Prioritization of NTP reproductive toxicants for field studies

Population studies that evaluate human reproductive impairment are time consuming, expensive, logistically difficult, and with limited resources must be prioritized to effectively prevent the adverse health effects in humans. Interactions among health scientists, unions, and industry can serve to identify populations exposed to potential hazards and develop strategies to evaluate and apply appropriate controls. This report describes a systematic method for prioritizing chemicals that may need human reproductive health field studies. Rodent reproductive toxicants identified from the National Toxicology Program (NTP) Reproductive Assessment by Continuous Breeding (RACB) protocol were prioritized on the basis of potency of toxic effect and population at risk. This model for prioritization links NTP findings with data from the National Occupational Exposure Survey (NOES) and the Hazardous Substance Data Base (HSDB) or the High Production Volume Chemical Database (HPVC) to prioritize chemicals for their potential impact on worker populations. The chemicals with the highest priority for field study were: dibutyl phthalate, boric acid, tricresyl phosphate, and N, N-dimethylformamide.

Hazardous waste worker education. Long-term effects

This study illustrates how a union education center successfully integrated adult empowerment education principles into the teaching methods and curriculum of a health and safety training program. The 12-month follow-up phone survey involved 481 local union respondents each representing a separate plant site and a group of 50 manager trainees. The evaluation shows that the training manual continued to be used by more than 70% of respondents, more than 70% taught coworkers, more than 50% of union trainees went on to train their managers, and more than 90% identified problems at work and sought and obtained changes in programs, training, or equipment. More than 20% reported that major spills had occurred following training. The majority stated that the handling of the spills improved. More than 80% stated that the training better prepared them for their health and safety duties. The managers' data substantially supported union members' reports.