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Auflistung nach Autor:in "Hearl, Frank"

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  • Konferenzbeitrag
    Protecting Workers: Exposure Limits to Exposure Controls
    (Environmental Informatics and Systems Research, 2007) Hearl, Frank
    Occupational hygienists have used exposure limits as a trigger for remedial action, a target for engineering control efforts, and as a tool in selecting appropriate personal protective equipment. The limits have often been set in the absence of complete scientific understanding and with significant uncertainties. The formal processes for modifying existing limits or setting new limits are often controversial and slow to respond to changing conditions, such as the introduction of new materials or exposure situations, e.g. mixtures. Hygienists often use professional judgement when dealing with situations where exposure limits are inadequate or non-existent, for example for biological agents and nanomaterials. New systematic approaches to exposure control have been devised that use gross properties, qualitative exposure assessment, and categorical risk phrases to guide in the selection of appropriate control strategies. Applying these techniques along with appropriate professional judgement can be used to protect workers from potentially harmful exposures in the absence of complete scientific information.
  • Konferenzbeitrag
    The NIOSH Science Blog: Social Media Dissemination of Occupational Safety and Health Information
    (Integration of Environmental Information in Europe, 2010) Hearl, Frank; Tisdale-Pardi, Julie; Blosser, Fred; Lum, Max; Sublet, Virginia; Howard, John
    The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) created the NIOSH Science Blog to provide a new way to further the Institute’s long-standing commitment to optimizing two-way communication with partners, stakeholders, and the public. The blog provides an opportunity for NIOSH scientists and stakeholders to present ideas to each other while engaging in robust scientific discussion with the goal of protecting workers. The Blog is structured to serve as a portal for open and honest scientific communication. Since beginning the NIOSH Science Blog in November 2007, the Blog has addressed over 65 topics ranging from work place fatalities, to body art (tattooing); to Vuvuzelas (noise induced hearing loss). The number of “hits” on the site has been growing steadily from over 18,000 in 2007; 95,000 in 2008; 167,000 in 2009; and over 68,000 hits in the first five months of 2010. Using the blog, NIOSH has been able to reach readers in a format they are increasingly using in a personal and professional capacity, tailor the messages to quickly address emerging issues, and to disseminate information relevant to workers and the public through an interactive medium that was not formerly available.
  • Konferenzbeitrag
    Translating Research to Practice: Motivating the Reduction of Occupational Safety and Health Risks
    (Environmental Informatics and Industrial Ecology, 2008) Hearl, Frank
    The protection of workers from occupational exposure to toxic chemicals, physical hazards, and biological agents is generally prescribed by legal requirements, standards established by voluntary consensus standards-setting organizations, and recommendations from current scientific research. The existence of legal standards alone does not ensure compliance by employers, nor assures safe and healthful workplaces. New strategies employing broad government, industry, and labor partnerships combined with the use of social media to communicate risks and best practices for risk reduction, motivates adoption of best practices for control of workplace hazards. In partnership with employers, unions, government agencies, and other associations, technology transfer activities are being promoted that have resulted in demonstrated improvement. To achieve effective diffusion of technologies, and to motivate beneficial changes reducing risks, a wide variety of health communications tools are used including Internet resources such as Google, Wikipedia, YouTube, and Flickr and other forms of social media. Additionally, application of economic analysis, prevention through design initiative, and other technology transfer approaches are used to motivate and empower employers, health professionals, and workers to implement best practices for the reduction of occupational safety and health risks.
  • Konferenzbeitrag
    Using Risk Analysis to Guide Worker Protection
    (Environmental Informatics and Industrial Environmental Protection: Concepts, Methods and Tools, 2009) Hearl, Frank
    National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Centers for Disease Control and Prevention U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 395 E St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201 frank.hearl@cdc.hhs.gov Risk assessment and risk management processes are used to assess the safety and health implications of exposures to toxic substances and physical agents. Occupational hygienists use a particular set of risk assessment tools to identify, evaluate, and characterize workplace hazards. Once characterized, they develop control strategies for remediation or amelioration of occupational safety and health risks. In some cases, risk assessment is simply provided by using established occupational exposure limits (OELs) for toxic substances. The OEL provides scaling for measured concentrations of chemicals and provides a target for engineering control efforts. Using an OEL-derived hazard index also provides a tool for selecting appropriate personal protective equipment such as respirators. Alternative methods for risk management are available to occupational hygienists when OELs are inadequate or non-existent. Methods available include applying expert opinion, hazard and control banding, and direct risk analysis. To maintain credibility and acceptance, risk assessment and policy decisions based on them must be transparent. Data sources and expert system algorithms must be presented in an open manner that provides for data quality, inspection, and integrity. Access to data in real-time is also essential when direct risk assessments are used to guide controls and when methods that do not rely on established OELs are used. For example during the early phases of the 2009 novel H1N1 influenza outbreak, there were few data available on the infectivity or virulence of the virus. No vaccine is available as an alternative control measure. The risk model described here provides some insights on the decisions to provide extra precautions to health care workers treating known or suspected H1N1 cases given various assumed prevalence and infection rates.