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New Zealand apple growers need to produce crops that satisfy conlicting export market requirements. Some markets want pest-free fruit, while others demand residue-free fruit. Pheromone mating disruption combined with the judicious use of insecticides enables crops to meet both demands. This study in 14 Hawke's Bay apple orchards showed that seasonal pheromone trap catch was reduced by 70%, from 40.1 codling moths/trap in the season before mating disruption was introduced to 11.7 moths/trap over the subsequent ive seasons. In the same period, insecticide use reduced from 5.9 applications/season in 2006- 07 to 2.3 in 2007-08 and 3.7 since 2008-09. The incidence of larvae in fruit where mating disruption operated averaged 0.01%, which was lower than in orchards using insecticides only. Damage increased from 2008-09 with greater reliance on codling moth granulosis virus over residual insecticides. Nevertheless, mating disruption with 3-4 insecticide sprays controlled codling moth to the high standard needed.

Mealybug infestations in New Zealand apples declined when integrated fruit production was implemented in the late 1990s. In Hawke's Bay, however, mealybugs have recently become an increasing problem. The mean incidence of mealybugs at harvest increased from 1.7% in 2008 to 2.2% in 2010. In 2009 and 2010, almost 50% of blocks had a higher incidence than the previous year. Analysis of spray diaries suggested that spray programmes up to 2009-10 were inadequate to maintain long-term suppression of mealybugs. Key factors were the number of insecticide sprays, their time of application, and the choice of product, but not spray coverage. Consequently, in spring 2010, orchard managers were encouraged to follow a 'best practice' spray programme against mealybugs, which led to markedly improved mealybug control. At harvest in 2011, the mean incidence was 0.7% and just 14% of blocks had more mealybugs than the previous year while almost 60% had fewer.

Leafrollers are important pests of apples and infested fruit can result in rejection of export consignments. Leafroller mating disruption using a pheromone blend with activity against three species was examined in 12 Hawke's Bay orchards over two seasons (2009- 10 and 2010-11). Pheromone dispensers (600/ha) and a single insecticide were applied to trees in early November, and subsequent insecticide use was based on leafroller pheromone trapping and thresholds. The pheromone blend substantially suppressed mating of virgin female lightbrown apple moth in treated orchards and reduced male catch in pheromone traps by up to 98% compared with the season prior to implementation. Insecticide use for leafroller control decreased accordingly, from 2.1-2.7 insecticides per block in 2008/09 to 1.0-1.8 in 2010/11. Leafroller control using mating disruption was acceptable, fruit damage varied from 0.3% to 0.16% and no leafroller larvae were found on fruit in both field assessments and phytosanitary inspections of packed cartons.

Bronze beetle (Eucolaspsis sp Coleoptera Chrysomelidae) threatens the economic viability of New Zealands organic pipfruit industry Small plot cultivation trials were conducted during spring to target immature beetles in the soil under apple trees These treatments did not appear to be as effective in the second year as in the previous year although two cultivations significantly reduced beetle emergence at all orchards compared with the control In largescale cultivation trials two cultivations reduced damage to apples by 4661 Sampling immature development stages of the beetles in the soil indicated that cultivation should commence during mid October to target pupae in the top 70 mm of the soil The application of cultivation treatments for controlling bronze beetle on commercial orchards is discussed

Bronze beetle (Eucolaspsis sp Coleoptera Chrysomelidae) threatens the viability of New Zealands organic pipfruit industry Small plot cultivation trials were conducted during spring to target immature beetles in the soil in a 25 m strip under apple trees A single cultivation treatment in October prevented 56 to 81 of the beetle population from emerging When plots were tilled every second week from October to December 79 to 95 failed to emerge The pattern and timing of bronze beetle emergence during 2006 was consistent between the four trial orchards and with the 2005 season A survey of 20 orchards during November 2006 was unable to link beetle damage levels with management practices and the physical environment New strategies to manage bronze beetle larvae are discussed

This chapter discusses various effects of workplace dust. Three classes of dust exist in the workplace, namely, toxic dusts, inert dusts, and proliferative dusts. Inert dusts can be distinguished as chemicals and are deemed to be relatively harmless. It can be permitted to exist in the breathing air up to a level of about 10 milligrams per cubic meter. There is one special group of inert dusts called biological dusts that are derived from living, or recently living, materials such as wood, grain, flour, starch, and sugar. Most of them are relatively harmless, although on prolonged exposure they can give rise to irritation of the breathing tract and the skin. Proliferative dusts accumulate in the lungs where they destroy the functioning lung tissues and replace them with fibrous scars, along with nodules or growths that tend to expand and grow. In addition, there may be an accompanying bronchitis, or worse still, infection from the once deadly disease known as tuberculosis. Two materials, in particular, are responsible for the production of this condition. One of these is silica in its various forms, and the other IS asbestos.

