Publications by authors named "Mike V Van Dyke"
Designing LTC Physical Work Environments to Support Worker Well-being: A Review and Recommendations.
J Am Med Dir Assoc
January 2025
Objectives: Well-designed, health-promoting physical work environments have the potential to reduce burnout and attrition for employees who work in long-term care (LTC) facilities. Unfortunately, there is limited existing guidance for LTC facility owners and operators related to specific health-promoting design strategies for LTC work environments. This narrative review aims to fill this knowledge gap.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEvaluation of an Occupational Safety and Health Training for Cannabis Cultivation Workers.
Ann Work Expo Health
August 2020
Objectives: As the commercial cannabis industry grows, there is an increased need to characterize potentially hazardous workplace exposures and provide training to workers to mitigate these exposures with the goal of reducing accidents and injuries from cannabis cultivation, processing, and manufacturing. Public health and safety stakeholders in Colorado developed a worker-focused training designed to improve hazard awareness, recognition, and controls related to commercial cannabis cultivation. This paper describes the evaluation of this training.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPotential exposures associated with indoor marijuana growing operations.
J Occup Environ Hyg
May 2014
Article Synopsis
- We conducted an investigation of 30 indoor marijuana grow operations to assess potential health risks for first responders, collecting samples for various airborne contaminants including fungal spores and THC.
- The chemicals used in these grow operations were mainly pesticides and fertilizers, with no highly toxic substances detected, and CO levels were not elevated despite CO2 enrichment processes.
- Elevated levels of fungal spores were found during plant removal, with some samples exceeding 500,000 spores/m³, indicating that responders may be exposed to mold-like environmental conditions, hence respiratory protection is recommended.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigated methods for removing methamphetamine from clothing and building materials and examined how deeply it penetrates drywall.
- Household clothing could be decontaminated effectively, with over 95% of meth removed in a single wash using detergent, while porous surfaces like plywood and drywall were less likely to reach safe contamination levels even after multiple washes.
- Stronger cleaners and specific encapsulation techniques were found to be more effective, with oil-based paints providing a protective barrier for up to 4.5 months on contaminated surfaces.
Variability and specificity associated with environmental methamphetamine sampling and analysis.
J Occup Environ Hyg
November 2011
Article Synopsis
- This study investigated the effectiveness of wipe sampling to detect methamphetamine contamination linked to its illegal production, using three different laboratories to assess variations in results.
- The research tested different wipe materials, solvents, and surfaces to see how these factors influenced methamphetamine concentration measurements and found that either methanol or isopropanol was suitable for sampling.
- Findings showed that dust and paint contamination did not impact methamphetamine recovery in samples, and no false positives were detected in blank samples, confirming that accurate detection is possible in uncontaminated environments.
Risk of chronic beryllium disease by HLA-DPB1 E69 genotype and beryllium exposure in nuclear workers.
Am J Respir Crit Care Med
June 2011
Rationale: Beryllium sensitization (BeS) and chronic beryllium disease (CBD) are determined by at least one genetic factor, a glutamic acid at position 69 (E69) of the HLA-DPB1 gene, and by exposure to beryllium. The relationship between exposure and the E69 genotype has not been well characterized.
Objectives: The study goal was to define the relationship between beryllium exposure and E69 for CBD and BeS.