s\

National Academies Press Publishes AEGLs for Nine More

Chemicals The National Academies Press has released the 17th volume of Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Selected Airborne Chemicals, a publication that covers the acute exposure guideline levels (AEGLs) for nine of the approximately 400 extremely hazardous substances that have been identified by EPA. AEGLs are exposure levels below which adverse health effects are not likely to occur. These threshold exposure limits are for the general public and are applicable to emergency exposures ranging from 10 minutes to eight hours.. The chemicals covered in this volume of AEGLs for Selected Airborne Chemicals include: •acrylonitrile •carbon tetrachloride •cyanogen •epichlorohydrin •ethylene chlorohydrin

•toluene •trimethylacetyl chloride •hydrogen bromide •boron tribromide Read more: https://www.aiha.org/publications-and-resources/TheSynergist/Industry%20News/Pages/National-Academies-Press-Publishes-AEGLs-for-Nine-More-Chemicals.aspx

June 2014, Issue 34

Army Industrial Hygiene News and Regulatory Summary

Hazardous Substances

Special Interest Articles: • Hairdresser • Radiation

Regs • Self Decon • Public

Health Pros • New IH

Brochure

We welcome your comments. Please feel free to share this summary with others who may be interested.

Distribution Statement A - Approved for public release; distribution unlimited.

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Preventing Asthma from Pool Chemicals

Many different workers have developed asthma or had their asthma worsened from exposure to pool chemicals and/or their byproducts. For May’s Asthma Awareness Month and the CDC’s Recreational Water Illness and Injury Prevention Week (May 19–25), the California Department of Public Health created fact sheets on preventing work-related asthma from pool chemicals. Affected workers include lifeguards, swimming instructors, maintenance employees, pool supply retail workers, janitors, and others working in pool areas, in water parks, and with hot tubs.

Read more: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/enews/enewsV12N2.html#news

Initial Tests Show No Anthrax Contamination at CDC Labs

Early results of environmental tests at labs at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) where workers were

possibly exposed to Bacillus anthracis after a lapse in safety protocols are negative, suggesting contamination or release was unlikely, a spokesman for the agency said. Read more: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2014/06/initial-tests-show-no-anthrax-contamination-cdc-labs

Contents:

Hazardous

Substance…... 1

Radiation…..…..6

Ventilation…......8

PPE……………...9

Noise…….……10

Preventive

Medicine….…...12

Environmental

Health……….....15

Ergonomics…..16

Safety………....17

Emergency

Preparedness

& Response..…19

Deployment

Health……....….20

Nanotech…......22

Regulatory

Research

& IH News. …...23

Training…….....28

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MSHA Releases Additional FAQs on Respirable Dust Rule The Mine Safety and Health Administration has updated its set of Frequently Asked Questions on the Respirable Dust Rule. The recent updates include more questions and answers regarding medical examination requirements. Below are a handful of the new FAQs: We do not currently have a NIOSH-approved plan. What do we need to do? A coal mine operator without an existing NIOSH-approved plan, including a surface coal mine operator, must develop and submit for approval to NIOSH a plan in accordance with existing 42 CFR part 37 and submit a roster of the name and current address of each miner covered by the plan. Under 42 CFR § 37.4(a), NIOSH provides a 60-day period for an operator without an approved plan to submit a plan. Therefore, as of September 30, 2014 (within 60 days of August 1, 2014), all coal mine operators must either have an existing NIOSH-

approved plan or have submitted a plan to NIOSH for approval under existing 42 CFR part 37. New mines opening after August 1, 2014 would need to submit a plan within 60 days of opening. Read more: http://ohsonline.com/articles/2014/06/15/msha-releases-additional-faqs-on-respirable-dust-rule.aspx?admgarea=news

House Committees: the Chemical Safety Board Puts the Public at Risk

Petty infighting, retaliation and a general failure of leadership at the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board is putting the public at risk, according to a joint report from the U.S. House Science, Space and Technology and the Oversight and Government Reform committees. Read more: http://ehstoday.com/safety/house-committees-chemical-safety-board-puts-public-risk

