Occupational Health Research @ ECU

Associate Prof Jacques Oosthuizen

Occ Health Research Group

- Established as a level 1 research group in October 2010.

- Over the last year the group has been active and has been successful in attracting funding and post graduate research students

Aims

• To bring together researchers who have an interest in occupational health research.

• To develop research protocols for the accurate determination of worker exposure profiles.

• To integrate environmental (exposure) and medical surveillance data.

• To develop laboratory based protocols aimed at validating occupational exposure standards in an Australian context (temperature / humidity combinations and extended shifts).

• To develop laboratory based protocols to evaluate potential synergistic and other effects associated with exposures of workers to mixtures of multiple agents.

Completed funded projects

• Field validation of laboratory developed heat stress intervention in the Australian liquid natural gas sector (ice slurry).

• Review of air sampling data and development of a 5 year sampling strategy for a WA mine.

Current successful grants

Australia-China natural gas technology partnership research fund - $59 210. Field validation of a laboratory developed heat stress intervention in the Australian liquid natural gas sector.

ECU, industry collaboration scheme, total value $74 658. The association between environmental stresses (UV, heat and chemicals) and melanoma incidence amongst staff at a WA mine.

Private industry funded - $46,464. Occupational heat stress experienced by personnel in tropical regions of North Western Australia.

Completed student research

• (MPH - 2011). How healthy are hairdressers? An investigation of health problems of female, Western Australian hairdressers.

• (PhD - 2011). Industrial heat stress: Using ice slurry ingestion as a practical approach to reducing heat strain in workers.

• (PhD 2011). Occupational respiratory health surveillance at a WA mine site.

• (MPH 2011). Scald burn admissions to a WA hospital in 1998 and 2008: a comparative analysis.

Current research students

An investigation into the gases and vapours expulsed during the oxidation of pyritic black shale, and their potential for impacting on employee health.

Factors influencing the incidence rates of injuries and accidents among seafarers and rig workers providing support to the WA offshore oil and gas industry.

The influence of facial physiognomy on the composition and promotion of an occupational safety and health message.

Causes and effects of physical injuries to Prison Officers employed in an environment of high risk and high need offender management in Western Australia.

An evaluation of children’s exposures to respirable particulates, environmental PM2.5,

PAH’s and metal compounds in Collie basin.

Identification of exposure related research topics in the Australian LNGas industry.

Assessment of the crystalline silica exposure risk to employees of a WA gold mine

Future directions

Variability in HSP72 expression

- between genders

- between laboratory and in-situ acclimatisation protocols.

Goal is to develop a simple blood test of a persons capacity to undertake hot work and to validate heat acclimation protocols.

Evaluate the influence of body temperature and shifts in hearing acuity.

Comparison of metabolic requirements between similar occupational groups.

Continuation of laboratory based work around mixed exposures and links with cancer induction.