Occupational Health Services
Epidemiology/Health Data Analysis

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imagesWhat is Epidemiology?
“The study of the distribution and determinants of health related states and events in populations, and the application of this study to control health problems” [John M. Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology].

How is Epidemiology used at CSC?
The analysis of aggregate health data provides important information that can be used to monitor health trends in the site population and to identify opportunities to improve worker safety and health.  The CSC Epidemiologist compiles Hanford population health reports regarding trends in many areas, such as injury and illness, hearing conservation screening results, lab test results and wellness issues such as obesity and diabetes, among target populations. The results of these analyses are shared with DOE and contractors through presentations at a variety of meetings.

The following charts contain public information that describes the Hanford workforce.

Figure 1 - Hanford Site Population
Figure 2 - Age Distribution
Figure 3 - Incidents Resulting in Medical Evaluation
Figure 4 - Body Mass Index of Hanford Workers
Figure 5 - Overweight and Obesity of Hanford Workers
 
 
 
 
Figure 1- The number of workers with an active record in the Hanford PeopleCore database. This includes workers at PNNL but does not include workers at the Waste Treatment (Vit) Plant. The number of workers on the Hanford site, according to this count, has increased by approximately 25% since 2008. 
 
 

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Figure 2- The average age of a Hanford worker was 46.5 years as of July 2011. While Hanford continues to have an aging work force, the average age has decreased by about 1 year since October 2009. 
 

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Figure 3- Workers frequently report to CSC for evaluation following an incident at their work site. Examples include twisting a knee when getting out of a vehicle, a bee sting or encountering a chemical odor. CSC routinely monitors the reasons for the visits to identify any trends or patterns that may provide an early indication of an occupational hazard. In 2011, the most frequently reported reason for a medical evaluation was an exposure concern.   Several incident types that typically lead to musculoskeletal injuries, such as overexertion or falls, followed exposure concern. 
 

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Figure 4- In addition to monitoring more traditional occupational health outcomes, CSC also regularly looks at employee wellness indicators. One of these indicators is Body Mass Index (BMI). BMI provides a reliable indicator of body fat for most people and is used to screen for weight categories that may lead to health problems. CSC has height and weight on about half of all Hanford employees. Nearly half of all employees measured are obese with an additional 38% being overweight. 
 

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Figure 5- The rate of overweight workers increases slightly with age while the rate of obesity increases more dramatically. In the older age groups, which make up a large majority of the Hanford workforce, Nearly 90% are either overweight or obese.
 
 
 

 

Last Updated 11/08/2011 2:55 PM