Kera's Environmental and Occupational Health Blog

Because my workplace does not deal with chemicals it was very difficult for me to find a MSDS. However, my husband works at the US Geological Survey and works with chemicals all the time. When I asked to see his MSDS, he said "Which one?". We chose to look at Hydrofluoric Acid (HF). He uses this substance about 5 times a month.  The potential dangers that we found with this chemical is that: 1) Severe acidic burns  2) Seeps into skin 2) Toxic fumes 3) Could cause heart attack if left untreated 4) Readily available neutralizer- Calcium Glutimate Precautions:  1) full acid suits 2) fume hood 3) Cannot have BPA-has to be pure nalgene type plastic Was the MSDS an adequate tool for a worker to use to gain an understanding about the potential health risks and how to protect him/herself? (Consider that the general public reads at a reading level at or below 6th grade, and that's if English is their first language.) Looking at my husband's MSDS, it is not an...

The occupationally-related disease that I chose to look into is  Silicosis. My husband is a geologist and works a lot with silica dust. The US Geological survey takes many different precautions when it comes with working with the material, but I wanted to take a look to see what the specific regulations would be regarding exposure to it. When I looked up OSHA regulations, it said " To protect workers exposed to respirable crystalline silica, OSHA has issued two respirable crystalline silica standards: one for construction, and the other for general industry and maritime ". My husband is not in construction, but I wanted to see what both of the regulations did.  1) Construction:  Establish and implement a written exposure control plan that identifies tasks that involve exposure and methods used to protect workers, including procedures to restrict access to work areas where high exposures may occur. Designate a competent person to implement the written exposure control...

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is an organization that is within the Center for Disease Control that works to study how we can reduce worker related illnesses, injury and improve the well-being of all workers. Through this research they promote safe and healthy working conditions via interventions, recommendations, and capacity building. They also collaborate around the world to inform and improve working conditions for all. This organization related to my health and safety, because the research that they have done previously has lead to better working conditions for a lot of people and have paved the way for future research in this field to promote even safer working environment. 

At the VA, we have a lot of various types of workplace issues depending on what you do. In my line of work (research), we are rarely exposed to high levels of radiological, biological, or chemical hazards because we are not located in the main hospital-we are in our own building for psychological research. However, because there is a lot of computer time there are many issues with Ergonomics. Because of the high use of computers, the VA requests its new employees to take an hour long ergonomic class where they provide you with valuable information and ergonomic tools depending on what your needs are. They are very helpful when it comes to preventing workplace injuries when it comes to ergonomics. Using the hierarchy of controls, I would address the issue by: removing any equipment that might promote poor ergonomic motions, replace them with better ergonomic ones, educate people on how to prevent ergonomic injuries, implement policies that promote better ergonomic work places, prov...

Lead, Herbert Needleman: I found it interesting that Lead actually has a sweet flavor and that it was useful for winemakers to use it to counteract the astringent flavor in grapes. In the late sixteenth century it was discovered that the Lead in the wine was causing people to get sick. It is shocking that even though we knew a long time ago that Lead was bad news, we still continued to use it. An environmental health response to a severe outbreak of childhood lead poisoning in Nigeria, Casey Bartrem: This is an amazing story of how one community came together to combat lead poisoning in their children (>400 deaths in children younger than 5). Entities from all walks of life swooped in and acted quickly to offer chelation treatments resulting in blood lead levels significantly declining. Nigerian authorities rallied together with local leaders to advocate for safer mining condition to prevent future disasters like this one. The cooperation of all of these entities provides hope ...

Green Chemistry is  is the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances. This process allows for a better and more sustainable environment, due to the lack of non reusable chemicals. One example of Green Chemistry is biodegradable plastics. The manufacturers actually make food containers using a   polymer called polylactic acid. Polylactic acid is made using microorganisms that convert cornstarch into a resin.  This resin is biodegradable, erasing the need for plastic. I think that the 12 principles of green chemistry are great guidelines that should be followed as manufacturers continue to develop more green products. It can help set standards and regulations when we begin to (hopefully) move toward a more sustainable and green environment.

The chemicals that I chose to look more in depth at were bisphenols & phthalates. These chemicals are used to harden products or make them more flexible. However, both have serious health repercussions associated with them. Even at low levels, these negative health risks are seen. Bisphenols & phthalates are considered endocrine disruptors and can mimic or block necessary hormones.  The most vulnerable population to these  chemicals are babies and fetuses, who are experiencing vital hormonal changes. Due to the uproar in banning BPA, chemical companies have just created similar chemicals that do the exact same thing with the same health consequences and naming it something else-while promoting the product as BPA free. It is important that we stay away from  bisphenols & phthalates, and that is fairly easy to do because they wash out of our system pretty quickly. However, these kinds of chemicals are everywhere and being aware of what products have th...

I believe an ideal chemical policy would be a requirement for extensive testing on chemicals being used in products by the population. I believe these chemicals should go through similar testing and retesting of the effects on humans before being able to be widely distributed. The policy would be similar to the guidelines that drug trials must go through in order for the FDA to approve them and to get on the market. The chemicals that are being produced are only seen from one side, whether they preform the job well or not. However, the negative health effects that may come with continued use and exposure of these chemicals is not discovered until down the road and then it becomes a problem to get the chemical off the market. If there were rigorous testing and approvals for the chemicals to go through, these retractions might cease and the public's health might improve.

