Introduction: Drowning is the leading cause of death among commercial fishermen in the United States. Approximately 30% of all commercial fishing fatalities are attributed to falls overboard. One of the simplest and most affordable ways to prevent these fatalities is for crewmembers to wear personal flotation devices (PFDs) while on deck. An examination of over 200 fatal falls overboard in the U.S. fishing industry revealed that none of the victims were wearing PFDs when they died. PFDs are not required to be worn by commercial fishermen in the United States, so this study was designed to encourage behavior change using targeted health communication and social marketing. Methods: This study developed, implemented, and evaluated a multi-media social marketing campaign featuring a fictitious, culturally-relevant spokesman designed to look, talk, and act like the target audience. The messages were crafted to address common barriers to PFD adoption and misconceptions about fleet-specific risks for fatalities from falls overboard. The campaign was evaluated over two seasons of fishing to look at message retention and intent toward action following exposure to the campaign materials. Results: Survey respondents indicated overall positive opinions about the spokesman and the messages. Results also show a reported change in behavior related to using PFDs while working on deck. Discussion: Targeted multi-media messaging can influence behavior of workers in high-risk occupations in remote locations. Safety message development should focus on occupational culture to create valid and authentic communication products for workers in high-risk industries. © 2022

BACKGROUND: Significant numbers of people are exposed to tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene, PCE) every year, including workers in the dry cleaning industry. Adverse health effects have been associated with PCE exposure. However, investigations of possible cumulative cytogenetic damage resulting from PCE exposure are lacking. METHODS: Eighteen dry cleaning workers and 18 laundry workers (unexposed controls) provided a peripheral blood sample for cytogenetic analysis by whole chromosome painting. Pre-shift exhaled air on these same participants was collected and analyzed for PCE levels. The laundry workers were matched to the dry cleaners on race, age, and smoking status. The relationships between levels of cytological damage and exposures (including PCE levels in the shop and in workers' blood, packyears, cumulative alcohol consumption, and age) were compared with correlation coefficients and t-tests. Multiple linear regressions considered blood PCE, packyears, alcohol, and age. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the PCE-exposed dry cleaners and the laundry workers for chromosome translocation frequencies, but PCE levels were significantly correlated with percentage of cells with acentric fragments (R2 = 0.488, p < 0.026). CONCLUSIONS: There does not appear to be a strong effect in these dry cleaning workers of PCE exposure on persistent chromosome damage as measured by translocations. However, the correlation between frequencies of acentric fragments and PCE exposure level suggests that recent exposures to PCE may induce transient genetic damage. More heavily exposed participants and a larger sample size will be needed to determine whether PCE exposure induces significant levels of persistent chromosome damage.