Poor IAQ affects Jamaican workers

Sick building syndrome is affecting
workers worldwide.

Scores of Jamaicans are getting sick at work because of the poor quality of the air inside the buildings.

Employees who have experienced symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, trouble concentrating, and irritation of the eyes, nose, throat and lungs at work could all be facing poor indoor air quality.

However, the Jamaica Occupational Health Professionals' Association (JOHPA) notes that this is not unique to Jamaica.

"A growing body of scientific evidence has indicated that the air within buildings can be more seriously polluted than the outdoor air, even the largest and most industrialized cities," JOHPA said in a release last week.

"Other research indicates that people spend approximately 90 per cent of their time indoors. Thus, for many people, the risks to health may be greater due to exposure to air pollution indoors than outdoors," added JOHPA.

Paradigm shift

It noted that as the world focuses on occupational health and safety, the paradigm is shifting towards air quality and the severe health effects that result from breathing poor-quality air.

"This begs the question: if the ambient air is polluted, what about the indoor environment?"

There are several factors that contribute to poor indoor air quality. These include inadequate ventilation, problems controlling temperature, too high or too low humidity, recent remodeling, and other activities in or near a building that can affect the adequacy and quality of fresh air into the building.

Contaminants such as dust from construction or renovation, mold, cleaning supplies, pesticides, or other airborne contaminants may also contribute to poor indoor air quality.

The issue is close to the heart of Opposition Senator Kavan Gayle, who heads the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU).

The BITU represents thousands of Jamaican workers.

Gayle has tabled questions in the Senate about the outstanding occupational safety legislation to amend the 73-year-old Factories Act.

He has also tabled a motion that the issue be debated and that the Government bring a bill to Parliament to enact new legislation.

According to Gayle, Jamaica must move quickly away from the 1940s Factories Act, "to a more comprehensive Occupational Safety and Health Act".

Justice Minister Mark Golding has said he expects the chief parliamentary counsel to deliver a draft of the Occupational Safety and Health Act to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security this week.

Gayle, meanwhile, said the OSHA should include equitable global health and safety standards, as Jamaica competes in a global environment.

'Allergies and sinusitis'

"You go into a building and the minute you enter you start coughing or sneezing. It means the air quality in that room is compromised, because of simple things, among them dirty air-conditioning ducts," argued Gayle.

He noted that the exposure to poor air quality in buildings could cause employees to develop "allergies and sinusitis".

The president general of the BITU suggested that employers could improve the quality of air inside a building by doing the simple things, such as removing a dirty carpet.

"Take up the carpet and you will see how health is improved," he said.

Gayle further argued that employees' health is compromised when a building is painted while they are at work, or a desk varnished a day before usage.

"Both employee and clients are exposed to the poisonous fumes," stated Gayle.

"What should be in place are the checks and balances to ensure that companies provide the proper working conditions for all workers, and to protect workers, for their own safety, in a way that goes outside of just checking a building," Gayle said.

Poisonous internal air quality and the effects on the health of employees over the long term will be the main focus of a JOHPA seminar this Wednesday.

This seminar will provide in-depth, up-to-date and relevant information and research on the present paradigm in building design operation and maintenance.

It will also focus on the alarming potential number of workers exposed to sick building syndrome (SBS), the economic impact of SBS for Jamaica, the spread of diseases in the working environment, and practical guidance for improving and maintaining the indoor environment.

Source: The Jamaica Gleaner

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Mold allergies on the rise

In a column in the News-Sentinel, Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen answer readers' health questions. Here is one connected to mold:

Q: I've never had allergies before, but this year I developed a reaction to mold and needed to get an inhaler! Why did this happen now? — Joan H., Joliet, Ill.

A: This summer, because of excess rains and flooding across North America, mold allergies became particularly severe. In the Midwest, where you live, mold-spore counts hit 125,000.

Mold allergies affect the respiratory
tract and can become a health problem.

That's crazy high; 50,000 is the level that triggers a dangerous air-quality warning! With mold levels like that, anyone can become allergic.

Researchers estimate the number of people afflicted has increased 12 percent in the past three years.

There may be as many as 300,000 types of outdoor mold, and their spores can be everywhere — in soil, plants, shady areas and rotting wood. They float through the air like tree pollen or ragweed, and are so small that they glide right through your nose's filtration system.

Your best defense against sneezing, itchy nose, watery eyes, nasal and bronchial congestion (including asthma) is to combine prompt treatment and good preventive strategies.

• Minimize the mold in your yard and house. Remove fallen leaves often and wear a pollen mask if doing any yardwork (look for a rating of N95 from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health). Disperse any sitting water or puddles in the yard, driveway, garden or basement. When the weather gets muggy and/or damp, keep windows closed and use an air conditioner or air filter to clear the indoor air.
• On high count days (this applies to high pollen counts too), when you come indoors wash your hair and change your clothes. Use a saline solution to rinse your nasal passages.
• Take antihistamines to prevent or tamp down your reaction. And use your rescue inhaler if you have asthma symptoms. But if you use it several times a day, every day, you need to talk to your doctor about a more effective treatment plan.

Dr. Mehmet Oz is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Dr. Mike Roizen is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. Email your health and wellness questions to youdocsdaily@sharecare.com.

Source: News-Sentinel

Improve the indoor air quality at work and at home

Most people spend the majority of their time indoors - at work, at home and even for leisure activities (such as going to the stores, the movie theatres or sports arenas). That is why poor indoor air quality can have such an impact on health and well-being.

Electrocorp's RAP series
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With good ventilation, source control (e.g. switching to less toxic cleaning products) and air cleaning, it is possible to breathe cleaner and healthier air at all times.

