Shafee S. Almahi, Mohammednour Mukhtar Mohammednour Ali, Mohammed O. Adam
et al.
Background: Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) involves informal, small-scale investments in gold mining using low technology. It accounts for 39% of annual mercury emissions, in addition to cyanide emissions. Mercury and cyanide have toxic effects on health and environment, especially from direct exposure. Protective measures and knowledge are crucial for controlling these hazards. We aimed in this study to assess health impacts and knowledge about mercury and cyanide, as well as attitudes regarding personal protective equipment (PPE) among gold miners directly exposed to these toxicants. Methods: This community-based cross-sectional study was conducted at a mining site in River-Nile State using a self-structured questionnaire. The study included 269 participants, and the data were analyzed using SPSS. Descriptive statistics were employed to summarize and present the data. Results: The mean age was 31 years. Elemental mercury was the mostly used chemical (98.5%), exposure forms included hand and foot handling (64.5%) and vapor (35.5%). Cyanide was used by 7.8%, exposure forms included vapor (60%) and hand handling (50%). The most reported complaints were persistent headache (32%), numbness and tingling (10%), itching (9.5%), and tremors (7%). PPE was not used by 52.5% of participants. The average overall knowledge score was 8.7/17. PPE use was associated with higher overall knowledge and lower prevalence of headache and skin rash (p<0.05). Long daily working hours were associated with headache, while prolonged work duration was associated with numbness (p<0.05). Conclusion: The majority of participants did not use PPE and had low average overall knowledge about mercury and cyanide toxicity.
Industrial safety. Industrial accident prevention, Medicine (General)
Eleonora Moraca, Francesco Zaghini, Jacopo Fiorini
et al.
Background: Organizational constraints in healthcare organizations influence nursing performance and patient outcomes. Head nurses’ leadership style might mitigate these effects and improve patient safety. This study aims to evaluate the role of ethical and authentic leadership styles in the relationship between organizational constraints and errors. Methods: A nationwide multicenter cross-sectional study evaluated nurses’ organizational constraints, errors, and leadership styles. A structural equation model tested the hypothesized relationship. Results: In total, 2349 nurses working in Italian healthcare organizations were enrolled. Negative associations were found between organizational constraints and leadership styles, and a positive relation with errors. Errors were negatively associated with both leadership styles. The structural equation model showed that leadership styles partially mediated the relationship between organizational constraints and errors. Conclusion: Healthcare organizations should promote and support head nurses in the adoption of ethical and authentic leadership to mediate organizational constraint effects, reduce errors, and enhance the caring quality. The head nurse plays a crucial role within healthcare organizations in mitigating the impact of organizational constraints and enhancing patient safety. Developing a leadership style means improving nurses’ well-being and reducing clinical errors for patients.
Industrial safety. Industrial accident prevention, Medicine (General)
Homa Vaezi, Ata Ghaffari Gilandeh, Alireza Mohammadi
Background and Objective Due to the importance of hazardology strategy in the formulation of national and regional laws and guidelines, contemporary cognitive scientists specializing in hazards clarify the complexities of scientific research in this field by developing and explaining the human and natural nature of hazards through direct examination of hazardous events and scientific action. Traditional methods in disaster management are no longer sufficient for the country’s needs. It is essential to address risk reduction and disaster management strategically and fundamentally, with the participation and responsibility of all relevant sectors and organizations. This must be based on a thorough evaluation and understanding of the roots and negative impacts of all hazards and incidents, considering social factors such as meaningful and impactful public participation as a national prioritized using the quantitative strategic planning matrix (QSPM) method.
Method Data collection methods include library and field research. The statistical population comprises 35 individuals, including disaster management experts, as well as professors and researchers who are working on this topic. They were selected using judgmental sampling. To propose strategies, internal and external factors were identified and evaluated. To analyze the data, the SWOT method and the QSPM method was used.
Results Based on the results of the internal factors evaluation matrix, the weaknesses in the system outweigh its strengths. Similarly, based on the results of the external factors evaluation matrix, the threats to the system are greater than its opportunities. Consequently, the community-based disaster management system of Ardabil City is in a defensive position.
Conclusion In order to strengthen the community-based approach, it is necessary to plan and take action to reduce weaknesses and avoid threats. Based on the results obtained from the QSPM method, 13 strategies were ultimately obtained.
