Annals of Occupational Hygiene最新文献

{"title":"Carbon Nanotube and Nanofiber Exposure Assessments: An Analysis of 14 Site Visits.","authors":"Matthew M Dahm,&nbsp;Mary K Schubauer-Berigan,&nbsp;Douglas E Evans,&nbsp;M Eileen Birch,&nbsp;Joseph E Fernback,&nbsp;James A Deddens","doi":"10.1093/annhyg/mev020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/annhyg/mev020","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Recent evidence has suggested the potential for wide-ranging health effects that could result from exposure to carbon nanotubes (CNT) and carbon nanofibers (CNF). In response, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) set a recommended exposure limit (REL) for CNT and CNF: 1 µg m(-3) as an 8-h time weighted average (TWA) of elemental carbon (EC) for the respirable size fraction. The purpose of this study was to conduct an industrywide exposure assessment among US CNT and CNF manufacturers and users. Fourteen total sites were visited to assess exposures to CNT (13 sites) and CNF (1 site). Personal breathing zone (PBZ) and area samples were collected for both the inhalable and respirable mass concentration of EC, using NIOSH Method 5040. Inhalable PBZ samples were collected at nine sites while at the remaining five sites both respirable and inhalable PBZ samples were collected side-by-side. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) PBZ and area samples were also collected at the inhalable size fraction and analyzed to quantify and size CNT and CNF agglomerate and fibrous exposures. Respirable EC PBZ concentrations ranged from 0.02 to 2.94 µg m(-3) with a geometric mean (GM) of 0.34 µg m(-3) and an 8-h TWA of 0.16 µg m(-3). PBZ samples at the inhalable size fraction for EC ranged from 0.01 to 79.57 µg m(-3) with a GM of 1.21 µg m(-3). PBZ samples analyzed by TEM showed concentrations ranging from 0.0001 to 1.613 CNT or CNF-structures per cm(3) with a GM of 0.008 and an 8-h TWA concentration of 0.003. The most common CNT structure sizes were found to be larger agglomerates in the 2-5 µm range as well as agglomerates >5 µm. A statistically significant correlation was observed between the inhalable samples for the mass of EC and structure counts by TEM (Spearman ρ = 0.39, P < 0.0001). Overall, EC PBZ and area TWA samples were below the NIOSH REL (96% were <1 μg m(-3) at the respirable size fraction), while 30% of the inhalable PBZ EC samples were found to be >1 μg m(-3). Until more information is known about health effects associated with larger agglomerates, it seems prudent to assess worker exposure to airborne CNT and CNF materials by monitoring EC at both the respirable and inhalable size fractions. Concurrent TEM samples should be collected to confirm the presence of CNT and CNF.</p>","PeriodicalId":8458,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Occupational Hygiene","volume":"59 6","pages":"705-23"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/annhyg/mev020","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"33196482","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Work Tasks as Determinants of Grain Dust and Microbial Exposure in the Norwegian Grain and Compound Feed Industry.","authors":"Anne Straumfors,&nbsp;Kari Kulvik Heldal,&nbsp;Inge M Wouters,&nbsp;Wijnand Eduard","doi":"10.1093/annhyg/mev012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/annhyg/mev012","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>The grain and compound feed industry entails inevitable risks of exposure to grain dust and its microbial content. The objective of this study was therefore to investigate task-dependent exposure differences in order to create knowledge basis for awareness and exposure reducing measures in the Norwegian grain and compound feed industry.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 166 samples of airborne dust were collected by full-shift personal sampling during work in 20 grain elevators and compound feed mills during one autumn season and two winter seasons. The personal exposure to grain dust, endotoxins, β-1→3-glucans, bacteria, and fungal spores was quantified and used as individual outcomes in mixed models with worker nested in company as random effect and different departments and tasks as fixed effects.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The exposure levels were highest in grain elevator departments. Exposure to endotoxins was particularly high. Tasks that represented the highest and lowest exposures varied depending on the bioaerosol component. The most important determinants for elevated dust exposure were cleaning and process controlling. Cleaning increased the dust exposure level by a factor of 2.44 of the reference, from 0.65 to 1.58mg m(-3), whereas process controlling increased the dust exposure level by a factor of 2.97, from 0.65 to 1.93mg m(-3). Process controlling was associated with significantly less grain dust exposure in compound feed mills and the combined grain elevators and compound feed mills, than in grain elevators. The exposure was reduced by a factor of 0.18 and 0.22, from 1.93 to 0.34mg m(-3) and to 0.42mg m(-3), respectively, compared with the grain elevators. Inspection/maintenance, cleaning, and grain rotation and emptying were determinants of higher exposure to both endotoxin and β-1→3-glucans. Seed winnowing was in addition a strong determinant for endotoxin, whereas mixing of animal feed implied higher β-1→3-glucan exposure. Cleaning was the only task that contributed significantly to higher exposure to bacteria and fungal spores.