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Biomedical subjects

N A Ashford

Publications and source records attributed to N A Ashford.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Encouraging inherently safer production in European firms: a report from the field.

It is now generally recognized that in order to make significant advances in accident prevention, the focus of industrial firms must shift from assessing the risks of existing production and manufacturing systems to discovering technological alternatives, i.e. from the identification of problems to the identification of solutions. Encouraging the industrial firm to perform (1) an inherent safety opportunity audit (ISOA) to identify where inherently safer technology (IST) is needed, and (2) a technology options analysis (TOA) and to identify specific inherently safer options that will advance the adoption of primary prevention strategies that will alter production systems so that there are less inherent safety risks. Experience gained from a methodology to encourage inherently safer production (ISP) in industrial firms in the Netherlands and Greece is discussed. Successful approaches require both technological and managerial changes. Firms must have the willingness, opportunity, and the capability to change. Implications for the EU Seveso, IPPC, and EMAS Directives are also discussed.

Accidents, Occupational↗
PubMed1994

Monitoring the worker and the community for chemical exposure and disease: legal and ethical considerations in the US.

Biomonitoring of workers and communities raises important legal and ethical concerns, but the two contexts are different. Monitoring workers is usually done by, or at the instigation of, the employer who, in law, is responsible for their health and safety. Whenever worker monitoring leads to the removal of workers, difficult issues emerge affecting labor-management relations, labor law, and discrimination law. Resulting legal and ethical questions are usually framed with the context of the employment contract or labor relationship. In contrast, public health or environmental officials may be the driving force behind biomonitoring of the community. No employer-employee relationship exists, and the doctor-patient relationship may be tenuous. The community may often request biomonitoring, but the situation is no less contentious. On the basis of an historical view of monitoring events within the US, mechanisms are suggested to promote positive interactions between employers and workers and among agencies, individuals, and groups in the monitoring of chemically contaminated communities.

Environmental Monitoring↗
PubMed1991

Approaches for assessing health risks from complex mixtures in indoor air: a panel overview.

Critical to a more definitive human health assessment of the potential health risks from exposure to complex mixtures in indoor air is the need for a more definitive clinical measure and etiology of the health effects of complex mixtures. This panel overview highlights six of the eight presentations of the conference panel discussion and features a number of the major topical areas of indoor air concern. W. G. Meggs assessed clinical research priorities with primary focus on the role of volatile organic chemicals in human health, recognizing the areas where definitive data are lacking. By recognizing many types of chemical sensitivity, it may be possible to design studies that can illuminate the mechanisms by which chemical exposure may cause disease. The critically important topic of multiple chemical sensitivity was discussed by N. A. Ashford, who identified four high risk groups and defined the demographics of these groups. P. A. Schulte addressed the issue of biological markers of susceptibility with specific considerations of both methodological and societal aspects that may be operative in the ability to detect innate or inborne differences between individuals and populations. Three case studies were reviewed. H. Anderson discussed the past and present priorities from a public health perspective, focusing on those issues dealing with exposures to environmental tobacco smoke and formaldehyde off-gassing from materials used in mobile home construction. J. J. Osborne described several case studies involving wood smoke exposure to children, with emphasis on the significantly greater occurrence of chronic respiratory symptoms and acute chest illness for children from homes heated with woodburning stoves.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Air Pollution, Indoor↗
PubMed1986

Policy considerations for human monitoring in the workplace.

Human monitoring for toxic substances exposure in the workplace raises opportunities for occupational disease prevention but can also lead to possible undesirable and discriminatory consequences for workers. The scientific requisites for sound monitoring practices are discussed, and caution is urged against unjustified and unfair use of screening results.

Environmental Exposure↗
PubMed1983

Law and science policy in federal regulation of formaldehyde.

An examination of the way in which the Environmental Protection Agency, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and Consumer Product Safety Commission each responded to evidence of formaldehyde's carcinogenicity in animal systems reveals the interplay between politics and science policy in regulatory determinations. In some cases there were significant and unjustified departures from reasoned decision-making. Agency decisions not to take action deserve special attention by citizens, the Congress, and the judiciary to ensure that federal regulatory agencies take the necessary steps to protect the public from significant health, safety, and environmental risks.

Carcinogens↗