Risk in industry. Risk management, Industrial safety. Industrial accident prevention
Work–Family Integration (WFI) is the decision-making process that enables an individual to effectively balance work, family, and personal responsibilities, generating a level of personal satisfaction aligned with the management of these demands. This research aims to explore the potential links between personal competencies facilitating work and family integration (WFI Competencies), employer-provided support (WFI Support), perceived satisfaction in role integration (WFI Satisfaction), and their association with organizational performance indicators and the overall health of professionals in dependent employment. Data were obtained via an online questionnaire administered to 270 professionals possessing a university education or higher, employed in public or private organizations spanning various sectors in Venezuela. The data were subsequently analyzed utilizing Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The study was divided into two main parts: the factorial analysis (both exploratory and confirmatory) of measurement models and the analysis of the relationships and modeling inherent to the structural model. Initially, two diagnostic instruments were developed, one for WFI Competencies and another for WFI Indicators; though applied simultaneously, their structuring and validation were conducted separately. In the subsequent phase, conceptual models for structural analysis were defined. A positive relationship was observed between WFI Support and WFI Satisfaction, corroborating findings from previous research. The relationships between WFI Competencies and Satisfaction led to insights into the necessity of training to strengthen the personal decision-making process under the dual pressures of work and family roles. Future longitudinal studies could elucidate the effects of relationships within such programs on WFI Satisfaction. Concerning organizational indicators, this study found that WFI Satisfaction positively correlates with organizational commitment, enhancing work productivity and mitigating negative health effects. This research presents a model that could be replicated in other countries and with various sample types, facilitating comparative analyses that enrich the body of knowledge on this subject.
Industrial safety. Industrial accident prevention, Medicine (General)
Dolf van der Beek, Wouter Martinus Petrus Steijn, Jop Groeneweg
In this article, the authors apply the intervention mapping (IM) protocol to develop safety leadership training for a rail infrastructure maintenance company. The IM protocol helps to create an evidence-based intervention in a structured way, based on concrete evidence. The application of IM within the occupational safety domain is limited, a research gap that this article bridges with the development and testing of a safety leadership intervention to promote safety behavior among managers. The company was positively and actively engaged in the training program thanks to the IM protocol. The local support group took full advantage of the opportunities to provide input during the development of the training’s various components. Despite this, interpersonal problems within the leadership team itself, such as a lack of psychological safety, were not identified during the needs assessment. These issues had an impact on the overall effectiveness of the training, as they manifested during the training when managers met physically for the first time in several years (due to the coronavirus). Our IM protocol will be adjusted accordingly for future applications, and we hope that sharing our experiences will enable fellow researchers to avoid this problem.
Industrial safety. Industrial accident prevention, Medicine (General)
A. A. Abikenova, F. Zhandauletova, T. S. Sanatova
et al.
RELEVANCE of the work lies in establishing the relationship between industrial injuries, when online monitoring in the electric grid company, with the influence of hazardous production factors, since the latter is the cause of accidents, Accidents and other occupational hazards of employees and loss of health of employees. For this purpose it is necessary to develop methods of causes, nature and application of systems of prevention and localization of accidents, accidents. THE PURPOSE. The article discusses possible solutions to an urgent problem - analysis and determination of the causes of industrial injuries and occupational morbidity in the electric power industry and assessment of occupational risks of workers and loss of health of workers at hazardous production facilities, as well as the lack of attention of employers to the reconstruction and modernization of production, the development andapplication of warning systems and localization of accidents, accidents, preventive work, control over the state of the production environment and compliance with sanitary and hygienic requirements, which will generally lead to industrial safety. METHODS. The main research method was the development and application of systems for the prevention and localization of accidents, accidents, preventive work, monitoring the state of the production environment and compliance with sanitary and hygienic requirements. RESULTS. The methods of online monitoring of the parameters of working conditions are considered, while the authors carried out special studies of the complex influence of adverse environmental factors and working conditions, which make it possible to unambiguously identify priority etiological factors, as well as sources of impact on the human environment. CONCLUSION. Attention is drawn to the prospects of the adverse impact ofproduction factors under conditions of intensive technogenic pollution of the environment. The authors believe that in order to increase the effectiveness of socio-hvgienic monitoring in the analysis and forecasting of the impact of the environment on the health of the population, it is necessary to develop objective criteria for assessing both the natural and industrial environment in order to study significant changes and develop measures to improve and improve working conditions and means management of production safety, adaptive capabilities of the body and the prevention of environmental pathology.
