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Introduction: The importance of evaluating the performance of different management systems in industries necessitates examining the performance of the Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) management system along with other management systems. Particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a greater need than ever to assess the impact of the COVID-19 spread on the performance of the HSE management system compared to before this pandemic. This research aims to investigate safety performance indicators (SPIs) on the performance of the HSE management system and the impact of the COVID-19 spread on these indicators. Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical study was conducted to evaluate the influence of the COVID-19 outbreak on the safety performance to revise the industry safety index in an electricity distribution company using the multi-criteria decision-making method before and after the disease epidemic in three stages. In the first part, the safety indicators were identified according to the comprehensive safety indicators available in the industries and experts' opinions. In the second part, safety indicators were ranked, weighted, and prioritized using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). In the third part, these indicators were calculated and compared in the periods before and after the outbreak of COVID-19. Results: Two main criteria, namely the “effectiveness criterion” and the “applicability/calculation criterion”, were identified for the evaluation and pairwise comparisons of performance indicators. Among these two criteria, the applicability/calculation criterion had higher priority and importance for the evaluation of indicators. Pairwise comparisons of the indicators indicated that the “accident frequency rate” and “safe T-factor” indicators (with weights of 0.238 and 0.023 respectively) had the highest and lowest priorities, respectively, for the assessment of organizational safety performance among the SPIs. Conclusion: Based on the calculations of the indicators and their analyses before and after the outbreak of COVID-19, the current status of the safety performance of the HSE unit was not significantly affected by this pandemic. However, the investigations carried out while collecting the data needed to calculate the indicators and evaluate the performance of this unit demonstrated that some indicators were not considered sufficiently in the studied electricity industry. Since conducting regular performance evaluations greatly impacts the achievement of continuous improvement, more attention should be paid to compiled indicators, which should be periodically assessed in the organization to achieve continuous improvement.

Introduction: Exposure to electric and magnetic fields (EMF) is a phenomenon that has always been present. In the last two decades, there have been numerous worries about the possible effects of extremely low-frequency (ELF) fields on human health. Consequently, this study aims to measure and evaluate the effect of ELF fields on blood parameters and liver enzymes of personnel working in high-voltage power stations in the petrochemical industry. Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical study was done in a petrochemical industry in southern Iran in 2021. Two groups of 50 people were selected to attain the research goals and classify jobs with the risk of exposure to extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMF) and the time spent on work. One group was exposed to ELF-EMF, and the other was regarded as the control group. Electromagnetic fields were measured using the HI-3604 device and the standard method of IEEE 1994-644. The workers' demographic data, blood parameters, and liver enzymes were also obtained from the workers’ medical records. The course of changes in each of the blood parameters and liver enzymes and demographic variables in the control and case groups were then examined. In the last stage, the effect of the electric field and magnetic field on the blood parameters and liver enzymes of the two control and subject groups was conducted using the multiple regression model. Results: The measured points in all stations are 200, and the minimum and maximum values of the magnetic field was 0.8 and 2019 mG, respectively. The minimum and maximum values of the electric field intensity was 0.003 and 215 V/m, respectively. The average results of the demographic variables and blood and liver indices in the control and case groups from 2018 to 2020 revealed that the average variables were not significantly different in the case and control groups (p-value>0.05). Moreover, workers' exposure to ELF-EMF was below the permissible limit. Conclusion: Based on the results of the present study, ELF-EMF does not have any significant effects on demographic factors, blood parameters, and liver enzymes.

