نگرانی های بهداشت حرفه ای در واقعه نگاری: یک ارزیابی مقطعی در ویرجینیا Occupational Safety and Health Concerns in Logging: A Cross-Sectional Assessment in Virginia

1. Introduction Logging is the process of harvesting trees by which workers fell, process, and transport them for further manufacture. It is an important component of the U.S. economy, in that forest products account for ~4% of the total manufacturing gross domestic product [1]. Logging is considered as one of the most dangerous occupations in the U.S., often involving heavy physical demands, nonpermanent worksites, and challenging work environments such as inclement weather, rough terrain, and being in remote or isolated locations [2]. An increase in mechanization and logger safety training have played important roles in improving logging workers’ safety. These advancements have decreased adverse work-related events and injuries associated with manual tree felling and processing using a chainsaw [3–6]. However, logging machines themselves pose safety and health threats, and logging workers remain at high risk of injuries and adverse health problems. In 2015, for example, the fatality rate in the U.S. logging industry was 132.7 per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers, the highest in any private industry [7]. Similarly, the rate of lost workday injuries was 144.1 per 100,000 FTE workers, compared to the private industry mean of 93.9 per 100,000 FTEs [8]. Common non-fatal injury mechanisms include contact with objects; slips, trips, and falls; and overexertion and bodily reaction, and which is consistent with processes related to the use of logging machinery. Specifically, machine operators are frequently injured while performing machine maintenance/repair [4,9,10] and from falls while mounting/dismounting machinery [4,6,10]. Machine operators and ground logging workers also can be exposed to contact risks with moving machinery and the risk of machine rollover [6,11]. A few studies have reported that machine operators have a high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), for example, in the neck, shoulder, and lower back regions [12,13], which are attributed to working postures [13] and psychological demands [14]. The use of logging machinery may have broader safety and health implications beyond work-related injuries, in that logging workers are likely exposed to machine-related diesel exhaust. Though little information is available on such exposures in the logging industry, diesel exhaust is a pervasive airborne contaminant in workplaces where diesel-powered equipment is used [15]. Diesel engine exhaust is a highly complex and variable mixture of gases, vapors, and fine particles. The amount and composition of the exhaust vary greatly, depending on factors such as fuel type, maintenance practices, workload, and exhaust system type. Vapor constituents include hydrocarbons and oxides of carbon, sulfur, and nitrogen, while particulate components consist of liquid droplets and soot particles bearing organic compounds, sulfates, metals, and other trace contaminants. The organic fraction is mainly unburned fuel and oil and can contain thousands of compounds; most notably the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are known to be carcinogenic and genotoxic [16]. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies diesel exhaust as “carcinogenic to humans (Group 1)” [17]. Large cohort and case-control studies have yielded evidence demonstrating an association between exposure to unfiltered diesel exhaust and an increased incidence of lung neoplasm [18–20]. Diesel exhaust also has been shown to be an airway irritant, triggering release of cytokines, chemokines, immunoglobulins, and oxidants [21]. It may promote expression of the immunologic response phenotype (Th2) associated with asthma and allergic disease. This immunologic evidence is consistent with epidemiologic studies associating traffic-related air pollution, and diesel exhaust, with increased prevalence of respiratory disease.