Occupational health and safety and the National Public Health Institute of South Africa: Deliberations from a national consultative meeting

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

Programs of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

Respiratory diseases from occupational exposures have a major adverse effect on worker health, with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) estimating that deaths from work-related respiratory disease and malignancies account for about 70% of all occupational disease mortality. NIOSH has a range of research activities in the Respiratory Diseases Research Program (RDRP)...

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health: areas of concern.

-Growth curve measurements on the EMT6 tumour following treatment with cyclophosphamide indicate a growth delay of about 3 days for each 100 mg/kg of the drug. Tumours treated whilst still microscopic show a rather longer delay for the same dose. Data for the surviving fraction of cells in the tumours measured by in vitro plating at 2 h after cyclophosphamide are not compatible with the measure...

Control of smoke from laser/electric surgical procedures. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

During surgical procedures using a laser or electrosurgical unit, the thermal destruction of tissue creates a smoke byproduct. Research studies have confirmed that this smoke plume can contain toxic gases and vapors such as benzene, hydrogen cyanide, and formaldehyde, bioaerosols, dead and live cellular material (including blood fragments), and viruses. At high concentrations the smoke causes o...