First published on July 13, 2015 in observance of the COPH’s 30^th anniversary celebration.

Founded in 1997 by a training grant supported by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the Sunshine Education and Research Center at the USF College of Public Health stemmed from an industrial hygiene training program grant in the late 1980s.

“NIOSH has several charters,” explained Dr. Thomas Bernard, chair and professor in Environmental and Occupational Health and SERC (pronounced SIR-see) program director since 2008.  “One of them is to support and encourage the development of professionals in the field of occupational safety and health.  A mechanism for doing that is through training grants.”

After Bernard’s arrival in 1989, additional training program grants followed in occupational medicine and occupational health nursing.  Then the department began work on an occupational safety program.  Eight years later, the fledgling operation had grown enough to warrant centralization.

“In the mid-’90s,” Bernard said, “we decided that we would combine those training activities with a grant and ask for an education center.  The application required that it have training in at least three programs, and we had four: safety, industrial hygiene, medicine and nursing.  The application was accepted and funded under the leadership of Stuart M. Brooks and Yehia Hammad.”

Being headquartered at a university the size of USF naturally leads any interdisciplinary entity into an expansion cornucopia that Bernard is happy to enumerate, along with the USF colleges involved.

“Because they are multidiscipline programs, part of their value is the interdisciplinary training,” he said.  “We added, about seven years ago, occupational health psychology, so that’s now a funded program in Arts and Sciences.  We’ve expanded the safety program to include a degree out of engineering.  Obviously, we’re involved with the [Morsani] College of Medicine:  The clinical rotations and residency certificates come out of medicine, and then the academic training comes out of public health.

“With nursing,” he said, “we have three options.  One is a straight occupational health nursing degree, a second one is a dual degree in nursing and public health, and then we also have a third degree that’s strictly public health.”

Thomas Bernard, PhD

Another requirement under the grant from NIOSH, which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is a continuing education component,  which also has been added.  Additional expansion has stemmed from outreach activities, student recruitment and a pilot project in research training for doctoral students and junior faculty.

“We support these throughout the region,” Bernard qualified, “so they aren’t only for USF.  We have reached way beyond ourselves in terms of the arrangements that we have, but we engage the professional community more than the community at large.”

He added that the center is “very much engaged” in state and regional professional conferences, as well as in coordination with other ERCs in the state and the region.

“By and large, we have a very good national profile,” he said.  “There are just a couple of us that reach out globally, but those are more individual efforts.  The ERC is designed to serve primarily Florida, and in a larger sense, the Southeast region.  That’s our mission and our charter from NIOSH, not to go beyond that, but I think we have expertise in a number of areas that have national recognition.”

The highly technical nature of some of those areas probably help limit recognition to professional circles, but their significance would be difficult to deny. Respiratory protection from nanoparticles is one of them, but as Bernard pointed out, it’s not exactly a topic on most people’s minds.

“Few people are asking, ‘What happens when you breathe those in?’  Some of them have characteristics that are not unlike asbestos.  Others are easily transported across the air-blood barriers, so they move through the lungs into the blood and get transported elsewhere in the body.  So protecting individuals from nanoparticles is important,” he said.

And the list goes on.

“We have a major presence in the area of heat stress – how to evaluate heat stress, how to manage it, and especially, the effects of protective clothing.  We have fairly good recognition in Europe in the area of ergonomics,” he continued,  “and occupational health psychology clearly is one of our well-recognized programs.”

Workplace stress, safety climate and work-family balance are others, he said.

“And then,” he concluded with a nod that said he’d saved the best for last, “we turn out good students, and we’re recognized through the product of the quality of our students.”

SERC hosts a six-day Summer Institute for Occupational Health and Safety for students interested in exploring graduate studies.

Looking ahead is easy for Bernard, and he likes what he sees for his organization.

“I think that everything we do in public health, and everything we do within the SERC, is prevention – preventing people from being injured or having their health impaired,” he said.  “But I think our opportunity here at USF lies in translating research to practice and also expanding on the fact that a healthy workforce is healthy not only from controlling exposures to hazards in the workplace, but also from encouraging healthy activities outside the workplace.

“So, bringing these work and home lives together is an opportunity for us,” Bernard concluded, “and that’s where I see our future.”

Story by David Brothers, College of Public Health.

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First published on May 8, 2020 in observance of the COPH’s 35^th anniversary celebration.

