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African hair braiders are potentially subject to work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) because they perform repetitive hand motions for many hours a day together with prolonged standing and/or prolonged sitting. A complete enumeration of African hair braiders was attempted in Oklahoma City (OKC) and Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW). Braiders were identified through the channels they typically use to offer services to clients. Potential risk factors and symptoms of WMSDs were assessed using an oral interview. Participation rates were 95% (18/19) in OKC and 83% (83/101) in DFW. More than 75% of braiders reported discomfort in the fingers, wrist/hand, upper back, and lower back. In multivariate analysis, years worked as a braider but not age was a significant risk factor (p < 0.005) for reported pain in the wrist/hand, time spent sitting during the work day was found to be a significant predictor (p < 0.05) of upper back pain and lower back pain, and time spent sitting and time spent standing during the work day were both significant predictors (p < 0.05) of shoulder pain. Braiders in OKC, where licensing requirements were stricter, were significantly more likely than braiders in DFW to work at home (67% vs. 4%, p < 0.001) and to report pain in the lower leg (p < 0.005) and ankle/foot (p < 0.05). The close-knit nature of the African hair braiding community makes it an appealing candidate for community-based participatory research aimed at further elucidating occupational health concerns and reducing risk. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

To begin to develop generalized models for estimating personal exposure to ambient air pollutants within diverse populations, the design of the Oklahoma Urban Air Toxics Study incorporated eight dichotomous macroenvironmental and household factors that were hypothesized to be potential determinants of exposure. Personal, indoor, and outdoor samples of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were collected over 24-h monitoring periods in 42 households, together with activity diaries and data on the participants'residences. The distributions of the VOC concentrations were moderately to highly left-censored, and were mostly bimodal. The ATSDR minimal risk level (MRL) was exceeded in a small number of the samples. Personal and indoor concentrations tended to be higher than outdoor concentrations, indicating that indoor exposures were dominated by indoor sources. However, indoor concentrations were not correlated with the permeability of the residence, suggesting that the observed indoor concentrations reflected mostly localized, short-term emissions. The influence of the eight dichotomous factors and of the presence of an attached garage was evaluated using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test and by comparison of“excursion fractions”, that is, the fractions of each distributions exceeding 10%of the MRL. Dry weather and absence of children in the household were found to be associated with higher exposures in personal or indoor exposures. Given the small sample size, it is possible that these factors were confounded with unidentified household characteristics or activities that were the true determinants of exposure.Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology (2005) 15, 35-46. doi:10.1038/sj.jea.7500347 Published online 17 March 2004 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract On May 3, 1999, 58 tornadoes were reported in Oklahoma in one of the largest outbreaks of severe weather in Oklahoma history. The tornadoes killed 44 people and destroyed over 3,100 homes. In addition to the obvious damage inflicted on residential areas, the tornadoes caused extensive damage to natural resources by destroying trees and other vegetation. Several ponds in the path of the largest tornado also were affected. Analysis of water quality revealed that the ponds had become incapable of supporting aquatic life because the decay of wind-deposited organic material had created a reducing atmosphere, which caused levels of dissolved oxygen to sink. Using National Weather Service data from the period 1950-1995, researchers calculated the mean annual area swept by tornadoes in Oklahoma to be approximately 19,000 acres. Combining this information with the estimated number of ponds in Oklahoma suggests that approximately 100 ponds would be in the path of a tornado each year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]