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Evaluation of the Impact of Process Design and Anthropometric Differences on the Chemical Exposure and Ergonomic Stress of Workers in the Petroleum Industry

Whitehead, Carson, Jr.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1613741803799256

Abstract Details

2020, MS, University of Cincinnati, Medicine: Industrial Hygiene (Environmental Health).
Workplace conditions (pipe height and gas density), anthropometric variability (worker height), and task orientation (worker posture) in petroleum refining can influence the concentration of chemicals measured in the breathing zone of workers. Consideration of these factors while performing qualitative risk assessment is essential for occupational hygienists to accurately estimate exposure and prioritize assessment and mitigation resources. This study aimed to characterize the impact of these factors by simulating a routine operations task in a laboratory setting, at a predetermined flow rate, using full body mannequins. The results of the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post-hoc Tukey tests indicate that all tested independent variables have a significant impact on the level of gas measured in the breathing zone (p < 0.001). Pipe height was a significant predictor of gas concentration measured in the breathing zone and correlated to the emission pathway for each evaluated gas density. Specifically, measurements of chemical concentration were higher for pipe heights that encouraged the gas to enter the breathing zone of the worker. Worker anthropometry was a significant predictor of gas concentration measured in the breathing zone and results varied for each gas density tested. Specifically, the tall worker (male) chemical concentrations exceeded those of the short worker (female) for methane simulations. Conversely, the short worker (female) chemical concentrations exceeded those of the tall worker (male) for sulfur hexafluoride simulations. This variance is primarily attributable to the vertical and horizontal position of each mannequin’s breathing zone relative to the emission source for exposure events. Worker posture was a significant predictor of gas concentration measured in the breathing zone and the results of this study demonstrate that non-neutral postures may be associated with higher levels of chemical concentration for these sorts of manual tasks. The findings of this study indicate that qualitative risk assessment cannot be performed accurately without accounting for all variables that may impact a worker’s exposure. Failure to account for these variables may result in worker exposure being severely over or underestimated.
Kermit Davis, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
M. Maier, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Marepalli Rao, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
32 p.
Environmental Health
chemical exposure; ergonomics; qualitative risk assessment; anthropometry; posture; petroleum refining

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Whitehead, Jr., C. (2020). Evaluation of the Impact of Process Design and Anthropometric Differences on the Chemical Exposure and Ergonomic Stress of Workers in the Petroleum Industry [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1613741803799256

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Whitehead, Jr., Carson. Evaluation of the Impact of Process Design and Anthropometric Differences on the Chemical Exposure and Ergonomic Stress of Workers in the Petroleum Industry. 2020. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1613741803799256.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Whitehead, Jr., Carson. "Evaluation of the Impact of Process Design and Anthropometric Differences on the Chemical Exposure and Ergonomic Stress of Workers in the Petroleum Industry." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1613741803799256

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1613741803799256
51
© 2020, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Evaluation of the Impact of Process Design and Anthropometric Differences on the Chemical Exposure and Ergonomic Stress of Workers in the Petroleum Industry by Carson Whitehead Jr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.