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Perms, Dyes Linked to Concerning Compounds in Hairdressers In a new study, hairdressers who often used light colored hair dyes or hair-waving products on clients had more potentially cancer-causing compounds in their blood than hairdressers who used the chemicals less frequently. The study included hairdressers as well as women who used hair dyes on themselves and some who had never used them at all, and none of the women had actually been diagnosed with cancer. The World Health Organization considers hairdressing work probably carcinogenic, since hairdressers tend to be at higher risk for bladder cancer. The new results could help narrow down specifically where the cancer-causing agents are coming from. Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/10/us-hairdressers-carcinogens-idUSKBN0EL14D20140610

Comparison of Means of Two Lognormal Distributions Based on

Samples with Multiple Detection Limits

The problem of comparing the means of two lognormal distributions based on samples with multiple detection limits is considered. Tests and confidence intervals for the ratio of the two means, based on pivotal quantities involving the maximum likelihood estimators, are proposed. The merits of the proposed approaches are

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evaluated by Monte Carlo simulation. Simulation study indicates that the procedures are satisfactory in terms of coverage probabilities of confidence intervals, and powers of tests. The proposed approach can also be applied to find confidence intervals for the difference between the means of the two lognormal

distributions. Illustrative examples with a real data set and with a simulated data set are given. Read more: Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, Volume 11, Issue 8, 2014 (Available with AIHA membership)

The HELIX Project: Tracking the Exposome in Real Time People are exposed to a multitude of environmental chemicals through air, water, food, and consumer products. A person’s total environmental exposure, acquired from conception to death, is called the “exposome.”1 The Human Early-Life Exposome (HELIX) project, a European collaboration, is an ambitious effort that will seek to characterize children’s exposomes as the children progress through early life.2 The six research stages of HELIX are described in this issue of EHP.3 HELIX, a project of 13 partner institutions, will measure environmental exposures of up to 32,000 mother–child pairs and their consequent impact on the growth, development, and health of the children. “Pregnancy and the early years of life are well recognized to be periods of high susceptibility to environmental damage

with lifetime consequences. This makes early life an important starting point for development of the exposome,” says project coordinator Martine Vrijheid of the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology in Barcelona, Spain Read more: http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/122-A169/

Inactivation of Dust Mites, Dust Mite Allergen, and Mold from Carpet

Carpet is known to be a reservoir for biological contaminants, such as dust mites, dust mite allergen, and mold, if it is not kept

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clean. The accumulation of these contaminants in carpet might trigger allergies or asthma symptoms in both children and adults. The purpose of this study is to compare methods for removal of dust mites, dust mite allergens, and mold from carpet. Carpets were artificially worn to simulate 1 to 2 years of wear in a four-person household. The worn carpets were inoculated together with a common indoor mold (Cladosporium species) and house dust mites and incubated for 6 weeks to allow time for dust mite growth on the carpet. The carpets were randomly assigned to one of the four treatment groups. Available treatment regimens for controlling carpet contaminants were evaluated through a literature review and experimentation. Four moderately low-hazard, nondestructive methods were selected as treatments: vacuuming, steam-vapor, Neem oil (a natural tree extract), and

benzalkonium chloride (a quaternary ammonium compound). Steam vapor treatment demonstrated the greatest dust mite population reduction (p < 0.05) when compared to other methods. The two physical methods, steam vapor and vacuuming, have no statistically significant efficacy in inactivating dust mite allergens (p = 0.084), but have higher efficacy when compared to the chemical method on dust mite allergens (p = 0.002). There is no statistically significant difference in the efficacy for reducing mold in carpet (p > 0.05) for both physical and chemical methods. The steam-vapor treatment effectively killed dust mites and denatured dust mite allergen in the laboratory environment.. Read more: Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, Volume 11, Issue 8, 2014 (Available with AIHA membership)

Heading2

Performance Evaluation of Currently Used Portable X ray Fluorescence Instruments for Measuring the Lead Content of Paint in Field Samples Field-portable X-ray fluorescence (FP-XRF) instruments are important for non-destructive, rapid and convenient measurements of lead in paint, in view of potential remediation. Using real-life paint samples, we compared measurements from three FP-XRF instruments currently used in Switzerland with laboratory measurements using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry after complete sample

