10.8 Occupationally-Related Diseases

Asbestosis is a chronic lung disease that is caused by exposure to a large amount of asbestos fibers or dust for a prolonged period of time causing scarring on your lungs. There is no cure and it usually diagnosed by a careful medical history, exposure history, and chest x-rays or CT scans. Asbestos usage can date back to prehistoric times but it became popular during the Industrial Age’s. Regulations of asbestos in the US began in the 1970s when the public began to understand the connection between asbestoses exposure and lung diseases, but it is still not banned. OSHA has a set of regulations to protect workers from the hazards of asbestos. The three main standards depend on the type of workplace: General Industry, Shipyards, and Construction. Protections under these standards include Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL); assessments of workplace; monitoring of PEL levels; proper hazard communication; separate decontamination and eating areas; and specific training requirements. Here is a fun and educational video emphasizing the safety tips of asbestos! 

10.5 Occupational Safety & Health Organization

I looked up Cal/OSHA and I clicked on the featured program Tree Work Safety. I chose this program because just last week a huge tree branch fell in the courtyard at my work (luckily it fell in the middle of the night when nobody was there) and it is not something individuals think about on a daily basis. Tree work safety includes anything from trimming, pruning, or removing trees; climbing trees; being lifted in aerial devices; using power tools while in a tree; or feeding wood chippers. Injuries involving tree work can be fatal if precautions are not taken. The Tree Work Safety page has clear pictures and information regarding what personal protective equipment must be worn and the safety equipment that is required. This page on Cal/OSHA even has a fun Tree Work Safety Video that represents facts on tree workers, the various injuries tree workers may face, what tree workers companies must provide, and for where to find more information on tree work safety.

10.2 MSDS- Isopropyl Alcohol 99%

As state in my prior blog (10.1), I work at a tech headquarters in Silicon Valley. Many chemicals are used on campus so for this particular assignment I decided to focus on Isopropyl Alcohol 99%. Below are my findings from Western’s Digitals Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS):

·     What are the health risks associated with this chemical?

The health risks associated with Isopropyl Alcohol 99% is that it may cause drowsiness or dizziness, cause serious eye irritation, and it is a highly flammable liquid and vapor. 

·     Is the chemical a carcinogen?

Isopropyl Alcohol 99% is considered an Isopropyl Oil (group 3) which is not considered carcinogenetic to humans.

·     What personal protective equipment or special precautions should be taken when working with this chemical?

To work with Isopropyl Alcohol 99%, a person must wear tightly fitting safety goggle and wear protective gloves/clothing and antistatic boots. It is also advised to use this chemical either outside or in well-ventilated areas. Hygiene measures in working with this chemical include not eating or drinking when using the chemical; contaminated clothing should not be allowed outside the workplace; and to wash hands before breaks or immediately after using the chemical. 

·     If this is a chemical found in your workplace, what training/education were you given about any risks associated with this chemical?

I specifically did not get any training/education to handle this chemical due to not being in a lab that handles it. My role as part of the environmental health and safety team (called ERT on my campus) is if there is a chemical spill to evacuate the area and inform the head of ERT that there is a spill that needs clean up.

Isopropyl Alcohol 99% poses an acute health hazard and a fire hazard. It is associated with drowsiness and dizziness if inhaled and is an eye irritant. Due to it being a dry chemical, water spray is inefficient. I think the MSDS was an adequate tool for workers at Western Digital to gain knowledge and an understanding about the potential health risks of the chemicals used on campus and how to protect themselves. The website was a little confusing at first due to having to know the various chemicals used on campus. Once I figured it out, I found it very easy to use. It was also available in various languages, which is good because Western Digital is an international company.

10.1 Video/Presentation on Occupational Health & Safety

I work at a tech headquarters in the Silicon Valley and the company has an environmental health and safety team under the same facilities department that I am under. I work closely with them because I am  also being CPR/AED & First Aid certified and the fitness center is a high concern of worker safety on campus. Due to being a tech company, we have many labs on campus which contain various chemicals. These labs are for authorized personnel only and each lab have a different protocol depending on what the lab does or contains. These requirements could include anything from clothing requirements, gloves & mask requirements, google requirements, or having to be completely covered with gowns & face mask requirements.

