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Biomedical subjects

B C Alleyne

Publications and source records attributed to B C Alleyne.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Alcohol and other drug use in occupational fatalities.

High costs and the potential risk to public health of drug-related workplace accidents are major concerns. Studies conducted to evaluate this problem are restricted by concerns for individual rights and fears of jeopardizing labor relations. However, in collaboration with the Medical Examiner's office. Alberta Occupational Health and Safety examined a unique set of data on 459 deaths occurring at work. The only illicit drug found was cannabis for which 10 workers tested positive. Forty workers tested positive for alcohol, 28 for prescription, and 22 for nonprescription drugs. Evidence of alcohol use was found in a higher percentage of fatalities due to motor vehicle accidents, falls, and being caught in or under equipment than in other types of workplace fatalities.

Accidental Falls↗
PubMed1989

Welder eye injuries.

During 1985, welders submitted 21% of all claims for eye injuries received by the Workers' Compensation Board of Alberta. Since then the proportion of similar claims has remained high. A descriptive study of welder eye injury claims reveals that, although most injuries are reversible (55% of workers return to work in less than 2 days and 95% in less than 7 days), some workers sustain permanent visual impairment. Eye injuries occur most frequently in metal-work industries, and cold particles, most often metal, are the most common source of injury. Preventive measures should stress the importance of wearing eye protection constantly while working with metal pieces and in metal industries. Goggles probably should not be removed upon extinguishing the welding torch.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Costs of workers' compensation claims for hearing loss.

Much has been written about the merits, needs, adequacy, and effectiveness of hearing conservation programs but very little about the cost of noise-induced hearing loss. Using claims for hearing loss submitted to a Canadian compensation board for a 5-years period (1979 to 1983), we estimated the current cost per claim to be $14,106. We observed an annual increase of 20.4% for noise-induced hearing loss claims and project that if 80% of the 450 claims submitted in 1987 are accepted, it will commit the Workers' Compensation Board in Alberta to a cost of $5,373,360--a considerable commitment for a disease that makes up only 0.3% of all claims. As a measure of morbidity we determined the years of potential hearing loss. The 207 workers between the ages of 18 and 70 years who were pensioned had a potential hearing loss value of 2529 years. Some authors have expressed the view that hearing loss is currently inadequately compensated and our review of the literature suggests that a fertile climate is emerging for increasing litigation. This tendency is likely to lead to further escalation of costs if prevention is not taken more seriously.

Alberta↗
PubMed1986

Rate of slaughter may increase risk of human brucellosis in a meat-packing plant.

Researchers conducted an epidemiologic investigation of an outbreak of brucellosis at a meat-packing plant, where work was interrupted by a strike. The investigation revealed that the risk of infection with brucellosis may coincide with the rate at which reactor cattle are slaughtered, a factor often overlooked in other reports which investigated outbreaks of brucellosis. The slaughter of 20 to 25 reactor cattle per day was the estimate of the critical number of reactor cattle when the risk of infection is most likely to occur. Of the 193 workers studied, 17 (8.8%) were seropositive, but only eight (4.1%) were presumptive cases. Young, newly employed workers who did not wear glasses were at greatest risk of infection.

Abattoirs↗
PubMed1985

Health implication of occupational exposures to hydrogen sulfide.

A five-year retrospective study of workers exposed to hydrogen sulfide in Alberta, Canada, was conducted, using the records of 250 workers who submitted claims to the provincial compensation board from 1979 through 1983. Fifty-four percent of the exposed workers became unconscious after exposure. Signs and symptoms with a neurological component accounted for the largest group of clinical findings. Respiratory and ophthalmologic effects were the other major groups of signs and symptoms. The overall fatality rate was 2.8%, significantly lower than that reported (6.0%) in a similar study a decade earlier. This is attributed to improved first-aid training and increased awareness of the dangers of hydrogen sulfide. Traumatic injury as a result of a fall after exposure was noted in 31 cases.

Alberta↗