Radiation

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dissolution. Two FP-XRF devices that functioned by lead L shell excitation frequently underestimated the lead concentration of samples. Lack of accuracy correlated with lead depth and/or the presence of additional metal elements (Zn, Ba or Ti). A radioactive source emitter XRF that enabled the additional K shell excitation showed higher accuracy and precision, regardless of the depth of the lead layer in the sample or the presence of other elements. Inspection of samples by

light and electron microscopy revealed the diversity of real-life samples, with multi-layered paints showing various depths of lead and other metals. We conclude that the most accurate measurements of lead in paint are currently obtained with instruments that provide at least sufficient energy for lead K shell excitation. Read more: Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, Volume 11, Issue 8, 2014 (Available with AIHA membership)

New Regulations for Radiation Protection for Work Involving

Radioactive Fallout Emitted by the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi APP Accident: Application Expansion to Recovery and Reconstruction

Work

The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Atomic Power Plant that accompanied the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011 released a large amount of radioactive material. To rehabilitate the contaminated areas, the government of Japan decided to carry out decontamination work. In April 2012, the Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters (NERH) started dividing the restricted areas into three sub-areas based on the ambient dose rate. In accordance with the rearrangement of the restricted

area, NERH decided to allow resumption of business activities, including manufacturing and farming, as well as operation of hospitals, welfare facilities, and shops and related subordinate tasks, such as maintenance, repair, and transportation. As a result, the government needed regulations for radiation protection for workers engaged in those activities. The issues that arose in the deliberation of the regulations were distilled into two points: 1) whether radiation protection systems established for a planned exposure situation should apply to construction and agricultural work activities in an existing exposure situation, and 2) how to simplify the regulation in accordance with the nature of the work activities. Further research and development concerning the following issues are warranted: a) the relationship between the radioactive concentrations of materials handled and

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the risk of internal exposure, and b) the relationship between the radioactive concentration of the soil and the surface contamination level.

Read more: Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, Volume 11, Issue 8, 2014 (Available with AIHA membership)

Dust Collection Systems Considerations Many factors impact the overall effectiveness of the system. In order to ensure your dust collection system reaches peak performance levels, it’s critical to have the proper groundwork in the engineering and design phase. In the article, guidelines for operating and maintaining industrial dust control exhaust systems presented by the Engineers Collaborative, five key considerations are identified and summarized below for the

engineering and design phase. IVI takes each of these into account when it is developing custom solutions for its clients and is capable of performing all aspects related to the design and engineering of industrial ventilation systems. Read more: http://www.ivinc.com/dust-collection-system-design/

New Energy Efficiency Standards for Furnace Fans to Reduce Carbon Pollution, Help Americans Save on Energy Bills

As part of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, the Energy Department today announced a new energy efficiency standard for furnace fans, the latest of eight finalized standards and nine proposed standards issued since the Climate Action Plan was announced last year. These efficiency standards cut carbon pollution and save American families and businesses money by saving energy. The new standard for furnace fans will help reduce harmful carbon pollution by up to 34 million metric tons – equivalent to the annual electricity

Ventilation

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use of 4.7 million homes – and save Americans over $9 billion in home electricity bills through 2030.

Read more: http://energy.gov/articles/new-energy-efficiency-standards-furnace-fans-reduce-carbon-pollution-help-americans-save

Navy Chemist Designs Clothing that Self-Decontaminates

The military wants fabrics that don't just filter out nerve agents and other toxins, but also self-decontaminate. Dr. Brandy White, at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Center for Biomolecular Science and Engineering, is making materials that capture entire classes of contaminants, then break them down into something harmless. Her technology is stable and can

be used for clothing, air filters, or even coated on windows and vehicles. Today's filters are carbon—like in your water pitcher at home, or in military suits and gas masks. Carbon is great at capturing and holding contaminants—but they're still there. "You still can't take that suit and go to a populated place. The fabrics that we're talking about with my coating, they grab it and they hold it in just like carbon would, but then they convert it into something else." Read more: http://www.nrl.navy.mil/media/news-releases/2014/clothes-that-self-decontaminate-nrl-material-may-also-purify-biofuel

Considerations for Recommending Extended Use and Limited Reuse of

Filtering Facepiece Respirators in Health Care Settings Public health organizations, such as the CDC, are increasingly recommending the use of N95 filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) in health care settings. For infection

control purposes, the usual practice is to discard FFRs after close contact with a patient (“single use”). However, in some situations, such as during contact with

PPE

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Army Industrial Hygiene News and Regulatory Summary

tuberculosis patients, limited FFR reuse (i.e., repeated donning and doffing of the same FFR by the same person) is practiced. A related practice, extended use, involves wearing the same FFR for multiple patient encounters without doffing. Extended use and limited FFR reuse have been recommended during infectious disease outbreaks and pandemics to conserve FFR supplies. This commentary examines CDC recommendations related to FFR extended use and limited reuse and analyzes available data from the literature to provide a relative estimate of the risks of these practices compared to single use.