A barrier workers face, especially at my workplace, is ergonomic barriers. We have a lot of employees who sit for hours at a time which poses serious back/neck/spine health. A fun part of my job in the Fitness Center is showing people exercises to combat excessive back pain from sitting for  to long. Another barrier, that the environmental health and safety team face a lot, is that employees on campus feel that they don’t need to wear the required items when entering “hotspot” labs. The team is constantly informing employees about the various health and safety risks for not complying to the rules of the labs. 

9.4 Heavy Metal

Lead is a toxic metal that I am surprised has only been banned in the US since 1978. With how many studies there are presenting the negative side effects to humans of lead exposure, it truly baffles me. I am also surprised why in the 1960s the CDC thought that an acceptable toxic threshold for lead was 60 mg/dl. Luckily, today, that threshold has been lowered to 5 mg/dl. The focus of lead exposure in children is very much needed. Children are such a vulnerable population due to their excessive hand-to-mouth activity and the fact that that a child’s gut absorbs lead much more readily than an adults. A child’s central nervous system is also greatly affected by lead exposure causing headaches, behavioral changes, alternations in consciousness, and convulsions. 

I feel that more needs to be done to ban the use of lead universally. With how many products are made oversees, a universal act would not only protect the vulnerable populations from lead exposure (like the children) but it would also make our population healthier. 

9.3 Green Chemistry

I have heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. I find it very distributing and sad that that much pollution and garbage waste is ending up in the middle of our ocean on what looks like such a pristine part of our earth. Before this class I had not heard of green chemistry, but after reading what it stands for, I really hope it pushes forward and prevails. The 12 principles of Green Chemistry clearly represent how the EPA is working to not only design products that can biodegrade in the environment, but reduce the overall pollution of hazardous chemicals. There is no reason to create products that cannot degrade in our environment, especially this day in age. Luckily, I feel that people are getting smarter with their choices in purchasing sustainable products which then pushes other people, companies, and communities to also make smarter choices. 

9.2 Six Chemical Classes

The six chemical classes presented by The Green Science Policy bring knowledge and awareness of ingredients in daily products used by billions of people. These chemicals include highly fluorinated chemicals, antimicrobials, flame retardants, phthalates & bisphenols, and certain heavy metals (mercury, arsenic, lead, and cadmium). The aspect of the 6 vidoes I really appreciated was they not only talked about where these chemicals can be found, the bring light to what us as consumers can do to avoid them. 

A chemical highlighted in the videos that is particularly interesting to me is antimicrobials. I recently did my literature review on the antimicrobial drugs given to livestock and how it is increasing the antibiotic resistance in humans. Antimicrobials are chemicals that are added to products to kill or inhibit the growth of microbes (bacteria or fungi). They are typically found in products like cleaning and personal care products; linens; building materials; kitchenware; exercise mats; and electronics. This particular chemical scares me due to the fact that overuse leads to the bacteria in your body becoming resistant to the common drugs that are supposed to be killing the bad bacteria. It also leads to disruptions in your hormones; negative developmental and reproductive effects; and higher rates of asthma, dermatitis, and allergies. The best ways to avoid overuse of antimicrobials is to avoid products labeled “antimicrobial” or “antibacterial”, this will ensue you are avoiding the two main ingredients in antimicrobial products (triclosan and triclocarban).

8.5 Ideal Chemical Policy

An ideal chemical policy would be to require all chemicals to go through the same extensive testing as any other chemical in another country. Essentially, creating a universal testing platform. There is some disconnect between the countries on what chemicals should be allowed for the public’s use. For example, the EU has over 1000 chemicals banned for use in cosmetics while the US only has 11 chemicals banned. By creating a universal testing platform for chemicals, countries would be on the same page as what can be aloud of publics use. 

8.4 Chemical Policy Reform

The background paper I choose to write about from the Louisville Charter for Safer Chemicals was #4, Act on Early Warnings. This background paper focuses on providing credible evidence that harm is present or is likely to occur, even when there is a level of uncertainty regarding the exact nature and magnitude of the harm. I completely agree with this background paper, as focuses on providing significant information about a chemical that could potentially cause harm to the public. The paper states how to better act to prevent harm on the state and federal levels, along with on the local level within our communities. Without acting on early warning signs, many humans could be at potential risk for serious health concerns. 