A good air cleaner needs to have the right air filters. A HEPA is a great filter for particles, dust and allergens, but you also need a substantial activated carbon filter to remove airborne chemicals, gases, fumes and odors. A UV germicidal light bulb will also help to neutralize biological contaminants such as viruses, bacteria and mold spores.

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OSHA provides new tools to protect workers from chemical exposures

OSHA addresses outdated exposure limits with online tools, annotated PEL tables

OSHA has developed new tools to help employers safeguard workers from exposure to hazardous levels of chemicals.

Workers need protection from
chemical exposure.

The problem is that permissible exposure limits (PELs) for many chemicals are “dangerously out of date, dating from the 1970s or even earlier and do not adequately protect workers,” according to OSHA Chief Dr. David Michaels.

In a press conference, Michaels explained that the rulemaking process is complex and makes it difficult to keep chemical regulations updated.

In response, the agency has developed two strategies for dealing with the PEL problem. Both are available online at no charge.

The first is a toolkit to identify safer chemicals that can be used in place of more hazardous ones. The content walks employers and employees through information, methods, tools, and guidance to either eliminate hazardous chemicals or make informed substitutions.

OSHA also announced a second new online resource, known as the Annotated Permissible Exposure Limits (or annotated PEL) tables. Its purpose is to enable employers to voluntarily adopt newer, more protective workplace exposure limits than those required by OSHA.

The revised tables provide a side-by-side comparison of OSHA PELs for general industry to NIOSH recommended exposure limits (RELs), California OSHA PELs, and threshold limit values (TLVs) developed by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists.

For many chemicals, the alternate exposure limits listed in the annotated PEL tables are significantly lower than OSHA’s PELs. For example, while respirable quartz, a form of crystalline silica, has an OSHA PEL of 10 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m3), Cal/OSHA’s PEL is 0.1 mg/m3, and NIOSH’s REL is 0.05 mg/m3.

“I advise employers who want to ensure that their workplaces are safe to utilize the occupational exposure limits on these annotated tables, since simply complying with OSHA’s antiquated PELs will not guarantee that workers will be safe,” Michaels said.


Following OSHA’s chemical standards isn’t enough

Avoiding chemical exposures is critically important. According to OSHA, workers suffer more than 190,000 illnesses and 50,000 deaths each year related to chemical exposures.

Workplace exposures have been linked to cancers and other lung, kidney, skin, heart, stomach, brain, nerve, and reproductive diseases.

Establishing a chemical management system that goes beyond compliance with OSHA standards and aims to reduce or eliminate hazards at the source is the best way to protect workers.

The agency says that using the new tools will add value in several ways, including:

•     Cost savings by reducing expenses and future risks;
•     Efficiency by improving performance;
•     Industry leadership through investment in innovation to stay competitive; and
•     Corporate stewardship by advancing socially responsible practices.

Source: BLR

Remove airborne chemicals with carbon air cleaners

Handling chemicals at work is always tied to security risks, but even with careful handling and adequate safety measures, the indoor air quality may suffer from airborne chemical substances.

Granular activated carbon is the
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The air cleaners feature a large activated carbon filter for the removal of airborne chemicals, gases and odors, a HEPA filter for particles and dust as well as optional UV germicidal filtration for biological contaminants.

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Vinyl flooring releases contaminants at schools and daycares

Children and staff may be exposed to
phthalates coming from vinyl floors.

Large areas of vinyl flooring in daycares and schools appear to expose children to a group of compounds called phthalates, which have been linked to reproductive and developmental problems, scientists are reporting.

They published their results on the ubiquitous plastic ingredients in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Chungsik Yoon and colleagues note that polyvinyl chloride (PVC), also known as vinyl, is the second most-produced plastic by volume and is commonly used in flooring.

Phthalates, which increase both the flexibility and durability of PVC, are key ingredients in PVC materials used in vinyl flooring and a wide range of other products, including toys, food packaging, medical devices, and even pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and soaps.

The problem is that these additives leach out of products into the air and dust. Concern over their potential health effects, particularly in infants and children, has spurred scientists to investigate human exposure to them indoors.

However, most studies fall short of verifying what products were contributing to indoor phthalate levels. Yoon's team set out to fill that gap.

Using a portable instrument called an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer, they tested the flooring materials in 50 public and private daycares and kindergartens in Seoul, South Korea, to test for PVC.

They also collected dust samples from various surfaces in the buildings and analyzed them.

The PVC-verified flooring was a major source of the most common phthalate that they detected, called di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (known as DEHP).

"This is the first study to verify the sources of phthalates with an XRF analyzer and to evaluate the relationship between phthalate concentrations and PVC-verified materials," the scientists state.

Source: American Chemical Society

Remove indoor air contaminants with air cleaners

Children have a higher risk of chemical exposure, since their bodies are still developing and they are breathing higher volumes of air compared to their size.

Since children and their caregivers or teachers spend the majority of time indoors, providing good indoor air quality has become an important goal for schools and daycare centers.

There three ways to help improve indoor air quality:

1. Adequate ventilation: In many schools and daycares, the existing ventilation system would need major updates to help improve IAQ. However, changing filters frequently and opening windows when possible can make a difference.
2. Source control: Schools and daycares should take stock of cleaning products and cosmetic products that are used and switch to the least toxic ones. Craft materials and school supplies should also be non-toxic.
3. Air cleaning: A portable air cleaner with activated carbon and HEPA will help provide cleaner air by removing airborne chemicals, gases, odors, particles, allergens, dust, mold, bacteria and viruses.

Electrocorp has designed a wide range of air cleaners for schools, universities and daycare facilities. The air purifiers come with a deep-bed activated carbon filter, a HEPA filter and optional UV germicidal filtration.

For more information, please contact Electrocorp today.