Journal of Health and Safety at Work

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Introduction: Neighborhood environment plays an important role in the health of residents. This study was conducted to assess health, safety and environment (HSE) in poor and rich vicinities in order to improve health levels of the neighborhoods, using Community-Based Intervention (CBI) approach.

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Material and Method: In the present field study, HSE variables were assessed by a checklist (NHSES) through observation, interviews with neighborhood residents as well as document review.Of the 374 vicinities in Tehran, ten regions were selected through cluster sampling. The Control Chart approach was used in order to compare the field data and the possibility of decision-making about the neighborhoods.

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Results: Overall, results showed that status of health, safety and environment in both rich and poor neighborhoods in Tehran was in the warning level.

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Conclusion: The CBI is an appropriate model for empowerment of neighborhoodsin a way that promote HSE status.

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Introduction: Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) belong to one of the groups of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) which are the result of incomplete combustion of organic materials, volcanic eruptions and forest and agricultural fields’ fires in the environment. However, human factors are main source of these pollutions. Nowadays, these compounds are among the main concerns related to the pollutants which, can easily enter into the land and water systems. Absorption of aromatic hydrocarbons and poly-aromatic molecules on the surfaces of carbon nano-tubes (CNTs) have increased in recent years. In this study, absorption of phenanthrene (as a representative of aromatic hydrocarbons groups) on multi-walled carbon nano-tubes was investigated in organic environment.

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Material and Method: All experiments were performed in a laboratory environment with a temperature of 24±2.Different variables including the type of solvent, solvent volume, pH of the environment, the absorption time of optimal phenanthrene concentration, and the highest removal efficiency under optimized parameters were obtained. Samples were analyzed using HPLC.

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Result: Findings showed that methanol with the volume of 10 ml, and the absorption time of 1.5 hours and 1.3 ppm concentration had the maximum absorption efficiency. Environmental pH had no effect on the absorption efficiency.

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Conclusion: Multi-walled carbon nano-tubes have high absorption capacity for the absorption of phenanthrene. Moreover, in an organic environment, the level of phenanthrene absorption on multi-walled carbon nano-adsorbent was more than 90% and according to the material used was 92%. Day-to-day and within-day reproducibility confirmed the mentioned results.

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Introduction: In recent years, a growing attention has been paid to assess the physical characteristics of rich and poor urban districts to understand social health differences. Urban districts environment play a major role in health of the residents. Previous few studies have considered some aspects of limited neighborhood environment. The current study was designed to investigate the reliability of the Neighborhood Health, Safety and Environment (NHSE) tool in one of Tehran city neighborhoods.

Material and Method: Dimensions and related items of the NHSE were extracted based on the previous studies and interviews with city experts. Five observers completed the NHSE in a selected neighborhood in order to test inter and intra-rater reliability of the tool. Data analysis was done using the Cronbach’s alpha, Interclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and kappa coefficient.

Result: The ICC and Cronbach’s alpha were estimated 0.86 for all dimensions of the NHSE. The calculated kappa values were in the range of 57%-66% for inter-rater reliability and 0.47-0.62 for intra-rater reliability.

Conclusion: The NHSE tool was shown to have a desirable inter and intra-rater reliability and a good level of internal consistency for assessing the health, safety, and environment (HSE) of the neighborhoods.

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Introduction: Determining the VO2 max of individuals is of great importance. The VO2 max refers to the maximum oxygen that can be consumed in the body in one minute and depends on factors such as physical conditions, environmental parameters, and physiological characteristics of the individual.. Noise and heat are among the factors influencing VO2 max (also called maximal oxygen uptake or maximal aerobic capacity), which affects the performance of respiratory system, via different ways. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the simultaneous effect of noise and heat on VO2 max in Ahvaz university of medical sciences’ students  
Material and Methods: The present study was conducted on 50 volunteer students from the Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Iran. The VO2 max index was measured using the ergometer bicycle test and the Astrand protocol in nine modes of exposure to heat (21, 38 and 48°C), WBGT (18.34, 32.46 and 41.25°C)   and noise (75, 85 and 95 dB (A)). In order to carry out the test according to the Astrand protocol, the person pedaled on the bike for six minutes at a constant load and a speed of 50 rpm to increase the heart rate to more than 120 beats per minute. The heart rate was monitored while working with the ergometer bike using a Polar branded sensor mounted below the individual chest. SPSS vol.22 software, Friedman test and paired t-test were used to analyze the data.
Results: The mean VO2 max in the second test condition (heat:21°C ,  WBGT : 18.34°C ,noise:85 dB)  and the third test condition (heat:21°C ,WBGT : 18.34°C ,noise:95 dB) were not significantly different from the first (normal) mode, but the VO2 max value significantly decreased (P<0.001) from the third mode to higher levels with increasing the levels of heat and noise.
Conclusion: Since one of the objectives of ergonomics is to create an environment in consistent with human capacities, it is essential to have knowledge of VO2 max. Regarding the effect of heat and noise on VO2 max of individuals and also the direct relationship between VO2 max and PWC) Physical Work Capacity (, in order to protect the health of individuals and increase their productivity, it is necessary to carry out control measures in warm and noisy environments.

