Firefighters Exposed to Carcinogens Through the Skin. By Robert Preidt. medlineplus.gov.*  October 18, 2017. Immediate decontamination might help reduce harms of contact with hazardous chemicals, study suggests. Firefighters face many known hazards on the job, but one area that hasn’t been well researched is how their skin’s exposure to hazardous chemicals might increase their risk […]

Elevated Blood Lead Levels Among Employed Adults — United States, 1994–2012. By Walter A. Alarcon (State Adult Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance (ABLES) Program investigators) .cdc.gov. October 23, 2015 / 62(54);52-75. Preface: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and state health departments collect data on laboratory-reported adult blood lead levels (BLLs). This […]

Chantix Study Finds Little Evidence to Support Suicidal, Criminal Warnings. nlm.nih.gov. June 03, 2015. But quit-smoking drug may be linked to other adverse effects. The quit-smoking drug Chantix (varenicline) doesn’t increase the risk of suicidal behavior, mental illness, criminal acts or traffic accidents, European researchers say. A study of more than 69,000 Swedes who used […]

CDC Highlights Prevalence of Work-Related Asthma. Por Leonor Mateus Ferreira. lungdiseasenews.com. April 13, 2015.  Asthma associated with work is not typically a high-profile topic in the news, but it affects 16% of all American adults, according to the results of the new Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention […]

Tobacco farming: Child labour under the spotlight in US nicotine production.news.com.au. March 20, 2015. THEY are not legally old enough to even buy a packet of cigarettes, yet workers as young as 12 are being slowly poisoned by nicotine.But they are not smokers, instead they are getting sick from working on tobacco farms. The numbers […]

Occupational link in kidney disease epidemic in Central America. sciencedaily.com. February 2, 2015. Summary:Sugarcane workers in northwestern Nicaragua experienced a decline in kidney function during the harvest, with field workers at greatest risk, suggesting that heat stress or other occupational factors may be playing a role in the high rates of chronic kidney disease in […]

Hair Dyes May Still Cause Cancer: Known Carcinogens Found In Hairdressers’ Blood. By Anthony Rivas. medicaldaily.com. June 09, 2014. With over 5,000 chemicals in a hair dye product — they’re powerful, after all — some of them were bound to have some harmful effects. In the late 1970s, scientists discovered that 89 percent of formulations […]

Workplace Solvents Linked to Long-Term Memory, Thinking Problems. nlm.nih.gov. May 12, 2014. Study of French retirees shows those exposed even decades ago scored worse on tests.A new study of French power company retirees finds that those who were exposed to solvents and benzene on the job — even decades earlier — were more likely to […]

Safety and health in the use of chemicals at workThis report for the 2014 celebration of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work reviews the current situation regarding the use of chemicals and their impact in workplaces and the environment, including various national, regional, and international efforts to address them (See). The report […]

Workers Need More Protection From Silica Dust, Report Finds. By Robert Preidt. nlm.nih.gov. December 10, 2013. Risk is greatest for those in construction industry.  More action is needed to reduce illness and death among the millions of Americans exposed to silica dust at work, according to a new report. It has long been known that […]

Equipping a construction helmet with a sensor can detect the onset of carbon monoxide poisoning. By Lynn Nystrom. eng.vt.edu. August 17, 2013. Jason B. Forsyth, right, of Durham, N.C., and a Ph.D. candidate in computer engineering, places a wearable computing system on a helmet to protect construction workers from carbon monoxide poisoning. The work garnered […]

Chronic ‘Butter Flavoring’ Exposure Linked to Harmful Brain Process. By Mary Elizabeth Dallas. nlm.nih.gov. August 6, 2012. Working with diacetyl may raise risk of proteins clumping in the brain, similar to Alzheimer’s: study. Chronic exposure to an artificial butter flavoring ingredient, known as diacetyl, may worsen the harmful effects of a protein in the brain […]

Chronic ‘Butter Flavoring’ Exposure Linked to Harmful Brain Process. By Mary Elizabeth Dallas. nlm.nih.gov. August 6, 2012. Working with diacetyl may raise risk of proteins clumping in the brain, similar to Alzheimer’s: study. Chronic exposure to an artificial butter flavoring ingredient, known as diacetyl, may worsen the harmful effects of a protein in the brain […]