Leila Nematpour - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Leila Nematpour
Work, 2022
BACKGROUND: Mental fatigue is usually accompanied by a sense of weariness, reduced alertness, and... more BACKGROUND: Mental fatigue is usually accompanied by a sense of weariness, reduced alertness, and reduced mental performance, which can lead to accidents, decrease of productivity in workplace and several other health hazards. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess mental fatigue of students while reading for a prolonged duration of time by application of electroencephalography (EEG). METHODS: Ten healthy students (27.57±3.4 years; 5 females and 5 males), participated in the study. The experimental design consisted of 5 blocks of 15-min length, in total 75 min for each participant. The experiment was done without any reading activities at the first block. In the following, participants studied the texts and corrected the mistakes. In each block EEG (beta, alpha, and theta power), and the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) were recorded. RESULTS: The mean of the self-assessment of sleepiness by KSS from the first to final 15 minutes were 2.3, 3.4, 4.3, 5.2, and 6.1, respective...
Introduction: In recent years, the importance of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) has increased more ... more Introduction: In recent years, the importance of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) has increased more than gasoline and petrol. Using this gas as a clean fuel to reduce air pollutants and restrictions on the supply of oil resources, has led to an increase in the expansion of its supply stations in the country. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the methane release model at CNG fuel stations to provide the protection map around them. Method: The present study is a case study .In this study, modeling of fire and explosion consequences has been done by using ALOHA software at one of the CNG stations in Ahvaz. In this modeling, various scenarios were examined; including creating fractures on pressurized methane tanks with diameters 0.01, 0.20 and 0.03 meters. Results: The results of this study, by comparing different scenarios, showed that by increasing the diameter of the fracture, the range of thermal radiation would be enhanced at greater distances. The diameter of the fracture from 0.01 to 0.33 mm, in 10 kw / m2 has increased from 10 to 21 meters, respectively. Moreover, in flammable range of methane vapor, the concentration of 30,000 ppm is about 60% of the minimum explosive level (LEL), which ranges from 68.58 to 160 m. Conclusion: The consequences of the explosion wave up to 160 meters and thermal radiation up to 21 meters are the most dangerous factor at CNG fuel stations that threatens employees and surrounding residential areas. Therefore, by considering the permitted distance of the residential areas, increasing safety actions, and preventing accidents around the fuel stations, casualties and accidents can be reduced.
1. Department of Occupational Health, Environmental Technologies Research Center, Health Faculty,... more 1. Department of Occupational Health, Environmental Technologies Research Center, Health Faculty, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran 2. Associate Professor, Department of Occupational Safety and Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran 3. Assistant Professor, Department of Occupational Safety and Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran 4. MSc of Occupational Health, Department of Occupational Safety and Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
Introduction: The development of residential and industrial areas has led to increasing gas consu... more Introduction: The development of residential and industrial areas has led to increasing gas consumption and overcrowding in gas supply networks. Accordingly, hazards and risks caused by human errors, processing and mechanical failures in pipelines, and gas leaks are on a rise. Several techniques have been so far proposed for identifying and controlling human errors. The main purpose of this study was to compare two human error evaluation techniques, namely, Human Error Template (HET) and Systematic Human Error Reduction and Prediction Approach (SHERPA) in gas supply operations using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to select a suitable method. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was to identify the human error modes in one of the gas supply projects operating by Kurdistan Gas Company, Kurdistan, Iran. Different tasks in gas supply operations were accordingly determined by the health, safety, and environment (HSE) unit, then the ones susceptible to human ...
Journal of Nanostructures, 2018
TiO2 is a very well-known and well-researched material due to the stability of its chemical struc... more TiO2 is a very well-known and well-researched material due to the stability of its chemical structure, biocompatibility, and its physical, optical and electrical properties. In this study, the synergistic effect of nano-TiO2 immobilized on activated carbon, zeolite Y and ZSM-5 on the removal of styrene vapors from polluted air was investigated. The prepared catalysts were characterized by SEM, BET and XRD analysis. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of AC, ZSM-5 and Y zeolite for the degradation of the styrene was attributed to the synergistic effect of TiO2. Photodegradation experiments were carried out at ambient temperature, different styrene concentrations (20, 100 and 300 ppm) and inflow of 0.5 l/min. The results indicate that adding TiO2 to the adsorbents increased the removal efficiency of styrene and among these catalysts; AC-TiO2 had a better performance. The high catalytic activity of AC-TiO2 should be attributed to the interaction between AC and TiO2, which provides the...
