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Control technology assessment: Metal plating and cleaning operations
produces estimates of the effects of variables included in the analysis, but does not imply estimates of the effects of variables left out of the analysis. In particular, these models do not imply that other factors (such as safety programs and improvements) are unrelated to fatality decreases. Second, a model describes the observed coinciding of changes among variables, but does not of itself imply cause and effect. Inferences of causal relationships (between, for example, the economy and fatalities via changes in travel patterns) are made by people- usually subject matter specialists - to explain the model. Third, predictions from the model are the responsibility of the analyst making them. Predictions are especially tenuous when based upon data beyond the range of the historical experience used to create the model.
Occupational
Safety
Control Technology Assessment: Metal Plating and Cleaning Operations. 1. W. Sheehy, V. 0. Mortimm, and I. H. Jones, National Institute for Occupational Safety CLHealth, Cincinnati, OH, December 1984. Report No. DHHS (NIOSH) 85-102. As a result of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (PL 91-596), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has instituted a major program to prevent occupational health problems through the application of control technology in the workplace. The goal of this program is to stimulate private industry to prevent hazardous exposures to workers and to document successful approaches and applications of control measures. The plating and cleaning (metal finishing) industry was selected for a control technology assessment study because of the use of substances that are recognized health hazards such as hexavalent chromium, sulfuric acid, and cyanide. A large number of plating and cleaning shops involve manual operations such as dipping and masking where potential exposure to hazardous substances is high. In addition, a major portion of the plating and cleaning industry are small businesses, lacking the resources to develop 138
information on the prevention of excessive occupational exposure on their own. The study was performed through a review of the technical literature on plating processes and equipment and their associated hazards, preliminary surveys of approximately 30 electroplating plants, and 9 in-depth surveys at 8 electroplating plants. Preliminary surveys were conducted to further identify control methods, select plant locations for in-depth surveys, and to finalize sampling protocol. The in-depth surveys consisted of industrial hygiene measurements of selected hazards, engineering evaluation, and documentation of control methods. The in-depth survey sites, their plating and cleaning baths, and the associated hazards are presented in Table l-l. This report examines control methods and systems for specific plating baths and cleaning solutions such as chromic acid, cadmium, cyanide, and mixed acid cleaners. Sixty-four plating and cleaning tanks were evaluated with the major emphasis on hard chromium plating. Individual plant reports which include more detailed information on specific plant processes and controls are available from the National Technical Information Service.
Effects of Video Display Terminals in a Business Office. S. I. Starr, Human Factors, 1984, 26(3), 347-356. A self-administered questionnaire was completed by 211 workers in a business office who used video display terminals (VDTs) to do their work and by 148 control subjects who did the same job using paper documents instead of VDTs. The groups exhibited few differences in the likelihood and intensity of on-the-job physical discomfort, and no differences in the perception of discomfort that lingered after work. Almost identical proportions of subjects in the two groups reported that their vision had grown worse recently. Differences were found in job satisfaction and concerns about job security, but most of these favored VDT users. The use of an intermediate standard of comparison showed that the visual quality of VDT displays was preferred to that of the paper documents they replaced. The results confirm and extend the findings of the author’s earlier study of tele]ournal of Safety Research
Occupational
Safety
Control Technology Assessment: Metal Plating and Cleaning Operations. 1. W. Sheehy, V. 0. Mortimm, and I. H. Jones, National Institute for Occupational Safety CLHealth, Cincinnati, OH, December 1984. Report No. DHHS (NIOSH) 85-102. As a result of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (PL 91-596), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has instituted a major program to prevent occupational health problems through the application of control technology in the workplace. The goal of this program is to stimulate private industry to prevent hazardous exposures to workers and to document successful approaches and applications of control measures. The plating and cleaning (metal finishing) industry was selected for a control technology assessment study because of the use of substances that are recognized health hazards such as hexavalent chromium, sulfuric acid, and cyanide. A large number of plating and cleaning shops involve manual operations such as dipping and masking where potential exposure to hazardous substances is high. In addition, a major portion of the plating and cleaning industry are small businesses, lacking the resources to develop 138
information on the prevention of excessive occupational exposure on their own. The study was performed through a review of the technical literature on plating processes and equipment and their associated hazards, preliminary surveys of approximately 30 electroplating plants, and 9 in-depth surveys at 8 electroplating plants. Preliminary surveys were conducted to further identify control methods, select plant locations for in-depth surveys, and to finalize sampling protocol. The in-depth surveys consisted of industrial hygiene measurements of selected hazards, engineering evaluation, and documentation of control methods. The in-depth survey sites, their plating and cleaning baths, and the associated hazards are presented in Table l-l. This report examines control methods and systems for specific plating baths and cleaning solutions such as chromic acid, cadmium, cyanide, and mixed acid cleaners. Sixty-four plating and cleaning tanks were evaluated with the major emphasis on hard chromium plating. Individual plant reports which include more detailed information on specific plant processes and controls are available from the National Technical Information Service.
Effects of Video Display Terminals in a Business Office. S. I. Starr, Human Factors, 1984, 26(3), 347-356. A self-administered questionnaire was completed by 211 workers in a business office who used video display terminals (VDTs) to do their work and by 148 control subjects who did the same job using paper documents instead of VDTs. The groups exhibited few differences in the likelihood and intensity of on-the-job physical discomfort, and no differences in the perception of discomfort that lingered after work. Almost identical proportions of subjects in the two groups reported that their vision had grown worse recently. Differences were found in job satisfaction and concerns about job security, but most of these favored VDT users. The use of an intermediate standard of comparison showed that the visual quality of VDT displays was preferred to that of the paper documents they replaced. The results confirm and extend the findings of the author’s earlier study of tele]ournal of Safety Research