The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #48177

Donald P. Schill, MS, CIH and David Valiante, MS, CIH. Occupational Health Surveillance Program, New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, P.O. Box 360, John Fitch Plaza, Trenton, NJ 08625, (609) 984-7080, dschill@doh.state.nj.us

An integral component of occupational disease surveillance is intervention. Two types of interventions have been conducted in the state of New Jersey as a result of active surveillance for work-related asthma (WRA) under the NIOSH-funded Sentinel Event Notification System for Occupational Risks (SENSOR) Project. Two specific case studies will be described highlighting each type of intervention. The first, a sentinel event-driven intervention, is based on a single report of an individual with WRA. Using death certificate data, the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services identified a worker who died at work due to an asthma attack. An on-site evaluation of the worksite, with air monitoring, identified excessive exposures to a new potential cause of asthma, and led to a formal NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation. Recommendations were made to the employer to improve engineering controls, work practices, and personal protective equipment to reduce worker exposures to the suspected causative agent. The second type of intervention is a hazard surveillance project targeted at an industry where multiple cases of WRA were identified. Ten cases of WRA were identified, through physician reports, among workers in the health care industry exposed to a liquid sterilant. An informational booklet was developed and sent to New Jersey health care facilities, along with a survey to collect information on sterilant use and exposure control measures. On-site evaluations, with air monitoring, were conducted at selected facilities. Recommendations were developed and disseminated to New Jersey health care facilities.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize the value of the two types of interventions that can result from the active collection of occupational disease surveillance data.
• Describe the methods followed to conduct a sentinel event-driven workplace intervention.
• Describe the methods followed to conduct a hazard surveillance project resulting from the identification of multiple cases of asthma at a workplace.

Keywords: Surveillance, Occupational Disease

Related Web page: N/A

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: N/A
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.