NIOSHTIC-2 Publications Search

Teen workers' exposures to occupational hazards and use of personal protective equipment.

Runyan CW; Vladutiu CJ; Rauscher KJ; Schulman M

Am J Ind Med 2008 Oct; 51(10):735-740

https://doi.org/10.1002/ajim.20624

20034593

BACKGROUND: prior research indicates that working adolescents seek care for the toxic effects of on-the-job chemical and environmental hazard exposures. METHODS: this cross-sectional survey of a nationally representative sample of 866 adolescent workers in the retail and service sector examines their exposures, personal protective equipment (PPE) use, and training. RESULTS: two-thirds of respondents were exposed to continuous, very loud noise, 55% to thermal hazards and 54% to chemical hazards. Few teens reported using any PPE, though those who had been trained reported somewhat higher usage. CONCLUSIONS: teens working in the retail and service sectors experience a variety of chemical, thermal, biologic and noise exposures. Efforts to eradicate such exposures need to be complemented by increased provision of PPE and appropriate training in their use by employers.

Age-factors; Age-groups; Injury-prevention; Safety-education; Training; Retail-workers; Personal-protective-equipment; Protective-equipment; Chemical-hypersensitivity; Thermal-effects; Heat; Heat-exposure; Biological-effects; Noise-exposure; Noise-pollution; Noise-sources; Statistical-analysis; Author Keywords: adolescent; workers; occupational; protective equipment; noise; burn hazard; chemical hazard; training

Carol W. Runyan, UNC Injury Prevention Research Center, 137 East Franklin Street, CB#7505, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7505

AJIMD8

20081001

Journal Article

carol_runyan@unc.edu

677285

Grant

2009

Grant-Number-R01-OH-003530

10

0271-3586

Work Environment and Workforce: Special Populations

American Journal of Industrial Medicine

NC

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill