Journal of Health and Safety at Work

---

Introduction: The most common of farmers' occupational exposure is exposure to pesticides. Organophosphate pesticides (OP) are widely used in agriculture to control pests. The main mechanism of Organophosphates (OPs) toxicity is irreversibly inhibiting of Butyl cholinesterase and acetyl cholinesterase. POEM model (Predictive Operator Exposure Model) was made to assess exposure and absorption of the pesticides. The aim of this study was to estimate the rate of exposure of farmers in West of Iran to organophosphates with POEM model and to compare its results with activity level of plasma cholinesterase (PChE).
Methods and Materials: In this descriptive and analytical research, farmers were divided into two same groups who were exposed to diazinon. One group of them wore full personal protective equipment (PPEs) and the second group including farmers with daily routine work had no proposed personal protective equipment. Before and after spraying operation, a blood sample was collected from both groups of farmers, as well as from control group. Then plasma cholinesterase activity was measured by DGKC (German Biochemical Society) and photometric device. Farmer’s exposure to OPs was estimated with POEM model.
Results: The activity mean PChE enzyme in the groups with and without personal protective equipment was 11639.3 mg/l and 8516.3 mg/l, respectively. The mean of predicted total absorbed dose and predicted total exposure to toxic substance in group with PPEs was 9.1 mg/day and 0.15 mg/kgbw/day, respectively and in group with PPEs were 0.5 mg/day and 0.009 mg/kgbw/day, respectively. dermal exposure average, percentage of dermal absorption, absorbed dose at the time of preparing the poison solution and spraying, by using of the POEM model was significantly higher in the no PPE group than in the PPE group (P<0.001).
Conclusion: This study showed that the use of personal protective equipment prevents from the effects appearing of pesticides by reducing the activity of PChE. With the increasing in PChE activity, the values of POEM model parameters decreases such as the absorbed dose of the skin and the inhalation of the toxin. Therefore, the POEM model can be used to check the exposure of people with pesticides. Finally, this study suggests that from the POEM model can be considered as a screening tool to identify individuals at exposure of pesticides to the next steps for biological monitoring, diagnosis and treatment and … .

---

Introduction: Designing behavioral modification interventions for the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) warrants the audiences identification and analysis. This study aimed to determine the predictive factors for using (PPE) based on Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) constructs among workers of Iran Aluminum Factory, 2018.
Material and Methods: In this descriptive analytical study with cross-sectional method, a researcher-made questionnaire including demographic information, knowledge questionnaire and designed items based on the SCT construct, was fulfilled by 188 workers employed in production line of Iran Aluminum Factory in Arak. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square and logistic regression analysis on SPSS 24. The significance level was set at P< 0.05.
Results: Among the participants, 46.8% (n=88) and 52.2% (n=100) of workers had moderate and high level of knowledge, respectively. Demographic variables such as marital status, educational level, income, age, work experience and employment status (p <0.05), as well as all SCT constructs (p <0.05) had a significant relationship with knowledge. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the level of education and employment status with probability of 80.6% and self-control, environment and self-efficacy of perceived barriers constructs, with a 64% probability could explained workers in high-knowledge group.
Conclusion: The present study revealed that the variables such as level of education, employment status, self-control, environment and self-efficacy of perceived barriers could be effective in designing educational interventions to improve workers’ knowledge on using personal protective equipment.

---

Introduction: Accidents caused by children’s play equipment are considered a serious threat to children’s health. The aim of this study was to design slide, swing and see-saw based on national standards and children’s anthropometric data.
Material and Methods: The present study is an applied research, in which the design of children’s play equipment, including slides, swing and see-saw was done according to national standards No. 6436-2, 6436-3 and 6436-6, as well as measuring the anthropometric dimensions. All anthropometric data of 385 children aged 2 to 12 years were measured and equipment design was performed using Minitab software.
Results: In the national standards No. 6436-2, 6436-3 and 6436-6, the size of more dimensions required for the design of the slides, swing, and see-saw is not stated. In the present study, the ergonomic and standard design of these types of equipment is shown. Comparison of designed see-saw with see-saw available in parks showed that the length and width of the see-saw should be 0.37 and 0.25 meters, respectively. In the current study, however,  they were 0.24 and 0.35 meters, respectively. Also, the height, width and depth of the swing chair should be 0.2, 0.35 and 0.37 meters, while their actual size in the studied parks was 0.25, 0.42 and 0.31 meters, respectively.
Conclusion: The result of this study is helpful for standard and ergonomic designing of children’s play equipment and is very useful for urban planning. This study emphasizes the revision of national standards.
 

