Watch M10.1 Video!

1) Consider your workplace or a workplace of one of your family members. Are there chemical, biological, radiological or ergonomic issues? Using the industrial hygiene hierarchy of controls, how might you address the issues? How are they being addressed in reality?

My dad works as an electrical engineer and is overall accident prone. For him, these occupational health and safety regulations are very important and also often ignored. He is likely often exposed to chemical and ergonomic issues, among other things. He is often working in people's homes or industrial areas where there are a lot of particles in the air due to his work as well as cleaning supplies with strong chemical agents. Under the industrial hygiene hierarchy of controls, I do not believe elimination or substitution will occur as he is an independent contractor who takes odd jobs that put himself in those perilous conditions larger companies would turn down. I would try for the engineering controls to isolate others from the area, though that wouldn't protect him. For him, I would mandate a HEPA air filter and face mask. This is an important factor for larger companies to implement, though in reality I don't see this being adhered to by my dad.

2) What might be the barriers to workers exercising their rights to a healthy and safe workplace?

Barriers to workers exercising their rights to a healthy and safe workplace can be quite varied. The first that comes to mind is losing their job should their employer find them to be a liability or a nuisance. Another might be they are not put up for promotion since they are deemed a nuisance as mentioned before. Another barrier, which I think may be most common, is not being aware of the rights they have. For example, the tobacco farmers mention no restroom or water and 12 hour days (and a 9 year old working there!) which is illegal. However when in poverty, who wants to shut down the one source of income? These rights should be posted in more readily available areas.

10.8 Blog about an occupationally-related disease

I looked up Pneumoconiosis (Black Lung) as the occupational-related disease to research. This disease is caused by inhaling certain dusts, commonly asbestos fibers, silica dust and coal mine dust (hence the term "black lung", from the coal). This is typically a slow progressing disease over many years, though can occasionally progress rapidly and lead to impaired lung function and eventually death. The way to avoid this commonly work-exposure based illness is proper ventilation and dust control in the work place.

NIOSH has published recommended exposure limits (RELs) over the years, starting in 1995, and updated in 2011. They produced several reports illuminating the dangers associated with coal mine dust exposure on one's health and continue to do so. They currently operate the B Reader Program to identify and recruit physicians capable of detecting pneumoconiosis in coal mine workers. They also run the Coal Worker's Health Surveillance Program for workers to monitor the their health in underground coal mines in the US. The program was initiated in 1969 in response to the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act to increase early detection and treatment. The current "Enhanced" version of this program, also run through NIOSH, includes a mobile health unit that travels to workers in various locations and performs exams.

10.5 Blog about an occupational safety and health organization

I looked up CAL/OSHA's Safe Patient Handling Safety Program. It was a byproduct of The Hospital Patient and Health Care Worker Injury Protection Act (AB 1136), effective January 1, 2012. This law and subsequent program are very useful in the workplace, even for clinical research. Patients will come in for a research visit and sometimes insist on walking even when they are unstable. There was one patient at my first study I remember who routinely did this. If we didn't have the work safety training to know not to lunge after him as he fell, we could've thrown our backs out trying to help him. This used to happen a lot at hospitals, but thanks to this program workplace injuries related to patient care shouldn't be so prevalent. It's just up to the employer and training programs to make sure employees know how to protect themselves.

10.2 Blog about MSDS and ToxNet

I searched for lead within UCSF's Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) in an effort to continue our conversation from the last class lecture. Below are the findings: 

