Orientador: Otávio José de Oliveira / Banca: João Candido Fernandes / Banca: Mario Cezar Rodriguez Vidal / Resumo: As organizações têm enfrentado desafios relacionados à produtividade, desenvolvimento sustentável, posicionamento estratégico, motivação e bem estar de seus empregados. Neste contexto, o desempenho de Sistemas de Segurança e Saúde no Trabalho (SSST) ganha um significado cada vez mais importante nos resultados das empresas por meio da redução dos riscos de acidentes e promoção da saúde e da satisfação dos trabalhadores. No entanto, para que um SSST obtenha bons resultados, as organizações precisam estar atentas às dificuldades comumente encontradas durante o seu processo de implantação, procurando solucioná-las de maneira antecipada e estruturada. Pelo exposto, esta dissertação tem como objetivo elaborar recomendações baseadas no referencial teórico e nas boas práticas e dificuldades evidenciadas nos estudos de caso, que contribuiam com a implantação de sisteamas de segurança e saúde no trabalho em empresas fabricantes de baterias automotivas. Para o desenvolvimento da pesquisa optou-se pelo método de pesquisa qualitativa com base na elaboração de dois estudos de caso em empresas localizadas na cidade de Bauru. Os instrumentos de coleta de dados utilizados foram entrevistas semi-estruturadas, análise de documentos e observação in loco. Ao final da dissertação são propostas recomendações para implantação deste sistema relacionadas aos seguintes elementos: alta direção, estratégia organizacional, cultura organizacional, departamento de segurança e saúde do trabalho, técnicos de segurança e saúde do trabalho, recursos humanos, treinamentos, equipes multidisciplinares para solução de problemas de segurança e saúde do trabalho, comunicação interna, resistência à mudança, indicadores de desempenho, ferramentas gerenciais para solução de problemas, gestão de projetos, recompensas e incentivos, e integração dos sistemas. / Abstract: Organizations have been facing challenges related to their employees' productivity, sustainable development, strategic positioning, motivation and welfare. In such a context, the occupational health and safety systems gains an ever-present major relevance in the companies' results, through the reduction of occupational hazards and the fostering of their workers' health and self-fulfillment. Nevertheless, for the occupational health and safety systems to achieve good results, organizations must be attentive to the difficulties they frequently have to overcome along their implantation process, by seeking to solve them in a structure in-advance manner. As already outlined, this dissertation has a its main purpose the development of suggestions based upon the theoretical referential and on the good practices and difficulties avidenced in the case studies, wich may contribute towards the implantation of the occupational health and safety systems in those companies which manufacture automotive batteries. The qualitative research method was chosen for the development of this work, relying on two case studies in companies in the city of Bauru. The data collection tools used were semi-structured interviews, documents analysis and in loco observation. At the end of this dissertation, suggestions are given for the implantation of such system, related to the elements which follow: high administration, organizational strategy, organizational culture, a department of the occupational health and safety with its respective technicians, human resources, training, multidisciplinary teams for solving the occupational health and safety problems, internal communication, resistance to changes, performance indicators, problem-solving managerial tools, management of projects, rewards and incentives, and also integration to the systems. / Mestre

Thesis (MPH.) -- University of Limpopo, 2005 / Refer to document

The Missouri Poultry Cohort is a historical cohort investigation of mortality among workers highly exposed to the poultry oncogenic viruses which are suspected cancer causing agents in humans. Workers were also exposed to fumes from PVC-wrapping activities that contain chemicals known or suspected to produce cancer in humans The cohort mortality pattern is similar to what is often observed in occupational studies, where the healthy worker effect takes place As a group, cancer mortality also does not shows excess. However, cancer of bronchus, trachea & lung and cancer of kidney present statistically significant excess when the plants are introduced in the analysis. A positive dose response relationship was found for cancer of bronchus, trachea & lung, and cancer of kidney by means of latency and duration of employment analysis. In lesser extent, some cancers of the lymphopoietic system are also excessive: Lymphosarcoma & Reticulosarcoma, Leukemia & Aleukemia, and Cancer of All Other Lymphopoietic Tissues. Several other cancers also are excessive as cancer of stomach, cancer of large intestine, cancer of pancreas, cancer of bladder, cancer of cervix, cancer of thyroid, and cancer of central nervous system The cohort experienced an excessive mortality of Non-Malignant Respiratory Diseases. From the external causes of death, Motor Vehicle Accidents and Homicides & Other External Causes are also in excess. All other causes of death, covering a broad spectrum of diseases, also presents excess By taking race into consideration in the PMR analysis it was identified that the cancer of bronchus, trachea & lung excess is greater in the nonwhite female group. In lesser extent, it also suggests nonwhite-male excess of cancer of bronchus, trachea & lung The major limitations of this investigation are the relative short time of follow-up, the potential role of confounding factors that were not taken into account in the assessment of risk, and the small number of observed deaths in the cancers of interest The major strengths are the high intensity of chicken oncogenic viruses exposure in a homogeneous population, the assessment of missing information in the SMR analysis, and the consistency of the positive cancer results of this investigation with previous findings from occupational investigations in the Chicken Slaughtering/Processing Industry / acase@tulane.edu

