Japanese guidelines for occupational allergic diseases 2020

Safety Risks of Plant Fiber/Plastic Composites (PPCs) Intended for Food Contact: A Review of Potential Hazards and Risk Management Measures

Plant fiber/plastic composites (PPCs), with the benefits of low cost and easy processing, have been widely used in the production of various food contact products. They are generally considered to be economical and environmentally friendly because of their natural raw materials (plant fibers) and recommended to be one of the ideal alternatives to traditional petrochemical-based plastics. However, in addition to plastic resins and plant fibers, some indispensable additives are involved in the production process of PPCs, which may pose food safety risks. To date, excessive migration of hazardous substances (such as melamine) has been reported in some products made of PPCs, and the safety and applicability of PPCs as food contact materials need to be further studied. In this paper, the main raw materials of PPCs used for food contact are taken as the pointcut to analyze the possible hazards, sources of hazards, and existing risk management measures in various countries. The conclusion shows that PPCs used for food contact may have potential safety risks at present. However, systematic research on migration methods and safety assessment are still insufficient, and further studies are needed regarding the main safety risks and migration patterns.

Pollen and Fungal Spores Evaluation in Relation to Occupants and Microclimate in Indoor Workplaces

Indoor air quality depends on many internal or external factors mutually interacting in a dynamic and complex system, which also includes indoor workplaces, where subjects are exposed to many pollutants, including biocontaminants such as pollen and fungal spores. In this context, the occupants interact actively with their environment through actions, modifying indoor environmental conditions to achieve their own thermal comfort. Actions such as opening/closing doors and windows and turning on/off air conditioning could have effects on workers’ health. The present study explored the contribution of human occupants to pollen and fungal spore levels in indoor workplaces, combining aerobiological, microclimate, and worker monitoring during summer and winter campaigns. We evaluated the overall time spent by the workers in the office, the workers’ actions regarding non-working days and working days, and non-working hours and working hours, during two campaigns of pollen and fungal spore monitoring. Our results showed that the biocontaminant values depend on many mutually interacting factors; hence, the role of all of the factors involved should be investigated. In this regard, aerobiological monitoring should be a valid tool for the management of occupational allergies, providing additional information to improve occupational health protection strategies.