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Cleaning in all companies and process controlling in grain elevators were the strongest determinants for overall exposure, whereas seed winnowing was a particular strong determinant of endotoxin exposure. Exposure reduction by technical intervention or personal protective equipment should therefore be considered at work places with identified high exposure tasks.</p>","PeriodicalId":8458,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Occupational Hygiene","volume":"59 6","pages":"724-36"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/annhyg/mev012","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"33107908","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Beryllium Concentrations at European Workplaces: Comparison of 'Total' and Inhalable Particulate Measurements.","authors":"Heiko Kock,&nbsp;Terence Civic,&nbsp;Wolfgang Koch","doi":"10.1093/annhyg/mev009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/annhyg/mev009","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A field study was carried out in order to derive a factor for the conversion of historic worker exposure data on airborne beryllium (Be) obtained by sampling according to the 37-mm closed faced filter cassette (CFC) 'total' particulate method into exposure concentration values to be expected when sampling using the 'Gesamtstaubprobenahmesystem' (GSP) inhalable sampling convention. Workplaces selected to represent the different copper Be work processing operations that typically occur in Germany and the EU were monitored revealing a broad spectrum of prevailing Be size distributions. In total, 39 personal samples were taken using a 37-mm CFC and a GSP worn side by side for simultaneous collection of the 'total' dust and the inhalable particulates, respectively. In addition, 20 static general area measurements were carried out using GSP, CFC, and Respicon samplers in parallel, the latter one providing information on the extra-thoracic fraction of the workplace aerosol. The study showed that there is a linear relationship between the concentrations measured with the CFC and those measured with the GSP sampler. The geometric mean value of the ratios of time-weighted average concentrations determined from GSP and CFC samples of all personal samples was 2.88. The individual values covered a range between 1 and 17 related to differences in size distributions of the Be-containing particulates. This was supported by the area measurements showing that the conversion factor increases with increasing values of the extra-thoracic fraction covering a range between 0 and 79%.</p>","PeriodicalId":8458,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Occupational Hygiene","volume":"59 6","pages":"788-96"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/annhyg/mev009","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"33161097","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Respirator Testing Using Virus Aerosol: Comparison between Viability Penetration and Physical Penetration.","authors":"Zhili Zuo,&nbsp;Thomas H Kuehn,&nbsp;David Y H Pui","doi":"10.1093/annhyg/mev019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/annhyg/mev019","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Viability, fluorescence (particle volume), photometric, viral RNA, and particle number penetration of MS2 bacteriophage through filter media used in three different models of respirators were compared to better understand the correlation between viability and physical penetration. Although viability and viral RNA penetration were better represented by particle volume penetration than particle number penetration, they were several-fold lower than photometric penetration, which was partially due to the difference in virus survival between upstream and downstream aerosol samples. Results suggest that the current NIOSH photometer-based test method can be used as a quick means to roughly differentiate respirators with different performance against virus aerosols.</p>","PeriodicalId":8458,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Occupational Hygiene","volume":"59 6","pages":"812-6"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/annhyg/mev019","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"33193255","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Perspectives in Biological Monitoring of Inhaled Nanosized Particles.","authors":"Mickael Rinaldo,&nbsp;Pascal Andujar,&nbsp;Aude Lacourt,&nbsp;Laurent Martinon,&nbsp;Mireille Canal Raffin,&nbsp;Pascal Dumortier,&nbsp;Jean-Claude Pairon,&nbsp;Patrick Brochard","doi":"10.1093/annhyg/mev015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/annhyg/mev015","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Given the results of experimental studies, occupational or environmental exposures to manufactured nanoparticles or to unintentionally produced ultrafine particles may result in health effects or diseases in humans. In this review, we synthesize published data of experimental studies on the distribution of inhaled nanoparticles and the first case reports to discuss the potential usefulness of their biological monitoring for clinical purposes. Toxicokinetic studies suggest that nanoparticles may be absorbed predominantly by respiratory and oral routes with possible systemic translocation, leading to accumulation in the peripheral organs or excretion in feces or urine. Some methods used in these studies may be applied successfully in retrospective evaluation of exposure or in follow-up of occupational exposure in the workplace. Biological monitoring of nanoparticles should be based on imaging methods that are essential to confirm their presence and to characterize them in tissue associated with analytical quantitative methods. The first case reports reviewed emphasize the urgent need for the development of standardized procedures for the preparation and analysis of biological samples with a view to characterizing and quantifying nanoparticles.