Journal of Occupational Hygiene Engineering, 2020
Background and Objective: Hand anthropometric data can help us properly design hand tools for bet... more Background and Objective: Hand anthropometric data can help us properly design hand tools for better efficiency and less fatigue in individuals. This study aimed to measure and analyze hand anthropometric data of Iranian farmers in order to determine the characteristics of farmers' hands separately for each ethnicity so that they can be used to design hand tools and working stations. This study measured 8 dimensions to design the appropriate hand tools in Iranian farmers. Materials and Methods: This study measured the hand dimensions of 600 farmers in four ethnicities of Lor, Kurd, Arab, and Fars in Iran. Moreover, it attempted to compare the data taken from the employees' hand dimensions in each ethnicity separately, as well as those in other countries to design hand tools appropriate for the corresponding country. Results: The results showed the mean length of hand (19.82±1.53), hand metacarpal width (9.47±1.59), hand width to thumb tip (11.81±1.33), and hand metacarpal th...
Journal of Health and Safety at Work, Nov 10, 2020
Introduction: The development of residential and industrial areas has led to increasing gas consu... more Introduction: The development of residential and industrial areas has led to increasing gas consumption and overcrowding in gas supply networks. Accordingly, hazards and risks caused by human errors, processing and mechanical failures in pipelines, and gas leaks are on a rise. Several techniques have been so far proposed for identifying and controlling human errors. The main purpose of this study was to compare two human error evaluation techniques, namely, Human Error Template (HET) and Systematic Human Error Reduction and Prediction Approach (SHERPA) in gas supply operations using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to select a suitable method. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was to identify the human error modes in one of the gas supply projects operating by Kurdistan Gas Company, Kurdistan, Iran. Different tasks in gas supply operations were accordingly determined by the health, safety, and environment (HSE) unit, then the ones susceptible to human errors were selected and analyzed through task analysis technique. The next step was to weight and rank the human errors by evaluating indexes based on many variables including accuracy, sensitivity, and quantity of the errors as well as usability, time, and education analysis using the Expert Choice software (ver. 11). Results: According to the findings of this research, the criteria were ranked based on accuracy (0.339), sensitivity (0.322), quantity of errors (0.118), usability (0.116), time (0.056), education (0.050), and analysis. The inconsistency ratio was also equal to 0.1, which meant that the subjective judgments were accepted. Conclusion: The results also showed that the analysis of human errors, using the HET, required less training and time, while the number of the detected errors and applicability in the SHERPA was greater. Considering the weight of the criteria, their importance in determining the superior technique and the weight of each one in relation to the criteria, the contribution of that method in the relevant criterion was expressed. Calculating the final weight of the techniques revealed that SHERPA with a weight of 0.53 was more practical compared with HET with a weight of 0.46.
Pakistan Journal of Medical and Health Sciences
Background: Chemical risk assessment is one of the major strategies that can help prioritize haza... more Background: Chemical risk assessment is one of the major strategies that can help prioritize hazardous pollutants and decide on appropriate control measures. Objective: This study aim was evaluating carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic effects of chemical and fume compounds in a steel industry in South Iran. Methods: This study conducted in one of the steel industry with 1600 workers. After sampling the inhalation air of workers exposed to various chemicals, the method provided by risk assessment information system (RAIS) was used to assess cancer carcinogenic and non-Carcinogenic risk based on the findings. Results: Asbestos with the content of 1.5×10-10, chromium 1.36×10-2, and lead 5.38×10-5 definitive cancer and definite cancer are in the category of minor cancer effects, respectively. In calculating the non-cancer risk, the risk factor for Quotient Hazard Non-cancer (HQ) in hydrogen sulfide, chromium, and manganese were 3.08×102, 5.71×10-2, and 9.13×102 respectively, indicating no...