The chapter discusses the importance of risk evaluations in the development of a healthy workplace. Three terms must be considered before evaluating a possible hazard: hazard, risk, and danger. Not the least of the factors for consideration in evaluating a possible risk pertains to the characteristics of those persons exposed. A hazard does not become an actuality until there is a risk of human exposure. A risk can be voluntary or involuntary. A voluntary risk is one in which the individual participates in an activity by freely accepting the risk based on criteria from that person's own values and experiences. An involuntary risk involves participation in an activity that is not, or only partially, under the control of the participant. Thus, in evaluating the risk, those who are or might be exposed, not only in terms of numbers but also in relation to the realities of individual variation and predisposition must also be taken into account. It is also necessary to bear in mind the possible outcome of an exposure. Complex mathematical probability analyses could also be used in risk assessments.

Continuous exposure to hazardous materials will put the employees at risk of harmful effects from those materials. So it is necessary to establish a permissible level of exposure. All the guidelines for permissible levels of exposure are derived from the original work of the American Conference of Government Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) who developed a concept they call threshold limit values (TLV). A TLV, which is a proprietary term, refers to the airborne concentration of a substance and represents conditions under which it is believed that nearly all workers may be repeatedly exposed to that substance day after day without adverse effect. The amount and nature of the information available for establishing a TLV also varies from substance to substance. Consequently, the precision of the estimated TLV is also subject to variation. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration–Permissible Exposure limit (OSHA-PEL) defines the average concentration permissible to a worker for a normal eight-hour workday and a forty-hour work week to which all workers may be repeatedly exposed, day after day, without adverse effect. The PEL or TLV concept is widely used throughout the world in spite of some well-founded objections, largely because there is no feasible alternative. The most significant objection pertains to the use of the averaging technique. It is argued that the effects on the body are not necessarily the same when they result from constant uniform exposure to low concentrations as they would be when they result from intermittent exposure to higher concentrations over the same period.

This chapter presents the case study of a legal firm affected by formaldehyde. The new office of the firm was attractive with each workstation designed to meet the demands of both efficiency and comfort. The room had no windows but was richly carpeted. The building, of course, was air conditioned, heated in winter, and cooled in summer. The lighting in the pool room was more than adequate. Everyone was excited and pleased to move into the new office building. After sometime, the secretaries, working in that room, began to complain of itching and irritation in the eyes, sometimes in the nose, and even occasional sore throats. These complaints occurred because of the presence of formaldehyde in the air. The paneling was found out to be faulty that released formaldehyde inside the room. There wasn't very much gas being released, but the liability potential was severe. Formaldehyde is an irritant gas. Even in very small concentrations, it can cause disturbing irritation, particularly in the eyes and the upper breathing passages.

This chapter discusses the various ways of defining a problem related to the development of a healthy workplace. To define the problem or problems, it is necessary to have a formal assessment of the health status of the workplace. This could be done by conducting a walk-through survey. It is a systematic examination of all relevant plant activities to determine, define, and record the presence and extent of current health hazards and to estimate the likelihood of potential health hazards arising from the presence of toxic materials. The detailed examination, as the name implies, is a close inspection of the various processes that your preliminary examination indicated to be of concern. The usefulness of this detailed examination hinges on the ability to use the basic senses, in particular, by looking, smelling, listening, and perhaps, where appropriate, even touching, and to confirm the suspicions by talking with the persons involved, including both management and labor, and conducting tests as may be necessary or helpful. The information gathered greatly helps in risk assessments.

This chapter discusses an administrative approach for controlling employee exposure to various hazardous materials. Some of the major factors that drive exposure control with are moral values, health cost reduction and legal compliance. The true costs of occupational illness, other than those attributable to increased costs of workers' compensation, insurance dues, and possible penalties, are difficult to access but former studies indicate that the improved employee health and morale associated with improvement in healthy working conditions has ultimately led to improved productivity. Today, most developed countries and states have laws and regulations governing working conditions and the control of toxic materials in the workplace. The process of control is one of applying the principles of industrial or occupational hygiene. Ideally, one should eliminate a toxic problem or problems by administrative interdiction, or, in other words, by removing the cause. Many administrative actions can be undertaken which may not totally eliminate a problem, but will help in bringing it under control. Some of these are broad actions that serve to establish a frame of reference within which other actions can be implemented. Others are more specific and are directed at control of an actual problem. Administrative actions to control exposure to toxic materials are vital, and no program of exposure control can succeed without them.

