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The cohort consisted of 11,178 Mead Corporation employees (9,358 males and 1,820 females) who had worked for at least one year between January 1, 1975 and December 31, 1992 at seven pulp and/or paper mills in the United States. The vital status of the cohort was determined through a variety of sources over an observation period of 17 years (1976-1992). Mortality data were analyzed in terms of cause-specific standardized mortality ratios (SMRs), with expected deaths based on U.S. national mortality rates. Job categories with similar exposures were created based on an historical exposure assessment. Mortality analyses were performed separately for total female and male employees. Among female employees, overall mortality was less than expected, and no significant cause-specific mortality excesses were observed. The small number of deaths among female employees did not permit further detailed analyses. Among male employees, statistically significant deficits from overall mortality (SMR = 69.0) and from all cancers (SMR = 71.3) were reported. In addition, low mortality risks for many specific causes were also observed, including many specific cancer sites, various types of cardiovascular diseases, and different forms of nonmalignant respiratory diseases. In particular, there was no mortality excess from lung cancer (SMR = 77.5), digestive cancer (SMR = 69.4), stomach cancer (SMR = 46.7), laryngeal cancer (no observed death), rectal cancer (SMR = 82.8). Hodgkin's lymphoma (no observed death), non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (SMR = 103.6), leukemia (SMR = 72.2), diabetes mellitus (SMR = 110.4), ischemic heart disease (SMR = 80.0), and nonmalignant respiratory diseases (SMR = 36.7). Furthermore, detailed analyses by length of employment, interval since hire (latency), and job category demonstrated no occupationally related mortality increases from any of the diseases examined. Specifically, based on internal comparisons, no upward trends in cause-specific mortality risk were observed by duration of employment. In conclusion, the results of this epidemiologic investigation demonstrated a favorable mortality experience for employees at the seven pulp and/or paper mills.

Objective: The Slash (multiple-job holders) become increasingly prevalent in the labor force under the context of fast-developing gig economy and other emerging employment forms active on platforms. However, health outcomes of multiple-job holding have not received sufficient research treatment and is far from reaching consensus. This study provides an empirical investigation on the influence of multiple-job holding on individual health., Method: This study uses data from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS-2015 survey) which covers 28 provinces/municipalities in China and tracks work and health status of the population aged over 45 years using stratified random sampling (N = 12,659-16,526 for examinations of different types of health status (i.e., chronic conditions/body aches/depression, in study 1), and from the Survey of Household Economics and Decision-making (SHED-2019) which is conducted by the Federal Reserve Board of the United States and documents economic behavior and related risks of the population aged over 18 years (N = 6603 for baseline model and N = 10,718 for supplementary test, in study 2). To address the potential endogeneity of multiple-job holding, the instrumental variable (IV) regressions are conducted to ensure the validity of results. The implementation of Study 1 and 2 in different national context could help test the generalization of research results., Results: Compared with non-multiple jobs holding, multiple-job holding with only one additional job is associated with better health status (i.e., less chronic conditions and body aches, a lower level of depression shown in study 1, and better self-assessed general health shown in study 2), however, multiple-job holding with at least two additional jobs turns to be associated with worse health status (shown in both study 1 and 2). These results show that the optimal level of multiple-job holding could be featured with one additional job besides the primary job., Conclusion: Multiple-job holding, with different structures, has both bright and dark side for health outcomes. To maintain an optimal level of multiple-job holding could benefit individual health., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Objective: Occupational noise exposure and noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) among construction workers has long been recognized as a problem in the United States, yet little is known about the prevalence of NIHL among American construction workers. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and characteristics of hearing loss among operating engineers (OEs) who operate heavy construction machinery., Method: As a part of hearing protection intervention, an audiometric test was conducted for both ears at frequencies 0.5 through 8 kHz in the soundproof booth. Prior to the audiometric test, a paper-pencil pre-hearing test questionnaire was administered and an otoscopic examination was completed. Prevalence of hearing loss was determined based on hearing threshold levels (HTLs) in the worst ear with a low fence of 25 dB., Result: A total of 623 workers were included in the analysis and they were predominantly middle-aged Caucasian males (mean age = 43 years, Caucasian = 90%, male = 92%). Over 60% of OEs showed hearing loss in the noise-sensitive higher frequencies of 4 and 6 kHz. The rate of hearing loss was particularly higher among workers who reported longer years of working in the construction industry. Workers showed significantly poorer hearing in the left ear, and a typical characteristic of NIHL, a V-notch at 4 or 6 kHz, was not shown in this population. Thirty-eight percent reported ringing/buzzing in the ear and 62% indicated having problems in understanding what people say in loud noise. Average reported use of hearing protection devices (HPDs) was 48% of the time they were required to be used. Significant inverse relationship was found between higher frequency (4-6 kHz) hearing loss and use of HPDs (r =-0.134, p < 0.001). Workers using HPDs more had significantly better hearing than those who did not., Conclusion: The study demonstrated a significant NIHL problem and low use of HPDs in OEs. An effective hearing conservation program, including a periodic audiometric testing and hearing protection intervention, for this study population should be in place.

Urine samples collected in 1999 and 2000 as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) were analyzed for 14 monohydroxy polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and, for the first time, reference range values were calculated for these metabolites in the US population. Pyrene is a major component of most PAH mixtures and often is used as a surrogate for total PAH exposure. We detected 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHpyrene), a metabolite of pyrene, in more than 99% of the samples. The overall geometric mean concentration for 1-OHpyrene in the USA was 79.8 ng/l, with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 69.0-92.2 ng/l. The overall geometric mean creatinine-adjusted urinary 1-OHpyrene levels in the USA was 74.2 ng/g creatinine (0.039 micromol/mol), with a 95% CI of 64.1-85.9 ng/g creatinine (0.034-0.046 micromol/mol). There were no statistically significant differences among age, gender, or race/ethnicity groups. Adult smokers in the USA have urinary 1-OHpyrene levels three times higher than those of non-smokers. This difference was statistically significant. In this paper, we compare the reference range of urinary 1-OHpyrene levels with levels reported from various occupations by other researchers.

In recent years, energy exchange has come to be accepted as the causative agent in accidental injuries. This paper focuses on two fundamental characteristics of accidental workplace injuries, their frequency, and their severity. I propose that the frequency of injuries is determined largely by the nature of the interactions between workers and production processes, while the severity of the occurring injuries will be more strongly affected by the maximum possible harm the production process can cause. Other aspects of the design of the production process may also affect the severity of injuries. Using aggregate national data for manufacturing industries in the US for 1972, the rate of injuries per 100 employees per year and the average number of lost work days per injury (a common measure of severity) were regressed against a number of econometric variables. Eighty percent of the variation in injury frequency rates among 61 industries was explained by seven variables. Among them were the rate of new hires, the productivity of energy and of labor, the average hourly wage, and the percentage of the workforce that was unionized. Four variables explained 69% of the variation in the severity of injuries among industries. Nearly half of this effect was caused by just one variable, the amount of energy consumed per worker. These results provide tentative confirmation for the models of injury frequency and severity that were proposed, and suggest the need for another study using less aggregated data.