The background subject I chose was more comprehensive knowledge for safety data for all chemicals. We learned in the first few weeks of this class about the various ingredients in our products and found out that many companies use "proprietary information" to avoid listing various ingredients. This support of industry has gone too far in the sense that regulations are protecting these companies instead of the public. This background paper discussed the importance that having safety information made readily available to all people to ensure comprehensive understanding of the risks involved with the chemicals that we are exposed to. We as human beings have right to know what dangers we might be exposed to and these companies should be transparent to respect this right. This paper was vary informative and called for companies to be required to report all chemicals that they use and the potential health effects.

What did you find out about the pesticide residues that may be in or on your food?  I think that it is alarming that there were 33 pesticides on my broccoli and that a majority of them were hormone distributors. It is well known that vegetables are good for you, but to know that there are all of these toxic pesticides on the health foods we are eating.  For the chicken breast, there were 7 known pesticides. To see that both of these products have Honeybee toxins is concerning because the honeybee population is so important to the survival of the environment that we know. What should we be doing about this in terms of public health, not just in terms of our personal choices? There should be more regulations around the various pesticides that are used on all of the food that we eat and more environmental push back to continue to preserve honeybees. 

The San Mateo County Environmental Health Services department covers all of San Mateo county-including Half Moon Bay. They offer a wide variety of services, like hazardous waste removal, information on water protection and use, and pollution prevention-just to name a few. One that I was surprised about was that they also watch over tattoo shops, massage parlors, and public pools. They also have housing programs to help low income families and a food program to make sure the occupants of San Mateo county are cared for. It was interesting to see a wide variety of services that the department offers, especially ones that you wouldn't normally think of. 

I chose the department of Agriculture. Agriculture plays a major role in the environmental quality. They do this through "leadership  on food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, nutrition". A lot of pollutants in the environment come from agriculture (farming, dairies etc.). They help rural america thrive, by pushing policy agendas with agricultural growth at the forefront. This is beneficial for us to have readily available food, however, it comes at a cost-the environment.  They consider the benefits to the farmers and the agriculture communities, but they lack understanding or motivation to improve the environment at the same time. 

The topic that I chose for my literature review is air pollutants and industrial size dairies in the Central Valley. The local regulatory agency is the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. The state regulatory agency is the California Air Resources Board. The federal regulatory agency is the Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Department of Agriculture.  When I did some digging it seemed like the local regulatory agency did not believe that there were health risks associated with agriculture and dairies. The California Air Resources Board is a but more understanding and had an entire section of their website devoted to agriculture and it's effects on California's environment. The EPA is backed by the Trump administration, and found no evidence that they were going to do anything about the health risks that come to those who work or live near industrial sized dairies. 

Utilizing the first article, discuss what is locally grown and what is currently in season in your area. I live in Half Moon Bay and currently  pumpkins, corn, apples, soon to be Brussels sprouts. Locally we grow all of these things. The community of Half Moon Bay is very conscientious about growing, selling, and eating locally sourced food.   Discuss your thoughts on seasonal/local foods and hospital menus.  I think that it is a great way to promote local agriculture and improve health of hospital patients, visitors, and employees. When you use locally sourced produce, the quality is better because it hasn't been sitting in a refrigerated truck for days. The patients are able to get fresher sources of vitamins and may experience better health outcomes because of this. They are also exposed to different types of food that they might not normally be exposed to. Find a Harvest Calendar for your state (or a state you are interested in) utilizing the ...

ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE 101: HOW ANTIBIOTIC MISUSE ON FACTORY FARMS CAN MAKE YOU SICK Thoughts: The livestock and agricultural industry are more concerned about squeezing every dime out of the consumer's pocket then they are with keeping those consumers alive. This is a major problem. I kept thinking while reading this article, how is it that industry has gotten their hands on a substance that only health care professionals should have? At least we know that the goal of health care professionals is to save lives, not think only of their profits. There is a growing body of evidence, that Antibiotic resistance can come from animal-to-human transfers. This resistance means that people stay sicker longer and have to take multiple rounds of stronger antibiotics, which is not what they were originally developed for. NEARBY LIVESTOCK MAY RAISE 'SUPERBUG' RISK Thoughts: I lived in Bakersfield all my life (until I moved to the Bay Area 5 years ago). Bakersfield is full of cattle...

I am aware of the issue of vanishing bees. I found the teatronaturale article very interesting and informative. My dad used to bee keep (part of his many hobbies) in our home in Bakersfield. He taught me how valuable bees are and to not be afraid of them. He explained to me the importance that bees have on the environment and the world we know. This article addressed a lot of the concerns that he had told me about when I was growing up. One thing I did not realize before reading this article, was that loss of pollinators can cause detrimental health effects.  " The researchers found that the complete loss of animal pollinators globally would push an additional 71 million people into vitamin A deficiency and 173 million more into folate deficiency, and would lead to about 1.42 million additional deaths per year from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and malnutrition-related diseases—a 2.7% increase in total yearly deaths. A 50% loss of pollination would result in roughly ...