| 1. |
- Sjöström, Ylva, 1974-, et al.
(författare)
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Exposure to phthalates and DiNCH among preschool children in Sweden : Urinary metabolite concentrations and predictors of exposure
- 2023
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Ingår i: International journal of hygiene and environmental health. - : Urban & Fischer. - 1438-4639 .- 1618-131X. ; 250
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Several plasticizing chemicals induce endocrine disrupting effects in humans, and the indoor environment is suggested to be a source of exposure. As children are particularly vulnerable to the effects from exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), it is essential to monitor exposure to EDCs such as phthalates and non-phthalate plasticizers in indoor environments intended for use by children. The aim of this study was to assess everyday plasticizer exposure among preschool-aged children in Sweden by measuring urinary plasticizer metabolite concentrations. In addition, it was investigated whether the concentrations would be altered as a result of the children spending part of the day at preschool, in comparison with weekend exposure, when they may spend more time in home environments or engage in various weekend and leisure activities. For this purpose, fourteen metabolites from eight phthalates (di-ethylhexyl phthalate, DEHP; di-n-butyl phthalate, DnBP; di-isobutyl phthalate, DiBP; butyl-benzyl phthalate, BBzP; di-iso-nonyl phthalate, DiNP; di-propylheptyl phthalate, DPHP; di-iso-decyl phthalate, DiDP; and di-ethyl phthalate, DEP) and one non-phthalate plasticizer (di-isononyl cyclohexane 1,2-dicarboxylate, DiNCH) were measured in 206 urine samples collected at four occasions, i.e. twice during the winter and twice during the spring from 54 children (mean 5.1 years, SD 0.94) enrolled at eight preschools in Sweden. A detection frequency (DF) of 99.9% for the 14 metabolites indicates a widespread exposure to plasticizers among children in Sweden. Compared to previous Swedish and international studies performed during approximately the same time period, high urinary concentrations of monobenzyl phthalate (MBzP), a metabolite from the strictly regulated BBzP, were measured in this study (median 17 ng/mL). Overall, high urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations were observed in this study compared to the US CDC-NHANES from the same time period and similar age-group. Compared to European studies, however, similar concentrations were observed for most metabolites and the urinary concentrations from few participating children exceeded the human biomonitoring guidance values (HBM-GV) for children. After days with preschool attendance, lower urinary concentrations of metabolites originating from DEP and phthalates that are strictly regulated within the EU REACH legislation (DEHP, DnBP, and DiBP) and higher concentrations of metabolites originating from DiNP, DPHP, and DiDP, i.e. less or non-regulated phthalates were found compared the urinary concentrations of these metabolites in weekends. This may indicate that factors in the indoor environment itself are important for the extent of the plasticizer exposure. All the analyzed metabolites were measured in lower concentrations in urine collected from children attending preschools built or renovated after the year 2000, while no seasonal differences were observed in this study.
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| 2. |
- Eriksson, Kåre, et al.
(författare)
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Tape-stripping as a method for measuring dermal exposure to resin acids during wood pellet production
- 2008
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Ingår i: Journal of Environmental Monitoring. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 1464-0325 .- 1464-0333. ; 10:3, s. 345-352
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of this study was to develop a sensitive and specific method for quantifying dermal exposure to the resin acids 7-oxodehydroabietic acid (7-OXO), dehydroabietic acid (DHAA), abietic acid ( AA), and pimaric acid (PA). In addition the method was evaluated in occupational settings during production of wood pellets. Tape-strips were spiked with the substances to evaluate the recovery of the acids from the tape. The removal efficiency of the tape was assessed by tape-stripping a specified area on a glass plate spiked with resin acids. The recovery of the acids from human skin in vivo was evaluated by applying acids in methanol onto the skin of volunteers. Occupational dermal exposure to the resin acids was assessed by tape-stripping the skin of workers involved in the production of wood pellets. The resin acids were analyzed by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The limit of detection was 15 pg (7-OXO), 150 pg ( DHAA), 285 pg ( AA) and 471 pg ( PA) per injection. The recovery from spiked tapes was in general 100%. The removal efficiency of the tape was 48-101%. Recovery tests from human skin in vivo showed a mean recovery of 27%. Quantifiable amounts of resin acids were observed on four different skin areas with an increase in exposure during a work shift. This study shows that occupational dermal exposure to resin acids can be assessed by tape-stripping and quantified by LC-MS.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Eriksson, Kåre, et al.
