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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Occupational Safety and Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2019) | Viewed by 42628

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Faisal Khan

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Guest Editor

Faculty of Engineering & Applied Science, Centre for Risk, Integrity and Safety Engineering (C‐RISE), Memorial University, St. John's, Canada
Interests: risk assessment under uncertainty; dynamic risk assessment; safety challenges in harsh environment; operational safety; process hazard modelling and mitigation; safety management; operational risk management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The complexity in modern industrial systems is steadily on the increase, and this created a series of new hazards and increases the risk associated with the operations of a systems. Complexity poses a high risk due to the negligence of the principle of inherent safety and it has caused major industrial accidents in the recent past, resulting into economic losses, environmental degradation, and human losses. Analyzing the safety and reliability of these complex process systems is both challenging and demanding due to system dynamics. In complex industrial systems, accident causation is normally due to nonlinear interactions of various contributory factors. More often than not, process operational hazards do not usually get adequate attention in risk assessment and analysis. The safety and integrity of industrial systems are of paramount importance; therefore, a concerted effort is needed from all and sundry involved in these endeavours. To tackle this development, extensive research is needed in the area of risk assessment and the analysis of chemical process systems.

This Special Issue intends to provide an overview of the most recent advances in multi-disciplinary research connected to safety and risk analysis of industrial systems and the enhancement of the safety and operability of process systems. Research articles on the topics, associated with safety and reliability of technological systems, is invited.

Dr. Faisal Khan
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

accident modelling
safety management
inherent safety
process safety
economic risk
resilience engineering
risk assessment
dynamic risk
operation risk

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 1924 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Determination of Waste Industrial Dust Safety Characteristics

by Ivana Tureková, Eva Mračková and Iveta Marková

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(12), 2103; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16122103 - 14 Jun 2019

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 2721

Abstract

This article deals with the assessment of the hazards of dust waste generated by modern CNC (computer numerical control) technologies from the processing of resin-containing plastic composites. The change of the original material into dusty waste predicts the emergence of new hazardous characteristics such as flammability, explosiveness and adverse effects on employee health. The aim of this article is to determine the experimental measurement of dust particle size, its thermal degradation and safety characteristics. Sieve analysis showed that the representative sample contained a 93.8% weight of particles with a size of less than 0.4 mm. Three degrees of thermal degradation of industrial dust samples and heat production (exo reaction ∑ΔH = 9172.9 J/g) were determined by TG (thermogravimetry), DTA (differential thermal analysis) and DSC (differential scanning calorimetr) methods. The measurement safety characteristics such as the lower explosion limit, the maximum explosion pressure, the maximum pressure rise rate, and the calculated cubic constant confirmed that the dust is an explosive, and is determined as explosion class St1 (determined by Cubic constant). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Safety and Analysis)

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16 pages, 363 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mind the Gap: Professionalization is the Key to Strengthening Safety and Leadership in the Construction Sector

by Álvaro Romero, María de las Nieves González, María Segarra, Blasa María Villena and Ángel Rodríguez

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(11), 2045; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16112045 - 10 Jun 2019

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4669

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze the reality of risk prevention in construction sector companies in Spain, from the perspective of training, management, and risk prevention, as well as the amount of resources that are allocated to those budget headings. An in-depth comparative review has been conducted, using the data obtained from two focus groups that were expressly created for the study, in conjunction with the Second European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emergent Risks (ESENER-2) and its Spanish counterpart (ESENER-2 Spain). The focus groups were formed with agents and entrepreneurs involved in the construction sector, from both the public and the private sector, in order to provide greater impartiality to the resulting data. The principal strategic indicators that served as a guideline for the moderators of the different focus groups were analyzed. The results obtained show great similarity between the data from the focus groups and the data from ESENER-2 and ESENER-2 Spain; which demonstrates the idiosyncrasies that surround this productive sector in the European setting, so badly treated by the economic crisis. All of these points highlight the imperative need to professionalize the construction sector, implementing a “risk prevention culture” among all of the agents involved in the constructive-preventive processes that surround construction activities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Safety and Analysis)