The Sunshine Education and Research Center (Sunshine ERC) located in the USF College of Public Health is one of 18 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) education and research centers across the nation that provides interdisciplinary training of occupational safety and health professionals.

The Sunshine ERC, which was founded in 1997, offers programs collaboratively with the Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, and Arts and Sciences and focuses on evidence-based practice and research, continuing education and outreach.

“Over the years this continuing education program evolved into a vehicle to provide low cost opportunities for professional development,” said Dr. Thomas E. Bernard, USF College of Public Health professor and Sunshine ERC center director. “The scope of the center also increased with pilot project research training and more opportunities for interdisciplinary activities.”

According to Bernard, USF COPH’s Drs. Yehia Hammad, Stuart Brooks and Pete Rentos had a vision for starting a NIOSH-supported education and research center that would be the first new center in a decade.

“As funded, the Sunshine ERC was the umbrella for industrial hygiene, occupational medicine and occupational health nursing with a nascent continuing education program. We then added occupational safety and occupational health psychology (OHP)­­—the first ERC to have an OHP program,” he said.

Bernard and Dr. Candance Burns of the College of Nursing, assumed leadership of the Sunshine ERC in 2008.

According to Bernard, with growing support from NIOSH, the Sunshine ERC affiliated with the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), expanded interdisciplinary activities and enhanced outreach into underserved populations.

“This momentum carried us into the current funding cycle with the addition of UCF to support research training directed at the hospitality industry, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University for a new vision of occupational safety, and programs with UPR in disaster resilience for workers. Further, we now have a supported online program in health, safety and environment,” Bernard said.

The Sunshine ERC focuses on providing training that reflects the needs of key industries in Florida and emerging issues of the nation.

“Students in the Sunshine ERC receive solid training in their chosen field,” Bernard said. “The real value-added is further experience in interdisciplinary activities to better prepare them for the practice of occupational health, safety and wellness.”

Trainees spend time with peers from across disciplines in public health, nursing, and medicine at USF, psychology at USF and UCF, hospitality at UCF, and aviation at Embry-Riddle, according to Bernard.

“Each trainee is enrolled in a degree program within their institution,” Bernard said. “It is the interdisciplinary experience that takes them beyond their specific discipline.”

For example, Bernard explained, trainees are expected to attend one ERC-wide session that provides information of interest to all.

“This varies a little and includes responsible conduct of research, general principles of occupational health, safety and wellness, and team building exercises,” he said.

Trainees are also encouraged to attend national symposiums and also contribute and participate in research projects sponsored by the ERC and its faculty.

Zach Brandes-Powell, a second year occupational exposure science student in the COPH, said the Sunshine ERC has expanded his experience level as a student. 

“The mentoring and encouragement of the professors and members of the ERC have helped to push me to do things I wouldn’t have thought I was capable of with my current level of experience,” he said.  “For example, through the ERC’s support, I was able to co-present on the benefit of internships for occupational safety and health students and professionals at the American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition (AIHCE). With their encouragement, I also started to offer to tutor students taking industrial hygiene related courses. These opportunities have helped me to develop skills that will be beneficial to me in life and throughout my career in occupational safety and industrial hygiene.”

Brandes-Powell said going to AIHCE 2019 has been a highlight for him.

“We were able to meet students from ERCs around the country and interact with alumni of the program. The impact that the ERC has on its students was evident as the current students instantly found common ground with the alumni when talking about our courses and projects,” he said.

Miriam Escobar, also a second-year occupational exposure science student in the COPH, said the Sunshine ERC has helped her expand her networking abilities with professionals from other disciplines.  

“Now, I am part of a diversified professional network with a common goal to improve the safety and health of others in various occupational industries,” she said.

She said the highlight of her experience so far has been the ability to participate in the Puerto Rico Resiliency focus group research.

“I was able to travel to Puerto Rico and hear first hand how the hospitality community was not only affected by hurricane Maria but also come together and prevail,” Escobar said.

Currently, the Sunshine ERC is supporting four COVID-19 research projects through its program development fund, according to Bernard, three at USF and one at UCF.

Bernard said that while the Sunshine ERC focuses on students within the ERC disciplines, they have started to also engage students and faculty interested in disaster management.

“If students have an interest they should contact me or Ms. Kelly Freedman and we will see if there is an opportunity with current projects,” he said. “We would welcome and support expenses for some students outside the ERC to participate in interdisciplinary activities.”

Story by Anna Mayor, USF College of Public Health

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Photographs are a learning tool of how accidents can be prevented. Thank you to William Tomlin, our USF SafetyFlorida contributor for April.

