| 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. |
- Jorgensen, R. B., et al.
(författare)
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Simulated Restaurant Cook Exposure to Emissions of PAHs, Mutagenic Aldehydes, and Particles from Frying Bacon
- 2013
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Ingår i: Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1545-9624 .- 1545-9632. ; 10:3, s. 122-131
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study investigated the exposure of cooks to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), higher mutagenic aldehydes, total particles, and ultrafine particles during cooking. Experiments were performed by pan frying fresh and smoked bacon on both electric and gas stoves, and with the gas alone. Detailed analyses of PAHs were performed, with analyses of the levels of 32 different PAHs. A TSI-3939 scanning mobility particle sizer system was used to measure the ultrafine particles. The results showed that total PAHs were in the range of 270–300 ng/m3 air. However, the smoked bacon experiment showed a somewhat different PAH pattern, whereby retene constituted about 10% of the total PAHs, which is a level similar to that of the abundant gas phase constituent phenanthrene. The reason for the elevated retene emissions is unknown. The total cancer risk, expressed as toxic equivalency factors, showed a somewhat higher risk on the electric stove (p < 0.05) compared with the gas stove. Levels of trans, trans-2,4-decadienal were between 34 and 54 μg/m3 air. The level of total particles was between 2.2 and 4.2 mg/m3. Frying on a gas stove caused a statistically significant higher amount of ultrafine particles compared with frying on an electric stove. Large variations in the mobility diameter at peak particle concentration were found (74.4 nm–153.5 nm). The highest mobility diameter was found for frying on an electric stove. The gas flame itself showed a maximum production of 19.5-nm-sized particles and could not be the explanation for the difference between frying on the gas stove and frying on the electric stove. No single indicator for the exposure to cooking fume could be selected. Each compound should be measured independently to provide a comprehensive characterization of the cooking exposure.
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| 3. |
- Wallén, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Measured elemental carbon by thermo-optical transmittance analysis in water-soluble extracts from diesel exhaust, woodsmoke, and ambient particulate samples
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene. - Philadelphia, PA : Taylor and Francis. - 1545-9624 .- 1545-9632. ; 7:1, s. 35-45
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Elemental carbon has been proposed as a marker of diesel particulate matter. The objective of this study was to investigate if water-soluble carbonaceous compounds could be responsible for positive bias of elemental carbon using NIOSH Method 5040 with a thermo-optical carbon transmittance analyzer. Filter samples from eight different aerosol environments were used: pure diesel exhaust fume with a high content of elemental carbon, pure diesel exhaust fume with a low content of elemental carbon, pure biodiesel exhaust fume, pure woodsmoke, an urban road tunnel, an urban street canyon, an urban background site, and residential woodburning in an urban area. Part of each filter sample was analyzed directly with a thermo-optical carbon analyzer, and another part was extracted with water. This water-soluble extract was filtered to remove particles, spiked onto filter punches, and analyzed with a thermo-optical transmittance carbon analyzer. The ratio of elemental carbon in the water-soluble extract to the particulate sample measurement was 18, 12, and 7%, respectively, for the samples of pure woodsmoke, residential woodburning, and urban background. Samples with diesel particulate matter and ambient samples with motor exhaust detected no elemental carbon in the water-soluble extract. Since no particles were present in the filtered water-soluble extract, part of the water-soluble organic carbon species, existing or created during analysis, are misclassified as elemental carbon with this analysis. The conclusion is that in measuring elemental carbon in particulate aerosol samples with thermo-optical transmittance analysis, woodsmoke, and biomass combustion samples show a positive bias of elemental carbon. The water-soluble EC could be used as a simple method to indicate other sources, such as wood or other biomass combustion aerosol particles.
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| 4. |
- Wang, Faming, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of Air Velocity and Clothing Combination on Heating Efficiency of an Electrically Heated Vest (EHV): A Pilot Study
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1545-9632 .- 1545-9624. ; 7:9, s. 501-505
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cold endangers the heat balance of the human body. Protective clothing is the natural and most common equipment against cold stress. However, clothing for cold protection may be bulky and heavy, affecting human performance and increasing the work load. In such cases, a heated garment with built-in heating elements may be helpful. This pilot study presents a method based on a thermal manikin to investigate the effects of air velocity and clothing combination on the heating efficiency of an electrically heated vest (EHV). An infrared thermal camera was used to detect surface temperature distributions of the EHV on the front and back. Results show that the heating efficiency of the EHV decreases with increasing air velocity. Changes in EHV sequence in the three-layer clothing combination also significantly affect the heating efficiency: it increases with the increasing number of layers on top of the EHV. The highest mean temperature on the inner surface of the EHV was 40.2°C, which indicates that it is safe for the wearers. For the EHV to heat the human body effectively, we suggest that it be worn as a middle layer. Finally, the EHV is especially suitable for occupational groups whose metabolic rate is below 1.9 Mets.
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