M14.4: Think About It - Website Exploration

Health and environmental disasters in Santa Clara County includes bioterrorism, disease outbreaks, natural disasters such as earthquakes, wildfires, floods. These disasters can cause public health emergencies such power, water, and other services disruptions. Air quality, food and water supplies, road and healthcare access could be affected during a disaster. Severe winter and summer could also be included in emergency disaster. The county’s emergency preparedness plan includes Public Health officials working with local public officials and inform the public of any potential health risks that might result from a natural or environmental disaster. Community links include news releases, 2-1-1 for fire, AlertSCC, Community Alert Response Team (CERT), Emergency Services at (408) 294-4851, and of course the emergency website https://www.sccgov.org. The website ReadySCC helps residents create a plan for emergencies.

In Santa Clara County, the disaster healthcare volunteer sites are:

·       AlertSCC- Santa Clara County’s Emergency Notification System

·       ReadySCC- Santa Clara County’s Disaster Preparedness Application

·       CERT (Community Emergency Response Team)

·       American Red Cross of Silicon Valley

·       72 Hour

·       Ready (FEMA)

·       Emergency Preparedness & Response (Center for Disease Control)

·       Disability Info- Emergency Preparedness

The county also provides hands-on tools, training materials, preparedness and response resources to assist Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) to prepare their staff, agencies and clients for disease outbreaks and disasters.

M12.9 Climate Change

Climate change does exist and powerful world leaders are not seemed concern about it. No significant efforts have been done to stop climate change. Climate change causes extreme storms, with droughts in between. Oceans are rising by one foot a decade. This process can induce refugee migration and extinction of living organisms. We are producing extreme amount of carbon dioxides nature cannot handle, causing climate change. It is good to know that we can do something about it by eliminating air pollutions, such as carbon dioxide emission from vehicles.

Studies show respiratory problems such as asthma, influenza, and cardiovascular diseases are significantly associated to air pollution (specifically ozone). As a public health professional, I can advocate for stopping “climate change” by educating friends, families, and my patients about climate change. I could start with myself limiting carbon dioxide by discarding my old car which could be emitting high level of carbon dioxide.  I could share facts of climate change, what cause it, and what we can do to reduce or eliminate carbon dioxide and other pollution (such as indoor mold).

If I were to visit a long-lost relative who never heard about climate change, I would, first, ask him/her about his/her health and living condition. And ask if he/she notice any environmental changes. Then I could describe climate change and relates it with the physical and living condition and environmental changes he or she presents. For example, if he presents with heart and lung issues or cancer, I could tell him/her that air pollution and chemicals could have caused them. Same elements that changes our climate.

M10.1 Video!? Occupational Health and Safety

ERGONOMICS AT WORK

There are ergonomic issues I see at my workplace. Unsystematic and unergonomic supply and equipment settings, heavy patient lifting, and constant pushing of approximately 5ft tall, 2ft wide “workstations on wheels” or WOWs are some of them. The constant pushing of WOWs are hurting some nurses. At least three of my colleagues have developed shoulder pains and needed to be seen by a doctor and were on medical leave.  Most of the WOWs are hard to steer and maneuver, which maybe causing joint and arm pain. Using the hierarchy of controls, I might address this issue by having and providing users with wrist or joint support to prevent joint injuries from repetitive pushing and pulling of WOWs. Daily check-up of all the WOWs (by biomedical engineers or technicians) to assure wheels functions are not obstructed to cause difficult maneuvering. Malfunctioning WOWs may also be removed and replaced with efficient units. Employee health should also initiate looking at how devices we regularly use at work affect us ergonomically. In reality, this problem is not being address by administration. Although, floor staff are being told to report such issues, they are not reported. Nursing staff are just too busy to report a problematic WOW. We just use them (hard maneuvering units) to finish the shift.

The barriers to exercise our rights to a healthy and safe workplace could include the notions that ergonomical issues brought by these devices should be done by bioengineering daily. Nurses do not have the time to report each WOW for problems. In addition, nurses do not have the signs and symptoms until it is late and it is suspected that working with WOW could have caused it. In fact, administration has never questioned the possible injuries or harm this problem (hard maneuvering WOWs) is bringing to staff. There has been no investigations or studies on them.

M11.5 A Zero Waste Life

As I watch Lauren Singer’s TED talk, I started thinking about my lifestyle and practices at home. I consider myself a minimalist, but as soon as Lauren enumerates things she does to live a ZERO WASTE, I assessed that there are many things I can do personally to contribute to a zero-waste community. I can do the following:

• ·       Look at my trash and assess my waste habit.
• ·       Make and bring my own grocery and product packages
• ·       Buy my produce at closest farmers market 
• ·       Recycle my clothes
• ·       Get a compost unit
• ·       Use stainless container for my water
• ·       Learn to make my own products (this will be exciting)

Occupationally-related disease

Byssinosis

Byssinosis is an occupational disease that primarily affects workers in cotton processing, hemp or flax industries. Other names for byssinosis include “brown lung” disease and mill fever or cotton worker’s lung. Byssinosis causes and asthma-like breathing difficulty, usually at the beginning of the workweek and improves as the workweek progresses or dust exposure stops.