• What are the health risks associated with this chemical? 
• Acute Ingestion: may cause headache, nausea, abdominal pains, fatigue, muscle/joint pain, kidney disjunction, wrist drop
• Acute Inhalation: CNS damage, which may result in fatigue, tremors, hallucinations, convulsions, delirium, weight loss, sleep disturbance
• Chronic Exposure: possible anemia, CNS and kidney damage
• Skin Contact: may cause local irritation
• Skin Absorption: not pertinent
• Is the chemical a carcinogen? 
• Yes
• What personal protective equipment or special precautions should be taken when working with this chemical?
• Personal Protective Equipment: gloves (cotton or other cloth), eye protection (safety glasses, goggles, and face shield if molten), clothing (heat resistant leggings and gloves if pouring molten lead)
• Special Precautions: 
• Handling/Storing: "wash hands and arms well after handling and/or before eating or smoking. Adequate ventilation and respiratory protection should be provided when handling dross from solder bath."
• Disposal Methods: "Do not dispose of into municipal garbage. Do not dispose of into sewers or any body of water. Do not dispose of in a landfill site. Follow local or Federal guidelines for disposal. Take to a recycle or scrap dealer, or secondary smelter."
• If this is a chemical found in your workplace, what training/education were you given about any risks associated with this chemical?
• Personally, I was not given and training/education about this chemical which is at my workplace. My role does not directly work with lead, though if it is used on campus perhaps there is a slight exposure risk. I would hope UCSF manages this as we are a hospital treating already sick patients. 

While this was informative, the process to get to this information was very confusing. I think this needs to be covered in orientation and be posted in a more transparent way. I understand UCSF has over 4 million chemicals in its database so they can't share all at once. But the process of finding the website, transferring to the single sign on account, then picking which database to search within and learning how to navigate that system is tedious and discouraging. And not friendly to the average audience. 

9.4 Blog: Heavy Metals

It is so sad to see the continued damage of lead poisoning in vulnerable populations so long after the dangers were identified. Even if not all dangers were known (toxicity level, exposure risks) the fact that there is danger at any dose should be enough to warrant restricted exposure and a halt on the product's use. Reading about the progression of toxic lead levels toward lower and lower thresholds, then seeing how Nigerian children were devastated from gold ore practices is yet another health disparity among countries. It's really quite sad.

9.3 Blog: Green Chemistry

Watching "Digging into the Great Pacific Garbage Patch" was shocking. I thought they were going to highlight garbage dumps, but rather they showed how all the waste from countries surrounding the Pacific Ocean shows up in natural reserves on the north end of Hawaii. The snapshots of animal carcasses with waste inside them and the turtle whose shell grew around the zip tie to look like an hourglass were particularly devastating. I hope green chemistry is adopted nation wide and eventually worldwide. I wish there was more of an initiative for this so the world doesn't end up looking like this:

9.2 Blog: Six Chemical Classes

Watching the Six Classes of Chemicals video was really helpful to understand the different chemicals we are exposed to in our daily products. I chose to learn more about the flame retardants in our furniture and household accessories. I was surprised to hear that flame retardants not only merely delay fires from starting by a few seconds, but also lead to more noxious gasses and fire damage. The main risk for death in a fire is suffocation or lung damage from the smoke and the comparison of the chairs on fire showed the flame retardant-treated chair let off much more smoke. It's so sad because I know that's what happens in California when fires start in houses. So not only are residents at higher risk for having these chemicals in our furniture, but we are also putting fire fighters at more risk by exposing them to these products and their fumes.

8.5 Blog about an ideal chemical policy

An ideal chemical policy for me would undergo the same testing as pharmaceutical drugs. If we put that much effort into controlling substances before a doctor puts them in or on our body, why shouldn't we do that with our environment? There is so much emphasis on including the environment in one's health evaluation at hospitals, I think this should extend to the health of the environment undergoing more medical-level control.

Here is the FDA's Drug Review Process where it details the various phases of approval needed before a drug can be put to market. The exceptions, as with pharmaceutical drugs, is if the person is going to die and this is a consented last ditch effort to save them without substantive evidence. And rather than animal and human testing, this should be placed in lab-made "habitats" and see what happens to generations of species over time, understand the mechanisms the chemicals attack. And - very important - understand what byproducts various chemicals create as that is one of the persistent chemicals found in our diets and bodies now that is wreaking havoc on developmental processes!

