scholarly journals CHALLENGES IN BIODIESEL INDUSTRY: SOCIO-ECONOMIC, OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH, AND POLICY ISSUES

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
JELENA AVRAMOVIĆ ◽  
ANA VELIČKOVIĆ ◽  
VLADA VELJKOVIĆ
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Health ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Biodiesel Production ◽  
Biofuel Production ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Food Market

Faced with the problem of the depletion of fossil fuels, the concern about energy security, especially in the energy depended countries due to constant conflicts in the oil-exporting countries, as well as the climate change due to burning of fossil fuels, the society recognized biofuels as the solution to many of these problems. Namely, the growing biofuel sector could provide the possibility for the development of rural areas and creating job opportunities for the local population, contribute to the development of strong self-sufficient communities and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases due to the belief that the burning of biofuels was carbon neutral. However, over the years, some issues regarding biofuel production and use emerged, showing that it was not all “black and white”, and that some side effects, such as the influence of biofuels on energy and food market, working conditions and workers’ rights regarding occupational health, the inconsistency of biofuel policies, the land change, etc. should also be addressed to. Key words: biodiesel production, workers' rights, working conditions, occupational health and safety

A Strategic Response to the Occupational Health Establishment

1996 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 355-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Sass
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Health ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Occupational Health And Safety ◽  
Workplace Hazards ◽  
Strategic Response ◽  
The Awakening ◽  
Positive Side ◽  
Union Activists ◽  
The Way

The experiences of occupational health and safety “activists” in Canada reveal the limits of achieving reform in working conditions by technical efforts in combination with rank-and-file activation. The author argues that the way union “activists” approach occupational health and safety limits workers in dealing with their actual experiences and understanding about workplace hazards and risk, then discusses the conditions for the awakening of their critical consciousness as a basis of acting on hazardous working conditions. The first movement in the way the worker apprehends the work environment is a movement of negation and is the prior condition to a critical and disclosive discourse about workplace hazards. It is the positive side of “No!” and the taking seriously of workers' rights. It is this negation of the negative that holds out the greatest hope for solidarity and a liberatory community in workplaces, since legislated workers' rights as the basis of protection have become a facade. Workers can respond with the power of saying “No!” in solidarity with suffering workers, and then work through appropriate principles, ends, or strategies avoiding entrapment by a “telos” in the first instance. By laying out these “ends” or a strategic paradigm, one introduces a “conversation stopper” for workers and atrophies their activation.

scholarly journals L’«épidémiologie de la bottine» ou l’enquête médicale réinventée. Alice Hamilton et la médecine industrielle dans l’Amérique du premier XXe siècle

Gesnerus ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 330-354
Author(s):  
Judith Rainhorn
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Health ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Occupational Hazards ◽  
Construction Sites ◽  
Industrial Growth ◽  
The Core ◽  
Industrial Medicine ◽  
Concrete Part ◽  
Source Of Information

Dr. Alice Hamilton (1869–1970) was a pioneer in industrial medicine, a new discipline that emerged with a new interest in working conditions and occupational hazards within an era of unprecedented industrial growth. From various sources, including her reports after she visited Arizona copper belt in 1919, my paper emphasizes the innovation of Hamilton’s approach, “shoeleather epidemiology”. She went to the source of information in workshops, plants and construction sites, observed the very concrete part of industrial work, interviewed many stakeholders in and around the workplace, making a methodological toolbox for industrial surveys. Her method combined an old medical practice (the medical inquiry) and a new clinical field (the plant) and placed the worker as a patient in the core of the issue of occupational health and safety.

scholarly journals The Use of the Development Index in the Assessment of Occupational Health and Safety Conditions - Case Study

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Zdeněk Boháč ◽  
Zygmunt Korban
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Health ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Occupational Health And Safety ◽  
Development Index ◽  
Multi Criteria Evaluation

Abstract Both one- and multi-criteria tasks can be distinguished depending on the number of criteria being considered. Illustrated with an example of seven selected underground workplaces, each described by the set of 10 elements, this article discusses the possibilities to use the development index mi for determination of the workplaces which, in the light of the multi-criteria evaluation, are characterised by the worst and most favourable working conditions.

scholarly journals EDITORIAL

2007 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 02
Author(s):  
J. V. C. Vargas
Keyword(s):  
Diesel Fuel ◽  
Sugar Cane ◽  
Alternative Fuels ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Biodiesel Production ◽  
Biofuel Production ◽  
Global Demand ◽  
Oil Productivity ◽  
Carbon Neutral ◽  
Near Future