18 pages, 342 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Issue of Compliance with Use of Personal Protective Equipment among Wastewater Workers across the Southeast Region of the United States

by Tamara Wright, Atin Adhikari, Jingjing Yin, Robert Vogel, Stacy Smallwood and Gulzar Shah

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(11), 2009; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16112009 - 05 Jun 2019

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 6122

Abstract

Wastewater workers are exposed to different occupational hazards such as chemicals, gases, viruses, and bacteria. Personal protective equipment (PPE) is a significant factor that can reduce or decrease the probability of an accident from hazardous exposures to chemicals and microbial contaminants. The purpose of this study was to examine wastewater worker’s beliefs and practices on wearing PPE through the integration of the Health Belief Model (HBM), identify the impact that management has on wastewater workers wearing PPE, and determine the predictors of PPE compliance among workers in the wastewater industry. Data was collected from 272 wastewater workers located at 33 wastewater facilities across the southeast region of the United States. Descriptive statistical analysis was conducted to present frequency distributions of participants’ knowledge and compliance with wearing PPE. Univariate and multiple linear regression models were applied to determine the association of predictors of interest with PPE compliance. Wastewater workers were knowledgeable of occupational exposures and PPE requirements at their facility. Positive predictors of PPE compliance were perceived susceptibility and perceived severity of contracting an occupational illness (p < 0.05). A negative association was identified between managers setting the example of wearing PPE sometimes and PPE compliance (p < 0.05). Utilizing perceived susceptibility and severity for safety programs and interventions may improve PPE compliance among wastewater workers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Safety and Analysis)

13 pages, 1000 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Macro Risk: A Versatile and Universal Strategy for Measuring the Overall Safety of Hazardous Industrial Installations in China

by Guantao Wang and Jingjing Pei

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(10), 1680; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16101680 - 14 May 2019

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2419

Abstract

In this work, macro risk is used to describe the overall safety of a group of hazards that are congeneric in a certain area, which can effectively help safety supervisors with goal setting and decision-making in China. To demonstrate this, the article proposes a calculation method to quantitatively study the macro risk of hazardous industrial installations. The method simultaneously considers the probability and consequences of accidents as the two core elements of risk, and the consequences cover losses with various dimensions. Assisted by related probability theory and binomial distribution, we analyzed historical accident statistics in detail to reveal hidden laws. To explore how to normalize the dimension of varied losses, the number of person-years was introduced as a loss equivalent to set up a method of conversion between loss of life and economic loss. The calculation method, which manifests a versatile and universal strategy of macro risk, was thus established. The value of the macro risk obtained possesses chronergy. Based on chronergy, two applications in China are further discussed, indicating this method is indeed feasible and practical for safety supervision. Specifically, it can help reasonably allocate regulatory resources by comparing macro risks of the same types of installations in various jurisdictions. In addition, it is conducive to a scientific determination of regulatory direction through the comparison of macro risks of various types of installations in the same jurisdiction. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Safety and Analysis)

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20 pages, 2024 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Developing A Case-Based Reasoning Model for Safety Accident Pre-Control and Decision Making in the Construction Industry

by Yikun Su, Shijing Yang, Kangning Liu, Kaicheng Hua and Qi Yao

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(9), 1511; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16091511 - 29 Apr 2019

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 4736

Abstract

Case-based reasoning (CBR) has been extensively employed in various construction management areas, involving construction cost prediction, duration estimation, risk management, tendering, bidding and procurement. However, there has been a dearth of research integrating CBR with construction safety management for preventing safety accidents. This paper proposes a CBR model which focuses on case retrieval and reuse to provide safety solutions for new problems. It begins with the identification of case problem attribute and solution attribute, the state of hazard is used to describe the problem attribute based on principles of people’s unsafe behavior and objective’s unsafe state. Frame-based knowledge representation method is adopted to establish the case database from dimensions of slot, facet and facet’s value. Besides, cloud graph method is introduced to determine the attribute weight through analyzing the numerical characteristics of expectation value, entropy value and hyper entropy value. Next, thesaurus method is employed to calculate the similarity between cases including word level similarity and sentence level similarity. Principles and procedures have been provided on case revise and case retain. Finally, a real-world case is conducted to illustrate the applicability and effectiveness of the proposed model. Considering the high potential for pre-control and decision-making of construction safety accident, the proposed model is expected to contribute safety managers to take decisions on prevention measures more efficiently. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Safety and Analysis)

