Editorial
What Do Coffee Processing Facilities Have To Do With Lung Disease?
March 2016
Sheila Pantry OBE
Obliterative bronchiolitis sounds daunting, and it is. Recent information from the US National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) explores and explains that it is a severe, irreversible lung disease that occurs when the smallest airways (called bronchioles) in the lungs become scarred and constricted, blocking air movement. This can result in cough, shortness of breath during daily activities, and sometimes wheezing. Work-related obliterative bronchiolitis has been identified in employees in flavouring manufacturing facilities and microwave popcorn facilities where the flavouring chemical diacetyl (2,3-butanedione) or butter flavourings containing diacetyl were used. The chemical 2,3-pentanedione is similar to diacetyl, and it is sometimes used in place of diacetyl in the manufacture of flavourings. Diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione are volatile organic compounds (carbon-based chemicals that can evaporate at room temperature) known as alpha-diketones. Both diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione have been shown to cause airway damage in laboratory animals. These two chemicals are produced commercially by chemical manufacturers as ingredients in flavourings that are added to some food products, such as microwave popcorn, bakery mixes, or flavoured coffee.
Diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione are also naturally produced when coffee beans are roasted. Grinding roasted coffee beans produces greater surface area for the off-gassing of these and other chemicals than do the whole beans. Coffee roasting facilities package newly roasted coffee in bags fitted with one-way valves or permeable paper bags to allow for off-gassing. Alternatively, newly roasted coffee beans are placed in tubs or containers and allowed to off-gas, which can contribute to worker exposures. To find out more go to NIOSH www.cdc.gov/niosh/enews/enewsV13N10.html
So how can YOU and your organisation keep up with this fast moving Occupational Health, Safety and Fire information world?
If you need to quickly gain access to legislation, guidance and advice that is up-to-date and relevant then this collection of 26 databases in OSH UPDATE + FIRE that currently contains 1,130,000 records with over 98,000 full text documents is the first port of call for you!
If you can Google for information then this collection is even easier to search by keywords, titles, journal names, standard number, authors, organisations, and will keep you and your colleagues alerted to hot topics such as stress in the workplace, management of road risks, health risks of nanotechnology, corporate killing and corporate social responsibility, bio-terrorism, preparedness and business continuity, risk assessment, all aspects of fire and related fire topics, workplace health and safety and much more. Arguably the largest electronic collection in the world in these very wide subject areas from worldwide sources. There is a special collection of Irish OSH legislation, guidance and advice within OSH UPDATE and FIRE!
It is always good to keep researching and finding out if there are services and other ways of keeping up-to-date in this fast changing world of ours. Time is precious and many people are really stretched in their jobs and find it difficult to keep ahead in current knowledge that they should have for their jobs. But help is at hand for those working in health, safety and fire and fire related industries which are brought together in an easy to use web service entitled OSH UPDATE + FIRE www.oshupdate.com that is constantly updated.
Then try these Practical, Affordable Solutions for your health, safety, fire and environment information needs from long established Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd.
For a 15 DAY FREE NO OBLIGATION TRIAL contact: Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd | email: sp@sheilapantry.com | or fill in the Interest form www.sheilapantry.com/interest.html
FOCUS
This month’s OSHWORLD FOCUS is entitled New Challenges could disrupt working time stability in Europe.
Update your 2016 Diary with training for workers at all levels
Training is all workplaces is essential! Look at the latest additions to the Diary of Events and you will see plans have been made already worldwide for 2016 and beyond to have training courses, symposiums, webinars and conferences in many places in the world on a wide range of subjects.
Do not put off training for yourself and your staff. In these days of tighter budgets perhaps training may be put on the “back-burner” – but think again how you can keep up with the latest techniques and training opportunities.
Remember that even if you cannot attend these many events, speakers and organisers are often willing to share their knowledge. Look at the details – where possible, we add in the web sites of these events so you can request further information. And do let me know if you are organising any OSHE events so that I can add them to the OSHWORLD Diary.
OSH UPDATE + FIRE
You will find many examples of good practices, information, guidance and advice, research reports, leaflets and much more in OSH UPDATE + FIRE www.oshupdate.com – THE key tool to all your health, safety and fire information requirements
- OSH UPDATE is easily searchable by keywords, titles, journal names, standard number, authors, organisations, and will keep you and your colleagues alerted to hot topics such as air pollution, workplace health risks, the health risks of nanotechnology, preparedness and business continuity, risk assessment, corporate killing and corporate social responsibility, bio-terrorism, management of road risks, all aspects of fire and related fire topics, workplace health and safety and much more.
- Long established from mid 1990s
- Arguably the largest electronic collection in the world in these very wide subject areas from worldwide sources. There is a special collection of OSH legislation, guidance and advice within OSH UPDATE and FIRE!
- The databases and contents are from worldwide class organisations such as the US NIOSH, the UK Health and Safety Executive, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and many more similar organisations in the world
This time of the year is a good time for all organisations worldwide to review their health and safety goals and decide on the training or re-training that is needed for all levels of staff and update their information resources.
Check out these successful efforts that are in OSH UPDATE + FIRE and introduce them into your workplace!
It is always good to keep researching and finding out if there are services and other ways of keeping up-to-date in this fast changing world of ours. Time is precious and many people are really stretched in their jobs and find it difficult to keep ahead in current knowledge that they should have for their jobs. So help is at hand for those working in health, safety and fire and fire related industries which are brought together in an easy to use web service entitled OSH UPDATE + FIRE www.oshupdate.com that is constantly updated.
Then try these long established Practical, Affordable Solutions for your health, safety, fire and environment information needs from Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd.
For a 15 DAY FREE NO OBLIGATION TRIAL contact: Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd | email: sp@sheilapantry.com | or fill in the Interest form www.sheilapantry.com/interest.html
Want to know where the best websites are located? Then check out OSHWORLD country and subject links!
It is always good to review health, safety, chemical, fire and environment procedures on a regular basis. It is also important that the practices and systems in the workplace are constantly reviewed and if necessary, improved. This review may also indicate training requirements and updates and re-thinking how systems and services can be improved. This is where the free-of-charge OSHWORLD can help you.
In these days of tighter budgets perhaps training may be put on the “back-burner” – but think again how you can keep up with the latest techniques and training opportunities. So look at the latest additions to the Diary of Events and you will see plans have been made already worldwide well into 2016 to have training courses, symposiums and conferences held in many places in the world on a wide range of subjects.
Remember that even if you cannot attend these many events, speakers and organisers are often willing to share their knowledge. Look at the details – where possible, we add in the web sites of these events so you can request further information.
And do let me know if you are organising any OSHE events so that I can add them to the Diary.
Resources
In addition to the above we hope that you find the information in OSHWORLD useful in your daily work. Globally there are continually new titles, news items, new products so remember to look at the News to find the latest information from a number of worldwide sources.
Use OSHWORLD as your portal to many hundreds of validated and authoritative web sites that you can find in the Country and Subject links we offer. New subject topics are constantly brought together on web sites, e.g. avian flu and the workplace.
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Visit the various Bookshops to order any new document as they are being published. Many of these Bookshops have a constant stream of new titles available.
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Don’t work harder – work smarter! Be ahead of the game.
Are you aiming to have a zero accident, incident-free and healthy year in 2016 in your workplace? Some would argue that this is not possible! But keep on trying and develop your plans for 2016!