Deep South ERC – RENEWED!

Deep South ERC Renewed!

The team at the Deep South Center for Occupational Health and Safety Education and Research Center (DSC ERC) at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is pleased to announce that our Center has been renewed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for the project period 2022-2027.

Since 1982, the Deep South Center for Occupational Health and Safety has been a cornerstone of OHS Education, Research and Outreach in the Southeast. We are addressing the burden of OSH in our region by providing state-of-the-art interdisciplinary training for the next generation of OSH practitioners and researchers. Our Trainees will take their experiences and training into the field and transfer knowledge to practice. We are proud of the work of our Faculty, Program Directors and Trainees—who make each component of our ERC successful toward our goal to protect and promote the health and safety of workers. The research, mentoring and leadership in the DSC provides a solid foundation for the success of our programs and Trainees.

The Deep South Center is a consortium of programs at two universities—UAB and Auburn. We offer advanced degrees in Industrial Hygiene (School of Public Health), Occupational Health Nursing (School of Nursing) at UAB and Occupational Safety and Ergonomics and Occupational Injury Prevention at Auburn University in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. Along with coursework and research, ERC Trainees also take part in center-wide interdisciplinary projects, and participate in professional and research focused conferences, meetings and organizations.

The DSC’s commitment to Outreach and Continuing Educations is evidenced by our strong presence and support of the OSH community, offering courses and conference support and by reaching out to minority and underserved worker populations.

Finally, our DSC Pilot Project Research Training Program provides competitive annual awards to emerging researchers in our region. PPRT outcomes are shared annually at the Southeast Regional Research Symposium—a collaboration of several ERCs and Agricultural Safety and Health Centers in the Southeast.

We thank you for your participation and support of the ERC—be it in a CE course, a conference, as a member of our Board of Advisors—a host at a site—or as one of our graduates, faculty, university administrators or community leaders—without your support, we would not be a Center of Excellence in the NIOSH portfolio.

We look forward to serving you in the coming years.

Claudiu Lungu, PhD,

Center Director

Allyn Holladay

Deputy Director/Director CE and Outreach

Perrin Murray

Program Manager II

Laura Wilson,

Admin. Project Specialist

Jonghwa Oh, PhD,
Program Director, Industrial Hygiene

Karen Heaton, PhD,
Program Director, Occupational Health Nursing

Sean Gallagher, PhD,
Program Director, Occupational Injury Prevention

Mark Schall, PhD,
Program Director, Occupational Safety and Ergonomics

Deep South ERC @ MSHA

Andrew Perkins, CIH was awarded the Hugh Talbert Merit Award for his many years of dedication, as a long-standing committee member of the Southeast Mine Safety & Health Conference.

Several IH students were recipients of the Deep South Center Scholarship:

- Jasna M. Rossner- Williams
- Donglee Yang
- Kelvin Duy Dam

ASSP Annual Awards Luncheon:

At the AL Chapter of ASSP annual awards luncheon on May 14, 2021, several of our UAB and Auburn University students won scholarships along with Allyn Holladay, the Deep South Center Deputy Director and Continuing Education Director, who won the SPY award for academics. Congratulations!

Faculty Achievements 2021

2021 Ergonomics Best Paper Award by the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors:

Mehdizadeh A, Vinel A, Hu Q, Schall Jr MC, Gallagher S, Sesek RF. (2020). Job rotation and work-related musculoskeletal disorders: a fatigue failure perspective. Ergonomics. 63(4), 461-476. doi: 10.1080/00140139.2020.1717644

https://think.taylorandfrancis.com/journal-prize-ergonomics-journal-best-paper-award/?utm_source=TFO&utm_medium=cms&utm_campaign=JOB08218

