Nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, is the most common inhaled anesthetic used by dental practitioners. Although considered safe for occasional use in patients, studies show that long-term, work-related exposure may increase the risk of diseases of the nervous system, kidneys, and liver and of miscarriage and infertility. Fortunately, there are ways to minimize exposure of dental workers to nitrous oxide.
The approximately 50 people a year who are struck and killed by New York City subway trains are often kept in worker break rooms – sometimes for hours – until the city’s medical examiner comes to remove them.
Safety training for young temp workers, a new name for the ASSE and an article from ProPublica about occupational injuries and immigration were among the top stories featured on ISHN.com this week.
Think the office you work in is a relatively tame environment, hazard-wise? Ever consider the fact that printers – a common piece of workplace equipment – emit chemicals into the air?
Jet fuel is a fairly common smell in the passenger cabin when a plane is preparing to taxi. Far less so is the aroma of dirty socks, rancid cheese, or a wet dog— unpleasant signs that engine oil vapors have seeped in, too.
Depending on the industry, employees may be at risk from exposure to tobacco smoke, carbon monoxide, allergens, bacteria, viruses, and chemicals that build up indoors. Employees may also be exposed to airborne contaminants on the job such as dusts, welding fumes, gases, solvent vapors and mists.
A solar eclipse will be visible across North America on Monday, August 21, weather permitting. During a solar eclipse, the moon blocks part or all of the sun. The whole continent will experience a partial eclipse lasting 2 to 3 hours.
On June 8 approximately 350 Hanford workers were ordered to “take cover” after alarms designed to detect elevated levels of airborne radioactive contamination went off, according to local press reports.
It was quickly determined that radioactive particles had been swept out of a containment zone at the plutonium finishing plant (PFP) demolition site.
New research has uncovered the bottom-line benefits of clean air in the workplace. Safety and health professionals, HR executives, and facility managers can now make the argument that the benefits of providing a healthy indoor environment far outweigh the incremental costs.
A proposed ASTM International standard will protect worker’s health by monitoring the levels of hydrogen sulfide gas in workplace air.
The proposed standard (WK59402, Test Methods for Measurement of Hydrogen Sulfide in Workplace Air by Direct-Reading Electrochemical Detectors) is being developed by the ASTM International committee on air quality (D22).
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