Read more: Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, Volume 11, Issue 8, 2014 (Available with AIHA membership)

Off-the-Job Safety: Protecting Your Hearing at Home and Play

It’s summertime and the living is noisy. In fact, some of the most familiar sounds of season – sporting events (117 dB), rock concerts (120 dB), motorcycles (105 dB), chainsaws (118 dB), lawnmowers (94 dB) and power tools (93 dB) – can generate as much (or even more) noise than the typical

workplace, where an array of regulations and hearing protection devices help workers avoid noise-induced hearing loss. The danger is that when we’re at home, we often don’t think about noise as being hazardous – or that we’re putting ourselves at risk of permanent hearing damage. But just like at work, with the right information and protection, we can keep our hearing safe while at home and play this summer.. Read more: http://ehstoday.com/hearing-protection/job-safety-protecting-your-hearing-home-and-play

Noise

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New NIOSH Dataset: Prevalence of Hearing Loss in the U.S. by Industry

NIOSH recently released a dataset analyzed in the article “Prevalence of hearing loss in the United States by industry,” which was published in the June 2013 issue of the American Journal of Industrial Medicine. In the article, NIOSH researchers conclude that workers in the mining, manufacturing, and construction industries need better engineering controls for noise and stronger hearing conservation strategies, and that more hearing loss research is needed for traditional “low-risk” industries, such as the real estate industry. The dataset includes audiograms for the years 2000 through 2008 for male and female workers ages 18–65 who had higher occupational noise exposures than the general population. NIOSH researchers collected the de-identified audiometric data from audiometric testing service providers and an occupational health clinic. Then they estimated and compared prevalence and

adjusted prevalence ratios for hearing loss across industries. Read more: https://www.aiha.org/publications-and-resources/TheSynergist/Industry%20News/Pages/New-NIOSH-Dataset-Prevalence-of-Hearing-Loss-in-the-U.S.-by-Industry.aspx

Report Addresses Public Health Issue of Hearing Loss in Older Adults A new report published earlier this month by the National Academies Press discusses how age-related hearing loss affects healthy aging and how stakeholders can address hearing loss in older adults as a public health issue. The report, “Hearing Loss and Healthy Aging,” summarizes the outcomes of a workshop on age-related hearing loss

that was convened in January by the Forum on Aging, Disability, and Independence. The Forum was created by the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council to provide a venue for stakeholders to discuss issues related to aging and disability.

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The workshop featured presentations and discussions on the following topics: •public health significance of hearing loss •relationship between hearing loss and healthy aging •current and future areas of research on hearing loss and healthy aging •comprehensive hearing rehabilitative strategies •innovative hearing technologies and barriers to their development and use •short-and long-term collaborative strategies for approaching age-related hearing loss as a public health priority Read more: https://www.aiha.org/publications-and-resources/TheSynergist/Industry%20News/Pages/Report-Addresses-Public-Health-Issue-of-Hearing-Loss-in-Older-Adults.aspx

NIOSH Has MERS Information for Healthcare and Laboratories To aid providers and facilities, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has developed two checklists that identify key actions that can be taken now to enhance preparedness for MERS-CoV infection control. MERS-coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is an emerging cause of viral respiratory illness, which is frequently very severe. MERS can spread through close contact and has been transmitted from patients to healthcare workers.

Read more: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/enews/enewsV12N2.html#d

Preventive Medicine

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Mobile Phones Carry Owners' Bacterial 'Fingerprint'

Smartphones reflect the personal microbial world of their owners, say US scientists. More than 80% of the common bacteria that make up our personal bacterial "fingerprints" end up on their screens, a study suggests.