Recent Publications: 2021

J. G. Balanay, J. Oh. 2021. Adsorption Characteristics of Activated Carbon Fibers in Respirator Cartridges for Toluene. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 18(16), 8505.
R. Thaper, B. Fagen, J. Oh. 2021. Decontamination of Respirators Amid Shortages due to SARS-CoV-2. Photochem Photobiol Sci. 20(7), 955-965.
R. Thaper, J. Oh, R. Sesek. 2021. Performance of Smart Device Noise Measurement Applications: A Literature Review. Prof. Safety. 66(06): 38-46.
M. C. M. Tsou, S. C. C. Lung, Y. S. Shen, C. H. Liu, Y. H. Hsieh, N. Chen, J. S. Hwang. 2021. A community-based study on associations between PM2. 5 and PM1 exposure and heart rate variability using wearable low-cost sensing devices. Environmental Pollution, 277, 116761.
L. Locke, O. Dada, J. C. Shedd. 2021. Aerosol Transmission of Infectious Disease and the Efficacy of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): A Systematic Review. J Occup Environ Med. doi: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000002366.
M. Summers, J. Oh, C. T. Lungu. 2021. Determination of Activated Carbon Fiber Adsorption Capacity for Several Common Organic Vapors: Applications for Respiratory Protection. In revision.
Bardhan, C.T. Lungu. 2021. Investigating Low Dose Ionizing Radiation Exposure and Health Risk among a University Hospital Radiation Employees. Safety. In review.
Coker J, Chen H, Schall Jr MC, Gallagher S, Zabala M. (2021). EMG and Joint Angle-Based Machine Learning to Predict Future Joint Angles at the Knee. Sensors. 21(11), 3622. doi: 10.3390/s21113622
Schall Jr MC, *Zhang X, Chen H, Gallagher S, Fethke N. (2021). Comparing Upper Arm and Trunk Kinematics between Manufacturing Workers Performing Predominantly Cyclic and Non-cyclic Work Tasks. Applied Ergonomics. 93, 103356. doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2021.103356

Welcome & Congratulations 2021

Welcome DSC new OHN and OSE trainees:

Cindy Joffrion
Aaron Bidwell
Karen Riehm
Evan Hamner

Congratulations to our Recent OSE MISE Graduates!

Blake Hilgen and Natalie Gentry

Disparities in Occupational Health Webinar

The Deep South Center ERC was honored to host Dr. Zeke McKinney on October 1, 2021, to speak on Disparities in Occupational Health. Dr. McKinney is the Program Director for HealthPartners Institute where he holds an Occupational and Environmental Medicine Residency, and he is an Affiliate Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

BOA Member Ellen Hahn, PhD Presentation

Citizen Science and Policy Development to Reduce Environmental Exposures and Foster Environmental Justice

Monday, June 14 from 1245 – 1345 pm

Dr. Ellen Hahn is an environmental health nurse researcher from the University of Kentucky College of Nursing. Her work on tobacco control changed policy so that cigarettes, cigar, and vaping use was banned in restaurants, bars, and other public venues in Kentucky. At the time, it was the largest tobacco-producing state in the country. While she still focuses on tobacco control, she is now researching the effects of radon. Dr. Hahn is on the OHN advisory board for the Deep South Center for OHS, is the OHN Director for the Central Appalachian ERC, and will be speaking next week via ZOOM at the UAB SON PhD Program Intensive.

https://uab.zoom.us/j/96206747114?pwd=c1NmNks5b00yTVlEd1Fpclh2MkRBQT09

DSC @ AIHce 2021

Faculty Presenting: Monday, May 26

Research Roundup Ergonomics ~ 10:00 a.m.–10:30 a.m. The Shoulder Tool: A New Risk Assessment Tool for Shoulder MSDs. Sean Gallagher, Auburn University

Research Roundup Sampling and Analysis 2:30 p.m.–3:00 p.m. Thermal Properties of Buckypaper Sorbent used in Newly Developed Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Sampler. Claudiu Lungu, University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Graduate Students Presenting: Tuesday, May 25

Connecting Students and Career Professionals, Part 1 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Moderator: Jacob Shedd, University of Alabama at Birmingham. Presenters: Alessandra Pratt, University of Iowa; David McMahan, University of Alabama at Birmingham; Vishal Nathu, University of Cincinnati.