Corresponding Standards:

OSHA regulation 1910.134 (h)(2)(I) states that “All respirators shall be stored to protect them from damage, contamination, dust, sunlight, extreme temperatures, excessive moisture, and damaging chemicals, and they shall be packed or stored to prevent deformation of the face piece and exhalation valve.”

OSHA regulation 1910.134 (h) (3)(ii) (A) and (B)  states that inspections should include  “  tightness of connections, and the condition of the various parts including, but not limited to, the face piece, head straps, valves, connecting tube, and cartridges, canisters or filters; and  [B] a check of elastomeric parts for pliability and signs of deterioration”.

The respirator in the above image should have been stored in some type of protective container after having been inspected, repaired and cleaned. The straps have lost their elasticity. 

The health hazard:

The employee assigned to use this respirator will not be able to achieve a good “fit” to the face due to the damaged head straps, and could mistakenly feel as though they are protected from the airborne hazards in their work area. Additionally, the mask is stored in an unsanitary area containing settled material that could now be deposited inside of the face mask, and potentially inhaled by the user.

The corrective action:

As part of an effective respiratory protection program, employees must be trained to properly inspect, clean and store any respirator assigned to them.  The employee must inspect the head straps, inhalation and exhalation valves, and the overall condition of the face piece for deformation, holes or cracks. The respirator can be store in a re-sealable bag or hard plastic container as long as it is stored in such a way as not to cause deformation of the face piece.

Additionally, OSHA regulation 29 CFR 1910.134 establishes required training requirements for all who are assigned to wear respiratory protection.

Click here for more information on respiratory protection.

USF SafetyFlorida’s Consultants are available to help employers recognize hazards in the workplace, assist employers in developing effective safety and health management programs, and much more. Contact us at 1-866-273-1105 or visit www.usfsafetyflorida.com.

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This consultant’s corner pertains to industry operations that apply “flammable and combustible finishing materials when applied as a spray by compressed air, “airless” or “hydraulic atomization,” steam, electrostatic methods, or by any other means in continuous or intermittent processes.” This article also pertains to operations that apply “combustible powders by powder spray guns, electrostatic powder spray guns, fluidized beds, or electrostatic fluidized beds.”  This language comes from the scope of the OSHA spray finishing standard, CFR 1910.107.  In summary, this language addresses operations of a company that sprays or applies an aerosol that will ignite, either as it is applied or after it has dried. However, the standard “does not apply to outdoor spray application of buildings, tanks, or other similar structures, nor to small portable spraying devices not used repeatedly in the same location.”

Spraying with flammable and combustible liquids and powder coating operations present unique hazards.  Fires, explosions, deflagrations, and hazardous and toxic atmospheres are a concern.  The OSHA spray finishing standard has requirements for spraying operations, however, the standard does not provide the most current requirements for these operations.  The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 33: “Standard for Spray Application Using Flammable or Combustible Materials” provides arguably the most authoritative guidance on these types of operations, and especially, powder coating operations.

Many employers who spray paints containing flammable solvents, such as toluene, are aware of the fire hazards associated with this operation and have implemented appropriate controls, such as conducting spraying within a booth.  However, some confusion exists where latex or water-based paints are sprayed.  Although, the liquid spray may not ignite, the dried spray or residue may be capable of being ignited.  If the dried residue can be ignited, the OSHA standard applies to the spraying of latex or water-based paints.

Even more confusion exists with powder coating operations.  An example is the need to protect the spray area within a spray booth with an automatic fire suppression system.  This confusion may exist because the OSHA spray finishing standard lacks specific detail regarding this type of operation.  Many manufacturers of powder coating booths do not normally equip booths with an automatic fire suppression system.  It is important to keep in mind that the OSHA spray finishing standard is based on an old NFPA standard (NFPA 33 Spray Finishing, 1969).  Most powder paints are combustible (i.e. ignitable) and they are usually sprayed.  Therefore, most powder painting will fall within the scope of the OSHA standard.  Current NFPA 33 clearly states in its scope that the standard applies to processes in which combustible dry powders are applied.  The scope of current NFPA also includes the “spray application of water-borne, water-based, and water-reducible materials that contain flammable or combustible liquids or that produce combustible deposits or residues.”  In all cases, the employer should examine their safety data sheets to determine if the material being sprayed or applied is flammable or combustible, or if it contains flammable or combustible ingredients.  If in doubt, the manufacturer of the material should be consulted and provide responses in writing.  OSHA can always issue a general duty clause citation and reference a consensus standard, such as the NFPA.  For a general duty violation, four criteria need to be met.  The first criteria includes that the employer failed to keep the workplace free of a hazard (e.g. using a flammable or combustible material in an unsafe manner) to which employees were exposed.  The second criteria is that the hazard was recognized (e.g. knowledge from reading this article or other related literature).  The third is that the hazard was causing or was likely to cause death or serious physical harm (e.g. fire resulting from negligent use of such materials).  The fourth criteria is that there was a feasible and useful method to correct the hazard (e.g. installation of a fire suppression system).  The OSHA and the NFPA regulations are intended to protect lives.