A. Shybanova, O. Mitryasova, Elvira A. Dzhumelia
et al.
The mining and chemical industry causes pollution of the soil and water environment both during its operation and after its termination. The waste of large industrial complexes poses a particular danger to the aquatic environment. Tailings storage facilities located in the Dniester River basin are characterized by a low level of environmental safety of these facilities, which indicates unsatisfactory management and their neglected state. Violation of the rules for the operation of tailings can lead to industrial accidents on a transboundary scale with uncontrolled emissions of pollutants and devastating consequences for the environment.The purpose of the study is to assess the impact of waste from State Enterprise “Rozdil mining and chemical enterprise “Sirka”” on the quality of the largest water bodies in the area of influence of this enterprise – lakes Serednie, Hlyboke and Kysle, located near industrial waste storage areas, and the mine channel through which water flows into the transboundary river Dniester.The work experimentally determined and analyzed the indicators of water samples taken in 2021–2022 from the largest reservoirs in the zone of influence of SE “Rozdil MCE “Sirka”” – lakes Serednie, Hlyboke and Kysle, located near industrial waste storage sites and the water from which flows into the transboundary Dniester River along the mining channel (channel of Lake Hlyboke-Dniester River).In the analyzed water samples of the Hlyboke, Seredne, Kysle lakes and the mine channel, an excess of the MPC for sulfates is observed by 1.5–6 times, and the mineralization index by 2.3–3 times. There is a tendency to decrease the content of ammonium nitrogen in the studied reservoirs. In 2017 and in 2021–2022, there was a deviation from the water pH standards in Lake Kysle, as well as exceeding the MPC for phosphates, sulfates, ammonium nitrogen, and mineralization. In the mine channel, the maximum limit was found to be exceeded according to the following indicators: pH, sulfates, ammonium nitrogen.It is expedient to consider the issue of environmental safety of tailings at both the international and national levels. It is extremely important to improve the policy of prevention and liquidation of the consequences of accidents, interaction between civil protection management bodies and enterprises.
The mining industry, currently undergoing profound changes, is destined to play an increasingly important economic role in the province of Quebec, Canada. Activity in this sector, its real net impact on government tax revenue, the economy, society, and the creation of wealth, is the subject of much discussion. Occupational health and safety is a major preoccupation in the mining sector, in which considerable numbers of workers suffer workplace accidents or occupational diseases due to the use of industrial chemicals, compounding the problem of exposure to noxious substances that exist naturally in mines or are produced inevitably in the course of normal mining operations. Air in mines thus can become laden with a wide variety of chemical agents, in the form of suspended solids, liquid droplets, and vapors and gases. Long-term exposure to most of these agents can seriously harm the health of mineworkers. Prevention remains the key to avoiding the social and economic consequences of these hazards and will make mining a more attractive sector for investment and employment in Canada. The principal focus of this study, presented in two articles, is to set a preliminary theoretical framework for categorizing chemicals in terms of their effects on the health of mineworkers throughout the various phases of mining projects. The objective is to decrease (over the long term) the number of occupational diseases due to the use of chemicals by raising awareness among employers and exposed workers in the mining sector. This research was conducted in four phases. The first article presented a review of the literature [1] on the chemical aspects of health and safety in mining in the province of Quebec. In the present article, the findings on the recurrence of health problems attributable to chemicals encountered in mines and how these effects should therefore be ranked from an occupational health and safety perspective are presented. The results show that various forms of dermatitis are the most recurrent health and safety risk.
Hamid Reza Mehryar, Narges Alizadeh, Fatemeh Rostampour
et al.
