Toluene Diisocyanate Exposure: Exposure Assessment and Development of Cross-Facility Similar Exposure Groups Among Toluene Diisocyanate Production Plants.

Objective: The objective of this study was to characterize workplace toluene diisocyanate (TDI) exposures using standardized industrial hygiene exposure assessment procedures for use in a prospective epidemiologic study of occupational asthma.

Methods: Over 2300 representative routine full shift time-weighted average (TWA) and short-term high potential exposure tasks (HPETs) air samples in groups across three TDI plants were collected over a nearly 7-year period.

Results: Data-derived similar exposure groups (SuperSEGs) were developed across the plants based on TWA sampling using cluster analysis.

Use of the "Exposome" in the Practice of Epidemiology: A Primer on -Omic Technologies.

The exposome has been defined as the totality of exposures individuals experience over the course of their lives and how those exposures affect health. Three domains of the exposome have been identified: internal, specific external, and general external. Internal factors are those that are unique to the individual, and specific external factors include occupational exposures and lifestyle factors.

Noise exposure and hearing conservation in U.S. coal mines--a surveillance report.

This study examines the patterns and trends in noise exposure documented in data collected by Mine Safety and Health Administration inspectors at U.S. coal mines from 1987 through 2004.

A survey of private sector respirator use in the United States: an overview of findings.

Limitations of previous surveys of respirator use led the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to undertake a survey of respirator use and practices among U.S. private sector employers.

Surveillance of occupational noise exposures using OSHA's Integrated Management Information System.

Background: Exposure to noise has long been known to cause hearing loss, and is an ubiquitous problem in workplaces. Occupational noise exposures for industries stored in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) can be used to identify temporal and industrial trends of noise exposure to anticipate changes in rates of hearing loss.

Methods: The noise records in OSHA's IMIS database for 1979-1999 were extracted by major industry division and measurement criteria.

An evaluation of compliance with occupational exposure limits for crystalline silica (quartz) in ten Georgia granite sheds.

Since the 1920s, industrial hygiene studies have documented granite shed workers' exposures to crystalline silica, and the data from these studies have contributed to a better understanding of the relationship between silica exposures and adverse health effects, such as silicosis. The majority of these studies were conducted in the Barre, Vermont, granite sheds. However, a second major granite processing region is located in Elberton, Georgia, where approximately 1800 workers are employed in 150 granite sheds and 45 quarries.