This chapter presents a conversation between Dr. David Wharton and Nick Serducci. David was a doctor, a specialist in occupational medicine, with particular interest in the toxicological problems of industry. Nick Serducci was his next room neighbor. The chapter focuses on Nick's illness. The illness was a result of prolonged exposure to mercury poisoning. He had a small thermometer manufacturing unit. He would boil up some mercury in a glass beaker on a Bunsen burner and then, hold one of the tubes up in front of him and pipette the proper amount of mercury from the beaker into the tube and seal the ends. After some time, he had problems coordinating his movements and mood swings. Nick went under depression and also began to get tremors in his eyelids and lips, and muscle spasms. He also began losing his memory. He collapsed and was in coma for ten months. The workplace was investigated by some labor inspectors and the mercury level was found to be much higher than the normal recommended levels.

The degree of hazard is fundamentally determined by two factors: the basic toxicity of the agent concerned, that is, its intrinsic capacity to damage or affect biological tissue; and the severity of the exposure, which is also called as the dose-response relationship. The duration of the hazardous exposure must also be considered. Basic toxicity has been identified from careful observation and experimentation in the workplace and in the lab. The nature of the response to a given chemical hazard must also depend on the concentration of that chemical in the environment. Of all the factors involved, however, clearly the most important is the concentration of the agent or agents concerned in the working environment. There are various devices available for the measurement of concentration of the agent. The greater the accuracy and reliability required, the greater the need for sophisticated instrumentation and the skill to use it. Some of the common devices include dosimeter badges, detector tubes, cassettes and filters, sampling pumps, and direct reading instruments

This chapter presents the case study of Harry Hemmler, who suffered from carbon tetrachloride poisoning. Harry's job was to take each rim as it came to him suspended on a hook on an overhead track, remove it from the hook, and dunk it in a vat of carbon tetrachloride degreasing liquid. His manager decided to isolate Harry's station and give him some respiratory protection while working with the carbon tetrachloride. He decided to put a curtain around the workstation. To do this, he had to weld in position some supports and rails on which to hang the curtain. During welding, ultraviolet light was emitted that reacted with carbon tetrachloride to form phosgene. Harry was the unfortunate victim of this curious chemical reaction. Phosgene is a toxic gas that acts as a very severe irritant to the lungs and respiratory passages. It gets breathed into the whole respiratory system, of course, right down into the lungs, and there it gets absorbed into the tissues, where, over a period of time, the chlorine atoms are broken loose from the phosgene molecule. It is the resulting chlorine that causes the severe irritation.

This chapter discusses various chemicals that are generally found in the workplace. The general term applied to particulates of different types in the atmosphere is an aerosol. Aerosols are made up from dusts, fumes, smoke, gases, vapors, and mists. The gases and the fumes and the vapors and the mists tend to float in the air along with fine dust particles. From there, they get into the nose and breathing passages, into the mouth and digestive system, and, of course, into the eyes and on to the skin. On the other hand, the liquids and solids are normally contained unless they are spilled, and they more commonly come in contact with the skin, unless it is transferred to mouth and other areas by way of hands. The actual chemicals encountered in a workplace depend on the nature of the work being conducted in a particular workplace. These chemicals belong to the following categories: irritant gases, choking (asphyxiant) gases, solvents, heavy metals, metal fume fever producers, chemicals that damage the blood cells, and chemicals that cause sensitization. Dust in the workplace is often considered to be merely a nuisance that needs to be cleaned up once in a while.

This chapter discusses how chemicals get into the body. There are three basic ways—inhalation, ingestion, and transcutaneous absorption. During inhalation, air containing gases, mists, fumes, and other materials go inside the body. In case of ingestion, once the substance gets into the mouth, it's on its way into the body. It passes down to the stomach and into the small intestine. There it is picked up by the blood stream through the wall of the intestine and passed into the liver where it can be transported throughout the whole body. Transcutaneous absorption, or absorption through the skin, can occur only with certain types of chemicals. The presence of a toxic substance can modify the metabolic functions of the cell. Certain substances, and particularly chemicals that are strong acids or corrosives, act to damage and destroy tissues rather than simply interfere with their function. In severe cases, it can harm the internal tissues and vital organs of the body.

This chapter discusses various fields of chemistry and its related dynamics in workplaces. There are two basic types of chemistry, one known as “inorganic chemistry” and the other as “organic chemistry.” Inorganic chemistry is the study of the structure, relationships, and interactions of all the nonliving materials that make up the earth's crust, as well as the waters and the atmosphere. Organic chemistry is the study of those chemicals that are, or have once been, part of living materials. Fundamentally, it is the study of the relationships and interactions of carbon, which in turn is the element that forms the basic structure of all living things. It is not practical to list all the chemicals that can be found in the workplace and their effects and toxicity. Many harmless or relatively harmless chemicals, when combined with other harmless chemicals, can become hazardous. The list varies according to the nature of the work. The list is virtually inexhaustible; hence, thousands of new compounds are added to the workplace every year, and many are never investigated to determine the extent of their potential toxicity.

