| 1. |
- Andersson, Lena, et al.
(författare)
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Exposure assessment and modeling of quartz in Swedish iron foundries for a nested case-control study on lung cancer
- 2012
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Ingår i: Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene. - Philadelphia : Taylor & Francis. - 1545-9624 .- 1545-9632. ; 9:2, s. 110-119
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Exposure assessment of quartz in Swedish iron foundries was performed based on historical and present measurement data. To evaluate the exposure response relationship between quartz exposure and lung cancer, we modeled quartz exposure from our database of measurements using determinants job title, time period and company. Based on these modeled exposure data, we conducted a nested case– control evaluation.In our database, the overall individual daily time-weighted average (TWA) quartz concentrations of current and historical data varied between 0.0018 and 4.9 mg/m3, averaging 0.083 mg/m3. The job titles with mean TWAs for the whole study period exceeding the European Union recommended occupational exposure limit of 0.05 mg/m3 were fettlers (0.087 mg/m3), furnace and ladle repair (0.42 mg/m3) and maintenance (0.054 mg/m3) workers.The mixed model analysis demonstrated significant determinants on the job level for furnace and ladle repair (β=4.06; 95% CI 2.78-5.93). For all jobs significantly higher exposure levels occurred only during the first time period, 1968-1979 (β=2.08; 95% CI 1.75-2.47), and a decreasing but not significant trend was noted for the three following 10 year time periods up to 2006 (β=1.0, 0.96 and 1, respectively). Two iron foundries had significantly higher quartz concentration levels than the others (β=1.31; 95% CI 1.00-1.71 and β=1.63; 95% CI 1.00-2.65, respectively). The individual cumulative quartz exposure measures were categorized in low, medium and high exposure (0.5-<1, 1-1.9 and ≥2 mg/m3 *years, respectively).In the nested case-control analysis, we found the highest odds ratios of lung cancer (OR 1.17; 95% CI 0.53-2.55) for the medium exposure group. No dose– response trend or significantly increased risk was determined for our high exposed group (≥2 mg/m3), representing 40 years of exposure at >0.05 mg/m3 of quartz. To conclude, certain foundry workers are still exposed to high levels of quartz, but an increased risk of lung cancer caused by quartz exposure in these Swedish iron foundries could not be confirmed at our exposure levels.
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| 2. |
- Ohlson, Carl-Goran, et al.
(författare)
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Inflammatory markers and exposure to occupational air pollutants
- 2010
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Ingår i: Inhalation Toxicology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0895-8378 .- 1091-7691. ; 22:13, s. 1083-1090
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Methods: Total dust was sampled in the breathing zone of 73 subjects working with welding, cutting, grinding and in foundries such as iron, aluminium, and concrete. Stationary measurements were used to study different size fractions of particles including respirable dust, particulate matter (PM)(10) and PM2.5, the particle number concentration, the number of particles deposited in the alveoli, and total particle surface area concentration. Inflammatory markers such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, D-dimer, and urate were measured in plasma or serum before the first shift after the summer vacation and after the first, second, and fourth shift. Results: The mean level of total dust in the breathing zone was 0.93 mg/m
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Westberg, Håkan, et al.
(författare)
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Cancer morbidity and quartz exposure in Swedish iron foundries
- 2013
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Ingår i: International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0340-0131 .- 1432-1246. ; 86:5, s. 499-507
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this study was to determine cancer morbidity amongst Swedish iron foundry workers with special reference to quartz exposure. In addition to respirable dust and quartz, phenol, formaldehyde, furfuryl alcohols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), carbon black, isocyanates and asbestos are used or generated by foundry production techniques and exposure to any of these substances could have potentially carcinogenic effects. Cancer morbidity between 1958 and 2004 was evaluated in a cohort of 3,045 male foundry workers employed for > 1 year between 1913 and 2005. Standardised incidence ratios (SIRs) with 95 % confidence intervals (95 % CI) were determined by comparing observed numbers of incident cancers with frequencies in the Swedish cancer register. Exposure measures were assessed using information from the personal files of employees and modelling quartz measurement based on a database of 1,667 quartz measurements. Dose responses for lung cancer were determined for duration of employment and cumulative quartz exposure for latency periods > 20 years. Overall cancer morbidity was not increased amongst the foundry workers (SIR 1.00; 95 % CI, 0.90-1.11), but the incidence of lung cancer was significantly elevated (SIR 1.61; 95 % CI, 1.20-2.12). A non-significant negative dose response was determined using external comparison with a latency period of > 20 years (SIR 2.05, 1.72 1.26 for the low, medium and high exposure groups), supported by internal comparison data (hazard ratios 1, 1.01, 0.78) for the corresponding groups. For cancers at sites with at least five observed cases and a SIR > 1.25, non-significant risks with SIRs > 1.5 were determined for cancers of the liver, larynx, testis, connective muscle tissue, multiple myeloma plasmacytoma and lymphatic leukaemia. A significant overall risk of lung cancer was determined, but using external and internal comparison groups could not confirm any dose response at our cumulative quartz dose levels.
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