Heat stress in rice vermicelli manufacturing factories.

OBJECTIVE: This study provides an assessment of heat stress in indoor rice vermicelli manufacturing factories. METHODS: Worker interviews and heat stress assessments were conducted in food manufacturing factories in Singapore. The Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) and Heat Stress Index (HSI) were used as heat stress indicators. RESULTS: The highest WBGT and HSI levels recorded in the rice vermicelli manufacturing factories were 36.68°C and 3777 in the drying and steaming process respectively. These levels were above the recommended permissible HSI and WBGT action limit for heat exposure and considered to be high risk. CONCLUSION: Workers in indoor rice vermicelli manufacturing factories can be exposed to heat stress, and the current measures in place may not be sufficient to protect workers against heat stress injuries. Preventive measures such as engineering controls and heat acclimatization programs are important.

Rare case of type I hypersensitivity reaction to sodium hypochlorite solution in a healthcare setting.

Sodium hypochlorite is a clear yellowish solution with a characteristic odour of chlorine and is commonly used as a disinfectant and a bleaching agent. It is used in various healthcare settings for its fast-acting and broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. It is a known irritant and there are some reports that it can also cause allergic contact dermatitis of type IV hypersensitivity. We report a case of work-related type I hypersensitivity to sodium hypochlorite, presenting with recurrent urticarial rash and a positive prick test reaction to this chemical. He was subsequently excused from further exposure with no further recurrences of the urticarial rash. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first such reported case due to work in the healthcare setting.

A road map toward a globally harmonized approach for occupational health surveillance and epidemiology in nanomaterial workers.

OBJECTIVE: Few epidemiological studies have addressed the health of workers exposed to novel manufactured nanomaterials. The small current workforce will necessitate pooling international cohorts. METHOD: A road map was defined for a globally harmonized framework for the careful choice of materials, exposure characterization, identification of study populations, definition of health endpoints, evaluation of appropriateness of study designs, data collection and analysis, and interpretation of the results. RESULTS: We propose a road map to reach global consensus on these issues. The proposed strategy should ensure that the costs of action are not disproportionate to the potential benefits and that the approach is pragmatic and practical. CONCLUSIONS: We should aim to go beyond the collection of health complaints, illness statistics, or even counts of deaths; the manifestation of such clear endpoints would indicate a failure of preventive measures.