(författare)
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Temporal trend in wood dust exposure during the production of wood pellets
- 2017
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Ingår i: Annals of Work Exposures and Health. - : Oxford University Press. - 2398-7308 .- 2398-7316. ; 61:4, s. 429-439
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: Wood dust data collected in the production of wood pellets during 2001 to 2013 were evaluated to study a temporal trend in inhalation exposure. Methods: A linear mixed effects model of natural ln-transformed data was used to express the relative annual difference in inhalation wood dust exposure. Results: There was an annual decrease of -20.5% of the geometric mean wood dust exposure during 2001 until 2013. The results were based on 617 inhalable dust samples collected at 14 different production units. The exposure to wood dust at the industrial premises investigated has decreased from a relatively high level of 6.4 mg m-3 in 2001 to 1.0 mg-3 in 2013. The Swedish Occupational Exposure Limit (SOEL) of 2 mg m-3 may still be exceeded. Conclusion: Analysis of the temporal trend in soft wood production units revealed declines in exposure of 20.5% per annum. It is important that precautions are taken to protect workers from a hazardous exposure to wood dust at the premises as the SOEL of 2 mg m-3 at some occasions is still exceeded. Additional measurements of wood dust exposure should be carried out on a regular basis in wood pellet production units in Sweden as well in other countries.
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| 5. |
- Hagström, Katja, 1975-, et al.
(författare)
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Exposure to softwood dust in the wood industry
- 2016. - 30
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Ingår i: The quality of air. - Amsterdam : Elsevier. - 9780444636058 - 9780444636065 ; , s. 801-823
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 6. |
- Hagström, Katja, 1975-, et al.
(författare)
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Exposure to wood dust, resin acids and volatile organic compounds during production of wood pellets
- 2008
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Ingår i: Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene. - Philadelphia, PA : Taylor and Francis. - 1545-9624 .- 1545-9632. ; 5:5, s. 296-304
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The main aim of this study was to investigate exposure to airborne substances that are potentially harmful to health during the production of wood pellets, including wood dust, monoterpenes, and resin acids, and as an indicator of diesel exhaust nitrogen dioxide. In addition, area measurements were taken to assess background exposure levels of these substances, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and carbon monoxide. Measurements were taken at four wood pellet production plants from May 2004 to April 2005. Forty-four workers participated in the study, and a total of 68 personal measurements were taken to determine personal exposure to wood dust (inhalable and total dust), resin acids, monoterpenes, and nitrogen dioxide. In addition, 42 measurements of nitrogen dioxide and 71 measurements of total dust, resin acids, monoterpenes, VOCs, and carbon monoxide were taken to quantify their indoor area concentrations. Personal exposure levels to wood dust were high, and a third of the measured levels of inhalable dust exceeded the Swedish occupational exposure limit (OEL) of 2 mg/m3. Parallel measurements of inhalable and total dust indicated that the former were, on average, 3.2 times higher than the latter. The data indicate that workers at the plants are exposed to significant amounts of the resin acid 7-oxodehydroabietic acid in the air, an observation that has not been recorded previously at wood processing and handling plants. The study also found evidence of exposure to dehydroabietic acid, and exposure levels for resin acids approached 74% of the British OEL for colophony, set at 50 microg/m3. Personal exposure levels to monoterpenes and nitrogen dioxide were low. Area sampling measurements indicated that aldehydes and terpenes were the most abundant VOCs, suggesting that measuring personal exposure to aldehydes might be of interest. Carbon monoxide levels were under the detection limit in all area measurements. High wood dust exposure levels are likely to have implications for worker health; therefore, it is important to reduce exposure to wood dust in this industry.