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19 pages, 3760 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Health Risks of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) and Metals at Informal Electronic Waste Recycling Sites

by Chimere May Ohajinwa, Peter M. van Bodegom, Oladele Osibanjo, Qing Xie, Jingwen Chen, Martina G. Vijver and Willie J. G. M. Peijnenburg

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(6), 906; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16060906 - 13 Mar 2019

Cited by 36 | Viewed by 4522

Abstract

Concerns about the adverse public health consequences of informal electronic waste (e-waste) recycling are increasing. This study adopted a cross-sectional study design to gain insights into health risks (cancer and non-cancer risks) associated with exposure to e-waste chemicals among informal e-waste workers via three main routes: Dermal contact, ingestion, and inhalation. The e-waste chemicals (PBDE and metals) were measured in the dust and top soils at e-waste sites (burning, dismantling, and repair sites). Adverse health risks were calculated using the EPA model developed by the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States. The concentrations of the e-waste chemicals and the health risks at the e-waste sites increased as the intensity of the e-waste recycling activities increased: control sites < repair sites < dismantling sites < burning sites. Dermal contact was the main route of exposure while exposure via inhalation was negligible for both carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks. Cumulative health risks via all routes of exposure (inhalation, ingestion, and dermal contact) exceeded the acceptable limits of both non-cancer effects and cancer risk at all e-waste sites. This indicates that overall the e-waste workers are at the risk of adverse health effects. Therefore, the importance of occupational safety programs and management regulations for e-waste workers cannot be over emphasised. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Safety and Analysis)

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16 pages, 4831 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Ticket-Checking Failure on Dynamics of Pedestrians at Multi-Exit Inspection Points with Various Layouts

by Meiying Jiang, Qibing Jin and Lisheng Cheng

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(5), 846; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16050846 - 08 Mar 2019

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2384

Abstract

It is of great significance to understand the dynamics and risk level of pedestrians at the multi-exit inspection points, since they are the bottlenecks of pedestrian flow leaving public places, such as subway and railway stations. Microscopic simulations were carried out with a cellular automata model to investigate the effects of ticket-checking failure on pedestrian dynamics when passing through the multi-exit inspection points with parallel, convex and concave layouts. It was found that although ticket-checking failure could reduce the passing efficiency, it also lowers the competitive level between pedestrians and enhances passing safety in the range of medium and high pedestrian density. The competitive level decreases when increasing the probability of ticket-checking failure and the corresponding delay. The probability of ticket-checking failure and the corresponding delay have equivalent effects on passing efficiency and safety, and can be integrated as average delay. A fitted equation was proposed for the dependence of passing efficiency and safety on average delay. With the existence of ticket-checking failure in reality, the concave layout of the multi-exit inspection points gives rise to a much lower competitive level compared with the parallel and convex ones, which would enhance the safety of pedestrians at the exits. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Safety and Analysis)

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13 pages, 824 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Compliance with Standard Precautions among Clinical Nurses: Validity and Reliability of the Italian Version of the Compliance with Standard Precautions Scale (CSPS-It)

by Daniele Donati, Valentina Biagioli, Claudia Cianfrocca, Maria Grazia De Marinis and Daniela Tartaglini

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(1), 121; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16010121 - 04 Jan 2019