Personal possessions, such as phones, might be useful for tracking the spread of bacteria, they report in PeerJ. They reflect our microbiome - the trillions of different micro-organisms that live in and on our bodies. Mobile phone users have been found to touch their devices on average 150 times a day. Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/health-27985815

New Website Helps Future Public Health Professionals Sort Out Educational Options

Public Health Online is less than six months old, but its goal is an ambitious one: to provide students, parents and general readers with accurate and expert-driven information and resources about public health topics, careers and the post-secondary educational landscape. Read more: http://www.ishn.com/articles/98785-new-website-helps-future-public-health-professionals-sort-out-educational-options

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10 Easy, Creative Ways to Celebrate National Employee Wellness Month

June is one of my favorite months. I love the summer warmth and hanging outside enjoying activities like running, swimming and biking. Long days and short nights mean tons of time for physical activity. It also marks National Employee Wellness Month. This annual celebration shows how companies can create healthy cultures and

improve employee well-being, while also lowering healthcare costs and improving business results. While it’s important to have a strategy in place, employee wellness doesn't have to be hard or expensive. Sometimes the simplest ideas are the most effective. So in honor of National Employee Wellness Month, here are 10 creative ideas that you can easily implement at your company. Read more: http://ehstoday.com/blog/10-easy-creative-ways-celebrate-national-employee-wellness-month

Study Links Pesticides and Pregnancies with Increased Risk of Autism

Pregnant women who lived in close proximity to fields and farms where chemical pesticides were applied experienced a two-thirds increased risk of having a child with autism spectrum disorder or other developmental delay, according to a new study. Read more: http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/47515

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Project to Develop Efficient Hydrogen Storage for Vehicles Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) plan to use nanoparticles to increase the onboard storage capacity of hydrogen-powered vehicles. Using $1.2 million from the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) over three years, LLNL scientist Brandon Wood said that through theory and modeling, his team will tackle the existing kinetic limitations when it comes to making the most efficient nanoparticles for onboard hydrogen storage. Read more: http://dailyfusion.net/2014/06/magnesium-borohydride-h-storage-29711/

Ice-Cold Energy Storage

A very cool technology for energy storage is ice, which in warm climates can optimise cooling supplies. While electricity demand is low, water is frozen and stored in an insulated tank onsite. During periods of higher demand, the ice is used to cool water or other refrigerants in a building’s air-conditioning system, offsetting the need for electricity.

Environmental Health

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An estimated 1 gigawatt of ice storage is deployed in the United States to cut peak energy consumption in warmer areas of the nation, while many countries in Asia increasingly use ice storage.

Read more: http://www.iea.org/ieaenergy/issue6/ice-cold-energy-storage.html

Work-Life Imbalance Is a Pain in the Neck (Literally)

New research shows that a work/life imbalance can be a pain in the neck for hospital workers – literally. Nurses and hospital employees working long hours or the graveyard shift are more likely to experience difficulty managing their work and home obligations while also facing increased musculoskeletal neck pain, the research suggests. The new study from the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS) indicates that higher levels of work-family conflict may lead to an increased risk of these health care workers experiencing neck pain or other types of musculoskeletal pain. The study fits into a growing body of evidence showing that conflict between increased workloads or long hours can spill

over into domestic life and adversely affect workers on the front lines of patient care. Read more: http://ehstoday.com/health/work-life-imbalance-pain-neck-literally

Ergonomics

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New Interactive Training Tool Highlights Hazard Identification

OSHA has announced a new interactive webtool that will help small businesses identify and correct hazards in the workplace. The tool allows employers and workers to explore how to identify workplace hazards in the manufacturing and construction industries and address them with practical and effective solutions.

"Hazard identification is a critical part of creating an injury and illness prevention program that will keep workers safe and healthy on the job," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. "This new tool not only educates employers about how to take control of their workplaces and protect workers, it also demonstrates that following well-established safety practices is also good for the bottom line.". Read more: https://www.osha.gov/as/opa/quicktakes/qt061614.html#3

Why Some Workers Do Better After Injuries than Others

Workers who are concerned about being fired after an injury experience poorer return-to-work outcomes than workers without those worries, according to new studies from Massachusetts’ Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI). That finding was only one of the new predictors of worker outcomes identified in the research, which is intended to help public officials, payors, and health care providers improve the treatment and

communication an injured worker receives after an injury – and improve outcomes.