Fossil fuels are currently recognized as unsustainable because of depleting supplies and the contribution of these fuels to the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the environment. Therefore, renewable, carbon neutral, alternative fuels are necessary for environmental and economic sustainability. Several countries have been considering the use of alternative fuels derived from agriculture. In that context, ethanol derived from sugar-cane and/or corn crops, and biodiesel derived from oil crops are potential renewable and carbon neutral alternatives to fossil fuels. Unfortunately, fuel from crops, waste and animal fat cannot realistically satisfy even a small fraction of the existing global demand for fuels. In Brazil, the government has been subsiding ethanol from sugar-cane crops for more than 30 years, and together with research investment on oil off-shore exploration, the initiative made possible for the country, at least for the moment, to become energy self sufficient, but due to oil supplies depletion, that scenery will change in the near future. Another limiting factor is cost. For example, the economic aspect of biodiesel production limits its development and large-scale use. Biodiesel usually costs almost twice the price per liter of conventional diesel fuel, currently in the US.Apart from economic aspects, it is clear that biofuel production technology needs to be improved to meet global fuel demand rate. One possible direction is the use of microalgae, that appear to be the only source of renewable biodiesel that is capable of meeting the diesel fuel global demand. Like plants, microalgae use sunlight to produce oils but they do so more efficiently than crop plants. Oil productivity of many microalgae greatly exceeds the oil productivity of the best producing oil crops.Approaches for making microalgal biodiesel economically competitive therefore need to be developed.The mission of Engenharia Térmica is to document the scientific progress in areas related to energy, particularly oil and renewables. We are confident we will continue to receive articles’ submissions that help enable sustainable energy solutions in the near future.

scholarly journals Molecular Breeding of Advanced Microorganisms for Biofuel Production

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Sakuragi ◽  
Kouichi Kuroda ◽  
Mitsuyoshi Ueda
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Molecular Breeding ◽  
Surface Engineering ◽  
Cellulosic Biomass ◽  
Biodiesel Production ◽  
Biofuel Production ◽  
Solvent Tolerance ◽  
Sustainable Society ◽  
Cell Surface Engineering ◽  
Engineering Technology

Large amounts of fossil fuels are consumed every day in spite of increasing environmental problems. To preserve the environment and construct a sustainable society, the use of biofuels derived from different kinds of biomass is being practiced worldwide. Although bioethanol has been largely produced, it commonly requires food crops such as corn and sugar cane as substrates. To develop a sustainable energy supply, cellulosic biomass should be used for bioethanol production instead of grain biomass. For this purpose, cell surface engineering technology is a very promising method. In biobutanol and biodiesel production, engineered host fermentation has attracted much attention; however, this method has many limitations such as low productivity and low solvent tolerance of microorganisms. Despite these problems, biofuels such as bioethanol, biobutanol, and biodiesel are potential energy sources that can help establish a sustainable society.

scholarly journals Occupational Health and Safety Duties to Protect Outworkers: The Failure of Regulatory Intervention and Calls for Reform

2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Harpur
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Occupational Health ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Occupational Health And Safety ◽  
Recent Immigrants ◽  
Working From Home ◽  
Regulatory Intervention

<p>Many Australian outworkers, especially recent immigrants working from home, currently endure poor working conditions. Outworkers often toil without traditional industrial support. Most retailers and suppliers do not monitor working conditions at the base of the supply chain. Occupational health and safety protections are often not enforced in practice. Increased obligations for retailers and suppliers at the top of the supply chain would reduce the violation of fair working conditions.</p>

scholarly journals Problems of professional selection and the effect of the healthy worker in occupational health

2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 394-399
Author(s):  
Andrey V. Melentev ◽  
Sergey A. Babanov ◽  
Leonid A. Strizhakov ◽  
Denis V. Vinnikov ◽  
Natalya A. Ostryakova
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Health ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Occupational Health And Safety ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Medical Terminology ◽  
Functional Capabilities ◽  
Self Selection ◽  
Critical Problems ◽  
Degree Of Severity

Introduction. The ”healthy worker effect” (HWE) is currently understood as organized (on the part of the employer) and/or unorganized (self-selection on the part of the worker, due to the functional capabilities and state of health of workers in unfavourable working conditions, is one of the most critical problems when conducting epidemiological studies in occupational pathology. Purpose and objectives. Analysis of the problem in occupational health and safety, the scientific and medical terminology used in the study of the issue of occupational health and safety, taking into account the possible inversion of the effect of exposure to harmful and unfavourable working conditions taking into account this phenomenon, as well as the intensity of occupational health and safety in various professional cohorts. Results. When conducting epidemiological studies in occupational health and occupational pathology, it is necessary to unify the scientific and medical terminology used in researching HWE and consider the possible inversion of exposure to harmful and unfavourable working conditions taking into account this phenomenon. Conclusions. HWE and its intensity in various professional cohorts can indirectly characterize the harmfulness and unfavorability of conditions. HWE, its degree of severity and intensity determine the need for medical and social security and rehabilitation measures in these professional cohorts.