8.4 Blog Chemical Policy Reform

Reviewing the Louisville Charter for Safer Chemicals was a ray of light in this dark, cloudy pollutant-filled sky. It's uplifting to see hope that policies are being proposed to correct the careless and widespread use of chemicals in our environment.

I reviewed Background Paper #2: Phase Out Persistent, Bioaccumulative, or Highly Toxic Chemicals. Having researched dioxin, or specifically TCDD, for my literature review I am particularly interested in the upcoming efforts to restrict toxins like TCDD from use. The fact that this paper can site the struggle it took to get court approval to ban asbestos is unnerving. The courts would not ban it and claimed there was insufficient evidence to prove the control action of the chemical. After reading multiple papers on TCDD and its effect on fertility, the research is there and the effect is known. What is still missing is the mechanism by which TCDD acts. We know MS effects neurons and leads to disability and premature death over time, but still do not know specifically by what cellular mechanism. We need to stop introducing new chemicals INTO the environment and only approve them when these mechanisms are understood. Not the other way around!

Thanks for reading my rant :)

8.3 Blog Pesticides

In looking up my meal last night on the What's on my Food website, I was startled to see how many pesticides I consumed. First, I could not find my pumpkin ravioli and cruciferous blend salad. So, instead I looked up my breakfast: my go to morning smoothie.

Ingredients and corresponding pesticides:
Almond milk (almonds) - 9 pesticide residues

• 1 Known or Probable Carcinogens
• 4 Suspected Hormone Disruptors
• 3 Neurotoxins
• 0 Developmental or Reproductive Toxins

Spinach or kale (spinach): - 54 pesticide residues

• 7 Known or Probable Carcinogens
• 21 Suspected Hormone Disruptors
• 11 Neurotoxins
• 7 Developmental or Reproductive Toxins

Blueberries (frozen): 21 pesticide residues

• 4 Known or Probable Carcinogens
• 8 Suspected Hormone Disruptors
• 6 Neurotoxins
• 2 Developmental or Reproductive Toxins

Lemon (optional - couldn't find so used oranges): 12 pesticide residues

• 3 Known or Probable Carcinogens
• 4 Suspected Hormone Disruptors
• 5 Neurotoxins
• 3 Developmental or Reproductive Toxins

I thought I was eating healthy? I've recently switched to purchasing more organic foods, but have still caved for conventional for the Costco 3-pack of almond milk and $4 massive bag of spinach. These pesticide contaminations are simply unfair to the public. Why should we have to do all this homework to learn we are poisoning ourselves while trying to make healthy choices? How has the US not adopted the same policies around pesticides as the EU?! We need better laws here.

7.8 Blog about your topic of interest

My topic of interest for my literature is dioxin and its impact on reproductive health. Formally, this compound is called 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), but we'll keep calling it dioxin.

While this compound is not applied directly to crops, it is the product of chemicals mixing together in nearly every agricultural center. It is then introduced to us via animal products. Because of that, several regulatory oversight areas may overlap when monitoring this: EPA, Interior, USDA (definitely), FDA and OSHA to name a few. This is an environmenatl issue (EPA), impacts fish and game (Interior), is evident in all our animal products (USDA), is a chemical compound that needs to start being regulated like other drugs (FDA), and must impact those working in the fields they are applied (OSHA). My only hope is one of these if not all start actually doing something to stop this!

7.7 Blog about the agency's role

I chose to look at the National Science Foundation's website to determine their involvement in protecting the environment.

[The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense..." NSF is vital because we support basic research and people to create knowledge that transforms the future.]

As a funding source for so many researchers interested in promoting the health of others, they are a vital tool in this administration. Frankly, I'm surprised they're not shut down yet. Their annual budget goes to support basic research in the US that is aimed toward helping the American public. Often times, these provide commentary that the environment is making us sicker.

They even have an entire funding area titled "Environmental Research & Education (ERE)". This has its own staff, funding opportunities, and events. The NSF certainly supports environmental health and is itself an act of the federal government investing in the environment. Shh don't tell the 2018 gang!

