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Occupational Hygiene - Volume:8 Issue: 1, Mar 2016

International Journal of Occupational Hygiene
Volume:8 Issue: 1, Mar 2016

  • تاریخ انتشار: 1395/04/25
  • تعداد عناوین: 5
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  • Milad Derakhshan Jazari, Mahdyeh Boubehrejh, Maryam Avishan, Jamshid Gholampour, Mohammad Reza Monazzam Esmail Pour, Mohsen Meshkani Pages 1-8
    Wind-turbine noise emission and its environmental impact are considerable issues nowadays. Considering the importance of the issue, the purpose of this study was to prepare noise map and wind turbines sound characteristics on the largest wind farm of Iran. This study was carried out in two phases:1) In order to prepare the daytime sound level (Ld) noise map, environmental noise measurement was done using LAeq for 10 minutes three times daily according to the ISO9612 method. 2) On the basis of IEC 61400-11.2006, sound characteristics and wind speed were measured concurrently at the back and front of the wind turbines using TES-1358 Sound Level Meter and vane anemometer. The average daytime sound level (Ld) of wind farm was 63dBA which is 3 dB higher than the recommended level. Wind speed has a significant non-linear relationship with the wind turbine noise emissions (p
    Keywords: Wind Turbine, Noise, Airborne Emission, Wind Farm
  • Mohammad Reza Ghotbi Ravandi, Sajad Salimi, Narges Khanjani, Mohammad Javad Jafari Pages 9-13
    Exposure to heat is one of the workplace risk factors, which may lead to thermal strain, such as rising heart rate and body temperature. To have the best association between a heat stress indices and physiological parameters have always been a major concern for those studying the subject. This study aims to compare the association of two heat stress indices with physiological parameters. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 54 acclimatized mail subjects working in a steel complex in May 2014. After enrolling individuals based on inclusion criteria, HSSI and WBGT heat indices and physiological parameters were recorded at three times (10 am, 12 pm and 3pm) during their work shift. Then the relationship between physiological parameters and the calculated indices were determined. The study population had a mean age of 29.3±4.2 years. The average value of the WBGT index was 27.3 ± 2.9°C and HSSI index was 22.7±3.6. The average relative humidity and air velocity was 35.9 ±1.9% and 1.5±0.4 m/s respectively. The correlation between WBGT and tympanic temperature was statistically significant (P≤0.01). However the HSSI was not significantly correlated to tympanic temperature (p=0.37). Correlation coefficient between WBGT and HSSI with heart rate was 0.458 and 0.191 respectively. WBGT is likely to offer a better assessment of thermal stress in comparison to HSSI in melting industry workers.
    Keywords: Correlation, Heat stress, WBGT, HSSI, Physiological parameters
  • Samira Orujlu, Hossein Habibzadeh, Mohammad Javad Zare Sakhvidi, Mohammad Hajaghazadeh Pages 14-21
    Antineoplastic drugs (ANDs) for the treatment of cancers could result in occupational exposure of nurses and consequent side effects. This study aimed to evaluate knowledge, attitude, and performance of oncology nurses and to survey nurses’ chemotherapy workload and the experienced side effects. A cross-sectional study was conducted at four hospitals of Urmia University, Iran. Two self-reported questionnaires were distributed among 54 oncology nurses to collect information on nurses’ workload and side effects as well as to evaluate their level of knowledge, attitude, and performance. Totally 54 nurses were participated in the study. The mean age and chemotherapy work experience of nurses were 32.4±6.5 and 4.3±3.5 years, respectively. About 52% and 36% of nurses reported the lack of safety guideline and training program at their workplaces, respectively. Hair loss, headache, and period abnormalities were the most reported side effects of exposure with ANDs. All nurses prepared ANDs in biological safety cabinet but 85.5% and 37% of nurses used respirator and eye protection during drug preparation. The mean score of knowledge, attitude, and performance of nurses were 9.43±1.5 out of 12, 39.14±6.5 out of 60, and 13.41±4.7 out of 23, respectively. The result clearly point to the fact that there is a need for implementation of guidelines and training in studied oncology units. Through provision of proper personal protection and regarded training, hospitals could demonstrate organizational support leading to improvement of knowledge and performance as well as decrease of nurses’ concerns in exposure with ANDs.
    Keywords: Antineoplastic Agents, nurses, knowledge, attitude, performance
  • Mohammad Javad Zare Sakhvidi, Ahmad Zolfaghari, Amir Amir Houshang Mehrparvar, Fariba Zare Sakhvidi, Mohammad Amin Bahrami, Razieh Montazerolfaraj, Mehrdad Mostaghaci Pages 22-30
    Good service quality is the company's ability to meet or exceed customer expectations or the degree of discrepancy between customer expectations and perceptions about the quality of offered service. This study was aimed to examine the quality gap of occupational health services in an oil & gas company of Iran. This cross-sectional study was done between March 2013 and April 2014 in Isfahan, Iran. The required data was gathered using a modified SERVQUAL instrument. A total of 194 respondents contributed in the study. Data analysis was done through. The results revealed a negative quality gap in SERVQUAL and its all five dimensions the highest and the least gap was observed in empathy and reliability dimensions, respectively. Also, the highest average gap between workers’ perceptions and expectations was seen in the empathy dimension (-5.60), followed by tangibles (-5.58), assurance (-5.44), responsiveness (-5.33) and reliability (-4.65). Also, statistical differences between expectation and perception of employees were confirmed for SERVQUAL and its dimensions (P
    Keywords: SERVQUAL, Quality gap, Customer satisfaction, Occupational health services
  • Rostam Golmohammadi, Mohsen Aliabadi Pages 31-38
    A practical solution which is sometimes efficient for noise control in the receiver locations is to enclose workers in an acoustic cabin. Accordingly, prediction of the noise insulation performance is regarded as an important aspect of the design a personnel cabin. This study empirically aims to design an acoustic cabin using sandwich panels in a typical metal industry and analyze its effectiveness for reduction the operators’ exposure to high frequency noise. Sheet metal was used as main element of the personnel cabin, and it was coupled with damping materials to achieve efficient noise insulation. The simplified prediction equations were used for prediction of noise transmission loss of the main elements (steel sheet). For design of the cabin sandwich wall, based on the primary prediction results, selection of the other materials and their thickness was performed empirically. Determination of the noise reduction performance of the designed cabin was performed based on in situ measurements. The results indicated that all workers were continuously exposed to high noise levels before intervention. However, inside the designed cabin, the exposure levels actually reduced to of 66.6 dB (A) which was much lower than the national exposure limit. The designed cabin showed an overall noise reduction of 20.5 dB (L). The results empirically confirmed where high insulation performance is required; sandwich panels which have adequate mass, low stiffness and high damping can be usually preferred.
    Keywords: Sandwich panels, Acoustic cabin, Noise exposure, High frequency noise, Metal industry