NC 170 Minutes of Annual Meeting 2000

Number and Title of the Multistate Project: NC - 170 Occupational Safety and Health Through the Use of Protective Clothing nc170-l@crcvms.unl.edu

Administrative Adviser:

Chair:

Secretary:

Adopted Agenda:

• Call to Order, Announcements, Agenda
• Comments from CSREES Representation
• Comments from Administrative Advisor
• Election of Offices
• Date and Place for Next Meeting
• State Progress Report
• Website Discussion
• Objective Group Meetings
• Objective Group Reports for Full Committee/Discussion
• Discussion of New Project
  • Theme/Directions
  • Objectives
• Teams Writing toward Objectives
• 2002 Successor Project Discussion and Assignments
  

Summary of the Discussions (distributed information appended):
The agenda was accepted as distributed with the addition of Maryland that had been omitted.

The Administrative Advisor, Joan Laughlin, comments were distributed in writing and major points were reviewed.

Officers elected for 2001 are: Chair, Mastura Raheel; Secretary, Jan Stone. Objective editors for the new project were selected as Donna Branson for Objective 1 (human factors), Charlotte Coffman for Objective 2 (adoption of products and practices/outreach), and Anugrah Shaw for Objective 3 (standards).  Web site reviewer for 2001 is Ann Slocum.

Next meeting date and place were discussed relative to the planning of a new research project.  By mid December 2001, we need to have the new project definition ready. This may require a spring meeting in addition to the regular technical meeting that is normally held in September. September 13-14, 2001, was selected for the regular technical meeting. A good draft of the new project is needed by this meeting date.  A writing technical committee session for proposal development should occur in March or April. April 23-24, 2001, was identified as a possible date. New members would be helpful in definition of new research project.  Peg Rucker will investigate San Diego as a site for the writing session; Charlotte Coffman will investigate east coast sites such as the Carolinas; Donna Branson will investigate Chicago (Northwestern University).  The information will be reported to Mastura Raheel who will be responsible for arriving at a concluding decision. Discussion of the future project and the future of textile research within the Land Grant University System occurred.

Members of NC 170 presented written and oral state research progress reports. Written reports are appended and a brief summary in given in a later section of these minutes. (California, New York, Iowa, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Oklahoma)
Objective meetings were held to make plans for research to be conducted over the next year and to meet the proposed objectives and goals of the project.

Objective 1a:  Many data have been collect for the modeling.  The data will be collected for a specified list of parameters for use in the statistical regression calculated.  Fabric and challenge liquids parameters will be used. Data will be aggregated from Maryland, Illinois, and New York.

Objective 1b: Information about performance of headgear and clothing fabrics is needed.  Research will be conducted to compare UV transmittance for specialty textiles and for fabric care products that influence UV absorbency. Iowa and Oklahoma will complete field-testing of sun protective headgear.

Objective 1c: Education materials on family pesticide safety were developed based on currently available research.  Continued work on the web site involving all members of the technical committee will occur over the coming year.  Educational materials are being planned that will integrate protective clothing and engineering controls for use in reduction of environmental and human exposures.  The development of materials that address exposure of children to pesticides will be explored.  A literature search is underway to establish the basis for these outreach materials.

Objective 2: Laboratory experiments on effects of environmental and use conditions on performance of protective materials have been completed. Manuscripts are being prepared by California and Illinois.

Objective 3:  This objective was amended last year and work is continuing under that definition. Questionaire, interview guides, and protocol have been development.   Sampling frame is being defined. Data collection is planned for this year in California and Michigan.

Objective 4:  A three-laboratory (Maryland, Illinois, New York) study was conducted and the results were reviewed. A more extensive interlaboratory study for the ASTM process is planned.  A minimum of six laboratories is needed for the ASTM standardization; these labs are to be identified by Maryland.  Maryland will distribute the needed materials for this test, aggregate the results, and work with the ASTM F 23 committee and ISO.