Trade union efforts to combat byssinosis began before the First World War. Byssinosis became an occupational health issue in the early nineteenth and twentieth centuries when exposure to cotton dust in the Lancashire cotton industry caused the chronic respiratory disease. The effort to combat byssinosis sustained for 70 years. Byssinosis became a recognized medical condition and a compensatable disease, due to the tireless effort by the trade unions. The trade union campaigned for better dust control, worker compensation, and medical research.

OSHA, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the Department of Agriculture, the National Cotton Council, the America Textile Manufacturers Institute, and the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees formed the “Task Force for Byssinosis Prevention”. The task force researched the batch kier method of washing cotton that eliminates the risk of byssinosis. In 1999, OSHA attributed the significant reduction in byssinosis cases to the cotton dust standard. Currently, OSHA approved state plans include occupational respiratory disease surveillance NIOSH, a systemic collection, analysis, and dissemination of health hazard data to monitor the extent and severity of occupationally-related lung disease, such as byssinosis.

Reference

Bowden, S., Tweedale, G. (2003). Mondays without Dread: The Trade Union response to byssinosis in the Lancashire Cotton Industry in the twentieth century. Social History of Medicne. Vol 16, Issue 1: 79-95. https://doi.org/10.1093/shm/16.1.79

EHS Today. Retrieved on April 2, 2018 from http://www.ehstoday.com/news/ehs_imp_33930

M10.2 MSDS and ToxNet

The Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) at my work is being relocated to the intranet system. There are instructions on where to find and interpret labels (ie product identifier and hazard statement) on product containers. I could not pull information for a specific product or chemical at this time. The chemical acetone is being used as example but not much information is given.

Acetone is an organic peroxide. We use acetone to remove nail polishes on patients going to surgery. I use gloves to protect my skin, sensing that it has a very strong chemical odor. I don’t have the health risk information about this chemical and have not been given training or education about acetone at work.

According to ToxNet, acetone at high concentration can cause CNS depression, cardiorespiratory failure and death. It can be toxic in children. More severe transient effects (including vomiting and fainting) were reported for workers exposed to acetone vapor concentration for about four hours. Acute exposures to acetone have been reported to alter neurobehavioral performances in human. It is not classifiable human carcinogen based on lack of data.

M10.5 Occupational safety and health organization

The United States Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) assures safe and healthful working conditions for laborers. It sets and enforce standards and provides training.

One example of OSHA’s health and safety programs is the Respiratory Program, which is also facilitated where I work. As an in-patient or ward nurse, we are exposed to communicable respiratory illnesses like Tuberculosis. My work place had set standards following OSHA’s. The training includes yearly on line (E-learning) training which reviews how to apply a respirator, how to for a negative-pressure patient room, and review of Tuberculosis. We are also fitted for respirator every year. Just recently added is the Behavioral Training Program. The class teaches staff how to spot dangerous behaviors and how to deal with the situations.

Occupationally-related disease

Byssinosis

Byssinosis is an occupational disease that primarily affects workers in cotton processing, hemp or flax industries. Other names for byssinosis include “brown lung” disease and mill fever or cotton worker’s lung. Byssinosis causes and asthma-like breathing difficulty, usually at the beginning of the workweek and improves as the workweek progresses or dust exposure stops.

Trade union efforts to combat byssinosis began before the First World War. Byssinosis became an occupational health issue in the early nineteenth and twentieth centuries when exposure to cotton dust in the Lancashire cotton industry caused the chronic respiratory disease. The effort to combat byssinosis sustained for 70 years. Byssinosis became a recognized medical condition and a compensatable disease, due to the tireless effort by the trade unions. The trade union campaigned for better dust control, worker compensation, and medical research.

OSHA, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the Department of Agriculture, the National Cotton Council, the America Textile Manufacturers Institute, and the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees formed the “Task Force for Byssinosis Prevention”. The task force researched the batch kier method of washing cotton that eliminates the risk of byssinosis. In 1999, OSHA attributed the significant reduction in byssinosis cases to the cotton dust standard. Currently, OSHA approved state plans include occupational respiratory disease surveillance NIOSH, a systemic collection, analysis, and dissemination of health hazard data to monitor the extent and severity of occupationally-related lung disease, such as byssinosis.

Reference

Bowden, S., Tweedale, G. (2003). Mondays without Dread: The Trade Union response to byssinosis in the Lancashire Cotton Industry in the twentieth century. Social History of Medicne. Vol 16, Issue 1: 79-95. https://doi.org/10.1093/shm/16.1.79

EHS Today. Retrieved on April 2, 2018 from http://www.ehstoday.com/news/ehs_imp_33930