There is growing evidence that natural disasters can trigger technological disasters, and that these joint events (also known as natechs) may pose tremendous risks to regions which are unprepared for such events. The recent floods across Europe in the summer of 2002 and the unprecedented multiple hazardous materials releases triggered by the Turkey earthquake of August 1999 were examples showing the potential danger of a natech disaster occurring near populated areas. However, there is scarce information available on the interactions between natural disasters and simultaneous technological accidents This dissertation provides an overview of the natech problem through the development of five related but independent research studies that identify natech disaster scenarios at industrial facilities subject to natural hazards, documents and analyzes natech incidents and risk management and emergency response practices for earthquake triggered hazardous materials releases during the Turkey earthquake of August 17, 1999, and assess risk management and emergency response for earthquake-induced chemical accidents in the US The dissertation demonstrates that the likelihood of joint natural and technological disasters is high, while preparedness for joint natechs is low Both the study of potential hurricane-triggered hazmat release scenarios and the study of hazmat releases during the Turkey earthquake demonstrated that joint natural disasters and technological disasters act synergistically to produce a much greater threat than either type of hazard alone. Furthermore, the different natural hazards associated with natechs all have the potential to produce a high amount of property damage, economic loss, and a high level of potential health threats to workers and the surrounding communities / acase@tulane.edu

Purpose. To determine the extent to which the MOR and PMR correctly identify true underlying associations between certain occupations/industries and mortality from specific cancers and what the important determinants are that contribute towards valid estimation of risk when they are employed Methodology. A literature review of relevant occupational risk factors for lung cancer, pleural cancer, acute myeloid leukemia and soft tissue sarcoma was conducted to determine the extent to which the study findings were supported by other studies. Death certificate data from 26 states in the United States that routinely code occupation and industry on the death certificates of decedents between 1985 and 1998 were used for this study. Both proportionate mortality and case-control studies were used to investigate the extent to which PMR and MOR were influenced by: (1) the choice of three different reference populations; and (2) reliability of the cause of death information as measured by detection and confirmation rates. It also determined whether the direction of bias remained consistent for cancers with well established (asbestos, benzene) and those with less established (solvents, diesel) carcinogens in certain occupations. Finally, similar but limited analyses were made using industry rather than occupation to determine whether estimates of the MOR and PMR differed Results. The results from the MOR and PMR investigation correctly identified risks for lung cancer, mesothelioma and acute myeloid leukemia, although they did not reflect the estimates published in the literature. An improvement in the odds ratio was observed for only lung and pleural/peritoneal cancer and soft tissue neoplasms when cancers caused by the same exposure under investigation were removed from the control group. In the case of the PMR, the proportionate cancer mortality ratio (PMCR) was an improvement over the PMR since it was possible to control for the healthy worker effect Both the MOR and PMR were influenced by the use of different measures of exposure (occupation titles, industry titles and a combination of both) Conclusions. The choice of reference diseases, type of exposure coding and confirmation and detection rates determines whether the MOR and PMR reliably identify associations between certain occupations and industries and mortality from specific cancers. Investigations based on exclusively on death certificate data ought not to be interpreted without substantial support of other rigorous investigations such as cohort studies, but are a valuable tool in epidemiological investigations for hypothesis generating / acase@tulane.edu

The purpose of this investigation was to explore relationships between accidents and demographic variables, attitudes, values and opinions about safety held by workers, and to compare accident rates (and performance records) of workers. Identification of attitudes toward safety that differentiate safe from unsafe employees could assist organizations in enhancing the safety of the workplace through identification or specialized training of potentially unsafe workers This study utilizes field data, collected by an offshore drilling company, using its Offshore Questionnaire (OQ). Information for the predictor variables (Offshore Questionnaire, Demographics, and BMCT) was provided by the company. Analyses were conducted to evaluate the hypotheses and to examine the dimensions of the OQ The findings in this study serve both to confirm some and contradict other previous findings. Kunce (1967) found a relationship between tenure and accidents. In the present study those positions requiring more experience--and, therefore, tenure--did have a significantly lower accident rate than entry-level positions It would appear that workers in the offshore industry are experiencing some of the same changes that the industry itself is experiencing. Rather than pioneers exploring new frontiers, workers today are experienced, well-trained professionals involved in oil and gas production and extraction. Working offshore is still a risky occupation, however the maturity of the industry allows many of these risks to be anticipated. The identification of these risks, combined with the selection and training of workers, could provide the industry the opportunity to be a safer and more productive workplace / acase@tulane.edu

