HESIS Publications

Chemical hazards on the job​​

Ergonomic Series | Ergonomic info for specific occupations

Medical guidelines

Technical documents and journal articles

Chemical hazards on the job

Alerts and A​dvisories

Fact sheets

• Arsenic & Chromate Wood Preservatives (PDF)
• Auto Repair - Aerosol Cleaner Use (PDF)
• Choosing Paint Removal Methods: Safety Considerations (PDF)
• Chromium-6 (PDF)
• Epoxy Resin Systems (PDF)
• Ethylene Oxide (PDF)
• Fluorocarbons (Freons) (PDF)
• Formaldehyde (PDF)
• Glutaraldehyde (PDF)
• Glycol Ethers (PDF)
• Isocyanates (PDF)
• Isoflurane May Harm Veterinary Worker Health (PDF)
• Mercury (PDF)
• Methyl Bromide (PDF)
• Methylene Chloride (PDF)
• Methyl Methacrylate (PDF)
• PCBs (PDF)
• Perchloroethylene (PDF)
• If I’​m Pregnant, Can the Chemicals I Work with Harm My Baby? (PDF)
• Protecting the Health of Lithographic Printers: Safer Alternatives to Toxic Cleanup Solvents (PDF)
• Styrene (PDF)
• Toluene (PDF)
• 1,1,1-Trichloroethane (PDF)
• Trichloroethylene (TCE) (PDF)
• Xylene (PDF)

Booklets

• Artificial Fingernail Products: A Guide to Chemical Exposures in the Nail Salon (PDF)
• Understanding Toxic Substances: An Introduction to Chemical Hazards in the Workplace (PDF, 1.3 MB)
• Workplace Chemical Hazards to Reproductive Health (PDF): A Resource for Worker Health and Safety Training and Patient Education

Biological, physical, and other workplace hazards

• Preventing Work-Related Coccidioidomycosis (Valley fever) (PDF)  
• Electronic Waste Recycling: Working Safely (PDF)  | Spanish (PDF)
• Hepatitis C (PDF)
• Injury, Illness, & Pollution Prevention in Auto Repair (PDF)
• Molds in Indoor Workplaces (PDF) 
• Pulmonary Function Testing (PDF, English)  |  Spanish (PDF)
• Rabies (PDF)
  
• Valley fever: Tailgate Training Guide for California Construction Workers (PDF)
  

Ergonomic Series

• Guide to Getting Medical Care for Job-Related Pain That Won’t Go Away (PDF) - guide to medical care for musculoskeletal disorders
• Physician’s Guide to the California Ergonomics Standard (PDF)
  

Ergonomic Information for Specific Occupations

• 911 Dispatchers – Helping Others Shouldn’t Hurt You (PDF)
• Drilling Overhead: Ways to Make a Tough Job Easier (PDF) 
• Drywall Installers – Prevent Back, Wrist, Neck and Shoulder Injuries (PDF)
• Grocery Cashiers – Serving Customers Shouldn’​​t Hurt You (PDF) 
• Lab Workers – Take the Pain Out of Pipetting (PDF)
• Nursery Workers – Prevent Back, Hand, Neck and Wrist Problems! (PDF)
• Pavement Breaker Operators – Prevent Back, Joint, and Muscle Injuries! (PDF) 
• Sewing Machine Operators: Feel Better! Work Better! (PDF, English) | Spanish (PDF)
• Warehouse Workers – Take the Hurt Out of Handling Materials (PDF)

Medical guidelines

• Diacetyl, Flavorings-related Disease (PDF)
• Lead (PDF)
• n-Hexane (PDF)

Other medical guidelines available upon request: Arsenic, Carbon Monoxide, Cyanide, Hydrogen Sulfide, Mercury, Organophosphates and Carbamates.

Technical documents and journal articles

• HESIS Annual Report to the Leg​​islature ​202​1-2022 (PDF) | 2020-2021 (PDF) | 2019-2020 (PDF) | 2018-2019 (PDF)

• Effectiveness of COVID-19 Vaccination (PDF) - literature review (October 2021)
  

• Evidence for SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV as Aerosol Transmissible Pathogens and the Role of Ventilation in Reducing Transmission (PDF) - literature review (October 2021)
  

• Implementing Safer Alternatives to Lithographic Cleanup Solvents to Protect the Health of Workers and the Environment - journal article abstract (2009) 

• Occupational Health Hazard Risk Assessment Project for California: Identification of Chemicals of Concern, Possible Risk Assessment Methods and Examples of Health Protective Occupational Air Concentrations – prepared for HESIS by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Cal/EPA, December 2007. 
  Complete OEHHA technical report (PDF, 2.3 MB, 161 pages)  |  Executive Summary (PDF)

• Assessment, Development and Demonstration of Alternatives for Five Emerging Solvents (PDF) – prepared for HESIS by the Institute for Research and Technical Assistance  (96 pages, October 2006)

• Investigation of Work-Related Glutaraldehyde Exposures at Two Heart Valve Manufacturing Companies (PDF) - executive summary (March 2006)

• Transforming Medical Waste Disposal Practices to Protect Public Health (PDF): Worker Health and Safety and the Implementation of Large Scale, Off-Site Steam Autoclaves (104 pages, February 2006)

• Chemical Hazard Surveillance: An Evaluation of Data Collection Systems in California, the U. S., and Scandinavia (PDF) - UC Berkeley Report to HESIS, May 2003

• N-Hexane-Related Peripheral Neuropathy Among Automotive Technicians – California, 1999-2000 – MMWR report ​​​​​​​