Archives of Occupational Health
Background: Occupational injuries and work-related disabilities are among the most factors contri... more Background: Occupational injuries and work-related disabilities are among the most factors contributing to the creation of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in industry. Improper workstation and poor posture increase fatigue load and, eventually, the appearance of MSDs. In addition to reducing physical strength, MSDs mitigate accuracy, augment the accidents, and reduce job productivity. Hence, the purpose of this research was to assess the risk factors for MSDs in electrical devices assembly workers utilizing Muscle Fatigue Assessment (MFA) and Novel Ergonomic Postural Assessment (NERPA). Methods: This study was one cross-sectional descriptive study in the year … and was conducted in one electrical device manufacturing workshop in Khuzestan province along with 84 female workers. 13 jobs and 32 postures were selected in this workshop. Nordic Questionnaire was used to determine the frequency of MSDs. Then, the risk levels were specified in the studied individuals with the use of MFA a...
Environmental Health Engineering and Management
Background: Volatile organic compounds are the major environmental pollutants causing adverse eff... more Background: Volatile organic compounds are the major environmental pollutants causing adverse effects on the human health and the environment, therefore, tremendous effort has been put toward eliminating these compounds. Methods: In this study, the effect of synthesized nanoparticles on the removal of styrene from gas phase by photocatalytic process under UV irradiation in the cylindrical photoreactor was studied. The activated carbon-zinc oxide (AC-ZnO) catalysts were prepared at different weight ratios (6%, 12%, and 18%) of ZnO. The prepared catalyst was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analyses. The effects of various parameters, such as concentrations of styrene, various weight percentage (wt%) of nanoparticles, and UV irradiation, were investigated. The efficiency of the AC-ZnO catalyst was determined based on its adsorption capacity, breakthrough time, and removal efficiency. Resu...
Archives of Occupational Health
Background: Nowadays ionizing radiation is widely used in medicine, research and industry. In med... more Background: Nowadays ionizing radiation is widely used in medicine, research and industry. In medicine, ionizing radiation is used to diagnose diseases and in high doses to treat diseases such as cancer. Undoubtedly, most exposure to artificial sources is in the field of medical and diagnostic radiology. Therefore, practitioners in the field of diagnostic radiography and patients are exposed to ionizing radiation and its risks. On the other hand, despite the advantages and efficacy of diagnostic radiation in the medical field, overall less attention is paid to optimizing and controlling protection in medical radiation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the background ionizing radiation in Ahwaz diagnostic radiography centers. Methods: Ionization radiation levels were measured in and out of each center using gamma spectroscopy (Radiation Alert Inspector-EXP 15109) at a, b, c, d and e radiographic centers within one meter above the Earth's surface. Radiation levels ...
Journal of Occupational Hygiene Engineering
Background and Objective: Mental fatigue usually occurrs as a result of long-term cognitive activ... more Background and Objective: Mental fatigue usually occurrs as a result of long-term cognitive activities. Mental fatigue could have important effects on the daily lives of healthy people. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to estimate mental fatigue and its impact on staff performance. Materials and Methods: This descriptive analytic study was performed on 10 staff with a mean age of 36±6.19 years. To evaluate the performance of the participants, they were asked to read a text with spelling errors and then correct them. This test was performed in 5 steps of 15 min during which electroencephalography (EEG) was performed. At each step, the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) was completed by the staff. The data were analyzed statistically by the repeated measures ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: According to the results, the brain waves decreased during the experiment, which was indicative of increased mental fatigue. The EEG was recorded as 213.14±59.98 and 77.68±21.68 in the first and last 15 min, respectively. In addition, the participants were reported their fatigue by KSS, based on which the performance of the participants was shown to decrease from 27.3±4.53 to 17.5±5.19. Conclusion: The EEG facilitates the investigation of mental fatigue over different periods of time. As the results indicated, mental fatigue caused by long-term cognitive activities could result in the reduction of the accuracy, focus, and consciousness of the staff. Finally, increased mental fatigue led to the recution of the quality of individuals' performance.
