strongly associated with COVID-19 rates lower than rates in the surrounding county. Stores that responded positively to worker complaints also had better outcomes. The union is currently engaging to promote improved ventilation and vaccination uptake.

Carbon monoxide from neighbouring restaurants: the need for an integrated multi-agency response.

BACKGROUND: Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colourless, odourless toxic gas produced during incomplete combustion of carbon-based fuels. Most CO incidents reported to the UK Health Protection Agency (HPA) are due to faulty gas appliances, and legislation exists to ensure gas appliances are properly installed. METHODS: We present three CO poisoning incidents of unusual origin reported to the HPA. In each, residents living above restaurants were poisoned after workers left charcoal smouldering overnight in specialist or traditional ovens whilst ventilation systems were turned off. This led to production of CO, which travelled through floorboards and built up to dangerous concentrations in the flats. RESULTS: Working with local authorities, these incidents were investigated and resolved, and work was conducted to prevent further occurrences. CONCLUSIONS: The novel nature of these CO incidents led to delays in recognition and subsequent remedial action. Although previously undescribed, it is likely that due to the number of residences built above restaurants and the rising popularity of traditional cooking methods, similar incidents may be occurring and could increase in frequency. Multi-agency response and reporting mechanisms could be strengthened. Awareness raising in professional groups and the public on the importance of correct ventilation of such appliances is vital.

[Negligent homicide caused by exhaust gas escaping from a manipulated chimney]. / Fahrlässige Tötung durch Abgas aus einem manipulierten Schornstein.

A chimney built and operated according to the instructions is supposed to ensure that the combustion gases coming from the fireplace can escape safely. If the operational reliability is impaired, this presents a risk of acute poisoning. The report deals with a negligently caused carbon monoxide poisoning of a married couple as a consequence of improper installation of a cover of the chimney opening. Various causes of fatal poisoning due to defective exhaust systems are discussed in connection with the presented case report.

Do indoor smoke-free laws provide bar workers with adequate protection from secondhand smoke?

OBJECTIVE: To determine if bar workers are adequately protected from secondhand smoke by an Act that prohibits indoor smoking in public workplaces, including bars and restaurants, but allows smoking on unenclosed contiguous patios. METHODS: A purposive sample of 25 bars with outdoor patios in Toronto, Canada was drawn. Air carcinogenic particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PPAH) were measured on patios and inside bars in August-September, 2006, 2-3 months after implementation of the Smoke-Free Ontario Act. Taking into account repeated measures, mixed model analysis was applied to examine the level of fine particle PPAH (ng/m(3)) by number of lit cigarettes per patio area. RESULTS: Smoking on patios was common. With increasing numbers (0, 1.0-4.3, 4.4-8.7, 8.8-16.7 and 16.8-41.7) of lit cigarettes per 1000 ft(2) of patio area, there were increases in geometric mean (geometric standard deviation) PPAH levels, 4.7 (2.4), 9.1 (3.7), 16.9 (2.9), 19.1 (3.0) and 27.0 (2.9) ng/m(3) on patios. Mixed model analysis showed that PPAH levels increased significantly with number of lit cigarettes per patio area (p=0.0004). High levels of PPAH on patios may be associated with sustained vascular injury. CONCLUSIONS: Complete smoking bans including outdoor workspaces are needed to adequately protect hospitality workers from secondhand smoke.

Ventilación domiciliaria invasiva. La perspectiva de los padres / Domiciliary invasive mechanical ventilation: the parents’ perspective

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Reducing asthma triggers in schools: recommendations for effective policies, regulations, and legislation.

While 31 million Americans have been diagnosed with asthma, children are most severely affected. Asthma also is common among teachers, indicating that the school building environment may be associated with asthma prevalence among occupants. Children are sensitive to environmental pollutants, which are more concentrated in indoor air environments. Schools are a significant source of indoor air pollutants. Yet little research has addressed the causal relationship between asthma and specific levels of indoor pollutants. Indoor air quality is seldom controlled in schools in a way that minimizes such exposures. While few laws limit indoor air pollutants in schools, some laws outline or mandate practices that can control exposures. This report presents recommendations for laws and regulations that control and, ideally, prevent indoor air quality problems and aims to reduce or mitigate such disease.

British occupational hygiene practice 1720-1920.

The first recognition of the profession of occupational hygienist was preceded by at least 200 years of developments in disease prevention practices in the workplace, many of which could readily be characterized as occupational hygiene. The nature and pace of adoption of these practices depended on the contemporary state of technology, science, medicine and social concern. At first it was a matter of individual initiative and did not depend on quantitative data, but by the second half of the 19th century techniques of measurement for both harmful effects and for exposure were being introduced and official bodies at both national and local level were active. People from a wide range of backgrounds made contributions to disease prevention at work and by 1920 most of the major concepts and practices of current occupational hygiene practice were in place, if only in rather limited settings.

Validation for a recirculation model.

Recent Clean Air Act regulations designed to reduce volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions have placed new restrictions on painting operations. Treating large volumes of air which contain dilute quantities of VOCs can be expensive. Recirculating some fraction of the air allows an operator to comply with environmental regulations at reduced cost. However, there is a potential impact on employee safety because indoor pollutants will inevitably increase when air is recirculated. A computer model was developed, written in Microsoft Excel 97, to predict compliance costs and indoor air concentration changes with respect to changes in the level of recirculation for a given facility. The model predicts indoor air concentrations based on product usage and mass balance equations. This article validates the recirculation model using data collected from a C-130 aircraft painting facility at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Air sampling data and air control cost quotes from vendors were collected for the Hill AFB painting facility and compared to the model's predictions. The model's predictions for strontium chromate and isocyanate air concentrations were generally between the maximum and minimum air sampling points with a tendency to predict near the maximum sampling points. The model's capital cost predictions for a thermal VOC control device ranged from a 14 percent underestimate to a 50 percent overestimate of the average cost quotes. A sensitivity analysis of the variables is also included. The model is demonstrated to be a good evaluation tool in understanding the impact of recirculation.

Ventilation.

This chapter begins with an overview of the history of ventilation guidelines, which has led to the guidelines that are in effect today. Of particular interest is the most recent return in the past 5 years to ventilation rates that more closely reflect a mean or average of the range of guidelines that have existed over the past century. OSHA's and the EPA's recognition of the need to operate ventilation systems in buildings in an accountable manner is also of note. Of even more interest is the resurgence of the concept of minimum mixing and once-through ventilation air that has been pursued in parts of Northern Europe for the past 10 years, and in a school that is being designed with this concept in New Hampshire. In addition, the design concept of equipping office buildings with low pressure drop high efficiency particle filtration to remove fine particles from all of the air that is supplied to the occupants is being used increasingly in the U.S. This chapter also presents an overview of the various types of ventilation systems found in homes and commercial office buildings and the common indoor air quality problems that may be associated with them. It also offers an overview of common HVAC evaluation techniques that can be used to determine if a ventilation system is performing in a manner that makes sense for the use of the space and the needs of the occupants. Are the occupants receiving a reasonable supply of outdoor air? Is the air that they receive of reasonable quality? Are obvious pollutants being exhausted? Ventilation systems have become extremely complex and more difficult to run and maintain over the past 40 years. This trend will continue to drive the need for professionally maintained HVAC equipment that is serviced and run by individuals who are accountable for the quality of the air that the system delivers.