Airborne particulate matter and diesel engine exhaust on infrastructure construction sites in the Copenhagen metropolitan area.

IF 1.8 4区医学 Q3 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

Annals Of Work Exposures and Health Pub Date : 2024-09-27 DOI:10.1093/annweh/wxae062

Patrick L Ferree, Merve Polat, Jakob K Nøjgaard, Keld A Jensen

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Diesel engine exhaust (DEE) is carcinogenic and potentially hazardous for those working in close proximity to diesel-powered machines. This study characterizes workplace exposure to DEE and its associated particulate matter (PM) during outdoor construction activities. We sampled at 4 construction sites in the Copenhagen metropolitan area. We used portable constant-flow pumps and quartz-fiber filters to quantify personal exposure to elemental carbon (EC), and used real-time instruments to collect activity-based information about particle number and size distribution, as well as black carbon (BC) concentration. Full-shift measurements of EC concentration ranged from < 0.3 to 6.4 µg/m3. Geometric mean (GM) EC exposure was highest for ground workers (3.4 µg/m3 EC; geometric standard deviation, GSD = 1.3), followed by drilling rig operators (2.6 µg/m3 EC; GSD = 1.4). Exposure for non-drilling-rig machine operators (1.2 µg/m3 EC; GSD = 2.9) did not differ significantly from background (0.9 µg/m3 EC; GSD = 1.7). The maximum 15-min moving average concentration of BC was 17 µg/m3, and the highest recorded peak concentration was 44 µg/m3. In numbers, the particle size distributions were dominated by ultrafine particles ascribed to DEE and occasional welding activities at the sites. The average total particle number concentrations (PNCs) measured in near-field and far-field positions across all worksites were 10,600 (GSD = 3.0) and 6,000 (GSD = 2.8)/cm3, respectively. Sites with active drilling rigs saw significantly higher average total PNCs at their near-field stations (13,600, 32,000, and 9,700/cm3; GSD = 2.4, 3.4, and 2.4) than sites without (4,700/cm3; GSD = 1.6). Overall, the DEE exposures at these outdoor construction sites were below current occupational exposure limits for EC (10 µg/m3 in Denmark; 50 µg/m3 in the European Union), but extended durations of exposure to the observed DEE levels may still be a health risk.

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哥本哈根大都市区基础设施建设工地的空气颗粒物和柴油发动机废气。

柴油发动机废气 (DEE) 是一种致癌物质，对在柴油发动机附近工作的人具有潜在危害。本研究描述了户外建筑活动中工作场所接触 DEE 及其相关颗粒物 (PM) 的情况。我们在哥本哈根市区的 4 个建筑工地进行了采样。我们使用便携式恒流泵和石英纤维过滤器来量化个人暴露于元素碳（EC）的情况，并使用实时仪器来收集基于活动的颗粒数量和粒度分布以及黑碳（BC）浓度的信息。全班测量的元素碳浓度范围从 < 0.3 到 6.4 µg/m3 不等。地面作业人员的氨基甲酸乙酯几何平均值（GM）最高（氨基甲酸乙酯 3.4 微克/立方米；几何标准偏差 GSD = 1.3），其次是钻机操作人员（氨基甲酸乙酯 2.6 微克/立方米；几何标准偏差 GSD = 1.4）。非钻机操作人员的接触浓度（1.2 微克/立方米有机氯；几何标准偏差 = 2.9）与背景浓度（0.9 微克/立方米有机氯；几何标准偏差 = 1.7）相差不大。15 分钟移动平均浓度最高为每立方米 17 微克，峰值浓度最高为每立方米 44 微克。从数量上看，粒径分布以超细颗粒为主，这可能与现场的二乙醚和偶尔的焊接活动有关。在所有工地的近场和远场位置测量到的平均总粒子数浓度（PNCs）分别为 10,600 (GSD = 3.0) 和 6,000 (GSD = 2.8)/立方厘米。有活跃钻机的工地近场站的 PNCs 平均总量（13,600、32,000 和 9,700/cm3; GSD = 2.4、3.4 和 2.4）明显高于没有活跃钻机的工地（4,700/cm3; GSD = 1.6）。总体而言，这些室外建筑工地暴露于二苯醚的浓度低于目前的职业接触限值（丹麦为 10 微克/立方米；欧盟为 50 微克/立方米），但长时间暴露于观测到的二苯醚浓度水平仍可能对健康造成危害。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Annals Of Work Exposures and Health Medicine-Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

CiteScore

4.60

自引率

19.20%

发文量

期刊介绍： About the Journal Annals of Work Exposures and Health is dedicated to presenting advances in exposure science supporting the recognition, quantification, and control of exposures at work, and epidemiological studies on their effects on human health and well-being. A key question we apply to submission is, "Is this paper going to help readers better understand, quantify, and control conditions at work that adversely or positively affect health and well-being?" We are interested in high quality scientific research addressing: the quantification of work exposures, including chemical, biological, physical, biomechanical, and psychosocial, and the elements of work organization giving rise to such exposures; the relationship between these exposures and the acute and chronic health consequences for those exposed and their families and communities; populations at special risk of work-related exposures including women, under-represented minorities, immigrants, and other vulnerable groups such as temporary, contingent and informal sector workers; the effectiveness of interventions addressing exposure and risk including production technologies, work process engineering, and personal protective systems; policies and management approaches to reduce risk and improve health and well-being among workers, their families or communities; methodologies and mechanisms that underlie the quantification and/or control of exposure and risk. There is heavy pressure on space in the journal, and the above interests mean that we do not usually publish papers that simply report local conditions without generalizable results. We are also unlikely to publish reports on human health and well-being without information on the work exposure characteristics giving rise to the effects. We particularly welcome contributions from scientists based in, or addressing conditions in, developing economies that fall within the above scope.