Journal of Occupational Hygiene Engineering
Background and Objective: In the last few decades, organizational factors have become the leading... more Background and Objective: In the last few decades, organizational factors have become the leading indicators of occupational health and safety (OHS) performance in industries. ELMERI is a simple and cost-effective method for monitoring OHS performance in the manufacturing industries. Regrading this, the present study was carried out to evaluate the safety and health performance in a steel industry by using the ELMERI index. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional descriptive study, the safety and health conditions of the workplace were evaluated by Health and Safety Executive (HSE) specialists using the ELMERI index. The ELMERI index covered safety behavior, workplace hygien and housekeeping, machinery safety, occupational health, ergonomics, walkways, fire safety, and first aids. Finally, ELMERI index was examined based on the findings. Results: The results of this study demonstrated that an ELMERI index of 69% is indicative of a moderate performance. Safety behavior, workplace hygien and housekeeping, machinery safety, occupational health, ergonomics, walkways, fire safety, and first aids were determined as 75%, 64.4%, 80.5%, 51.4%, 66%, 75%, and 79.6%, respectively. Conclusion: A common feature for goal setting and a real-time indication of OHS performance is the use of the ELMERI method. The ELMERI method fills the gap between management activities and accident-based indicators in OHS management systems. The results of this study enable managers to make the best decisions to provide and implement preventive measures based on indicators and events by the evaluation of performance safety.
Health Promotion Perspectives
Background: Resilience engineering (RE) is a new approach to upgrade safety management systems. D... more Background: Resilience engineering (RE) is a new approach to upgrade safety management systems. Due to its novelty in the field of safety, RE seems to be promising in providing good indicators to assess priorities in organizational strengths/weaknesses while planning to promote safety within organizations. Several methods have been recently developed to evaluate RE performance. The current study is an attempt to quantify and determine the priorities of RE dimensions in a steel industry using analysis network process (ANP). Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 489 male workers of a steel industry participated. For this purpose, the RE questionnaire was distributed among workers and, then, super decisions software (version 3.2) was used to analyze the data. Results: The results indicated that there was a sufficient level of RE in the organization where top management commitment with normalized weight 0.1781 and awareness-opacity with normalized weight 0.1483 were ranked as the firs...
Work, 2022
BACKGROUND: Mental fatigue is usually accompanied by a sense of weariness, reduced alertness, and... more BACKGROUND: Mental fatigue is usually accompanied by a sense of weariness, reduced alertness, and reduced mental performance, which can lead to accidents, decrease of productivity in workplace and several other health hazards. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess mental fatigue of students while reading for a prolonged duration of time by application of electroencephalography (EEG). METHODS: Ten healthy students (27.57±3.4 years; 5 females and 5 males), participated in the study. The experimental design consisted of 5 blocks of 15-min length, in total 75 min for each participant. The experiment was done without any reading activities at the first block. In the following, participants studied the texts and corrected the mistakes. In each block EEG (beta, alpha, and theta power), and the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) were recorded. RESULTS: The mean of the self-assessment of sleepiness by KSS from the first to final 15 minutes were 2.3, 3.4, 4.3, 5.2, and 6.1, respective...
Introduction: In recent years, the importance of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) has increased more ... more Introduction: In recent years, the importance of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) has increased more than gasoline and petrol. Using this gas as a clean fuel to reduce air pollutants and restrictions on the supply of oil resources, has led to an increase in the expansion of its supply stations in the country. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the methane release model at CNG fuel stations to provide the protection map around them. Method: The present study is a case study .In this study, modeling of fire and explosion consequences has been done by using ALOHA software at one of the CNG stations in Ahvaz. In this modeling, various scenarios were examined; including creating fractures on pressurized methane tanks with diameters 0.01, 0.20 and 0.03 meters. Results: The results of this study, by comparing different scenarios, showed that by increasing the diameter of the fracture, the range of thermal radiation would be enhanced at greater distances. The diameter of the fracture from 0.01 to 0.33 mm, in 10 kw / m2 has increased from 10 to 21 meters, respectively. Moreover, in flammable range of methane vapor, the concentration of 30,000 ppm is about 60% of the minimum explosive level (LEL), which ranges from 68.58 to 160 m. Conclusion: The consequences of the explosion wave up to 160 meters and thermal radiation up to 21 meters are the most dangerous factor at CNG fuel stations that threatens employees and surrounding residential areas. Therefore, by considering the permitted distance of the residential areas, increasing safety actions, and preventing accidents around the fuel stations, casualties and accidents can be reduced.
