Containment testing of laboratory hoods in the as-used condition.

Airborne contaminants generated inside laboratory fume hoods during use leak into the breathing zone of the user. Concentration of the leakage is unknown and variable depending on laboratory design, work practices, arrangement of internal apparatus, face velocity, and sash height. Surrogate tracer gas tests have been developed using sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) and a manikin to estimate leakage. This study presents results of hood leakage tests using SF6 with a manikin and then a live operator performing a phenol:chloroform (P:C) extraction. Four hoods were tested in each of three institutions during normal work hours with the lab occupied. The purpose of the study was to determine leakage concentrations for the SF6-manikin with effects of sash height, hood contents as found and after being cleaned out, face velocity, and the actual P:C and SF6 exposure concentrations of the user during work. Results indicate P:C was not detectable in the breathing zone of the 12 operators (< 0.1 ppm) at their selected operating sash heights (7 to 15 inches). Simultaneous SF6 concentrations were also minimal (average 0.06 ppm). Average leakage was 0.02 percent for SF6 and less than 2 percent based on chloroform concentrations measured in the breathing zone of the operator and inside the hood. SF6 percent leakage was greater when sash height was above the breathing zone of the manikin (average 2.09 percent) and lower leakage (average 0.02 percent) when below the breathing zone (26 inches or less). Average face velocity did not appear to be a predictor of average hood leakage. Cleaning out the hoods did not reduce leakage in most tests. The data from this study shows that when providing training on proper work practices for lab hood use, lowering the sash should be stressed as being the major factor in reducing hood leakage.

Effects of alcohol on pilot performance in simulated flight.

Ethyl alcohol's known ability to produce reliable decrements in pilot performance was used in a study designed to evaluate objective methods for assessing pilot performance. Four air carrier pilot volunteers were studied during eight simulated flights between San Francisco and Los Angeles in a Boeing 727-232 simulator. Two flights were conducted at each of four target blood alcohol levels, 0, 0.025, 0.050, and 0.075%. Each flight lasted about 1 h. Flights were conducted with full crews in a full simulated ATC environment. Data from direct observations and videotapes were used to examine discrete errors committed by the subjects. Total errors increased linearly and significantly with increasing blood alcohol. Planning and performance errors, procedural errors and failures of vigilance each increased significantly in one or more pilots and in the group as a whole. Failures of crew coordination were not associated with blood alcohol level. Serious errors increased significantly even at the lowest alcohol level studied, 0.025% (25 mg/dl), compared with control values.

Characterization and temperature dependence of PAH emissions from a simulated rubber combustion operation.

The operation investigated uses two induction furnaces for removal of rubber from tracked-vehicle treads. A laboratory-scale simulation of the field operation was employed to generate emissions at 399 degrees C (750 degrees F) and 677 degrees C (1250 degrees F), and emission samples were collected using glass fiber filters and Tenax as the sampling media. Sampling and analytical methods were developed and evaluated with 10 representative polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). High-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) were used to characterize emissions. The PAH were profiled as subsets and graphically displayed as micrograms (micrograms) of emissions per kilogram of rubber and as percentages of total emissions. In each subset, relative amounts of PAH were found to be related to combustion temperatures. Identical coal tar pitch volatiles (CTPV) exposures to emissions generated at the two temperatures studied would result in a 178-fold difference in exposure to carcinogenic PAH.

Individual factors in the choice of respiratory protective devices.

Federal regulations recognize the need to determine whether individuals are physically able to perform their job while wearing respirators. A variety of safety and workplace factors should also be considered at the time that a respiratory protective device is evaluated for use by a particular worker. In most negative pressure respirators, inspiratory resistance constitutes the major load on the respiratory system. In normals, the major load to the cardiovascular system occurs with heavy, self-contained respirators. In the absence of objective guidelines for the use of respirators by impaired workers, careful examination and conservative clinical judgement, and the willingness to re-assess choices must form the basis of respirator selection.

Human factors in aircraft incidents: results of a 7-year study.

Human error causes or contributes to considerably over half of all aviation mishaps. This report describes a 7-year study of aircraft incident data conducted in an attempt to further our understanding of the phenomenon of human error. The study of incidents as a surrogate for aircraft accidents is relevant only if incidents constitute a population or universe of which accidents are a subset. This assumption has been examined in a study of over 35,000 reports of aviation incidents collected from 1976-83 by the NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System. One-third of the reports involve conflicts among aircraft. The most common single-aircraft anomalies in flight involve altitude or track deviations. The most common controller errors involve failure to coordinate traffic with other elements of the air traffic control system. Analysis of these reports indicates that both human and system factors contributing to human errors can be identified. Many other incidents involve shortcomings specifically of the human, rather than of the system. Failures of control are rare in this series, but failures of decision-making and cockpit resource management are frequent. Boredom, complacency and ennui appear to underlie some failures, while very high workloads are associated with others. These data indicate that at least several categories of aircraft accidents involving operational and human factors are, in fact, subsets of populations of incidents containing the same elements. The environment in which an incident occurs is extremely important in determining its outcome. It is concluded that aviation incident reports are a necessary and important instrument in safety surveillance.

Comparisons of pilot performance in simulated and actual flight.

Five highly experienced professional pilots performed instrument landing system approaches under simulated instrument flight conditions in a Cessna 172 airplane and in a Link-Singer GAT-1 simulator while under the influence of orally administered secobarbital (0, 100, and 200 mg). Tracking performance in two axes and airspeed control were evaluated continuously during each approach. The data from the airplane and simulator were compared. Error and RMS variability were about half as large in the simulator as in the airplane. The observed data were more strongly associated with the drug level in the simulator than in the airplane. Further, the drug-related effects were more consistent in the simulator. Improvement in performance suggestive of learning effects were seen in the simulator, but not in actual flight. It is concluded that the GAT-1 simulator is a useful and sensitive device for studies of the effects of mild stress on pilot performance, but extrapolation of simulator data to the flight environment must be approached with considerable caution.

Frequency and duration of interval training programs and changes in aerobic power.

This study was designed to ascertain whether 7- and 13-wk interval training programs with training frequencies of 2 days/wk would produce improvement in maximal aerobic power (VO2max) comparable to that obtained from 7- and 13-wk programs of the same intensity consisting of 4 training days/wk. Sixty-nine young healthy college males were used as subjects. After training, there was a significant increase in VO2max (bicycle ergometer, open-circuit spirometry) that was independent of both training frequency and duration. However, there was a trend for greater gains after 13 wk. Maximal heart rate (direct lead ECG) was significantly decreased following training, being independent of both training frequency and duration. Submaximal VO2 did not change with training but submaximal heart rate decreased significantly with greater decreases the more frequent and longer the training. Within the limitations of this study, these results indicate that: 1) maximal stroke volume and/or maximal avO2 difference, principle determinants of VO2max, are not dependent on training frequency nor training duration, and 2) one benefit of more frequent and longer duration interval training is less circulatory stress as evidenced by decreased heart rate, during submaximal exercise.