Noise is one of the most harmful factors in the work environment, which is very important to control. There are various techniques to achieve this goal. One of the most important of them is the use of noise absorbers. Absorbent materials are often used to counteract the effects of reflected noise from hard surfaces and reduce their level. This is an experimental-applied study conducted in the physical factor laboratory of the Faculty of Health. The purpose was to predict the Noise absorption rate of combined and independent absorbers under different conditions and frequencies using the new ENC (engineering noise control) software. The sound absorption determination was carried out in 5 stages, including sound frequency analysis for the source, measurement of the dominant frequency, measurement of the absorption coefficient of absorbent materials in different conditions, measurement of the limit frequency (peak frequency of noise absorption) and comparison of the software results with the findings of the impedance tube in Real conditions. The best absorption mode for combined and independent absorbents is using a 5 cm rock wool absorbent with a 2 cm thick air layer behind it without a polyurethane absorbent layer and a 10 cm wide rock wool absorbent with a 1 cm air layer behind it without polyurethane layer. A polyurethane layer on the stone wool absorber decreased the amount of noise absorption for high frequencies. The results obtained from the best absorption conditions in the ENC software were consistent with the findings from the impedance tube device in real situations. The results of this study showed that suitable and optimal conditions of sound absorption could be achieved by using the ENC software, correct design, use of suitable absorbers, changes in the physical parameters of the absorber, and the use of a combined absorber.

Introduction: Heat stress disrupts blood hormones and reduces workers' cognitive performance. To further shed light on the dysfunction of heat stress, the present study aimed to evaluate its effect on cognitive performance of petrochemical workers. Materials and methods: This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in 2020 in one of the Iranian petrochemical companies. Participants were divided into 2 case groups and 1 control group. They worked 12 h and their shift entialed one week working day and one week working night. According to the ISO 7243 standard, the heat stress index of employees was measured at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the shift separately. Continuous Performance Test (CPT) and N-back cognitive performance tests were performed at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the shift to determine the level of cognitive performance. The data were analyzed using SPSS software version 20 and the significance level was set at 0.05. Results: Comparison of the results in the continuous performance test showed significant differences between the three groups with regard to the omission error and response time at the end of the shift. Moreover, according to the working memory test, participants reaction time during the shift significantly increased. Besides, average correct responses significantly reduced during the shift. Finally, the heat stress throughout the shift had a significant effect on the commission error and the response time of individuals. Conclusion: Heat stress affects people's cognitive performance in such a way that it can decrease their cognitive performance by increasing the commission error and response time and reducing the average correct response of site operators, generally reducing the cognitive performance of people at the end of the shift.