1. Department of Occupational Health, Environmental Technologies Research Center, Health Faculty,... more 1. Department of Occupational Health, Environmental Technologies Research Center, Health Faculty, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran 2. Associate Professor, Department of Occupational Safety and Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran 3. Assistant Professor, Department of Occupational Safety and Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran 4. MSc of Occupational Health, Department of Occupational Safety and Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
Introduction: The development of residential and industrial areas has led to increasing gas consu... more Introduction: The development of residential and industrial areas has led to increasing gas consumption and overcrowding in gas supply networks. Accordingly, hazards and risks caused by human errors, processing and mechanical failures in pipelines, and gas leaks are on a rise. Several techniques have been so far proposed for identifying and controlling human errors. The main purpose of this study was to compare two human error evaluation techniques, namely, Human Error Template (HET) and Systematic Human Error Reduction and Prediction Approach (SHERPA) in gas supply operations using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to select a suitable method. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was to identify the human error modes in one of the gas supply projects operating by Kurdistan Gas Company, Kurdistan, Iran. Different tasks in gas supply operations were accordingly determined by the health, safety, and environment (HSE) unit, then the ones susceptible to human ...
Journal of Nanostructures, 2018
TiO2 is a very well-known and well-researched material due to the stability of its chemical struc... more TiO2 is a very well-known and well-researched material due to the stability of its chemical structure, biocompatibility, and its physical, optical and electrical properties. In this study, the synergistic effect of nano-TiO2 immobilized on activated carbon, zeolite Y and ZSM-5 on the removal of styrene vapors from polluted air was investigated. The prepared catalysts were characterized by SEM, BET and XRD analysis. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of AC, ZSM-5 and Y zeolite for the degradation of the styrene was attributed to the synergistic effect of TiO2. Photodegradation experiments were carried out at ambient temperature, different styrene concentrations (20, 100 and 300 ppm) and inflow of 0.5 l/min. The results indicate that adding TiO2 to the adsorbents increased the removal efficiency of styrene and among these catalysts; AC-TiO2 had a better performance. The high catalytic activity of AC-TiO2 should be attributed to the interaction between AC and TiO2, which provides the...
Journal of Occupational Hygiene Engineering, 2020
Background and Objective: Hand anthropometric data can help us properly design hand tools for bet... more Background and Objective: Hand anthropometric data can help us properly design hand tools for better efficiency and less fatigue in individuals. This study aimed to measure and analyze hand anthropometric data of Iranian farmers in order to determine the characteristics of farmers' hands separately for each ethnicity so that they can be used to design hand tools and working stations. This study measured 8 dimensions to design the appropriate hand tools in Iranian farmers. Materials and Methods: This study measured the hand dimensions of 600 farmers in four ethnicities of Lor, Kurd, Arab, and Fars in Iran. Moreover, it attempted to compare the data taken from the employees' hand dimensions in each ethnicity separately, as well as those in other countries to design hand tools appropriate for the corresponding country. Results: The results showed the mean length of hand (19.82±1.53), hand metacarpal width (9.47±1.59), hand width to thumb tip (11.81±1.33), and hand metacarpal th...