A discussion of a culminating event or product was discussed.  The administrative advisor will be asked by Mastura Raheel whether this is required.  The issue will be discussed again in the spring. Publishing in Clothing and Textile Research Journal and ASTM were discussed. Being a co-sponsor of an ASTM symposium (June 27-28, 2002) was discussed. Anugrah Shaw investigated this idea with appropriate ASTM F23 leader; we can co-sponsor if they do not have a joint meeting with another group. Anugrah Shaw will continue to monitor this possibility. Peg Rucker will explore having a block of papers published in one or two consecutive issues of CTRJ.

New project ideas were discussed.  Sun protection is becoming very important in protective clothing.  Strategy might be to have a specific focus and use this to recruit the expertise.  The other idea is to move further in making previously completed research such as recommended usage, standards, or practice.  For example, develop performance specification and submit these for standardization.  Another example is to use research to establish recommendations for life expectancy and replacement of protective clothing. Performance standards for protective clothing might be a project definition.  A title might be "using textile systems to mediate exposures to environmental hazards", or "mediating exposure to environment hazards through textile systems". Under this topic, specifically stated objectives are proposed.

1)  Define human factors criteria for improving product development with enhanced performance (sun exposure) (Michigan, California, Oklahoma, Iowa). Others to be contacted Karen LeBat, Minnesota (Donna Branson); Susan Ashdown, New York (Kay Obendorf); Sally Helvenston, Michigan (Ann Slocum); Jean Parsons and J.R. Campbell, Iowa (Jan Stone). Linda Manikowske, North Dakota (Jan Stone); Betty Crown, University of Alberta (Peg Rucker).
2) Study best strategies for product and practice adoption (Iowa, New York). Sherry Gahring, Minnesota (Jan Stone); Pam Brown, Texas A&M Lubbock (Jan Stone),
3)  Develop further standard test methods and performance specifications for protective clothing materials (chemical protection, decontamination) (Illinois, Maryland, New York). Karen Leonas, Georgia (Mastura Raheel); S.S. Rankumar, InternationalTextile Center and Texas Tech (Mastura Raheel), Ning Pan andGang Sun, California (Peg Rucker).

Jan Stone developed a one-page announcement on the new project that can be used to recruit additional participation in the new project:

NC 170 Multistate Research Technical Committee Invites participation of researchers who are interested in becoming new members of the group.
A new project is being planned.
Tentative title is Mediating Exposure to Environment Hazards through Textile Systems
Proposed objectives are:
·    Define human factors criteria for improving product development with enhanced performance (sun exposure),
·    Study best strategies for product and practice adoption,
·    Develop further standard test methods and performance specifications for protective clothing materials (chemical protection, decontamination)

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Current members to contact for further information are:

Donna Branson (Oklahoma) marieha@okstate.edu
Peg Rucker (California) MHRUCKER@UCDAVIS.edu
Charlotte Coffman (New York) cwc4@comell.edu
Anugrah Shaw (Maryland) ASHAW@MAIL.UMES.EDU
Ann Slocum (Michigan) aslocum@msu.edu
Jan Stone (Iowa) jfstone@iastate.edu
Kay Obendorf (New York) sko3@cornell.edu
Mastura Raheel (Illinois) m-raheel@staff.uiuc.edu


A planning meeting is scheduled for spring 2001 with a tentative date of April 23-24, 2001.   For further information see: http://txnc170.human.cornell.edu/
Or contact any member of the technical committee listed above.

Prior to the writing session in spring, we need to have some drafts of sections of the new project definition.  Mastura Raheel and Peg Rucker will develop a preliminary draft of the following sections.  The objective editors will provide input on each section to the over all editors (Mastura Raheel and Peg Rucker).

Importance of the problem
Extent of the problem
Need for cooperative work
Benefits to the solution
Relationship to current priorities
Impact on science
Relate current and previous work
CRIS searches (New York will do search if Objective Editors give Kay Obendorf the keywords for the search by November 1, 2000.)
Objectives
Bibliography

The USDA-CSREES goals under which we see this new project are 1) enhancing the quality of life for humans, 2) providing safe and healthy environments for diverse populations.

