The fitness craze of the last 30 years has led to a bevy of choices regarding sport-related footwear. Alternatives beyond the basic walking and running shoe include tennis, aerobic, basketball and cross-training brands. Change took a long time in coming but once it did, the industry never stopped advancing and with the transformation, came an increase in occupational hazards to workers who assembled the shoes.
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When one thinks of early American landmarks, Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello estate, Maryland’s State House in Annapolis, and the US Capitol in Washington, DC, are among the many national colonial period treasurers that come to mind. Not only are the structures themselves significant for their history and longevity, but so, too, are the resources used to construct them. The fact that these buildings have literally stood the test of time speaks to the durability of their primary building material: brick.
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Over 40 years ago, the topic of indoor air quality (IAQ) was not yet a line item on our national agenda. Beginning in the 1960’s, the concept of outdoor air pollution gained momentum to the point that it was considered a credible health risk. The government eventually intervened. In 1970 Congress proposed and President Nixon Read More
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Beginning with the first attempt at crop cultivation around 7000 B.C., humans have devised various and diverse methods to prevent insects from eating and destroying valued harvests. Removing bugs by hand, planting insect-resistant varieties, even planting during different phases of the moon, were all options used by individuals to varying affect. Chemicals, in their natural form, were used as well. Large-scale efforts for pesticide use were being made by the 1940s; applications of sulfur were used to combat powdery mildew in Britain, followed by the introduction of water-insoluble substances to target the Colorado beetle. By WW II, pesticides were still weak, with only about 30 in existence, until DDT was initiated as the manufactured chemical of choice and became widely used in the 1950s.
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For centuries, cobalt has been used to produce brilliant blue colors in glass, porcelain, pottery, tiles and enamels. This brittle, reflective gray compound found within the earth’s crust also plays a vital role in the health of humans and animals
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The only way to manage contamination is to control the total environment. Airflow and pressure, temperature and humidity, and specialized filtration all must be tightly monitored. While cleanrooms are planned and fabricated, in order to maintain quality, strict protocol and methods need to be enacted.
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Metal casting has been an essential necessity since iron was first discovered around 2000 BC. As individual and community need for metal parts grew, commercial manufacturing emerged. America’s first iron foundry was established near Lynn, Massachusetts in 1642
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Workers can inhale cadmium dust, fumes, or mists but cadmium can also settle on skin and contaminate food and clothing. Elimination, avoidance, or containment of this noxious substance is imperative as contact with cadmium can damage the body’s cardiovascular, renal, gastrointestinal, neurological, reproductive, and respiratory systems. Cadmium is a known carcinogen.
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Remedying poor workplace indoor air quality is more of a modern notion, one that did not become a driving force within the medical, environmental, and clean air policy communities until many years after pollution as a healthcare concern became a nationwide talking point.
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Environmentally clean air is important. A co-worker’s woodsy perfume, the lavender-infused washroom soap, and the lemon-scented floor cleaner may smell heavenly to some people but to persons with fragrance allergies or chemical sensitivities, such indoor odors can leave them feeling ill.
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