Synergist - November 2010

line of defense against a blowout. The regulation also strengthens oversight of mechanisms designed to shut off the flow of oil and gas.

The second regulation, known as the Workplace Safety Rule, requires offshore operators to have clear programs in place to identify potential hazards when they drill, clear protocol for addressing those hazards, and strong procedures and risk-reduction strategies for all phases of activity, from well design and construction to operation, maintenance, and decommissioning. The Workplace Safety Rule also requires operators to have a Safety and Environmental Management System (SEMS) designed to reduce human and organizational errors and mandates that operators identify, address and manage safety hazards and environmental impacts.

Fact sheets on the Drilling Safety Rule
and Workplace Safety Rule are available at
www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/loader.
cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID=
4579 and www.doi.gov/news/press
releases/ loader.cfm?csModule=security/
getfile&PageID=45791. Information
about recent offshore oil and gas reforms
can be found at www.doi.gov/news/
pressreleases/ loader.cfm?csModule=
security/getfile&PageID=45793.

Study: Chemical Exposures Can Af-
fect Workers’ Risk of Hearing Loss

Workers exposed to noise in the presence of welding fumes exhibit more rapid hearing degeneration than those exposed to noise in the presence of metalworking fluids, according to a recent study by Spanish researchers.

The study of 558 metalworkers examined the interactions of various physical and chemical contaminants and their implications for risk of hearing loss. Lead researcher Juan Carlos Conte of the University of Zaragoza told the Environment News Service that the hearing protection given to workers is often adequate to protect them from noise exposures alone but fails to account for the amplification of those exposures by

NEWSWATCH | DEPARTMENT

chemical contaminants from welding fumes. Those who work in the presence of metalworking fluids wear respirators, which mitigates the effects of the chemical contaminants on noise exposures.

The study was published in the journal Anales del Sistema Sanitario de Navarra. The Environment News Service article is available at www.ens-newswire. com/ens/sep2010/ 2010-09-28-02.html.

NIH, FDA Fund Nanoparticle
Research

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will fund research on nanoparticles as part of their joint efforts to support projects in regulatory science, the agencies announced in September.

NIH will award $9.4 million over three years to support four research projects conducted in partnership with FDA, which will contribute approximately $950,000. These projects are intended to

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