Joseph D. Bowman

Exposures to Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) Electromagnetic Fields in Occupations with Elevated Leukemia Rates

Abstract In previous epidemiological studies, elevated leukemia rates have been found in a collection of occupational categories of “electrical workers.” In this study, spot measurements were taken of the Extremely Low Frequency (below 100 Hz) electric and magnetic field exposures of “electrical workers” at 114 work sites at an electric utility, an aerospace firm, a municipal government, motion picture theaters, and TV repair shops. For comparison, the fields were measured in 18 residences and 3 offices. The residential measurements had 95th percentiles at 3.4 × 10-7 Tesla for magnetic fields and 33.1 volts/meter for electric fields. For magnetic fields, the 95th percentile of the residential measurements was exceeded by 59 percent of the occupational measurements, covering all the “electrical worker” job categories with the exception of radio operators. The highest magnetic field encountered was 1250 × 10-7 Tesla on a battery-powered fork lift operator, which had not been considered an “electrical worker...

A Field Evaluation of Mandelic Acid in Urine as a Compliance Monitor for Styrene Exposure

Abstract The Special Studies Unit of Cal/OSHA monitored mandelic acid in urine and styrene exposure in a survey of 324 workers in the fiberglass-reinforced plastics industry. The urine was sampled at the end of the shift, and the mandelic acid was analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. A stepwise regression analysis shows that the mandelic acid (MA) concentration is affected by the styrene concentration, the urines specific gravity, effective respirator usage, work rate, and sampling on Friday; it is unaffected by skin exposure to styrene or exposure to other solvents. The regression model supports the Biological Exposure Index (BEI) of 1 g/L if the MA concentration is standardized for specific gravity. In a comparison of styrene and MA compliance decision, 7 percent of the subjects were false positives, i.e., violating the BEI while in compliance with the styrene threshold limit value. Since one of the false positives was using an organic vapor respirator, the MA monitoring did demonstrate ...

Evaluating Employee Participation Programs Addressing Health, Safety, and Ergonomic Issues in the United States

With the increase of system complexity, organizations are having to respond to these new demands by utilizing employee involvement methods. This paper attempts to review and examine representative studies of employee participation with particular focus on health, safety and ergonomic issues. Four topics are presented in this paper (1) the different organizational forms of participatory approaches (2) goals of the employee participation programs (3) evaluations criteria of the program and (4) conclusions. It appears that worker participatory programs are successful in addressing health, safety and ergonomie issues. However, in order to insure the success implementing a participatory decision-making program, a macroergonomics perspective should be taken.