OSHA has some specific requirements for spray finishing operations using flammable and combustible materials.  Generally the requirements include booth design and construction and electrical equipment approved for a hazardous location.  Further requirements include other sources of ignition, ventilation, flammable and combustible liquid handling and use.  Also covered include fire protection, requirements related to operations and maintenance, powder coating operations, and electrostatic processes to name a few.

Having evaluated several spray finishing operations by this consultant, the following were some of the more common hazards observed:

• Failing to maintain a device that indicates the ventilation system is functioning properly. OSHA requires a device, such as a gauge, be installed to indicate or insure that the required air velocity is maintained.
• Lack of an adequate automatic fire suppression system where dry-type filters are used, such as with an automotive spray booth or powder coating booth. OSHA requires an approved automatic sprinkler system in the space within the spray booth on the upstream and downstream sides of filters.
• Existence of electrical equipment installed within the spray area (i.e. spray booth, spray room, or spray area) that is not approved for a hazardous location. A Division 1 area generally exists where a flammable or combustible atmosphere is likely to exist under normal operating conditions.  A Division 2 area extends beyond the Division 1 area, its limits depending on several variables.  The Division 2 area exists where a flammable or combustible atmosphere could exist under abnormal operating conditions.  In both cases, electrical equipment within these areas must be approved for the location.
• Failing to effectively ground all metal parts within the booth. OSHA requires all metal parts of spray booths, exhaust ducts, and piping systems conveying flammable or combustible materials be properly grounded in an effective and permanent manner.  NFPA also requires electrical grounding within spray rooms and spray areas, as well as grounding of personnel. A static discharge could ignite a flammable or combustible atmosphere.
• Transferring flammable or combustible liquids from one container to another without first bonding and grounding the containers. OSHA requires that both containers be effectively bonded and grounded to prevent discharge sparks of static electricity.
• Excessive residues present within the spray booth, room, or area. OSHA requires that these areas be kept as free as practical from the accumulation of deposits of combustible materials.  The tools used for cleaning these deposits must also be of non-sparking material.  The spray area can be demarcated where the combustible residues occur, which affects electrical classification.  If the residue can be easily collected, it is probably excessive.  The residue could also be sent to a laboratory for a combustibility analysis.
• Failing to maintain an approved metal waste can for disposing of rags or waste impregnated with finishing material. Rags or waste impregnated with finishing material can spontaneously combust.  Making an approved metal waste can available is an OSHA requirement and it should be readily available to employees.
• Failing to post “No Smoking” signs in the spray areas and paint storage rooms. The letters should be in large letters on contrasting color background and conspicuously posted.
• Failing to keep the powder coating area free of the accumulation of powder coating dusts and particularly on horizontal surfaces. Like combustible paint residues, this too can be used to demarcate your spray area
• Performing housekeeping activities in such a manner that disperse or re-aerosolize the powder paint. The use of an ordinary shop-vac would be an example of an ineffective housekeeping technique.  The filters of an ordinary shop-vac do not provide enough filtration efficiency to remove all dust.  This type of vacuum is also not approved for a hazardous location.  There could be a combustible concentration of dusts within the vacuum system.

If you know the OSHA spray finishing standard applies to your operation, it is recommended that you read and become familiar with the applicable requirements of both CFR 1910.107 and NFPA 33.  This brief overview only addresses some of the major requirements of this OSHA standard.  More detail is provided by reviewing each of these standards.  NFPA is available to read online for free.  There is also a decent checklist for operations involving flammable and combustible liquids available at https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2004-101/chklists/n40spr%7E1.htm.  If operations include the types of hazards described above in ones workplace, the USF SafetyFlorida Consultation program can be consulted for a more comprehensive evaluation for worker safety and health.

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