Safety

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Read more: http://www.ishn.com/articles/98896-why-

some-workers-do-better-after-injuries-than-others

AOHP Position Statements Promote the Work of Occupational Health

Professionals in Healthcare

As the national leader for occupational health in healthcare, the Association of

Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare (AOHP) has developed a number of position statements that communicate the association's perspective regarding matters of importance related to the health, safety and well-being of healthcare personnel (HCP). The AOHP Executive Board recently reviewed and updated these position statements, which are available in their entirety on the association's Web site. Read more: http://www.ishn.com/articles/98839-aohp-position-statements-promote-the-work-of-occupational-health-professionals-in-healthcare

The Top 10 Safest U.S. States The personal-finance website WalletHub recently unveiled its rankings of the safest U.S. states, based on 26 metrics that include crime, traffic accidents, climate disasters and workplace safety. Based on its composite score, Massachusetts ranks No. 1 on the list (it ranks fifth in workplace safety).

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New Hampshire – which ranks first in workplace safety – holds the No. 2 overall spot, followed by Minnesota, Hawaii and the District of Columbia to round out the top five.

The state with the poorest composite safety score is Nevada. Read more: http://ehstoday.com/galleries/top-10-safest-us-states-photo-gallery

NIOSH Recommends Controls to Prevent Worker Injuries, Deaths in Roadway Construction

A new NIOSH “Workplace Solutions” publication recommends procedures and controls to help prevent worker injuries and deaths from backing construction vehicles and equipment at roadway construction work sites. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 443 of the 962 fatal injuries at road construction sites from 2003 to

2010 were due to a worker being struck by a vehicle or other mobile equipment. The publication includes detailed lists of controls that the agency has identified for employers, contractors, workers, and construction vehicle and equipment manufacturers to help protect roadway construction workers. Read more: https://www.aiha.org/publications-and-resources/TheSynergist/Industry%20News/Pages/NIOSH-Recommends-Controls-to-Prevent-Worker-Injuries,-Deaths-in-Roadway-Construction.aspx

Be Prepared; Have a Family Emergency Plan Severe weather can happen any time of the year. The best way to prepare for it is with a family emergency plan. If you don’t have one, develop one. If you have an emergency

Emergency Preparedness

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plan, review and update it, then go over it with your family at least once a year. An emergency plan should include how everyone will contact each other, where to go, how you will get back together and what to do in different situations. A good place to begin is Ready.Gov, the disaster

preparedness website managed by the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Read more: http://www.fema.gov/news-release/2014/06/11/be-prepared-have-family-emergency-plan

Using the Online 'Cultural Competency Curriculum for Disaster

Preparedness and Crisis Response' to Enhance the Quality of Care for Diverse Populations

Recent tragedies such as the Haiti earthquake, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and September 11th have demonstrated that minorities suffer disproportionately during all stages of a disaster. Acknowledging that culturally and linguistically competent care can help mitigate health disparities, the U.S.

Department of Health & Human Services Office of Minority Health (OMH) developed a free online continuing education curriculum to equip disaster personnel with the knowledge, awareness and skills needed to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate services during all phases of a disaster. Read more: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/practice/using-online-cultural-competency-curriculum-disaster-preparedness-and-crisis-response-0

No Difference between Blast- and Non-Blast-Related Concussions in Military Personnel

Explosions are the most-common cause of traumatic brain injuries in veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. A new study from researchers at Washington

Deployment Health

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University School of Medicine in St. Louis shows that military personnel with mild brain trauma related to such blasts had outcomes similar to those with mild brain injury from other causes. However, nearly 80 percent of patients in both categories of brain trauma suffered

moderate to severe overall disability within a year after injury. Read more: http://ehstoday.com/health/no-difference-between-blast-and-non-blast-related-concussions-military-personnel

Army Announces 33,000 Positions Now Available to Women

Secretary of the Army John M. McHugh signed a directive authorizing more opportunities for women to serve in a wider range of roles within the Army.

This authorization results in the opening of about 33,000 positions in units that were once closed to women, said Col. Linda Sheimo, chief of the Command Programs and Policy Division at the Directorate of Military Personnel Management, Army G-1. Read more: http://www.army.mil/article/128545/Army_announces_33_000_positions_now_available_to_women/

Army Develops First-of-Its Kind Phase-Coherent Fiber Laser Array System

The U.S. Army Research Laboratory's Computational and Information Science Directorate's Intelligent Optics Team, and partners, recently developed, engineered, demonstrated and delivered the world's first known working Adaptive Phase Coherent Fiber Laser Array system, which will better enable Soldiers' directed energy weapons and laser communication systems on the battlefield.

