Long-term ethylene oxide exposure trends in US hospitals: Relationship with OSHA regulatory and enforcement actions

American Journal of Public Health

Volumn 94, Issue 9, 2004, Pages 1614-1619

  LaMontagne, Anthony D ^a   Oakes, J Michael ^b   Turley, Ruth N Lopez ^c  

^a UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE   (Australia)

^b UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA   (United States)

^c UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN MADISON   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ETHYLENE OXIDE;

ARTICLE; HOSPITAL; HUMAN; LONG TERM EXPOSURE; OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE; OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY; SHIFT WORKER; STANDARD; UNITED STATES;

EID: 4344683930     PISSN: 00900036     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.94.9.1614     Document Type: Article

References (43)

1. Wegman DH. The potential impact of epidemiology on the prevention of occupational disease. Am J Public Health. 1992;82:944-954.
2. National Occupational Research Agenda. Atlanta, Ga: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; 1996.
3. Rosenstock L, Olenec C, Wagner GR. The national occupational research agenda: a model of broad stakeholder input into priority setting. Am J Public Health. 1998;88:353-356.
4. LaMontagne AD, Herrick RF, Van Dyke MV, Martyny JW, Ruttenber AJ. Exposure databases and exposure surveillance: promise and practice. Am Ind Hyg Assoc J. 2002;63:205-212.
5. Fine LJ. Surveillance and occupational health. Int J Occup Environ Health 1999;5(1):26-29.
6. Leigh JP, Markowitz SB, Fahs M, Shin C, Landrigan PJ. Occupational injury and illness in the United States. Estimates of costs, morbidity, and mortality. Arch Intern Med. 1997;157:1557-1568.
7. Gomez MR. Exposure surveillance tools needed in agency GPRA plans. Am Ind Hyg Assoc J. 1998;59:371-374.
8. Gomez MR. Exposure assessment must stop being local. Appl Occup Environ Hyg. 2000;15:15-20.
9. Stewart PA, Rice C. A source of exposure data for occupational epidemiology studies. Appl Occup Environ Hyg. 1990;5:359-363.
10. Boiano JM, Hull RD. Development of a National Occupational Exposure Survey and Database associated with NIOSH hazard surveillance initiatives. Appl Occup Environ Hyg. 2001;16:128-134.
11. Goldenhar LM, LaMontagne AD, Katz T, Heaney C, Landsbergis P. The intervention research process in occupational safety and health: an overview from the NORA Intervention Effectiveness Research Team. J Occup Environ Med. 2001;43:616-622.
12. LaMontagne AD. Evaluation of OSHA health standards. In: Levy BS, Wegman DH, eds. Occupational Health: Recognizing and Preventing Work-Related Disease. 4th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2000:134-135.
13. Stayner L, Kuempel E, Rice F, Prince M, Althouse R. Approaches for assessing the efficacy of occupational health and safety standards. Am J Ind Med. 1996;29:353-357.
14. LaMontagne AD, Kelsey KT. OSHA's renewed mandate for regulatory flexibility review: in support of the 1984 ethylene oxide standard. Am J Ind Med. 1998;34:95-104.
15. Ethylene oxide. In: Some Industrial Chemicals. Lyons, France: International Agency for Research on Cancer, World Health Organization; 1994:73-159. IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans; Vol 60.
16. Ethylene oxide. In: Some Industrial Chemicals. Lyons, France: International Agency for Research on Cancer, World Health Organization; 1994:73-159. IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans; Vol 60.
17. LaMontagne AD, Kelsey KT. Ethylene oxide. In: Rom WN, ed. Environmental and Occupational Medicine. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott-Raven Publishers; 1998:1145-1155.
18. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Occupational exposure to ethylene oxide: final standard. 49 Federal Register 25734-25809 (1984).
19. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Occupational exposure to ethylene oxide; final standard. 53 Federal Register 11414-11438 (1988).