</p>","PeriodicalId":8458,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Occupational Hygiene","volume":"59 6","pages":"669-80"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/annhyg/mev015","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"33149020","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Occupational Exposure to Nano-Objects and Their Agglomerates and Aggregates Across Various Life Cycle Stages; A Broad-Scale Exposure Study.","authors":"Cindy Bekker,&nbsp;Eelco Kuijpers,&nbsp;Derk H Brouwer,&nbsp;Roel Vermeulen,&nbsp;Wouter Fransman","doi":"10.1093/annhyg/mev023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/annhyg/mev023","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Occupational exposure to manufactured nano-objects and their agglomerates, and aggregates (NOAA) has been described in several workplace air monitoring studies. However, data pooling for general conclusions and exposure estimates are hampered by limited exposure data across the occupational life cycle of NOAA and a lack in comparability between the methods of collecting and analysing the data. By applying a consistent method of collecting and analysing the workplace exposure data, this study aimed to provide information about the occupational NOAA exposure levels across various life cycle stages of NOAA in the Netherlands which can also be used for multi-purpose use.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Personal/near field task-based exposure data was collected using a multi-source exposure assessment method collecting real time particle number concentration, particle size distribution (PSD), filter-based samples for morphological, and elemental analysis and detailed contextual information. A decision logic was followed allowing a consistent and objective way of analysing the exposure data.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In total, 46 measurement surveys were conducted at 15 companies covering 18 different exposure situations across various occupational life cycle stages of NOAA. Highest activity-effect levels were found during replacement of big bags (<1000-76000 # cm(-3)), mixing/dumping of powders manually (<1000-52000 # cm(-3)) and mechanically (<1000-100000 # cm(-3)), and spraying of liquid (2000-800000 # cm(-3)) showing a high variability between and within the various exposure situations. In general, a limited change in PSD was found during the activity compared to the background.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This broad-scale exposure study gives a comprehensive overview of the NOAA exposure situations in the Netherlands and an indication of the levels of occupational exposure to NOAA across various life cycle of NOAA. The collected workplace exposure data and contextual information will serve as basis for future pooling of data and modelling of worker exposure.</p>","PeriodicalId":8458,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Occupational Hygiene","volume":"59 6","pages":"681-704"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/annhyg/mev023","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"33193257","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Log-Linear Modeling of Agreement among Expert Exposure Assessors.","authors":"Phillip R Hunt,&nbsp;Melissa C Friesen,&nbsp;Susan Sama,&nbsp;Louise Ryan,&nbsp;Donald Milton","doi":"10.1093/annhyg/mev011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/annhyg/mev011","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Evaluation of expert assessment of exposure depends, in the absence of a validation measurement, upon measures of agreement among the expert raters. Agreement is typically measured using Cohen's Kappa statistic, however, there are some well-known limitations to this approach. We demonstrate an alternate method that uses log-linear models designed to model agreement. These models contain parameters that distinguish between exact agreement (diagonals of agreement matrix) and non-exact associations (off-diagonals). In addition, they can incorporate covariates to examine whether agreement differs across strata.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We applied these models to evaluate agreement among expert ratings of exposure to sensitizers (none, likely, high) in a study of occupational asthma.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Traditional analyses using weighted kappa suggested potential differences in agreement by blue/white collar jobs and office/non-office jobs, but not case/control status. However, the evaluation of the covariates and their interaction terms in log-linear models found no differences in agreement with these covariates and provided evidence that the differences observed using kappa were the result of marginal differences in the distribution of ratings rather than differences in agreement. Differences in agreement were predicted across the exposure scale, with the likely moderately exposed category more difficult for the experts to differentiate from the highly exposed category than from the unexposed category.