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Read more: http://www.army.mil/article/127565/Army

_develops_first_of_its_kind_phase_coherent_fiber_laser_array_system/

FDA Issues Guidance to Support the Responsible Development of Nanotechnology Products

Because nanomaterials are thought to be more biologically active than their larger parent compounds, careful control of exposures to nanomaterials is recommended. Field studies were conducted at three sites to develop information about the effectiveness of control measures including process changes, a downflow room, a ventilated enclosure, and an enclosed reactor. Aerosol mass and number concentrations were measured during specific operations with a photometer and an electrical mobility particle sizer to provide concentration measurements across a broad range of sizes (from 5.6 nm to 30 μm). At site A, the dust exposure and during product harvesting was eliminated by implementing a wait time of 30 minutes following process completion. And, the dust exposure attributed to process tank cleaning was

reduced from 0.7 to 0.2 mg/m3 by operating the available process ventilation during this task. At site B, a ventilated enclosure was used to control dust generated by the manual weigh-out and manipulation of powdered nanomaterials inside of a downflow room. Dust exposures were at room background (under 0.04 mg/m3 and 500 particles/cm3) during these tasks however, manipulations conducted outside of the enclosure were correlated with a transient increase in concentration measured at the source. At site C, a digitally controlled reactor was used to produce aligned carbon nanotubes. This reactor was a closed system and the ventilation functioned as a redundant control measure. Process emissions were well controlled by this system with the exception of increased concentrations measured during the unloading the product. However, this emission source could be easily controlled through increasing cabinet ventilation. The identification and adoption of effective control technologies is an important first step in reducing the risk associated with worker exposure to engineered nanoparticles. Properly designing and evaluating the effectiveness of these

Nanotechnology

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controls is a key component in a comprehensive health and safety program.

Read more: Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, Volume 11, Issue 8, 2014 (Available with AIHA membership)

National Nanotechnology Initiative Strategic Plan

This document updates and replaces the prior NNI Strategic Plan released in February of 2011. As called for in the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act (Public Law 108-153, 15 USC §7501), the NNI Strategic Plan describes the NNI vision and goals and the strategies by which these goals are to be achieved, including specific objectives within each of the goals. Also as called for in the Act, the Plan describes the NNI investment strategy and the investment categories, known as the program component areas (PCAs), used in the annual NNI budget crosscut.

Read more: http://www.nano.gov/node/1113

Body of Knowledge Development Request for Proposals

The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) is seeking assistance in developing the Bodies of Knowledge (BoK) for two focused areas of industrial hygiene practice:

Regulatory Research & Industrial Hygiene Professional News

AIHA

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Army Industrial Hygiene News and Regulatory Summary

• Respiratory Protection: specifically Respiratory Protection Program Administrators / Managers and Respiratory Protection Fit Test Administrators

• Field Use of Direct-Reading Instruments: specifically, multigas and photoionization detectors used in emergency response situations, on environmental field locations and for confined space entry operations.

This is a short-term, fast-tracked initiative that is to be completed by 31 December 2014.

Founded in 1939, AIHA is the premier association of occupational and environmental health and safety professionals. AIHA’s 10,000 members play a crucial role on the front line of worker health and safety every day. Members represent a cross-section of industry, private business, labor, government and academia Read more: https://www.aiha.org/get-involved/Documents/RFP_BodyOfKnowledge.pdf

EPA’s Winning Streak Extended as High Court Backs Greenhouse Permits

The Obama administration added to a series of environmental court wins, as the Environmental Protection Agency retained the right to curb greenhouse gases from power plants, refineries and chemical factories. The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday upheld the EPA’s requirement that such facilities address the emissions as part of permits for expansion. The court said the agency couldn’t apply the rule to smaller emitters such as apartment buildings, schools or restaurants. After the decision, facilities responsible for 83 percent of emissions still need a permit.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-24/epa-extended-legal-victories-for-climate-change-moves.html

EPA

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Army Industrial Hygiene News and Regulatory Summary

Stakeholder Meeting Scheduled To Consider Proposed Standard to Protect Emergency Responders

