The Northwest Center Participates in Region-wide Outreach

Nancy meeting with Dede Montgomery
and Kent Anger

Northwest Center Continuing Education Director, Nancy Simcox, participated in several recent outreach activities. Outreach is a key component of the Northwest Center mission, and contributes to our efforts to create valuable community partnerships with others working in health and safety.

"As part of our NWC outreach activities this past month, I attended the Oregon Governor's Occupational Safety and Health Conference and the Alaska Governor's Safety and Health Conference. These regional conferences provide us great opportunities to connect with practitioners and NWCOHS alumni to share research, resources and upcoming professional development course offerings.  

Lynda Kreps from the University of
Alaska visiting the NWC booth

It's always great to visit with many of our colleagues like Dede Montgomery and Kent Anger in Oregon.  I enjoy meeting with new health and safety professionals to exchange ideas and solicit information from those who are working to prevent injuries and illnesses inthe workplace. As the new Director of AKOSH,  Deborah Kelly shared new regulatory changes, training ideas and new emphasis areas for Alaska during her great keynote presentation.  I also discussed our new NWC Professional Training Opportunities Program with students and staff from University of Alaska Anchorage including Diane Runge, Dean of AAU-CTC."

Making new connections
in AK for the NWC PTOP
Program!

Symposium | Green Chemistry, Safer Alternatives and Work | June 15, 2012 | Portland, OR

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Michael Wilson
Director, Labor Occupational Health Program, UC Berkeley

Presented by CROET and Oregon Health Authority, Public Health Division
Friday, June 15, 2012, Ambridge Event Center, Portland, Oregon
8:00am - 3:45pm | Presentations & Panels
3:45pm - 5:00pm | Posters, Reception & Networking

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Symposium Website and Registration

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Symposium Objectives
To share the economic and health case for reducing toxic materials in the workplace. Current global and Oregon policies addressing and impacting use of toxic materials in the workplace will be briefly summarized. Diverse workplaces will share success stories and lessons learned in moving towards safer alternatives.

• Explain the business and health case for reducing the use of toxic materials at work - learn now these strategies will save your organization money and better protect the health of your employees.
  
• Describe case studies demonstrating how other organizations have reduced the use of toxic chemicals in their work and manufacturing processes.
  
• Identify strategies to initiate and support reducing toxic chemicals within your organization and at your workplace.
  
• Network with others interested in creating safer and healthier spaces.

Autumn 2010 ERC Research Seminar

The NWCOHS offers a quarterly seminar that features the work of ERC faculty and trainees. The Autumn 2010 quarter, held on November 12, 2010, featured 2009-2010 pilot projects that included faculty or projects from all four of the States served by NWCOHS - Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.


Dr. Noah Seixas, UW Professor and NWCOHS Director opened the seminar.


"Development & Evaluation of a 'Master Mercury Checklist for Schools'
(NIOSH Safety Checklist Program for Schools)"
Danielle Long, Boise State University
Advised by Dr. Kai Elgethun


"Development and Evaluation of a Safety Surveillance Tool for Homecare Workers"
Robert Wright, Portland State University and Layla Garrigues, Oregon Health & Science University
Advised by Dr. Ryan Olson and Dr. Brad Wipfli


"Organophosphorus pesticide oxygen analogs and worker exposure during and following agricultural spraying: are they present in air or an artifact of sampling"
Jenna Armstrong, University of Washington
Advised by Dr. Richard Fenske and Dr. Michael Yost


"Using new technologies to characterize and reduce whole body vibration exposures". Research conducted in Alaska and results presented at 29th Annual Alaska Governor's Safety and Health Conference.
Ryan Blood, University of Washington
Advised by Dr. Peter Johnson

2010 NOHC Student Research Forum Winners

(Pictured Above from left to right: Wenqi Gan, Dan Sarkany, Jenna Armstrong)

NWCOHS is pleased to announce the 2010 NOHC Student Research Forum Winners!

Premier Award
Wenqi Gan, School of Environmental Health, UBC
Gan, W. Q., H. W. Davies, and P. A. Demers. “Exposure to occupational noise and cardiovascular disease in the United States: the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2004”.

Honorable Mentions
Dan Sarkany, School of Environmental Health, UBC
Sarkany, D., C. McLeod, H. W. Davies, K. C. Lyons, and M. Koehoorn. “Injury rates and British Columbia Faller Training Standard”.

Jenna Armstrong, Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, UW
Armstrong, J. L. and R. A. Fenske. “Presence of organophosphorus pesticide oxygen analogs in air samples”.

About the NOHC Student Research Forum
The Northwest Occupational Health Conference (NOHC) is held yearly in the fall by the Industrial Hygiene (IH), Occupational Medicine (OM), and Occupational Health Nursing (OHN) communities. An event organized by PNSAIHA, the NOHC is among the largest and most successful regional multidisciplinary conferences, attracting 250-300 attendees from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, Montana, and British Columbia.

Each Year, the Northwest Center for Occupational Health & Safety (NWCOHS), in collaboration with the NOHC, hosts a 'Student Research Forum' open to graduate students and recent alumni of the northwest regional institutions and within the professional categories of IH, OM, OHN, OS and other related disciplines such as epidemiology, engineering, occupational health psychology, policy, and management. Graduate students and recent alumni are invited to submit research papers for presentation at the conference. Three exceptional papers are chosen to receive an award and scholarship to attend and present their work at the conference. All submissions are judged by a panel of OH&S professionals.

Hair Blowouts & Formaldehyde

On a trip to the salon our health is usually the last thing on our minds. What could be wrong with a simple blowout? Especially one that's claims to be natural and uses keratin-based ingredients to help keep the hair straight. Brazilian Blowout has become on of the more popular choices for straightening at salons. With claims that there's no damage, no harsh chemicals and no formaldehyde who wouldn't want smooth straight hair?


Recently Portland area salon worker complained of eye irritation, nose bleeds and difficulty breathing after using Brazilian Blowout's solution. Dede Montgomery, an Occupational Safety and Health Specialist at the Center for Research in Occupational and Environmental Toxicology (CROET) at Oregon Health & Science University (OSHU) and a NWCOHS External Advisory Board member, and her colleagues began investigating the matter.

Tests showed that the solution labeled “no formaldehyde” contained more than .1% which is required to be listed on the MSDS. Upon further testing with the assistance of Oregon OSHA, the OSHA lab analyzed the sample using five different test methods, each of which concluded that formaldehyde was present above regulated levels around 8.5%.

Due to the lack of information available to the stylists and the company's prominent "formaldehyde free" marketing, CROET has posted a warning on their site and Oregon OSHA has issued a case study on air sampling in salons during the use of the solution. Brazilian Blowout continues to back their product and claims that their product is safe.

If you are thinking of getting this process done, consider the health risks of you and of the salon worker.

For more information:

OSHA's case study and press release

An extensive amount of resources from CROET's site including the FDA's response and similar issues found in Canada.