Journal of Health and Safety at Work, Nov 10, 2020
Introduction: The development of residential and industrial areas has led to increasing gas consu... more Introduction: The development of residential and industrial areas has led to increasing gas consumption and overcrowding in gas supply networks. Accordingly, hazards and risks caused by human errors, processing and mechanical failures in pipelines, and gas leaks are on a rise. Several techniques have been so far proposed for identifying and controlling human errors. The main purpose of this study was to compare two human error evaluation techniques, namely, Human Error Template (HET) and Systematic Human Error Reduction and Prediction Approach (SHERPA) in gas supply operations using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to select a suitable method. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was to identify the human error modes in one of the gas supply projects operating by Kurdistan Gas Company, Kurdistan, Iran. Different tasks in gas supply operations were accordingly determined by the health, safety, and environment (HSE) unit, then the ones susceptible to human errors were selected and analyzed through task analysis technique. The next step was to weight and rank the human errors by evaluating indexes based on many variables including accuracy, sensitivity, and quantity of the errors as well as usability, time, and education analysis using the Expert Choice software (ver. 11). Results: According to the findings of this research, the criteria were ranked based on accuracy (0.339), sensitivity (0.322), quantity of errors (0.118), usability (0.116), time (0.056), education (0.050), and analysis. The inconsistency ratio was also equal to 0.1, which meant that the subjective judgments were accepted. Conclusion: The results also showed that the analysis of human errors, using the HET, required less training and time, while the number of the detected errors and applicability in the SHERPA was greater. Considering the weight of the criteria, their importance in determining the superior technique and the weight of each one in relation to the criteria, the contribution of that method in the relevant criterion was expressed. Calculating the final weight of the techniques revealed that SHERPA with a weight of 0.53 was more practical compared with HET with a weight of 0.46.
Pakistan Journal of Medical and Health Sciences
Background: Chemical risk assessment is one of the major strategies that can help prioritize haza... more Background: Chemical risk assessment is one of the major strategies that can help prioritize hazardous pollutants and decide on appropriate control measures. Objective: This study aim was evaluating carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic effects of chemical and fume compounds in a steel industry in South Iran. Methods: This study conducted in one of the steel industry with 1600 workers. After sampling the inhalation air of workers exposed to various chemicals, the method provided by risk assessment information system (RAIS) was used to assess cancer carcinogenic and non-Carcinogenic risk based on the findings. Results: Asbestos with the content of 1.5×10-10, chromium 1.36×10-2, and lead 5.38×10-5 definitive cancer and definite cancer are in the category of minor cancer effects, respectively. In calculating the non-cancer risk, the risk factor for Quotient Hazard Non-cancer (HQ) in hydrogen sulfide, chromium, and manganese were 3.08×102, 5.71×10-2, and 9.13×102 respectively, indicating no...
Archives of Occupational Health
Background: Occupational injuries and work-related disabilities are among the most factors contri... more Background: Occupational injuries and work-related disabilities are among the most factors contributing to the creation of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in industry. Improper workstation and poor posture increase fatigue load and, eventually, the appearance of MSDs. In addition to reducing physical strength, MSDs mitigate accuracy, augment the accidents, and reduce job productivity. Hence, the purpose of this research was to assess the risk factors for MSDs in electrical devices assembly workers utilizing Muscle Fatigue Assessment (MFA) and Novel Ergonomic Postural Assessment (NERPA). Methods: This study was one cross-sectional descriptive study in the year … and was conducted in one electrical device manufacturing workshop in Khuzestan province along with 84 female workers. 13 jobs and 32 postures were selected in this workshop. Nordic Questionnaire was used to determine the frequency of MSDs. Then, the risk levels were specified in the studied individuals with the use of MFA a...
Environmental Health Engineering and Management
Background: Volatile organic compounds are the major environmental pollutants causing adverse eff... more Background: Volatile organic compounds are the major environmental pollutants causing adverse effects on the human health and the environment, therefore, tremendous effort has been put toward eliminating these compounds. Methods: In this study, the effect of synthesized nanoparticles on the removal of styrene from gas phase by photocatalytic process under UV irradiation in the cylindrical photoreactor was studied. The activated carbon-zinc oxide (AC-ZnO) catalysts were prepared at different weight ratios (6%, 12%, and 18%) of ZnO. The prepared catalyst was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analyses. The effects of various parameters, such as concentrations of styrene, various weight percentage (wt%) of nanoparticles, and UV irradiation, were investigated. The efficiency of the AC-ZnO catalyst was determined based on its adsorption capacity, breakthrough time, and removal efficiency. Resu...