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Introduction: Among the pollutants present in the ceramic and tile industry, silica dust is particularly important, and many studies have investigated the effect of this material on the respiratory system. Many occupational exposures may result in a decrease in spirometric parameters.
Materials and Methods: In the present study, totally, 120 male workers and employees of the factory, who had work experience of over 5 years and were not changed during the study, were included. Demographic information, including age, height, weight, work experience, smoking status and spirometric indices,  were extracted from the medical records of the workers from different groups for 5 consecutive years. All spirometry tests were performed using the FUKUDA ST 300 digital spirometer (Italy) calibrated once a year. The generalized Estimation Equation (GEE) method was used to study the trend of changes in each of the spirometric indices more accurately. Research related data were analyzed using SPSS software version 23.
Results: The trend of changes was only significant for the FEV1 / FVC and FEF indices; for other indexes, the trend of changes was only observed in some years. The trend of changes was not significant for the FEV1 index, but smoking had a significant effect on the changes in this index. So, the level of this index was lower for cigarette smokers.
Conclusion: In this study, a clear downward trend was not found in the spirometric indices over 5 years, and only the FEF1 / FVC and FEF 2575% indices markedly were reduced in some occupational units, but due to the decline in some indices as well as proving the bad effect of Silica dust and other compounds on the respiratory system, there was an urgent need to implement management and engineering controls and protect the workers in the workplaces

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Introduction: Due to the lack of an instrument for measuring the career issues of those with bipolar disorder, the present study was conducted to develop and examine the psychometric characteristics of the Career Issues Inventory for Persons with Bipolar Disorder (CII-BD).
Material and Methods: To check the diagnostic validity, via purposive sampling and interviews by a psychiatrist, 108 people were selected from two sample groups (53 normal people and 55 participants with bipolar disorder). The items were extracted from three sources including scientific articles related to the career issues of bipolar people, interviews with individuals with bipolar disorder, and interviews with experts using the Meta-analysis Of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) systematic qualitative method. Finally, the items of the CII-BD were reduced to 81 questions. Content, construct, and convergent validity plus factor analysis of CII-BD were also examined. The reliability of CII-BD was evaluated by internal consistency and test-retest method with seven weeks intervals after the initial implementation of the CII-BD.
Results: The convergent validity of the sum score of CII-BD with the sum score of the symptom inventory of people with bipolar disorder among the sample of normal people and the sample of persons with bipolar disorder was (r=0.79, P<0.01, N=53) and (r=0.78, P<0.0001, N=53) respectively. In construct validity examination, nine subscales were extracted using the factor analysis method with varimax rotation, which included communication problems, poor work performance, insecurity, grandiosity, unreliability, change-seeking, vulnerability, lack of boundaries, and lack of self-control towards the opposite sex. In the reliability analysis, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.96 (N=55, participants with bipolar disorder) and 0.86 (N=53, normal people), respectively, P<0.05, showing the high internal consistency of CII-BD. The test-retest correlation coefficient of the sum scores of the CII-BD was r = 0.91, P < 0.01, which indicated the credible stability of the CII-BD.
Conclusion: The CII-BD is a valid and reliable instrument to measure the specific career issues of bipolar persons and their early vocational rehabilitation. It is suggested that future research should focus on choosing a job and job placement for bipolar disorder persons.

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Introduction: Improving health and the environment is one of the components of development, social welfare, and economic growth. Another influential factor in increasing health costs and reducing social welfare is work-related accidents and diseases, which impose high costs on individuals, industries, and the national economies of countries. Therefore, using multi-criteria decision-making methods, the present study provided a conceptual model to identify and rank work-related diseases’ environmental and health costs.
Material and Methods: The present study was conducted in 2023. A classification model for the economic evaluation of environmental and health costs of occupational diseases was developed to achieve the study’s aim. In the current research, the Delphi method was used to identify health and environmental criteria, and the Analytic Network Process (ANP) was used to weight the sub-criteria. Finally, the cost of health and the environment was estimated based on the available information. Naft Tehran Hospital (NSHT) was also selected as a case study site.
Results: The results showed that the drug and medical equipment cost factor, with a weight of 0.312 in the treatment sector, and the particular and infectious waste cost factor, with a weight of 0.085, were the most critical factors in the economic evaluation. Also, the parametric model results showed that 99.84% of the total costs are related to health costs, and 0.16% are related to environmental costs. In general, the results of this research showed that 61.3% of the costs of the health sector are related to the two sectors of medicine and medical equipment and the cost of service personnel, and 91.7% of the costs of the environmental sector are related to wastewater treatment and the cost of electricity consumption.
Conclusion: This study presented a semi-quantitative model to estimate health and environmental costs caused by occupational diseases. The results can create a novel scientific insight into implementing control measures using the optimal point of cost-benefit parameters. Implementing this integrated model can be a practical and effective step in allocating resources and prioritizing interventions.