This chapter presents the case study of Johnny Calabrese, who became a victim of metal fume fever. He was given the job of brazing together pieces of galvanized zinc evestroughing. After completing his day's work, he went home feeling tired but otherwise well. After some time, he began feeling miserable with chills, shakes, and generalized discomfort, along with nausea and vomiting. Body temperature was also very high. However, by next morning he was completely recovered—until the next time. Eventually, after a few recurrences, he developed an immunity that lasted as long as the exposure was repeated, although the immunity would tend to be lost within two to three days away from exposure. This condition is often experienced by a new employee on his/her first day's work or a veteran employee who returns after some absence. Thus, this case represents the classic example of a worker spending the day exposed to the hazard of inhaling certain metal fumes.

This chapter presents the case study of Jake Whitman, who was suffering from impotency due to lead exposure. His doctor carried out a physical examination, and some routine urine tests, and even some routine blood tests. He arranged for special abdominal x-rays. He checked him over for cancer, diabetes, anemia, and a few obscure diseases that might by some stretch of the imagination cause his problems. The doctor failed to find any specific reasons for Jake's plight. Jake's impotency was a result of continuous exposure to lead. Other employees working with Jake started reporting health problems. After the manager came to know about the harmful effects of lead, he had a hood over the lead trough, along with exhaust fans in the hood. The manager called in the occupational medical consultant and some hygienists. The hygienists measured the concentration of lead in the breathing air, and, of course, in spite of the hood and ventilation, which were inadequate, found it far above the recommended levels. Blood lead content of the workers was well in excess of the permissible levels. Jake, in fact, was not the most heavily affected. It just so happens, sometimes, that one person may be primarily affected in one way, while another is affected differently.

This chapter discusses the necessary factors required for building a healthy workplace in a logical, sequential, cost-effective, comprehensive, and simple manner. The first step towards this process is to recognize the need required for a productive workplace. This can be achieved by the following measures: define patterns or clusters by examining records, reports, and complaints, and talking with knowledgeable persons, identify potentially hazardous chemicals, and consolidate the relevant information. Information from absenteeism records, health records, and workers' compensation or insurance records can help establish statistical trends. The presence of clusters, or trends, can indicate the existence of possible health problems. Information from complaints and grievances and discussions with employees can suggest where problems might lie. The existence of potentially hazardous chemicals might suggest where the origin of these problems could be. By studying these various records and talking with the persons involved one can easily picture the various requirements of a healthy workplace.

This chapter presents a case study of a working woman, Mrs. Madison, employed at Progessive Telesystems, which is a major telecommunications corporation. The workstation where she worked was clean without any hazardous materials in vicinity. The room was well ventilated and the employees did not use any toxic substances while working. There were no signs of occupational stress. However, on certain windy days, Mrs. Madison experienced headache and dizziness. Government health inspectors and hygienists investigated the matter and found out that it was due to carbon monoxide poisoning. Because the process where she worked did not include any chemical process, the carbon monoxide gas stood out to be a mystery. It was later found out that it came from an oven exhaust gas outlet situated in the other part of the building. The opening to the annex ventilation system pointed directly toward the opening of the exhaust gas outlet. When a strong wind blew towards the ventilation system, a continuous blast of carbon monoxide poured in, straight to Mrs. Madison's workstation and eventually to the rest of the room. Since, she sat right below the ventilation system, she was the first and most direct recipient and got the worst of the carbon monoxide blast.

The effect of varying particle size on the site of deposition of inhaled particles in the human lung was measured in 11 young healthy male subjects. The simultaneous inhalation of two chemically inert, radiolabelled particles, differing in size but in no other respect, controlled for all other variables including airways geometry, breathing pattern and posture. Under conditions of quiet respiration the larger particles (3.5 microns) were preferentially deposited in the upper rather than the lower zones of the lungs as compared with the smaller particles (1.1 microns). Furthermore, the penetrance of the larger particles beyond the mucociliary escalator was greater for 3.5 microns particles in all lung zones and particularly at the apex. These findings may be of significance in the pathogenesis of those diseases induced by the inhalation of particles, vapours or fumes.

As part of an investigation of accidents occuring during mounting on and dismounting from heavy construction equipment a study was conducted of operator behaviour during mounting and dismounting. Measurements of access systems of representative vehicles were compared with those from various Standards. In most instances the vehicles did not conform. Recommendations are made for improvements in the safety characteristics of the access. These recommendations are in three classes, namely; changes and developments in procedures and practices, retrofit of existing equipment, and changes in design philosophy. The need for maintaining three point contact at all times during mounting and dismounting is emphasised.