8.3 Pesticides

Last night, I went to MOD Pizza. I had a margherita pizza on whole wheat crust. The main ingredient is the crust. The website What’s on my Food states that wheat grain has 4 pesticide residues; these are deltamethrin, azoxystrobin, boscalid, and metconazole. Because I do not know if MOD Pizza uses regular tomatoes or canned tomatoes for their pizza sauce, I decided to look up canned tomatoes (I already knew tomatoes had a high pesticide count). Canned tomato have been found to have 5 pesticide residues which are methamidphos, o-phenylphenol, azinpho methyl, endosulfan I, and dimethoate. The last two main ingredients on a margherita pizza are mozzarella cheese and basil. The website does not have information on mozzarella and basil. I would assume mozzarella would not have many pesticide residues due to it being made from milk. Basil, on the other hand, I would be really curious to find out how many pesticides residues are used on this herb. 

7.8 My topic & Agencies

My topic for the literature review and final project is the usage of antibiotics in livestock and its effect on human health. Antibiotics are given to livestock to increase their growth, improve feed utilization, and reduce mortality and morbidity from clinical and subclinical infections in animals. These antibiotics given to livestock are increasing the antibiotic resistant (AR) in not only the animals but in humans. My literature review will be examining the effects these antibiotics have on human’s health and how they are increasing the AR in the body’s ability fight common diseases or illnesses. 

There are many distinguished bodies who are raising the alarms over antibiotic resistance. These include World Health Organization (WHO), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the European Medicines Agency, the Institute of Medicine, the World Economic Forum, and the US Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology. The main agency in charge of addressing this very pertinent topic is the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA has many components to them but in regard to food and safety their mission is “…responsible for protecting the public health by ensuring the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, and medical devices; and by ensuring the safety of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation.”  Last year, in January 2017, the FDA officially banned the use of antibiotics on livestock without a prescription from a veterinarian and also made it illegal to use antibiotics solely to make animals fatter. Sadly, there are thousands of meat samples still being found today containing antibiotics that are claimed to be “critically important” in human medicine. The FDA; along with local, state, and international agencies; need to push further this ban of illegal antibiotic use in the meat given to humans as food. 

While doing research for this blog and the agencies involved with my topic, I found an article stating that in 2015 Governor Brown signed into law SB27, which made California the leading state to make the use of antibiotics in livestock only legal with a veterinarian’s prescription. I have not looked up other states yet to see if any other states followed in CA's lead but the FDA did put into place their ban in 2017.

7.7 NIH & Environmental Health

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) works to prevent diseases and improve the health of humans, increasing the their longevity of life. Their missions is to “…seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability.” The goals of the NIH include foster fundamental discoveries, research, and their applications to protect and improve health; develop, maintain, and renew the resources that ensure the national is capable of preventing diseases; expand the knowledge base in medicine to enhance the well-being of our nation; and the promote the highest level of scientific integrity, public accountability, and social responsibility of science. The NIH has a great impact on environmental quality. Its work comprises the health of humans and methods to increase the well-being and longevity of life. There are 27 institutes and centers that comprises the NIH, which all focus on particular diseases or body systems. A few that tackle environmental straight on include National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). 

7.4 My Local Environmental Services

The County of Santa Clara Department of Environmental Health has four main categories which each have their own sub-categories. The four major categories are Consumer Protection Division (CPD), Hazardous Materials Compliance Division (HMCD), Solid Waste Programs (SWP), and Vector Control District (VCD). The CPD services comprise the most programs which include Certified Farmer’s Markets, Disaster Preparedness & Response, Drinking Water, Food Safety Programs, Noise Pollution, and Tobacco & Smoking Ordinance. The HMCD services include hazardous materials and site mitigation programs. The SWP services is the second largest category that includes medical waste management and solid waste (LEA). The smallest category is VCD comprises diseases and surveillance.

A couple services I was surprised by/didn’t even consider to be in the realm of environmental health are healthy nails salon program, body art, and waste tire enforcement. Thinking of it now, it makes complete sense that these programs are out to ensure these places are clean and sterile and that the chemicals used in these facilities are managed and wasted properly. 

Santa Clara County also has a Public Health Department . The services provided include Adult Immunization & Travel Clinic, Birth & Death Registration, Medical Marijuana ID Cards, Public Health Labs, STD/HIV Testing & Support and Water Testing for Fecal Contamination. 

6.7 Obesogens

From the Seasonal Food Guide, there are 104 foods in season in California in early October. Of those 104 my favorites are apples, broccoli, cantaloupe, carrots, celery, citrus fruits, cucumbers, edamame, ginger, grapes, green beans, kale, peaches, pears, pistachios, pomegranates, raspberries, snap peas, strawberries, and watermelon.