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| 7. |
- Hagström, Katja, 1975-
(författare)
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Occupational exposure during production of wood pellets in Sweden
- 2008
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aims of the studies underlying this thesis were to assess workers’ air exposure to wood dust and various chemicals, and to evaluate the variability in exposure and occupational dermal exposure to resin acids during the production of wood pellets in Sweden. Personal air measurements of wood dust, monoterpenes, resin acids and nitrogen dioxide (as a marker of diesel exhaust), accompanied by area measurements of these substances, VOCs and carbon monoxide, were performed at up to ten plants. Repeated measurements were also performed to evaluate within- and between-worker variability, determinants of exposure, the probability that a worker’s mean exposure exceeded the occupational exposure limit, OEL (overexposure), and the bias in the exposure-response relationship (attenuation).Dermal exposure was measured at the forehead, neck, forearm and hand using a tape-stripping method, in which a strip of adhesive tape is applied to the skin and then removed along with the outermost layer of the skin and chemicals adsorbed to this layer. The workers’ exposure to wood dust was high (mean: 2.4 mg/m3), with 35−42 % of the measurements above the Swedish OEL of 2 mg/m3. The exposure is also classified as unacceptable due to the calculated levels of overexposure. Exposure to resin acids like 7-oxodehydroabietic acid and dehydroabietic acid was identified, which has not been previously observed in the wood industry, with mean sum levels of 2.4 _g/m3. Levels of monoterpenes, nitrogen dioxide, VOCs and carbon monoxide were all below their Swedish OELs. A factor that influenced the level of exposure to wood dust and resin acids was the nature of the work done, notably cleaning operations, like sweeping, which increased the exposure slightly. The attenuation was high for the individual-based model, and at least 12 repeated measurements were needed to yield a bias in the exposureresponse relationship of _10 %. The results also showed that dermal exposure to resin acids occurs in these plants, which has not been shown before, and provided indications of both increased exposure during a work shift and diffusion into the skin. The main conclusion is that wood dust exposure at these levels is likely to have implications for the workers’ health in the long run, and, therefore, it is important to reduce exposure to wood dust in this industry.
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| 8. |
- Hagström, Katja, 1975-, et al.
(författare)
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Preschool children´s exposure to metals via measurements of hand deposition
- 2019
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Ingår i: Abstract Book, Monday.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: Since we spend most of our time indoors the indoor environment can lead to exposure to substances like metals. Small children are often more exposed than adults, for instance due to their hand-to-mouth behaviour. Since some metals can have adverse health effects in children the aim of this study was to investigate indoor exposure to metals on children’s hands in preschools.Method: In the study, 60 children at 8 preschools in two cities in Sweden participated. Metals on the hands were sampled at two different periods (winter and spring) giving a total of 109 samples. During sampling, both hands were wiped using hand-wipes soaked in 1 % HNO3, and sampling was done after two hours of indoor activities. The following metals were analyzed using ICP-MS; beryllium, magnesium, aluminium, vanadium, chromium, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, arsenic, molybdenum, silver, cadmium, antimony, barium, thallium and lead. Results All samples were above limit of quantification (LOQ) except for beryllium and molybdenum (4 %Conclusion: Metals linked to severe health effects like cadmium, arsenic and lead as well as a range of other metals could be detected on children’s hands. These findings indicate an exposure to metals for children both via dermal uptake and oral intake due to hand-to-mouth transfer, but potential contributions to the body burden are unknown. Higher levels were seen during spring and in one of the cities, possible explanations to these observations needs to be looked into more closely.
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| 9. |
- Hagström, Katja, 1975-, et al.
(författare)
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Variability and determinants of wood dust and resin acid exposure during wood pellet production : measurement strategies and bias in assessing exposure-response relationships
- 2008
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Ingår i: Annals of Occupational Hygiene. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0003-4878 .- 1475-3162. ; 52:8, s. 685-694
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Production of wood pellets is a relatively new and expanding industry in which the exposure profiles differ from those in other wood-processing industries like carpentries and sawmills where there are lower levels of wood dust. Sixty-eight personal exposure measurements of wood dust (inhalable and total dust) and resin acids were collected for 44 participants at four production plants located in Sweden. Results were used to estimate within- and between-worker variability and to identify uniformly exposed groups and determinants of exposure. In addition, overexposure, whether the risk of the long-term mean exposure of a randomly selected worker exceeding the occupational exposure limit is acceptably low, was calculated as well as the underestimation of the exposure–response relationship (attenuation). Greater variability in exposure between work shifts than between workers was observed with the within-worker variation accounting for 57–99% of the total variance in the individual-based model. Several uniformly exposed groups were detected but were mostly associated with a between-worker variation of zero which is an underestimation of the between-worker variation but an indication of uniformly exposed groups. Cleaning was identified as a work task that increases exposure slightly; so reducing workers’ exposure during this operation is advisable. The levels of wood dust were high and were found to pose unacceptable risks of overexposure at all plants for inhalable dust and at three out of four plants for total dust. These findings show that exposure to dust needs to be reduced in this industry. For resin acids, the exposure was classed as acceptable at all plants. According to an individual-based model constructed from the data, the level of attenuation was high, and thus there would be substantial bias in derived dose–response relationships.
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