Archives of Occupational Health
Background: Nowadays ionizing radiation is widely used in medicine, research and industry. In med... more Background: Nowadays ionizing radiation is widely used in medicine, research and industry. In medicine, ionizing radiation is used to diagnose diseases and in high doses to treat diseases such as cancer. Undoubtedly, most exposure to artificial sources is in the field of medical and diagnostic radiology. Therefore, practitioners in the field of diagnostic radiography and patients are exposed to ionizing radiation and its risks. On the other hand, despite the advantages and efficacy of diagnostic radiation in the medical field, overall less attention is paid to optimizing and controlling protection in medical radiation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the background ionizing radiation in Ahwaz diagnostic radiography centers. Methods: Ionization radiation levels were measured in and out of each center using gamma spectroscopy (Radiation Alert Inspector-EXP 15109) at a, b, c, d and e radiographic centers within one meter above the Earth's surface. Radiation levels ...
Journal of Occupational Hygiene Engineering
Background and Objective: Mental fatigue usually occurrs as a result of long-term cognitive activ... more Background and Objective: Mental fatigue usually occurrs as a result of long-term cognitive activities. Mental fatigue could have important effects on the daily lives of healthy people. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to estimate mental fatigue and its impact on staff performance. Materials and Methods: This descriptive analytic study was performed on 10 staff with a mean age of 36±6.19 years. To evaluate the performance of the participants, they were asked to read a text with spelling errors and then correct them. This test was performed in 5 steps of 15 min during which electroencephalography (EEG) was performed. At each step, the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) was completed by the staff. The data were analyzed statistically by the repeated measures ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: According to the results, the brain waves decreased during the experiment, which was indicative of increased mental fatigue. The EEG was recorded as 213.14±59.98 and 77.68±21.68 in the first and last 15 min, respectively. In addition, the participants were reported their fatigue by KSS, based on which the performance of the participants was shown to decrease from 27.3±4.53 to 17.5±5.19. Conclusion: The EEG facilitates the investigation of mental fatigue over different periods of time. As the results indicated, mental fatigue caused by long-term cognitive activities could result in the reduction of the accuracy, focus, and consciousness of the staff. Finally, increased mental fatigue led to the recution of the quality of individuals' performance.
Journal of Occupational Hygiene Engineering
Background and Objective: In the last few decades, organizational factors have become the leading... more Background and Objective: In the last few decades, organizational factors have become the leading indicators of occupational health and safety (OHS) performance in industries. ELMERI is a simple and cost-effective method for monitoring OHS performance in the manufacturing industries. Regrading this, the present study was carried out to evaluate the safety and health performance in a steel industry by using the ELMERI index. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional descriptive study, the safety and health conditions of the workplace were evaluated by Health and Safety Executive (HSE) specialists using the ELMERI index. The ELMERI index covered safety behavior, workplace hygien and housekeeping, machinery safety, occupational health, ergonomics, walkways, fire safety, and first aids. Finally, ELMERI index was examined based on the findings. Results: The results of this study demonstrated that an ELMERI index of 69% is indicative of a moderate performance. Safety behavior, workplace hygien and housekeeping, machinery safety, occupational health, ergonomics, walkways, fire safety, and first aids were determined as 75%, 64.4%, 80.5%, 51.4%, 66%, 75%, and 79.6%, respectively. Conclusion: A common feature for goal setting and a real-time indication of OHS performance is the use of the ELMERI method. The ELMERI method fills the gap between management activities and accident-based indicators in OHS management systems. The results of this study enable managers to make the best decisions to provide and implement preventive measures based on indicators and events by the evaluation of performance safety.
Health Promotion Perspectives
Background: Resilience engineering (RE) is a new approach to upgrade safety management systems. D... more Background: Resilience engineering (RE) is a new approach to upgrade safety management systems. Due to its novelty in the field of safety, RE seems to be promising in providing good indicators to assess priorities in organizational strengths/weaknesses while planning to promote safety within organizations. Several methods have been recently developed to evaluate RE performance. The current study is an attempt to quantify and determine the priorities of RE dimensions in a steel industry using analysis network process (ANP). Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 489 male workers of a steel industry participated. For this purpose, the RE questionnaire was distributed among workers and, then, super decisions software (version 3.2) was used to analyze the data. Results: The results indicated that there was a sufficient level of RE in the organization where top management commitment with normalized weight 0.1781 and awareness-opacity with normalized weight 0.1483 were ranked as the firs...