NASA Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports - The University ...

with the scrappage function and growth inputs. The model calculates age distributions for future years by stepping through
each year between the base and future years; for each year, the model projects equipment populations, scrappage for each
model year of equipment still in service, and equipment sales needed to attain the projected population.
NTIS
Inventories; Populations; Deterioration
20100017820 National Inst. for Occupational Safety and Health, Washington, DC, USA
Workplace Solutions: Reducing Exposure to Lead and Noise at Indoor Firing Ranges
January 2010; 4 pp.; In English
Report No.(s): PB2010-107334; DHHS/PUB/NIOSH-2010-113; No Copyright; Avail.: CASI: A01, Hardcopy
Workers and users of indoor firing ranges may be exposed to hazardous levels of lead and noise. The National Institute
for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends steps for workers and employers to reduce exposures. According
to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, more than 1 million Federal, State, and local law enforcement officers work in the USA
(DOJ 2004). They are required to train regularly in the use of firearms. Indoor firing ranges are often used because of their
controlled conditions. In addition to workers, more than 20 million active target shooters practice at indoor firing ranges. Law
enforcement officers may be exposed to high levels of lead and noise at indoor firing ranges. NIOSH estimates that 16,000
to 18,000 firing ranges operate in the USA. Several studies of firing ranges have shown that exposure to lead and noise can
cause health problems associated with lead exposure and hearing loss, particularly among employees and instructors. Lead
exposure occurs mainly through inhalation of lead fumes or ingestion (e.g., eating or drinking with contaminated hands).
NTIS
Exposure; Test Firing; Noise Reduction; Targets
20100017866 Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH, USA
Regulation of Methane Genes and Genome Expression. (July 1987-March 2009.)
Reeve, John N.; March 2009; 13 pp.; In English
Contract(s)/Grant(s): DE-FG02-87ER13731
Report No.(s): DE2010-963730; No Copyright; Avail.: Department of Energy Information Bridge
At the start of this project, it was known that methanogens were Archaeabacteria (now Archaea) and were therefore
predicted to have gene expression and regulatory systems different from Bacteria, but few of the molecular biology details
were established. The goals were then to establish the structures and organizations of genes in methanogens, and to develop
the genetic technologies needed to investigate and dissect methanogen gene expression and regulation in vivo. By cloning and
sequencing, we established the gene and operon structures of all of the ‘methane’ genes that encode the enzymes that catalyze
methane biosynthesis from carbon dioxide and hydrogen. This work identified unique sequences in the methane gene that we
designated mcrA, that encodes the largest subunit of methyl-coenzyme M reductase, that could be used to identify methanogen
DNA and establish methanogen phylogenetic relationships.
NTIS
Bacteria; Bioconversion; Genes; Genome; Methane
20100017885 National Inst. for Occupational Safety and Health, Washington, DC, USA
Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-2008-0231-3105, West Virginia University Hospital, Morgantown, West
Virginia, March 2010. Evaluation of Potential Noise Exposures in Hospital Operating Rooms
Chen, Lilia; Brueck, Scott E.; March 2010; 20 pp.; In English
Report No.(s): PB2010-107384; HETA-2008-0231-3105; No Copyright; Avail.: National Technical Information Service
(NTIS)
On July 11, 2008, NIOSH received a management request from West Virginia University Hospital to assess employee
exposures to noise in the ORs, especially during procedures where loud surgical instruments were used. On April 22-23, 2009,
NIOSH investigators evaluated employee exposures to noise in the ORs during surgeries. Nine employees (surgical
technicians, registered nurses, and a surgeon) contributed 12 full-shift noise dosimetry measurements over 2 days. None of
the measurements exceeded the OSHA or NIOSH noise exposure limits. Certain intermittent activities that usually lasted less
than 30 seconds at a time generated sound levels measured at over 90 dBA. Noise-generating activities include drilling,
surgery preparation, and clean up. The employer and employees identified surgeries where loud instruments were used, and
sound level measurements were taken during those procedures. Results from the spectral analysis indicated that noise levels
in the OR were higher than levels recommended by ANSI and ASA and may cause speech interference for employees.
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