7.4 Blog about your local environmental services

The SFDPH has so many environmental health services! Their website is also fairly interactive and engaging - with questions like:
"Are you raising mosquitoes?" Mosquitoes need water to grow!

They have the usual that I would expect, from insect control to restaurant scores (I think the environment my food is prepared in is very important). What surprised me is they also manage tattoo parlors which I would expect to be under more business-central supervision. The reasoning appears to be maintaining sterile facilities, but even that I would think to be under the medical sector.

The Department of Environment (https://sfenvironment.org) looks a bit more like a dedicated environmental website. It's main colors are green and blue (like earth cartoons) and the front page is two men holding puppies :) I did not know San Francisco had this agency, but I am not that surprised by what is housed on its site: energy, transportation, zero waste, toxics & health, buildings & environments, education & equity and climate change. With how much construction is always happening here, I was happy to see the "buildings & environments" section with green building tips. I think SF should really lead the way to green homes (although we'd be behind a few other major international cities).

Overall, it's good to see so much of this information presented! I wish EWG was featured more prominently to set citizens up to help themselves since the policies are insufficient.

6.7 Blog: Obesogens

I love living in California - it seems like something delicious is always in season! My mom always did a much better job at shopping seasonally than I do sometimes, but it's fun to revisit. I know some products from Seasonal Food Guide are in season since I see them at the Farmer's Market. Others are surprising - like I did not know that chives had a season. I thought they were always around to be added as needed to whatever recipe. I won't take them for granted so much now ;)

The obesogens were depressing to read about. Considering I just read about DES in "Having Faith" and the reproductive issues it causes, it was sad to see they can also cause undue weight gain. I wonder if the children of women prescribed DES to prevent miscarriages are then obese and infertile - that's just not fair. A quick search on Toxnet shows it does not stop there- - it's carcinogenic too!

6.6 Blog: Use of Antibiotics

The use of antibiotics in farming where Antibiotic Resistance (AR) is passed from animal to human is so depressing. This seems like an unfair assault on those without the means to defend themselves. If the only way to avoid animal products from farms where antibiotics are administered is to buy organic or some other more elite and costly versions of the product, who has agency? Certainly not those in a lower SES. Say this was something an immigrant family did not need to worry about in their home country - who says they'll take it upon themselves to look this up, inform themselves, and make a change in their purchasing decisions? That's asking a lot of a family trying to acclimate to a new country and culture already. It's just sickening that this is the traditional American practice and that it can one day wipe out so many of us. 

The antibacterial products get a similar reaction from me, except that they are not being offered to me as vital nutrients to sustain my life. For that, I will take it down a notch. But coming from such a high level of outrage really only means I'm less outraged, not calm and accepting. When capitalism turns a profit on Americans purchasing items that actively weaken their health, there is a fundamental issue with the system. I'm not talking skittles or candy bars, but cleaning products marketed to fight off sickness. These should do just that! Not poison us and the environment we use them in. 

6.4 Blog: Industrial Farming

I remember hearing about vanishing bees when this news first came to light. It was a big concern as they pollinate so many of our foods. I never considered bee farming as a concern from this issue as I was more focused on the extinction issue. It's so sad to consider! I know we've talked about coal miners losing their way of life, but this paints a new picture as a loss of value in one's expertise. I can really empathize with that.

For Dirt!: The Movie, I am even more convinced to steer away from meat now. Over the past year I've been struggling more and more with consuming it, then I spent the hard at work with my vegan colleague forced to come face to face with my choice and the alternative, then I started this class. I'd say 94% of my meals over the past month have been vegetarian as a result.

I grew up in Sonoma County so I know I grew up near factory farms, I just never saw them. While there are not surprisingly none in San Francisco, I found out from this map that Sonoma County is "extremely" densely populated with them. I wonder what happened in the fires? Was any of the waste from them burned up and inhaled by my family and residents of all the neighboring counties?

Regarding composting - I sure do :) Happy to give it back, even if that movie gave me pause seeing how many chicken carcasses were added to it with who knows how many antibiotics in their system.