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 5838

Abstract

Background: The compliance with Standard Precautions (SPs) guidelines, as a primary strategy for the prevention of healthcare associated infections, is still suboptimal among healthcare providers. However, no instrument measuring nurses’ compliance with SPs is available in Italian. This study aims to assess the validity and reliability of the Compliance with Standard Precaution Scale–Italian version (CSPS-It) among clinical nurses. Methods: The study consisted of two phases: (1) translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the CSPS; (2) validity and reliability evaluation of the CSPS-It. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and hypothesis testing were performed to evaluate the construct validity. Cronbach’s alpha, intra-class correlation coefficient of test-retest scores, and item-total correlations were computed to establish reliability. Results: The CSPS-It showed a sound validity and reliability. The unidimensional model tested at CFA yielded acceptable fit indices. The hypothesis testing supported better nurses’ compliance based on participation in at least one training course on SPs. Conclusions: The CSPS-It is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring the compliance with SPs among clinical nurses. This version will allow for the conduction of further studies in favor of progress in this specific field of research. Managers should pay greater attention in monitoring compliance with SPs among clinical nurses. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Safety and Analysis)

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12 pages, 2731 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Relationship between Free Press and Under-Reporting of Non-Fatal Occupational Injuries with Data from Representative National Indicators, 2015: Focusing on the Lethality Rate of Occupational Injuries among 39 Countries

by Sung-Shil Lim, Jin-Ha Yoon, Jeongbae Rhie, Suk Won Bae, Jihyun Kim and Jong-Uk Won

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(12), 2856; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15122856 - 14 Dec 2018

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2988

Abstract

The epidemiology of occupational injuries is reported worldwide, but suspicions of under-reporting prevail, probably associated with free press. We examined the association between freedom of the press and lethality rate of occupational injuries based on the most comprehensive International Labour Organization database on labour statistics (ILOSTAT) among 39 countries. The occupational injury indices, national indicators, and information on freedom of the press in 2015 were sourced from ILOSTAT, World Bank open data, World Health Organization and Freedom House. The lethality rate was the number of fatal occupational injuries per 10,000 total occupational injuries. The relationship among fatal and total occupation injury rates, lethality rate, and national statistics were analysed using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients. Multivariable linear regression models with bootstrap estimation to manage non-normality determined freedom of the press associated with lethality rate. Freedom of the press was significantly correlated with fatal and total occupational injury rate and lethality rate of occupational injuries. Adjusting for national indicators, only freedom of the press was associated with lethality rate per 10,000 occupational injuries in the report of ILOSTAT. The lethality rate of occupational injury reported by each country might not reflect the actual lethality, but under-reported nonfatal occupational injuries, probably relating to freedom of the press. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Safety and Analysis)

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Review

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23 pages, 1274 KiB

Open AccessReview

Quantitative Measures of Physical Risk Factors Associated with Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders of the Elbow: A Systematic Review

by David H. Seidel, Dirk M. Ditchen, Ulrike M. Hoehne-Hückstädt, Monika A. Rieger and Benjamin Steinhilber

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(1), 130; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16010130 - 05 Jan 2019

Cited by 30 | Viewed by 5755

Abstract

Background: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders at the elbow are a common health problem, which highly impacts workers’ well-being and performance. Besides existing qualitative information, there is a clear lack of quantitative information of physical risk factors associated with specific disorders at the elbow (SDEs). Objective: To provide evidence-based quantitative measures of physical risk factors associated with SDEs. Methods: Studies were searched from 2007 to 2017 in Medline, EMBASE, and Cochrane Work. The identified risk factors were grouped in main- and sub-categories of exposure using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) framework for rating evidence. Results: 133 different risk-factor specifications were identified in 10/524 articles and were grouped into 5 main- and 16 sub-categories of exposure. The risk factors were significantly associated with lateral epicondylitis, medial epicondylitis, or ulnar neuropathy. Significant risk factors such as wrist angular velocity (5°/s, with increasing prevalence ratio of 0.10%/(°/s), or forearm supination (≥45° and ≥5% of time combined with forceful lifting) were found. Conclusions: This review delivers a categorization of work-related physical risk-factor specifications for SDEs with a special focus on quantitative measures, ranked for evidence. These results may build the base for developing risk assessment methods and prospective preventive measures. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Safety and Analysis)

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