Abstract Background and aims: Noise is an important source of physical and psychological stress that is considered as the most important physical detrimental factor in developed and developing countries. In the United States, more than 30 million workers are exposed to dangerous noise, and 7.4 to 10.2 million industrial workers are at risk of hearing loss due to exposure to industry noise, but what is certain is that the noisy environment causes carelessness in activities. The brain becomes inconsistent in intellectual work and so on. Noise is an environmental stressors and in combination with other stressors can cause or exacerbate mental disorders and even under certain conditions can affect performance to the extent that WHO considers accidents as one of the indicators of performance decline. Recognizes noise-induced and recognizes ambient noise as a direct cause of mental disorders.Noise is the most common occupational hazard in various industries, especially petrochemicals and related companies. Noise exposure causes a wide range of the discomforts, disorders and occupational diseases and effects including focus loss, long-term memory loss, anger, increasing stress and etc. Cognitive performance such as consistent attention, comprehension, speed of reaction as well as correct information processing and correct decision making play a key role in performing many tasks .In some occupations, in order to react appropriately and in a timely manner, the person needs to process the information completely and without defects. Therefore, even temporary defects in cognitive and mental performance can lead to serious consequences in individuals, especially when an accurate and immediate response is needed. The results of various studies conducted in the oil and gas industry and related companies indicate that sometimes noise contact is outside the permissible range (85 dBA) .Basically, in the oil and petrochemical industries, a lot of noise is produced, which can be said that the main noise produced is related to the movement of fluids and related piping on the one hand, and on the other hand, the era of engines and compressors in refining operations. It is essential to maintain human health and safety of the work system at the highest possible level, and any error on the part of operators can lead to unintended and harmful consequences or accidents, or reduce the quantity and quality of products and irreparable economic losses and considering that the accuracy, speed of action and ability to perform skills by individuals; are the most important factors affecting the efficiency and increasing the productivity of human resources in improving the level of production and its quality, so evaluate the effects of different sound pressure level cognitive performance has been performed on petrochemical industry workers. Methods: This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in 1398 in Kavian Petrochemical Company located in South Pars region (Assaluyeh). In this study, before collecting information, the purpose of the study was explained to the participants. Demographic data collected included: age, work experience, body mass index and metabolism. Exclusion criteria included: less than one year of work experience, use of hypnotic and caffeinated substances, having any mental disorders, sleep disorders, major systemic diseases, etc. Subjects were divided into three groups (one control group and two case groups). There were 30 people in each group. In the study of the effects of sound pressure levels below the allowable limit, control room operators were selected and participants in 2 case groups were selected from site operators who were exposed to more than the allowable noise level. Metabolism of participants in three groups was determined according to ISO 8996 standard. Participants in the study had a work schedule of one week working day and one week working night. In this study, day workers who were active from 7 am to 7 pm were selected. To investigate the effect of noise on workers' cognitive performance, first the average equivalent sound level during the shift (beginning, middle and end of the shift) was measured .Since the sound pressure level is different in different parts of the workplace and the company workers normally commute in different parts of the environment, so to determine the average sound level equivalent to their exposure, the dosimeter is the most reliable method for measuring and evaluating. It is an individual encounter. The dosimetry was performed by TES-1345 dosimeter made in Taiwan, in accordance with ISO 9612 standard. Before using, the device was calibrated by a CEL110.2 calibrator made by Casella Company. In the studied units, measurements were performed using a regular grid pattern and then the cognitive performance of individuals at the beginning, middle and end of the shift was measured using CPT and N-back tests.The Continuous Performance Test (CPT) is used to measure people's attentive attention and alertness. It is a valid test that is used to find sustained attention deficit impaired performance.In the continuous performance test (CPT), 150 numbers appear at regular intervals and a stimulus is determined as the target stimulus, and the participant must press the relevant key on the computer screen as soon as possible by observing the desired numbers. The variables measured in the CPT test were commission error, omission error, and response time (milliseconds), and working memory test (N-back) is used to measure working memory of individuals, since this task includes both cognitive information retention and manipulation, it is known to be very suitable for measuring working memory performance. And repeatedly used for this purpose, in the working memory performance test (N-back), a sequence of numbers, step by step, appears randomly on the screen as a visual stimulus. . The subject should then examine whether the current stimulus presented is consistent with the N-stimulus preceded by it. The variables measured in the working memory performance test (N-back) were reaction time (milliseconds) and mean correct response. The collected data were analyzed with SPSS V.20 .Then descriptive methods (mean, standard deviation and frequency) were used to summarize the data. The normality assumption for the data was performed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. The main basis of data analysis was based on analysis of variance (ANOVA). Significance level in data analysis was considered less than 0.05. Results: Comparison of the results in the Continuous Performance Test (CPT) showed that the average equivalent sound level has no effect on the commission error, but at the end of the shift the commission error is significantly affected (P=0.040).However, the average equivalent sound level has no effect on the omission error and only the omission error in the middle and end of the shift is statistically significant (P0.05) and only the correct response in the middle and end of the shift was statistically significant. The highest reaction time and the lowest mean correct response belonged to the third group who were faced with a sound pressure level of 91.83± 1.78 dBA .Accordingly, the number of correct responses of the groups that were exposed to more than the allowable noise was significantly less than the group that was exposed to less than the allowable noise .Also, the number of errors in these groups was more than that group. According to the Continuous Performance Test (CPT) and also according to the Memory Performance Test (N-Back), the sound pressure level increases the reaction time of the subjects (P

