This dataset is based on measurements of wood dust in air made by US government inspectors from 1979 to 1997. The original data were obtained from the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration Integrated Management Information System. Alterations have been made to the data so that individual worksites cannot be identified, and several variables have been removed from the dataset. In addition, three new variables have been created and added to the dataset, as described below.
Measurement Method
- non-specific gravimetric method for “total” particulate: pre-weighed low-ash 37-mm diameter, 5-micron pore-size, polyvinyl chloride membrane filters, sampling for up to 8 hours, using a pump at a maximum flow rate of 2 L/min.
- no universal detection limit, since the balance and its environmental conditions would be influential; however, a typical mass detection limit for total particulate is 20 micrograms, giving an approximate concentration detection limit of 0.02 mg/m3.
Variables
- Report ID Region: OSHA-defined regions, used for reporting purposes (categorical)
- State: state where worksite was located (categorical)
- New Industry Group: new variable created by Kay; it groups industries based on information from the Original SIC Category (categorical)
- Original SIC Category: text descriptor of the Standard Industrial Classification (categorical)
- SIC: Standard Industrial Classification, a numeric industry coding system of the US Census Bureau. [Note: the SIC was replaced in 1997 by the “North American Industry Classification System” (NAICS), used by Canada, Mexico and the US] (categorical)
- Establishment: new variable created by Kay; it assigns a numeric code to each worksite (categorical)
- Inspection Type: various reasons for inspections by OSHA (for more information, refer to section A 2 c (4)(c), question 14 in the OSHA Field Inspection Reference Manual):
- Complaint: response to a filed complaint.
- Referral: referral from another agency, physician, hospital, or university.
- Follow-up: a follow-up survey conducted if the agency does not receive information from employer on actions taken to abate previously identified hazard.
- Monitoring: inspections during which compounds of particular interest are monitored.
- Catastrophe: follow-up of catastrophes, defined as fatalities, incidents in which more than two persons are hospitalized, or major chemical release or equipment failure.
- Planned: targeting program.
- Program-related: programs evaluating specific compounds, e.g., lead, silica.
- Employees in Establishment: number of employees at the worksite (continuous)
- OSHA Form Category: indicates whether the form used by the inspector was an OSHA form, or one from the state agency; likely a good marker for whether the state was under OSHA or “state-plan” jurisdiction (categorical)
- Sampling Year (continuous; note that 1900 has been subtracted from each year)
- Sampling Month/Day (date format)
- New Job Group: new variable created by Kay; it groups jobs based on information from the Original Job Decription (categorical)
- Original Job Decription: job description as recorded by the inspector (text string)
- Estimated # Exposed: number of exposed employees at the worksite, as estimated by the inspector (continuous)
- Substance Name: description of type of wood, using categories specified by the regulation in the jurisdiction; note that the categories are not mutually exclusive (categorical)
- Substance: alphanumeric code for Substance Name (categorical)
- Analysis Location Category: indicates whether the gravimetric analysis was done in the central OSHA laboratory or at a laboratory in the regional office of the inspector
- Exposure Level: concentration of wood dust (in mg/m3) (continuous) – Note that measurements less than detection limit are indicated as “not detected”
- PEL: federal (OSHA) or state (“state plan”) Permissible Exposure Limit at time of sampling, for the type of wood sampled (in mg/m3) (continuous)