Recently, OSHA launched a high-profile OSHA has scheduled an informal stakeholder meeting to gather information as it considers developing a proposed standard for emergency response and preparedness. The meeting will be held July 30 in Washington, D.C. Read more: https://www.osha.gov/as/opa/quicktakes/qt061614.html#13

OSHA Announces Final Rule for Electric Power Generation,

Transmission and Distribution On April 11, 2014, OSHA published in the Federal Register its final rule updating safeguards for employees exposed to electric power generation, transmission and distribution work zones Read more: http://www.ishn.com/articles/98911-osha-announces-final-rule-for-electric-power-generation-transmission-and-distribution

OSHA

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Army Industrial Hygiene News and Regulatory Summary

Disaster Science Research Initiative to Enhance Responder Safety and Health

The DSRI will expand our understanding of how to conduct timely, scalable, scientifically sound research focused on the safety and health of responders. The goal is to develop a framework that allows for research to be started quickly in the time

before, during, and after response to a large scale disaster. Scientific study can provide better understanding and reduction of responder health effects from disasters and can lead to improvements in the effectiveness of emergency responses. NIOSH invites partner participation in DSRI by all those interested in ensuring the safety and health of responders in a disaster through research. Read more: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/disasterscience/?s_cid=3ni7d2deepwater06162014

NEW! IH Brochure Now on Army IH Website The USAPHC has a new industrial hygiene brochure that describes what an IH does when conducting a workplace evaluation. This handy brochure can be given out to remind established clientele about the services the IH Program Office offer and as an introduction to new clients. The brochure can be accessed and downloaded from the USAPHC website (users must have

USAPHC

NIOSH

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Army Industrial Hygiene News and Regulatory Summary

an active AKO account). An IH can insert their business card into the trifold and use it as a marketing opportunity. Read more:

http://phc.amedd.army.mil/TOPICS/WORKPLACEHEALTH/IH/Pages/default.aspx

How to become a DOEHRS-IH Super Star Do feel like you use DOEHRS-IH

more than other program offices? Do you feel unnoticed? Do you feel like you have done great

IH things with DOEHRS-IH? Do you wear a unitard and cape

under your clothes? (Don’t answer this question please)

Email the Industrial Hygiene Training Coordinator a brief synopsis about a new idea, a faster way, or a milestone you just met. Your Program Office just may be nominated as the monthly DOEHRS-IH Super Star.

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Army Industrial Hygiene News and Regulatory Summary

USAPHC Courses

Army Looking for New Ways to Provide Training and Education Materials

Mobile devices have created new opportunities for the Army to deliver training and education materials to Soldiers around the world. Now the Army is looking for ways to harness technology to make these materials more accessible. The use of mobile devices for distributed learning was a topic of discussion at the Training and Education 2025 and Beyond Industry Forum that brought together Army officials and defense industry representatives here, Wednesday and Thursday. Read more: http://www.army.mil/article/128560/Army_looking_for_new_ways_to_provide_training_and_education_materials/

USAPHC Training

Check out the USAPHC training website regularly. Many courses will become self-enrollment courses. Registration and course activation will begin in Blackboard from September1- November 30, 2013. To register, visit the Blackboard Learn website http://aiph-dohs.ellc.learn.army.mil, log-in (use the AIPH-DOHS URL), click on the Courses tab (top left) and then under the Course Catalog tab choose the AIPH-DOHS Courses folder (top right). Under the Browse Course Catalog tab, type in a keyword to search for the course of interest. Hover the mouse cursor over the course name and a grey drop down will appear. Select Enroll and you have completed the self-enrollment process.

This monthly summary is published by the Industrial Hygiene and Medical Safety Management Program (IHMSMP) for the U.S. Army Public Health Command.

Subscription or Comments:

By Email: ihnews@amedd.army.mil

By Phone or FAX:

Office: (410) 436-3161 FAX: (410) 436-8795

On the Web:

http://phc.amedd.army.mil/topics/workplacehealth/ih/Pages/

default.aspx

Training

Articles appearing in this summary are a collection of articles taken verbatim from public sources and do not necessarily represent the opinions/views, policy, or guidance of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or the U. S. Government. The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the U.S. Army for the information, products or services contained therein. The U.S. Army does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. The use of trademarked names does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Army but is intended only to assist in identification of a specific product.