Journal of Occupational Health and Epidemiology

1-2

Authors: Reza Vazirinejad *

No Abstract

11-19

Authors: Mitra Shabab , Masoud Rismanchian , Sara Karimi Zeverdegani * , Hossein Ali Rangkooy

Background: The present study was carried out with the aim of extracting trace amounts of zinc in urine samples with ultrasound-assisted emulsification solidified floating organic drop micro-extraction (USAE-SFODME) method by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The efficiency was investigated using the solvent extraction volume, extraction pH, time sonication and temperature extraction. The present study was conducted aiming to respond on the efficiency of SFODME technique in extracting inorganic analytes in biological samples. Materials and Methods: This was an experimental research with several steps. After preparation standard solution of zinc, USAE-SFODME technique was used for extracting zinc cation from urine samples. This method involves centrifuge, buffer and ligand adding, sonication, extraction of analyte and finally analysis with FAAS. Excel 2010 software was used in this study in order to plot the graphs. Results: Extraction of zinc was performed under optimized conditions of 2 ml 1-(2-Pyridylazo)-2-naphthol (PAN), 90 µl 1-dodecanol, pH = 5.5, for 20 minutes at 35 ˚C. Recovery, the regression coefficient, and relative standard deviation (RSD) were obtained as 96.6% and 99.0%, respectively. RSD for tree concentration 0.8 µgml-1 Zn cation (Zn2+) was 3.4%. The limit of detection (LOD) was found to be 0.426 µgml-1. Conclusions: Using green solvents, downsizing the samples, replacement of toxic reagents use, and lack of needing the preparation of the samples are the most important advantages of this technique. USAE-SFODME has a successful development in determining trace amounts of zinc in urine samples which can be performed in chemical laboratories with rather ordinary equipment.

30-36

Authors: Haghighat Lotfi , Hassan Rezazadeh , Karim Ebrahim *

Background: Workers in different occupational positions experience significant Cu exposures, however, Cu toxicity has not been fully studied as compared to other heavy metals. In the present study, hematological and hepatic alterations have been investigated among copper mine workers. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was conducted in a copper mine in west of Iran, on 402 copper mine workers (study group) and 52 office employees (control group) during winter 2015. 5ml blood samples were provided from each subject and hematological and hepatic parameters including white blood cell (WBC), platelet (PLT), hemoglobin (HGB), hematocrit (HCT), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCH), lymphocytes, neutrophils, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and serum Cu levels have been determined using their commercial kits. The results were analyzed in the SPSS software using t-test and regression method. Results: ALT, AST, HGB, MCV, MCH and plasma Cu levels among the workers were significantly higher than the office employees (p<0.050). WBC and RBC counts among the workers were significantly lower than the control group (p= 0.049 and 0.024, respectively). Serum Cu levels of 215 of the workers were higher than its normal recommended range (120 µg/dl). For the subjects with serum Cu levels above 150 µg/dl, increases in AST and ALT were in compliance with serum Cu levels increase. Conclusions: Significant hepatic and hematological alteration were observed among copper miners compared to control group. Employment of workers with background hematological and hepatic disorders in copper industries must be accompanied with great caution.

44-52

Authors: Zahra Momeni , Moslem Koohgardi * , Masoud Mohammadi

Background: Awareness of the overall status of incidents and accidents and also the relevant causes can be extremely fruitful in preventing them. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the epidemiology of incidents and accidents in Dayyer, Province of Bushehr, Iran. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 838 incident cases obtained from the registered data from the accidents and incidents registry of Dayyer health care system in 2015. The data were collected using a checklist. Then, the data were analyzed using descriptive (prevalence and percentage) and inferential (chi-square test and t-test) statistics. Results: Out of 838 registered incident cases, the overall rate of incidents was 15.1 in 1000 individuals; the rates among men and women were 22.6 and 7.3 in 1000, respectively. The highest rate belonged to men (n = 637; 76.0%) and the age range of 20-29 years (n = 201; 24.0%). The highest rate of accidents has been reported in urban regions (n = 661; 78.9%) which occurred at home (n = 340; 40.6%) and in autumn (n = 236; 28.2%). The highest rate of incidents belonged to trauma (25.4%), motorcycle crash (22.6%), and snakebite and scorpion sting (13.4%). Conclusions: The highest occurrence rates of incidents and accidents were observed among men and the young compared to other groups in Dayyer. Thus, it is necessary that the appropriate programs be prepared for the public, particularly the young, via mass media regarding observing traffic codes and helping self-protection.