Utilizing seasonal/local foods into hospital menus is a fantastic idea. Not only will be providing seasonal/local foods make the meals overall healthier, but it will most likely be cheaper than all the food being shipping from all over the world. Using fruits and vegetables from your local source, means the food will taste better and be healthier for all the patients, staff, or visitors. 

I have heard of obesogons before and I knew obesogen was linked with obesity. Rereading how these compounds can actually disrupt the bodies normal functions (like endocrine disruptors) is saddening. One of the obesogons discussed in the article was Bisphenol A (BPA). After looking it up on ToxNet, I found that BPA is a known endocrine disruptor that is used in plastics. Not only do BPAs increase obesity rates, studies have also found that it increases an individual’s blood pressure levels and chances of developing peripheral artery disease. 

6.6 Use of Antibiotics

1. Antiobiotic Resistance 101: how antibiotic misuse on factory farms can make you sick

A couple of weeks ago, I actually read this article that was posted on Environmental Health News, Crucial antibiotics still used on US farms despite public health fears, and it clearly emphasizes this current article Antibiotic Resistance 101. The article posted by EHN is a newer article that states the FDA has set regulations banning the use of antibiotics on livestock without a prescription from a vet. Sadly, big companies’ product's; like Tyson, Cargill, and JBS; are still testing positive for antibiotics, in fact there was no reduction in the number of antibiotics. This is really scary to think about, especially for vulnerable populations. I hope the FDA and other governmental agencies can get on top of this before it becomes an even bigger issue.  

2. Nearby livestock may raise “superbug” risk

After reading the article Antibiotic Resistance 101 and then reading this article, it really goes to show how important it is for the government to take control of the amount of antibiotic use in livestock. The fact that MRSA has now become resistant to the antibiotics is scary to think about and proves that something needs to be done, now. 

3. Scientists discover that antimicrobial wipes and soaps may be making you (and society) sick

This article reminds me of a guy who comes to my gym and CONSTANTLY is wiping anything he uses with the antibacterial wipes. Yes, I understand that he is being cautious, and he is “protecting” himself from other people gross germs but whenever I see him doing this I can’t help to think what he is doing is not really helping. I actually have been an old-school soap and water kind of hand-washer since I was little, and I am happy this article proves that is has the same results of using antibiotic soaps. I do also always carry hand-sanitizer with me, but usually that is a last resort kind of option.  

4. A report about the new practice of incorporating antimicrobials into the manufacture of hospital furnishings

Hospitals are supposed to be one of the healthiest places to go. After reading how there is little evidence on the safety and efficacy of incorporating antimicrobials into the furnishings of hospitals, it is shocking. These are supposed to “reduce the spread of viruses and infections” and they could be but without the hard evidence, we will never know. Active research should be put into testing the safety and efficacy of these and a set of guidelines surrounding the type of furnishings are allowed into a hospital. 

6.4 Industrial Farming

I had heard before that the honeybees were disappearing and how that was bad for a lot of our fruits and veggies, but I personally never looked too much into. After watching “Vanishing of the Bees” I was surprised to see how profound the issue is. Hearing how these innocent creatures are being treated unnaturally and how they were being shipping thousands of miles just to pollinate our crops is really disturbing and saddening. I did my book review on a book that talked about all the ways industrial farming is ruining our natural ways of life, so I am not all that surprised to hear that even bees and honey are being commercialized. I actually remember seeing this article on Environmental Health News, called Active Ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup hurts honey bee guts, and after watching the video, I relooked it up and it goes to show that the evidence is out there. This documentary proves again why people should always choose certified organic products when possible, it is not only good for humans but it also good for the honeybees. 

Watching the documentary Dirt! really opened my eyes to how great dirt is. You would never think that it is a living organism and that it too is crucial to our health and wellbeing. It is great to hear that there are people all around the world who are determined to bring the health back into our dirt. 

In my current county (Santa Clara County), there are no current numbers on animals being factory farmed. It did show that in 2002, there was a broiler farm and a dairy farm. Digging more into the closest factory farms in the Bay Area, I found that in 2012 there was a chicken (layers) factory farm in Santa Cruz County and dairy farms in Marin County. Majority of big factory farms are located in Central California and in the dessert down in Southern California.       

I have not composted in the past and I do not currently compost. I do have a lot of friends who compost, and they have informed me for years on the added benefits of composting. After watching the documentary Dirt! I would definitely considering composting.