Aims: Traffic accidents are one of the major causes of death and disability worldwide. The aim of this study was to determine the causes of road accidents in northwestern Iran in the period of 2010–2018. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on all road traffic accidents recorded by traffic police of West Azerbaijan Province during 2010–2018. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square t-test, and time series by SPSS 16. Results: A total of 95,788 registered accidents were included in the study. Most of the accidents were in September with the frequency of 9960 cases (10.4%), in residential, office, and industrial regions 58,550 (56%), by cars and taxi 80,949 (66%), in collisions between a vehicle with a bicycle and a motorcycle 56,728 (58%), in front-to-rear and right-side crashes 49,714 (47%), in rural and main roads 59,855 (62%), in clean weather 73,887 (73%), and on Thursday 14891 (15%); the occurrence of traffic accidents showed a significant relationship with all of these variables (P = 0.001). Conclusions: Month of accident, type of accident, day of the week, location of accident, use of vehicle, type of collision, mode of collision, accident path, and weather were the effective factors contributing in the occurrence of the traffic accidents. It is suggested that, in addition to educating people regarding the prevention of traffic accidents, policymakers take steps to improve the safety and standardization of roads and increase the safety of vehicles.
Introduction. The research of energy-absorbing element made of aluminum alloy, which is part of the passive safety system of a racing car, is carried out in the article. Designing and testing of the energy absorbing element was performed within the framework of the technical regulations of the international student engineering competition Formula SAE. Formula SAE is an engineering competition of student teams organized by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).The design and analysis of the dynamic performance of the research object were performed in the computer-aided design system (CAD) ANSYS® Workbench SpaceClaim and ANSYS Explicit Dynamics.Problem Statement. The task of this research is to analyze the effectiveness of the use of aluminum alloy as the main material for the manufacture of the energy-absorbing element of the passive safety system of the car.Theoretical Part. Eleven structures of different shapes (structures) made of aluminum alloy 6063 were developed as promising models of energy-absorbing elements. A simulation crash test (frontal impact) was carried out, as a result of which it was possible to study the flow of deformation in the structure, to find the main zones of stress and load. This study of energy-absorbing elements can be used to justify the choice of material for the manufacture of passive car safety elements by car manufacturers and machine builders.Conclusions. The result of the research is a simulated process of destruction (or deformation) of the energy-absorbing element responsible for the absorption of energy in case of a frontal impact. The dependence of the manufacturing material and the shape of the energy absorbing element on the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the passive car safety system has been investigated. Loads and stresses appearing in the structure of energy absorbing element have been studied. The efficiency of using aluminum alloy in promising car passive safety elements has been proved. Simulations of crash-tests showed that the use of progressive materials of construction elements of passive safety of vehicles, namely, aluminum alloys in an optimized (as a result of modeling) performance allows you to achieve high levels of protection of the pilot and passengers of the vehicle.The analysis of the absorbed energy value distribution allows revealing the direction for further improvement of the car passive safety systems. The influence of energy absorbing element manufacturing material on the processes occurring during frontal impact has been established. A universal technology of crash-testing (modeling of impact processes) of an energy absorbing element with a rigid obstacle has been developed in Ansys software. The percentage ratio (redistribution) of energy absorbed by frontal elements of passive safety of the car has been investigated.
Parivash KARIMI, Farzin MOLLAZADEH, Hossein HABIBZADEH
et al.
Introduction: Optimal nursing care is an important indicator of the quality and effectiveness of the health care system and is associated with professional commitment. This study aims to investigate the predictive power of adherence to nurses' care behaviors from patients' perspectives by nurses' professional commitment working in Urmia educational hospitals in 2018-2019.
Methods: This descriptive-cross sectional study was conducted on 100 nurses working in educational hospitals affiliated to Urmia University of Medical Sciences in 2018-2019 who were selected by stratified random sampling. Demographic information questionnaire, nurses' professional commitment questionnaire (NPCS), and nurses' caring behavior inventory (CBI) were used for data collection. The data were analyzed by SPSS 16 software using descriptive and inferential statistical methods, correlation and stepwise regression.
Results: The results of this study showed that there is a direct relationship between professional commitment and adherence to caring behaviors (r = 0.31 and p = 0.02). Moreover, dimensions of nurses 'professional commitment (perception of nursing, satisfaction with the nursing profession, getting involved with the nursing profession, and self-sacrifice for the nursing profession) account for 26% of the variance in adherence to nursing care behaviors. The dimension of nurses' professional commitment has the most significant effect after self-sacrifice for the nursing profession (P = 0.029, B = 0.30).
Conclusion: Considering the role of professional commitment on the level of adherence to nurses' caring behaviors, it is essential to recognize the factors affecting nurses’ professional commitment and make comprehensive planning to enhance the professional commitment of nurses.
Industrial safety. Industrial accident prevention, Public aspects of medicine