Introduction: Noise is one of the most common and harmful physical factors in the working environment and has physical and psychological effects on individuals. In this study, the audiometry results of industrial workers were modeled and the effect of noise and other factors on hearing loss was examined. Materials and Methods: This was a longitudinal study based on the records of workers who had worked over 10 years in the industry and had recorded audiometries since their employment. Data was analyzed through linear mixed models. Results: During each year of noise exposure, hearing loss was 1.9 db at 4000 Hz; 0.059 in low frequencies and 0.62 db in high frequencies. At 8000 Hz the effect of the age at employment on hearing loss was significant (P=0.014). At low frequencies the interaction of smoking and age at employment was significantly related to hearing loss (P˂0.001). Conclusion: This study showed that despite acquaintance with safety measures, workers still face hearing loss in industry and employers should put workers under more surveillance for using protective gear. Smoking might be another risk factor for hearing loss.

Background and aim: Work-related injuries are among the most important health problems in developing countries, such as Iran. The purpose of this study was to determine the epidemiology of work-related injuries among construction workers who had been insured by the Iranian Social Security Organization (ISSO). Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. The population included all construction workers who had a workrelated accident during 2012 in Iran, which were recorded in the ISSO database after inspection. The effects of independent variables on injuries were estimated by logistic regression. SPSS software version 18 was used for analyzing the data. Results: Overall, 5352 work-related injuries were investigated. The incidence rate of fatal and nonfatal injuries was 0.07 in 1000 and 11.18 in 1000 workers, respectively. More than half of these accidents were due to careless activities. A younger age at the time of the accident (OR=0.98, CI: 0.97-0.99, p=0.001), being married (OR=1.37, CI: 1.04-1.79, p=0.02), place of accident (OR=1.86, CI: 1.18-2.92, p=0.007), lack of information (OR=5.28, CI: 1.57-17.75, p=0.007), disrespect of safety regulations (OR=3.11, CI: 1.87–5.17, p=0.001), non-use of protective equipment (OR=2.98, CI: 1.62-5.50, p=0.001), and defective equipment (OR=2.22, CI: 1.18-4.20, p=0.01) had a significant effect on the incidence of work-related injury. Conclusions: The pattern of work-related injury in Iran was almost similar in regard to age, gender, cause and type of the accident, with other parts of the world.

Maximal Aerobic Capacity (VO2-max) is an indicator of the preparedness of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems and a tool to estimate the physiological fitness of individuals for their work. This study aimed to measure the VO2-max and Physical Work Capacity (PWC) of workers at a metal industry and the factors affecting it using a single-stage step test. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 60 workers in a metal industry in Tehran, in 2017. Data collection tools were a questionnaire including separate sections asking about demographic and anthropometric (height, weight, and BMI) characteristics. Quantitative variables were recorded after being measured. The Tuxworth and Shahnawaz method and step test were used in order to estimate VO2-max and PWC. Data were analyzed using SPSS 22. The relative humidity of the place was 40% and local air pressure was 879 atmospheres. The average VO2-maxand average maximum PWC of the study population were 3.13±0.283L/min and 15.65±1.41 kcal/min, respectively. There was a significant relationship between VO2-maxusingsingle-stage step test and BMI (P=0.01), number of hours of exercise per week (P=0.009) and age (P=0.01). The step test is a rapid, easy and low-cost method to estimate physiological adaptation and PWC of individuals. Variables such asage, hours of exercise per week and BMI are effective on aerobic capacity.