Industrial safety and video analytics

2021 ◽  
pp. 30-33
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Occupational Health ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Occupational Health And Safety ◽  
Industrial Safety ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Video Analytics

The demand for technological solutions for industrial safety is growing rapidly. Digitalization enters all spheres of occupational health and safety in industry, new integrated solutions based on artificial intelligence appear, monitoring personal protective equipment, which create such working conditions where threats to life and health will be minimal.

scholarly journals Courses on Basic Occupational Safety and Health: A Train-the-Trainer Educational Program for Rural Areas of Latin America

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 1842
Author(s):  
Marie Astrid Garrido ◽  
Verónica Encina ◽  
María Teresa Solis-Soto ◽  
Manuel Parra ◽  
María Fernanda Bauleo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Occupational Health ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Primary Healthcare ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Occupational Health Services ◽  
Problem Analysis ◽  
Train The Trainer ◽  
Geographical Access

Integrating basic occupational health services into primary care is encouraged by the Pan American Health Organization. However, concrete initiatives are still scarce. We aimed to develop a training program focusing on prevention of occupational risks for primary healthcare professionals. This train-the-trainer program was piloted at four universities in Chile and Peru. Occupational health or primary healthcare lecturers formed a team with representative(s) of one rural primary healthcare center connected to their university (Nparticipants = 15). Training started with a workshop on participatory diagnosis of working conditions. Once teams had conducted the participatory diagnosis in the rural communities, they designed in a second course an active teaching intervention. The intervention was targeted at the main occupational health problem of the community. After implementation of the intervention, teams evaluated the program. Evaluation results were very positive with an overall score of 9.7 out of 10. Teams reported that the methodology enabled them to visualize hazardous working conditions. They also stated that the training improved their abilities for problem analysis and preventive actions. Aspects like time constraints and difficult geographical access were mentioned as challenges. In summary, addressing occupational health in primary care through targeted training modules is feasible, but long-term health outcomes need to be evaluated.

scholarly journals O1E.4 Electronic waste recycling in québec, canada: hiring practices and occupational health and safety management

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. A11.2-A11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvie Gravel ◽  
Daniel Côté ◽  
Stéphanie Gladu ◽  
France Labrèche
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Health ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Electronic Waste ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Occupational Health And Safety ◽  
Waste Recycling ◽  
Matrix Analysis ◽  
Private Company ◽  
Electronic Waste Recycling

Background and objectiveElectronic waste recycling (e-recycling) has received little attention from an occupational health and safety (OHS) perspective. Our objective was to describe hiring and OHS management practices in a sample of formal e-recycling facilities.MethodsWithin a cross-sectional study of exposure of e-recycling workers to various contaminants, we conducted semi-structured face-to-face interviews with a sample of 26 workers and 6 managers, employed in four companies. Thematic analyses, followed by a matrix analysis based on the companies’ missions were conducted on the recorded interviews.ResultsThree companies are small enterprises: one receives young offenders/ex-prisoners for up to six months of vocational internships; another is a private company recruiting its workforce through governmental programs integrating people with chronic health problems; the third, a family business, mainly employs workers within neighbouring communities. Lastly, a medium-sized unionized company recruits its employees through staffing agencies, offering permanent jobs to the best candidates after a three-month trial period. Most participants were male, aged between 20–50 years old, and had not completed high school, except for a few recent immigrants with graduate degrees. Regarding occupational hazards in their workplace, 40% of interviewees reported chemicals, 31% mentioned the danger of being struck by lift trucks, and less than 25% identified toxic vapours, inappropriate protective personal equipments (PPEs), cuts, dusts, musculoskeletal or back pain. Some workers expressed concern about the pace of work (and resulting stress), which they identified as an injury risk factor. None of the participants received any mentoring upon entering the job. Agency workers had inferior wages and did not have access to the same OHS preventive practices or PPEs as regular workers.ConclusionsIn our sample, OHS management practices varied according to the employment relationship, although workers are exposed to similar working conditions. Working conditions in the growing e-recycling industry need our attention.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document