Findings from a cohort mortality study between 1949-1980 of 28,900 members of a meatcutter's union in Baltimore, Maryland, suggested that certain workers in the meat industry have an excess risk of death from tumors of the hemopoietic/lymphatic systems (HLS). The aim of the present case-control study, nested in the Baltimore cohort study, was to investigate whether any job-categories and related tasks are associated with an excess of death from tumors of the HLS, taking into account length of exposure, as well as potential confounding factors in the assessment of risk While the cohort study was being concluded, all subjects who died from tumors of the HLS in Maryland were identified, and their next-of-kin interviewed by telephone to provide detailed information on history of occupation, lifestyle, diet, medical conditions, use of medications, leisure, etc. Controls were randomly selected from deceased members who had never been diagnosed with cancer of the HLS. Inclusion of controls was restricted to those who had lived at least as long as an assigned case. Additional data from the employment records of the Union and medical charts were used to validate occupational exposures and the cause of death Consistent results were obtained with (1) different statistical approaches viz. unmatched analyses with one control per case (n = 106) or two controls per case (n = 159) and matched analysis with one control per case; and (2) different sources of information including data from the interviews of the next-of-kin and limited data from the Union's records. The main findings are as follows: (1) Increased risks of all tumors of the HLS were observed among workers in the meat industry in general, and in abattoirs, grocery stores/supermarkets, and chicken-slaughtering plants specifically. Workers in meatpacking plants were at decreased risk. (2) Meat-related tasks with high exposure to oncogenic viruses such as butcher, work in kill/dress areas involving slaughtering activities were highly associated with tumors of the HLS. (3) The positive associations between job-categories and specific occupational tasks and tumors of the HLS remained stable after controlling for exposure to pesticides, working/living on pig farms, and exposure to X-rays. (4) The excess risks of tumors of the HLS seen throughout the meat industry, except in meatpacking plants, were mostly due to lymphomas. In supermarkets, myeloid tumors and multiple myeloma also contributed to the excess risk. There was a suggestion also of an increased risk of myeloid leukemia in abattoirs. (5) There was no sex-related difference in the risk of developing all tumors of the HLS in the meat industry in general and within each job-category, except for supermarket workers. In this department, lymphomas and leukemias were predominant in females who are exclusively engaged in wrapping, while multiple myeloma was over-represented in men. (6) The observed risks generally increased for long duration of employment in abattoirs and chicken-slaughtering plants, except in grocery stores/supermarkets where an inverse dose-response relationship, or lack of it was observed. (Abstract shortened by UMI.) / acase@tulane.edu

acase@tulane.edu

No description available.

This thesis explores the occupational health and safety risks facing labour hire employees (also known as temporary agency workers) in the Australian state of Victoria. Three questions are considered. First do labour hire employees face greater risk of injury and disease than direct hire employees? Second, if so, which characteristics of labour hire employment contribute to a higher rate of injury? Third, what characteristics of labour hire employment reduce the likelihood of injured employees returning to work and being rehabilitated? The first question is answered by an aggregate analysis of data drawn from all workers' compensation claim files in Victoria between 1994/5 and 2000/1 contrasting the frequency of injury for both temporary agency employees and direct hire employees. Second a unique sub sample of individual investigated claim files was then examined to test employment factors that could account for the higher frequency of injury amongst agency workers. A third data source involved a survey and focus groups of temporary agency workers. This provided supplementary data on the work experiences of labour hire employees. A number of conclusions are drawn. Labour hire employees are more likely to be injured at work than their direct hire counterparts. Factors explaining this include economic pressures, disorganisation at the host workplace, and regulatory failure for agency employees. Several of these factors are uniquely related to the triangular nature of labour hire arrangements. Once injured at work, labour hire employees are especially disadvantaged relative to direct hire employees through the reluctance of many labour hire employers to offer further employment. This reduces the capacity of labour hire workers to return to meaningful employment. Regulatory failure stemming from both employment and occupational health and safety legislation underpins the greater likelihood of agency workers being injured at work and then dispensed with by employers. Until the uniqueness of their triangular relationship with employers and hosts is recognised through appropriate regulatory intervention, their greater occupational health and safety risks will not be overcome.