Noise is the most frequent physical agent in workplace that effects on hearing loss. This study aimed to investigate the value of noise exposure in different jobs along with noise induced permanent threshold shift of workers, prediction of hearing threshold alteration in relation to job and work experience using ISO 1999 standard and comparing with measured hearing loss. This study was performed among 138 Iranian workers in a Yazd spinning factory in 2014. Noise exposure level was measured using ISO 1999 method in any work conditions. An audiometric test was done in a standard soundproof room by an experienced audiologist. Noise induced hearing loss was identified after reduction of age related hearing loss. Necessary program for hearing loss prediction of workers was prepared using the ISO method. Finally, data were analyzed by SPSS16 software. Mean age and employment duration of participants were 36.58 ± 6.76 yr and 11.08 ± 5.47 yr, respectively. Mean noise exposure in office, spinning, baling, carding, combing and other parts was 45, 94, 95.5, 90, 85 and 88dBA, respectively. Mean measured hearing threshold was 16.69 ± 7.82dB in right ear and 17.59 ± 8.55 dB in left ear. The duration of employment and noise are two important factors in work-related hearing loss. There was a significant difference between the measured noise induced hearing loss and its predicted values (P

Extended exposure to noise can cause permanent hearing damage. This study aimed to determine the incidence time of hearing loss and its effective factors in workers exposed to noise. This retrospective cohort study, was conducted on a total of 273 workers in various sectors of Kerman Copper by-industries Co. Their hearing status and the incidence of hearing loss (hearing threshold higher than 25 dB) were measured at regular intervals through audiographs. Survival analysis was done using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox Regression analysis through STATA 12. The time range (from the onset of the risk to the incidence of hearing loss) was between 8 to 14 years. Systolic blood pressure alone and in interaction with years of employment was significantly related to the incidence of hearing loss at all frequencies. Initial hearing threshold and age at employment also had a significant impact on the onset time of hearing loss. The interaction between age at employment×initial hearing threshold; and years of employment×age at employment; in both low and high frequencies had a significant impact on the incidence time of hearing loss. Despite the availability of protective equipment in this industry, hearing loss occurred in at least half of the workers after about 10 years. High systolic blood pressure, age at employment, and initial hearing thresholds probably play a role in the incidence time of hearing loss.

Background & Objective: Teaching professional English is one of the fields of teaching English started from the 60s and simultaneous with the worldwide acceptance of English as a scientific language among scientists and researchers In teaching Medical English understanding the expectations of students is very important however up to now no study has been conducted about this topic In this study we evaluated the expectations of medical students from learning professional English Methods: This was a crosssectional study A reliable and valid questionnaire was distributed among all of the students in the faculty of health and medical students who had the professional English course in the second semester of 2011 Descriptive statistics was performed by Mini Tab Results: 199 students volunteered to participate and complete the questionnaire out of whom 364% were males The mean age of the study samples was 223 ± 03 years 955% of the students were interested in learning Medical English The most frequent expectation was to understand medical texts and being capable of translating the texts to Persian language The most favorable class activity expected from the teacher was to write the meaning of the words on the board and explain its components Furthermore most students wanted the final exam to be in English and include workbook practices Conclusion: Medical English teachers can obtain higher satisfaction rate of students by considering the student expectations mentioned in this paper

Introduction: Exposure to heat is one of the workplace risk factors, which may lead to thermal strain, such as rising heart rate and body temperature. To have the best association between a heat stress indices and physiological parameters have always been a major concern for those studying the subject. This study aims to compare the association of two heat stress indices with physiological parameters. Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 54 acclimatized mail subjects working in a steel complex in May 2014. After enrolling individuals based on inclusion criteria, HSSI and WBGT heat indices and physiological parameters were recorded at three times (10 am, 12 pm and 3pm) during their work shift. Then the relationship between physiological parameters and the calculated indices were determined. Discussion: The study population had a mean age of 29.3±4.2 years. The average value of the WBGT index was 27.3 ± 2.9°C and HSSI index was 22.7±3.6. The average relative humidity and air velocity was 35.9 ±1.9% and 1.5±0.4 m/s respectively. The correlation between WBGT and tympanic temperature was statistically significant (P≤0.01). However the HSSI was not significantly correlated to tympanic temperature (p=0.37). Correlation coefficient between WBGT and HSSI with heart rate was 0.458 and 0.191 respectively. Result: WBGT is likely to offer a better assessment of thermal stress in comparison to HSSI in melting industry workers.