The NC 170 web site was discussed. Charlotte Coffman gave an update of the management of the web site and the efforts over the past year.  A glossary is being added.  The official minutes will be added to the web site. Information about the new project will be added. Need to add work and information on sun protection.  Links will be added to Michigan and Iowa. Jihyun Kim will develop the content for a page that will introduce sun protection that would carry links to the other sites. How should protective clothing for lawn care professional be covered?  Ann Slocum will investigate indexing related to search with various search engines. Standardization of bibliographic style for references was discussed. The members should use either APA or ACS style and submit them to Charlotte Coffman for use on the web site. Cost for next year will be $200 per station. Invoices will be sent in March or April.  How the information on research should be organized on the web site related to the intended audience. An index will be added based on research topics.

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Next Meeting Information:
Tentative Location and Date: Both Chicago, IL and Kansas City, MO, were discussed for the location of the September 13-14, 2001

Responsible Individual(s): Donna Branson

Illinois is continuing laboratory work on characterizing protective clothing materials for their barrier characteristics. Fabrics have been characterized for their physical characteristics and liquid retention, penetration, transport as well as vapor transport properties. Work on the effects of chemical, sunlight, heat, and cold temperature exposure on barrier properties and structural integrity of protective gloves has been completed. Work on developing a standard method for contamination of protective clothing materials is ongoing in collaboration with New York and Maryland researchers.

Dr. Kay Obendorf
Charlotte Coffman
Department of Textiles and Apparel
Martha Van Rensselaer Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853
e-mail:sko3@cornell.edu
           
Tel.607-255-4719
      607-255-2009
FAX.607-255-1093

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Effects of liquid/fabric surface tension difference, solid volume fraction of fabrics, thickness of fabrics and viscosity of pesticide mixture on pesticide penetration of nonwoven fabrics were studied, in order to develop a predictive, statistical model that estimates pesticide penetration. Fourteen nonwoven fabrics commercially available and developed mainly for clothing were selected. Atrazine and pendimethalin were chosen for the study based on their usage, type of formulation, and chemical properties. Eleven pesticide mixtures were made in different mixing rates at the recommended field rates, and surface tension and viscosity of each mixture were measured. Fabric thickness, weight, air permeability, and water vapor transmission were measured. A bibliography was compiled on exposure of children to pesticides and an educational leaflet has been drafted.  New York continues to maintain the NC-170 website, which serves as a communication avenue for members, a resource for researchers, and an information source for consumers.

Dr. Janis Finley Stone
Textiles & Clothing Department
Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-1120

e-mail: jfstone@IASTATE.EDU
Tel. 515-294-6712
FAX 515-294-6364
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~tc-ext/homepage.html

Iowa partnered with a Korean researcher to investigate adult attitudes and practices relating to sun exposure and protection.  Considering only the Iowa sample, 28% say they have not received educational information on sun safety and skin cancer prevention; further educational efforts are needed. Adjustable fit headgear was designed in cooperation with Oklahoma and tested in a field study. Family Pesticide Safety educational leaflets and a slide set on personal protective equipment and work clothing were prepared.  A fact sheet for consumers and a leader guide for adults to use with youth on textiles for sun protection were prepared. Various manuscripts are in process.

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Oklahoma developed two prototype sun protective headgear styles with
optional cooling.  Both hats were field tested by lifeguards at two local
Oklahoma pools who alternated wearing the hats with cooling and without
cooling, over a 3-week period of time.  Subjects wore the hats for 4 hours
each day while performing their lifeguard duties, and the local temperature
exceeded 100 F every day.  Data analyses are underway. Oklahoma and Iowa
cooperated on a second field test, testing two sun protective headgear
styles, one developed by Oklahoma and one developed by Iowa, and both
manufactured for field testing.  Volunteers from Oklahoma State
University's Grounds Department and Iowa's State University Extension staff
are subjects in this on-going study.