---

Introduction: To ensure employee safety and health, it is crucial to choose and use personal protective equipment correctly. An investigation of the respiratory and hearing protection equipment used in the industries of Tehran was conducted in the present study.
Material and Methods: This study was a descriptive-analytical study conducted in 2023 on 400 occupational health and safety experts in Tehran province. A researcher-made checklist and questionnaire (physical and online versions) were used to determine the criteria that are considered when selecting protective equipment. Statistical analysis and graphing were performed using SPSS-v21 and Excel-2016.
Results: Participants had an average age of 38.66 and an average work experience of 11.78 years. The participants reported 48.3% and 47.7% disapproval of the quality and 42.5% and 39.5% disapproval respectively of the quantity of respiratory and hearing protection equipment available in their industrial units. In addition, 56.3% of them admitted that they have no responsibility for providing or approving the equipment in their workplace. Overall, 27 and 29 criteria were mentioned by study participants pertaining to respiratory and hearing protection equipment, respectively. In the identified criteria, the frequency distribution ranged from 0.3% to 38%.
Conclusion: A high rate of expert dissatisfaction with protective equipment and a low frequency of most of the criteria mentioned indicates that industries aren’t paying much attention to the issue of choosing the right respiratory and hearing protection equipment. To improve the situation, more investigation is needed and practical and operational solutions will be provided. This study highlights the importance of proper selection and use of personal protective equipment in ensuring the safety and health of employees.

---

Introduction: In recent years, exposure to nanomaterials has been known as a challenge among occupational health experts. In this line, personal protective equipment has been considered as a solution to reduce the worker’s exposure. Since respiratory and skin tracts represent the most common workplace exposure routes, knowledge of the efficiency of respiratory and skin protection equipment is particularly important. So, the aim of this study is the assessment of the efficiency of respiratory and skin protection equipment toward controlling nanoparticles in the workplace with a scoping review approach.
Material and Methods: This study was conducted in 2022 with a scoping review approach. Arksey and O’Malley’s five-step framework was chosen as the research method. The search strategy was followed in the databases necessary to access the research data, including PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Web of Science, and Scopus. Also, EndNote X9® and Microsoft Excel software were used to collect and analyze studies, respectively.
Results: In the first step, 1014 articles were identified. Finally, 38 articles were included in the study to examine quantitative and qualitative information about the efficiency of respiratory and skin protective equipment. Twenty-five articles were related to breathing masks, and six studies were about protective gloves, and seven other articles were devoted to protective clothing. According to the studies of breathing masks, the mean total penetration of nanoparticles was estimated at 2.27%. Also, based on the studies of protective clothing, the maximum penetration of nanoparticles was 30nm for protective clothing made of polypropylene and polyethylene with different layers.
Conclusion: Although the efficiency of existing personal protective equipment showed a good result for controlling nanoparticles, the size of nanoparticles is one of the essential parameters in determining the efficiency of the equipment, which should be considered the workplaces. So, it is recommended that more studies be considered to improve their efficiency, and standard tests should be developed to evaluate them.

---

Introduction: Despite the numerous studies on occupational noise-induced hearing loss, there is limited documentation on the vibration effects on the workers’ auditory system. Heavy equipment drivers are exposed to high levels of whole-body vibration (WBV) and noise. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the heavy equipment drivers’ auditory response to WBV exposure and combined exposure to noise and WBV.
Material and Methods: 30 male heavy equipment drivers with an average age of 32.40 ± 4.91 years participated in this study, which was designed based on the repeated measurements model. During 3 defined scenarios of exposure to WBV, combined exposure to noise and WBV, as well as the scenario without exposure, the drivers’ auditory response was measured using distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE). Statistical analyses were performed by IBM SPSS-25 software.
Results: The range of heavy equipment in-cabin noise was 84-89 dB. Also, the most exposure of drivers to WBV was obtained in the Z axis with an average acceleration of 1.29 m/s2. The DPOAE amplitude of the drivers in all three investigated scenarios showed significant changes (P<0.05); But in comparison between different scenarios, exposure to WBV and combined exposure to noise and WBV had a significant effect on the response of the auditory system of the participants in the study compared to the scenario without exposure (P<0.05). Also, there was a significant difference in the changes of the DPOAE amplitude in different frequencies; Thus, the most changes in the DPOAE amplitude were observed in the frequencies of around 4000 Hz.
Conclusion: The results of this study showed the damaging consequences of exposure to noise and WBV on the auditory response; In addition, the present study provided evidence of synergistic effects of combined exposure to noise and WBV on heavy equipment drivers.