UAB Doctoral Student Research Presentations: 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Moderator: David McMahan, University of Alabama at Birmingham. Presenters: Jacob Shedd; Margaret Summers; Nathan Chen, University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Posters Presentations

Mon, May 24: 3:15 PM – 4:15 PM

Transmission of Hand-Arm Vibration (HAV) and Vascular Disorder of Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS): Laboratory Simulation of Grass Trimmer Operations, Nathan Chen

Transmission of Hand-Arm Vibration (HAV) during Backpack Blower Operations, Chris Hughes, MPH

Backpack Blower Noise Exposure Assessment: A Laboratory Simulation, David McMahan

Development of a Fit Matching App: Prioritizing Gap Measurement Locations between Safety Eyewear and the Wearer’ Face, Erin Lindsey

Noise Exposure during Laboratory Simulation of Grass-Trimmer Operations, Andrew Spivey

Alumni Presenting

Monday, May 24

Effect of Extended Use/Reuse of Masks and Filtering Facepiece Respirators on Fit and Filtration Efficiency, 11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Presenter and Moderator: Evan Floyd, University of Oklahoma Health

Tuesday, May 25

**Research Roundup Big Data 8:30 a.m.–9:00 a.m. Comparison Between OSHA-NIOSH Heat Safety Tool App and WBGT Monitor to Assess Heat Stress Risk in Agriculture.** Jo Anne Balanay, East Carolina University.

Wednesday, May 26

Sampling for SARS-CoV-2 and Deactivation of Aerosol Via 254 nm UVC 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Moderator: Evan Floyd, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Presenters: Evan Floyd; K. A. N. Aithinne, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

Respirator Fit Testing With Controlled Negative Pressure 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Presenters: Stephanie Lynch, OHD, LLLP.

Environmental & Occupational Safety & Health Institute – Confirmation

DSC Blog, Food Truck Safety

Evaluation of Aldehydes, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, and PM2.5 Levels in Food Trucks

A Pilot Study

Holden Phillips, MPH and Jonghwa Oh, PhD

Background: The food truck industry has rapidly expanded in the United States and kitchen environments can contain harmful contaminants from cooking emissions. The objective of this study was to examine the levels of aldehydes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5 generated from cooking process in food trucks.

Findings: Formaldehyde was the only aldehyde detected in all samples with a concentration range of 7.16 to 53.68 μg/m3. No PAHs were detected above the limit of quantification. Average PM 2.5 concentrations ranged from 0.65 to 7.03 mg/m3. Food Trucks 1 and 2 have an average exhaust flow rate of 211 and 215 L/s per linear meter of hood, respectively.

Methods: Area sampling was performed twice at two participating food trucks during work shifts. Nine aldehydes and eighteen PAHs were analyzed according to the relevant standard methods while PM 2.5 was measured with a real-time monitor. Ventilation performance of the food truck exhaust hoods was also investigated using a thermal anemometer.

Conclusions/Application to practice: Overall, Food Truck 2 had consistently higher levels of aldehydes and PM 2.5 with comparable ventilation performance as Food Truck 1. The higher exposure levels of Food Truck 2 could possibly be attributed to a larger volume of food orders and the heavy duty cooking equipment with an exhaust flow rate below the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) recommendations. Although more investigations need to be performed, the findings could be used to raise awareness of food truck workers and health practitioners to reduce potential exposure risks.

Applying Research to Occupational Health Practice

The food truck industry in the United States has rapidly expanded in the past few years. Food truck environments are unique workplaces where workers use diverse thermal cooking appliances in a very limited space. In this pilot study, we examined the levels of contaminants generated through the cooking process within food trucks, including PM 2.5, aldehydes, and PAHs. In addition, the performance of the ventilation system of food trucks was also investigated. Our findings suggest potential exposure to formaldehyde and PM 2.5 with inadequate ventilation especially in a busier food truck, that is, higher emission and lower exhaust flow rate. Although more investigations need to be performed, the findings could be used to raise awareness of food truck workers and health practitioners to reduce potential risks of such exposures. Relatively simple engineering controls to improve the C&C efficiency of the existing ventilation system such as adding side panels to the hood and decreasing setback of the hood could be implemented wherever applicable.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES

Holden Phillips, MPH is an industrial hygienist/safety technician at AMERICAN Cast Iron Pipe Company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. He earned an MPH degree at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) with a focus on industrial hygiene in 2019.

Jonghwa Oh, PhD is an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at UAB. She earned a PhD in environmental health sciences (industrial hygiene track) from UAB. Her main research area is on improving occupational exposure assessment and control methods.

Author’s Note: This study does not represent the views of the authors’ affiliations and its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

Funding: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This study was supported in part by The Deep South Center for Occupational Health and Safety (Grant #T42OH008436 from NIOSH).

ORCID iD: Jonghwa Oh https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6017-0963

Supplemental Material: Supplemental material for this article is available online.

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