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.

Comfort and exertion while using filtering facepiece respirators with exhalation valve and an active venting system among male military personnel.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to determine if disposable filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) that come with an exhalation valve (EV) and a novel active venting system (AVS) provided greater perceived comfort and exertion when compared to standard N95 FFRs without these features among male military personnel performing prolonged essential outdoor duties. METHODS: We used a randomised open-label controlled crossover study design to compare three FFR options: (a) standard FFR; (b) FFR with EV; and (c) FFR with EV+AVS. Male military personnel aged between 18 and 20 years completed a questionnaire at the start of outdoor duty (baseline), after two hours of standardised non-strenuous outdoor duty and after 12 hours of duty divided into two-hour work-rest cycles. Participants rated the degree of discomfort, exertion and symptoms using a five-point Likert scale. The association between outcomes and types of FFR was assessed using a multivariate ordered probit mixed-effects model. RESULTS: For a majority of the symptoms, study participants gave FFR with EV and FFR EV+AVS significantly better scores than standard FFR. Both FFR with EV and FFR with EV+AVS had significantly less discomfort (FFR with EV+AVS: 91.1%; FFR with EV: 57.6%) and exertion (FFR with EV+AVS: 83.5%; FFR with EV: 34.4%) than standard FFR. FFR with EV+AVS also had significantly better scores for exertion (53.4%) and comfort (39.4%) when compared to FFR with EV. CONCLUSION: Usage of FFR with EV+AVS resulted in significantly reduced symptoms, discomfort and exertion when compared to FFR with EV and standard FFR.

Incidence of needlestick injuries among medical students after implementation of preventive training.

INTRODUCTION: Structured training for the prevention of needlestick injuries (NSIs) among medical students was implemented in Singapore in 1998. In this study, we determined the incidence of NSIs and the knowledge and practice of managing and reporting NSIs among first-year clinical students in a medical school in Singapore, as well as the adequacy of the training provided for these students, 14 years after preventive training was instituted. METHODS: All third-year medical students (n = 257) from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, who had completed their first clinical year posting were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. A self-administered questionnaire was answered by the students one month after completion of their last clinical posting. Students who repeated their first clinical year were excluded from the study. RESULTS: 237 students completed the questionnaire. However, 9 of these students were excluded because they repeated their first clinical year. The response rate was 91.9%. Although 8 (3.5%) students reported one NSI each, only 2 (25.0%) of these 8 students reported the incident to the relevant authority. Among the students surveyed, 65.8% reported using gloves at all times during venepuncture procedures, 48.7% felt that improvements could be made to the current reporting system and procedures, and 53.2% felt that the training provided before commencement of clinical posting could be enhanced. CONCLUSION: There was a decrease in the incidence of NSIs among medical undergraduates in their first clinical year when compared to the incidences reported in earlier studies conducted in the same centre (35.1% in 1993 and 5.3% in 2004). The current reporting system could use a more user-friendly platform, and training on NSIs could be improved to focus more on real-life procedures and incident reporting.