Skip to main content
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis logoLink to Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis
. 1986 Spring;19(1):3–11. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1986.19-3

Behavioral technology for reducing occupational exposures to styrene.

B L Hopkins, R J Conard, R F Dangel, H G Fitch, M J Smith, W K Anger
PMCID: PMC1308036  PMID: 3710946

Abstract

We conducted a test of the usefulness of behavioral methods to control occupational health problems by reducing workers' exposures to toxic chemicals. Four plastics workers were trained in nine behaviors selected for potential to reduce their exposures to styrene, a common chemical with multiple toxic effects. Behavioral measures indicated that the workers quickly came to emit most of the behaviors. Measures of air samples indicated that large decreases in exposures to styrene accompanied the changes in behaviors for the three workers who had been selected because they most needed relief from their exposures and because they had opportunities to control their exposures by the ways they behaved.

Full text

PDF
3

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Baer D. M., Wolf M. M., Risley T. R. Some current dimensions of applied behavior analysis. J Appl Behav Anal. 1968 Spring;1(1):91–97. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1968.1-91. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bingham E., Niemeier R. W., Reid J. B. Multiple factors in carcinogenesis. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1976;271:14–21. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1976.tb23087.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Day J. M., Misaqi F. L. The federal role in prevention of occupational cancer in mines and mills. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1976;271:216–219. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1976.tb23114.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Frentzel-Beyme R., Thiess A. M., Wieland R. Survey of mortality among employees engaged in the manufacture of styrene and polystyrene at the BASF Ludwigshafen works. Scand J Work Environ Health. 1978;4 (Suppl 2):231–239. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Hopkins B. L., Hermann J. A. Evaluating interobserver reliability of interval data. J Appl Behav Anal. 1977 Spring;10(1):121–126. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1977.10-121. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Härkönen H., Lindström K., Seppäläinen A. M., Asp S., Hernberg S. Exposure-response relationship between styrene exposure and central nervous functions. Scand J Work Environ Health. 1978 Mar;4(1):53–59. doi: 10.5271/sjweh.2723. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Loprieno N., Presciuttini S., Sbrana I., Stretti G., Zaccaro L., Abbondandolo A., Bonatti S., Fiorio R., Mazzaccaro A. Mutagenicity of industrial compounds. VII. Styrene and styrene oxide: II. Point mutations, chromosome aberrations and DNA repair induction analyses. Scand J Work Environ Health. 1978;4 (Suppl 2):169–178. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Milvy P., Garro A. J. Mutagenic activity of styrene oxide (1,2-epoxyethylbenzene), a presumed styrene metabolite. Mutat Res. 1976 Jan;40(1):15–18. doi: 10.1016/0165-1218(76)90017-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Nicholson W. J., Selikoff I. J., Seidman H. Mortality experience of styrene-polystyrene polymerization workers. Initial findings. Scand J Work Environ Health. 1978;4 (Suppl 2):247–252. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Ponomarkov V., Tomatis L. Effects of long-term oral administration of styrene to mice and rats. Scand J Work Environ Health. 1978;4 (Suppl 2):127–135. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Stoltz D. R., Whitey R. J. Mutagenicity testing of styrene and styrene epoxide in Salmonella typhimurium. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 1977 Jun;17(6):739–742. doi: 10.1007/BF01685963. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Vainio H., Päkkönen R., Rönnholm K., Raunio V., Pelkonen O. A study on the mutagenic activity of styrene and styrene oxide. Scand J Work Environ Health. 1976 Sep;2(3):147–151. doi: 10.5271/sjweh.2813. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Van Houten R., Rolider A., Nau P. A., Friedman R., Becker M., Chalodovsky I., Scherer M. Large-scale reductions in speeding and accidents in Canada and Israel: a behavioral ecological perspective. J Appl Behav Anal. 1985 Spring;18(1):87–93. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1985.18-87. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Zohar D., Cohen A., Azar N. Promoting increased use of ear protectors in noise through information feedback. Hum Factors. 1980 Feb;22(1):69–79. doi: 10.1177/001872088002200108. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis are provided here courtesy of Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior

RESOURCES