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The log-linear models provided valuable information about patterns of agreement and the structure of the data that were not revealed in analyses using kappa. The models' lack of dependence on marginal distributions and the ease of evaluating covariates allow reliable detection of observational bias in exposure data.</p>","PeriodicalId":8458,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Occupational Hygiene","volume":"59 6","pages":"764-74"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/annhyg/mev011","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"33111550","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Incidence of Chronic and Other Knee Pain in Relation to Occupational Risk Factors in a Large Working Population.","authors":"Eléonore Herquelot,&nbsp;Julie Bodin,&nbsp;Audrey Petit,&nbsp;Catherine Ha,&nbsp;Annette Leclerc,&nbsp;Marcel Goldberg,&nbsp;Marie Zins,&nbsp;Yves Roquelaure,&nbsp;Alexis Descatha","doi":"10.1093/annhyg/mev010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/annhyg/mev010","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>The aim of this study was to estimate the incidence of chronic and other knee pain (KP) in relation to occupational and personal risk factors among workers representative of a general working population.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Of 3710 workers in a French region included in a surveillance network for musculoskeletal disorders (2002-2005), 2332 completed a follow-up questionnaire in 2007-2009 (Cosali cohort). The questionnaires included questions on musculoskeletal symptoms, and personal and occupational exposure. Incident cases of KP in 2007-2009 (i.e. with KP at follow-up but not at baseline) were dichotomized into chronic KP (>30 days in the previous year) and other KP. Associations between incident KP and personal and occupational factors at baseline were studied separately according to sex using multinomial logistic regression.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of the 1616 respondents without KP at baseline, 122 (7.5%) reported chronic KP and 243 (15.0%) reported other KP. The incidence rate of chronic KP was estimated at 19.6 per 1000 worker-years (95% CI: 16.3-23.5). After adjustment for age and body mass index, significant associations were found between incident chronic KP and handling loads >4kg [odds ratio (OR) 2.1 (1.2-3.6) for men, OR 2.3 (1.1-5.0) for women] and kneeling >2h a day for men [OR 1.8 (1.0-3.0)].</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study highlights the high frequency of chronic KP in the working population and the role of occupational factors in its incidence, in particular those kneeling and handling loads.</p>","PeriodicalId":8458,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Occupational Hygiene","volume":"59 6","pages":"797-811"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/annhyg/mev010","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"33081694","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Application of the Extreme Value Distribution to Estimate the Uncertainty of Peak Sound Pressure Levels at the Workplace.","authors":"Paolo Lenzuni","doi":"10.1093/annhyg/mev018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/annhyg/mev018","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>The purpose of this article is to develop a method for the statistical inference of the maximum peak sound pressure level and of the associated uncertainty. Both quantities are requested by the EU directive 2003/10/EC for a complete and solid assessment of the noise exposure at the workplace.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Based on the characteristics of the sound pressure waveform, it is hypothesized that the distribution of the measured peak sound pressure levels follows the extreme value distribution. The maximum peak level is estimated as the largest member of a finite population following this probability distribution. The associated uncertainty is also discussed, taking into account not only the contribution due to the incomplete sampling but also the contribution due to the finite precision of the instrumentation.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The largest of the set of measured peak levels underestimates the maximum peak sound pressure level. The underestimate can be as large as 4 dB if the number of measurements is limited to 3-4, which is common practice in occupational noise assessment. The extended uncertainty is also quite large (~2.5 dB), with a weak dependence on the sampling details.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Following the procedure outlined in this article, a reliable comparison between the peak sound pressure levels measured in a workplace and the EU directive action limits is possible. Non-compliance can occur even when the largest of the set of measured peak levels is several dB below such limits.</p>","PeriodicalId":8458,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Occupational Hygiene","volume":"59 6","pages":"775-87"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/annhyg/mev018","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"33307020","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Corrigendum.","authors":"","doi":"10.1093/annhyg/mev043","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/annhyg/mev043","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":8458,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Occupational Hygiene","volume":"59 6","pages":"817-20"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/annhyg/mev043","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"33995748","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}