20. Meridian Research Inc. Ethylene oxide: a case study in hazard identification, OSHA regulation, and market response. Final report. Silver Spring, Md: Submitted to Office of Program Evaluation, OSHA, by Meridian Research, Inc; 1992 July 21. Available by request to OSHA.
21. LaMontagne AD, Kelsey KT. Evaluating OSHA's ethylene oxide standard: employer exposure monitoring activities in Massachusetts hospitals from 1985-1993. Am J Public Health. 1997;87:1119-1125.
22. Puskar MA, Hecker LH. Field validation of passive dosimeters for the determination of employee exposures to ethylene oxide in hospital product sterilization facilities. Am Ind Hygiene Assoc J. 1989;50:30-36.
23. Szopinski FG, Puskar MA, Hecker LH. Field validation of three passive dosimeters for excursion limit monitoring of ethylene oxide. Am Ind Hyg Assoc J. 1991;52:151-157.
24. Steenland K, Stayner L, Greife A, et al. Mortality among workers exposed to ethylene oxide. N Engl J Med. 1991;324:1402-1407.
25. LaMontagne AD, Kelsey KT. Evaluating OSHA's ethylene oxide standard: exposure determinants in Massachusetts hospitals. Am J Public Health. 2001;91:412-417.
26. Coble JB, Lees PSJ, Matanoski G. Time trends in exposure measurements from OSHA compliance inspections in the pulp and paper industry. Appl Occup Environ Hyg. 2001;16:263-270.
27. Brown H, Prescott R. Applied Mixed Models in Medicine. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons; 1999.
28. Hardin JW, Hilbe JM. Generalized Estimating Equations. New York, NY: Chapman & Hall; 2003.
29. Woolridge JM. Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press; 2002.
30. White H. Maximum likelihood estimation of misspecified models. Econometrica. 1982;50(1):1-26.
31. Long JS, Ervin LH. Using heteroscedasticity consistent standard errors in the linear regression model. Am Statistician. 2000;54:217-224.
32. Gauging Control Technology and Regulatory Impacts in Occupational Safety and Health-An Appraisal of OSHA's Analytical Approach. Washington, DC: US Congress Office of Technology Assessment; 1995. Report OTA-ENV-635.
33. Melville R, Lippmann M. Influence of data elements in OSHA air sampling database on occupational exposure levels. Appl Occup Environ Hyg. 2001;16:884-899.
34. Elliott LJ, Ringenburg VL, Morelli-Schroth P, Halperin WE, Herrick RF. Ethylene oxide exposures in hospitals. Appl Ind Hyg. 1988;3:141-145.
35. Elliott L, Mortimer V, Ringenburg V, Kercher S, O'Brien D. Effect of engineering controls and work practices in reducing ethylene-oxide exposure during the sterilization of hospital supplies. Scand J Work Environ Health. 1988;14(suppl 1):40-42.
36. LaMontagne AD, Kelsey KT, Christiani DC, Plantamura D. Ethylene Oxide Health and Safety Manual: Training and Reference Materials on the Safe Use of Ethylene Oxide in Sterilizing Facilities. 2nd ed. Braintree, Mass: Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Massachusetts Respiratory Hospital; 1990.
37. Berk RA, Freedman DA. Statistical Assumptions as Empirical Commitments. Los Angeles, Calif: University of California; 2001. Report A307.
38. McQuiston TH, Zackocs RC, Loomis D. The case for stronger OSHA enforcement-evidence from evaluation research. Am J Public Health. 1998;88:1022-1024.
39. Weil D. If OSHA is so bad, why is compliance so good? RAND J Economics. 1996;27:618-640.
40. Gray WB, Scholz JT. Does regulatory enforcement work? A panel analysis of OSHA enforcement. Law Society Review. 1993;27:177-213.
41. Occupational Safety and Health Administration Web site. OSH Statistics. Available at: http://www.osha.gov/oshstats/index.html. Accessed October 15, 2002.
42. Halperin W, Baker EL, Monson RR, eds. Public Health Surveillance. New York, NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold; 1992.
43. Fine LJ. The importance of information dissemination in the prevention of occupational cancer. Environ Health Perspect. 1995;103(suppl 8):217-218.