Introduction toIndustrial Hygiene CENE 440/540April 6, 2015

WHAT ISINDUSTRIAL HYGIENE (IH)?industrial \ in-ds-tr-l \ adj 1: of or relating to industry 2: characterized by highly developed industries 3: engaged in industry 4: derived from human industry 5: used in industry --- industrially \ tr--l \ advhygiene \ hi - jn \ n [Gk. neut. pl. of hygieinos healthful, fr. hygis healthy] 1: a science of the establishment and maintenance of health 2: conditions or practices (as of cleanliness) conducive to health hygienic \ h-j-en-ik \adj hygienically \ i-k(-)l \adv hygienist \ h-jn-st \n

HISTORY OF IHHippocrates in ~ 400 BCslave labor & lead (Pb) workPliny the Elder ~ 45 ADWorkers used bladder respirators; asbestosis appears in slave workers

HISTORY OF IHGalen (Greek) in ~ 150 ADdescribed lead poisoningParacelsus: 1493-15411st toxicologist

HISTORY OF IHAgricola: 1494 - 1555De Re MetalicaSnow White & 7 DwarfsPercival Potts: 1714 - 1788Chimney Sweeps Act of 1788

HISTORY OF IHBernadino Ramazzini (1633 - 1714)Italian physicianThe Diseases of Workmen, 1700accurately described the many occupational diseases that were common during his timeRecognized as Father of Industrial MedicineDescribed silicosis, hearing loss, and deafness and suggested preventive measures to reduce exposures

Alice Hamilton (1869 - 1970) mamaAmerican physician (born in NYC)1893 graduate of the U. Michigan Medical School & 1st female professor hired by Harvard Medical School (1919)founded discipline of Industrial MedicineHISTORY OF IHworked tirelessly to convince factory owners that improving working conditions was a good business practice

HISTORY OF IH1900 - 1910: State Compensation Plans1918 - 1st IH degree awarded1920 - 42 State Workers Compensation1970 - OSHActFirst Standards promulgated in 1971Many new & revised standards since

WHATS AN IH?Definition in 1971:Industrial Hygiene is that science (or art) devoted to the recognition, evaluation, and control of those environmental factors or stresses - chemical, physical, biological, and ergonomic - that may cause sickness, impaired health, or significant discomfort to employees or residents of the community.

WHATS AN IH?Definition in 1999:Industrial Hygiene is the science and practice devoted to the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of those environmental factors or stresses arising in or from the workplace that may cause sickness, impaired health and well-being, or significant discomfort among workers and may also impact the general community.

I.H. FUNCTIONSAnticipationExpecting an exposure hazard to occurRecognitionKnowing what the hazards might beEvaluationMeasuring the amount of existing hazardControlProtecting the worker from the hazard

PHYSICALCHEMICALBIOLOGICALNoiseRadiationThermalErgonomicsGases/VaporsSolids/PastesParticulatesInsectsPlantsAnimals

SourcePathway ReceiverWORKER PROTECTION

HISTORY OF IHSince 1980s, roles have expandedRecent surveys by Occupational Safety & Health magazine and AIHA indicate that the IH role is now covering safety and environmental issues.

QUESTIONS?

*Introductory slide which introduces the student to the official title and section number for the course as well as todays date and the instructor.*Hippocrates: Described lead colic as well as the toxic properties of this metal. Credited with lifting the practice of medicine from it basis in superstition and giving it a scientific foundation, has also been credited by some with being the first to record adverse effects on miners and metallurgists from exposures to lead. Though he recognized that many occupations lead to similar diseases, there appears to have been no effort on his part to define a means of protection for the workers.

Pliny the Elder: A Roman Senator, whote that in certain dusty trades, workmen tied bladders over their mouths to prevent the inhalation of dusts. He also noted that slaves who made textiles from asbestos became ill. In his encyclopedia of natural science, he refers to the use of bladders that minium refiners wore over their faces in an effort to avoid inhaling dust (minium is the Latin word for cinnabar, or red mercuric sulfide). He also mentions the dangers of dealing with zinc and sulfur.*Galen: A Greek physician who resided in Rome, wrote voluminous theories on anatomy and pathology. Dogmatic in his writing, Galen recognized the dangers of acid mists for copper miners but offered no impetus to the solution of the problem.

Philippus Paracelsus: Son of a Swiss doctor, he worked for 5 years in a smelting plant & published his observations on the hazards of the industry. The book is laden with erroneous conclusions, such as the attribution of miners lung sickness to a vapor comprised of mercury, sulfur, & salt. Nevertheless, his warnings about the toxicity of certain metals & outline of mercury poisoning were quite advanced. He was a chemist, physician, & professor of physics & survey, with no academic degree, and thoroughly disliked by the physicians of his time; but he was credited with being an independent thinker & investigator. He described various miners diseases such as disturbances of the lungs, stomach, and intestines, that resulted from digging, smelting, & washing gold, silver, salt, alum, sulfur, lead, copper, zinc, iron, & mercury. He described chronic lung trouble of miners as lung consumption, asthma, and dyspnea and attributed the cause to vapors and emanations from the metals and advised that contact with them be avoided, as the condition was incurable. He pointed out fallacies in many current medical theories of the time and taught the use of specific remedies instead of indiscriminate bleeding and purging. His untimely death at age 48, has variously attributed to drunken debauchery, thrown down a cliff by his enemies, or contracting one of the occupational diseases he described. His book was not published till 25 years after his death.*Agricola: Wrote in his book De Re Metalica about the demons that inhabited the mines and that they could be controlled by fasting & praying. The demons were written about the the Grimm brothers & became the basis for Disneys Snow White & 7 Dwarfs.

Potts: Recognized that it was soot that caused chimney sweeps to develop scrotal cancer at significantly higher rates that rest of population. He was a major force in the passage of the Chimney Sweeps Act of 1788.