PubMed · 15764533
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Tom Walters. 2005. RCF exposure data.. https://doi.org/10.1080/15459620590913281
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The aim of this study was to estimate occupational exposure to inhalable wood dust by country, industry, the level of exposure and type of wood dust in 25 member states of the European Union (EU-25) for the purposes of hazard control, exposure surveillance and assessment of health risks. National labour force statistics, a country questionnaire (in 15 member states, EU-15), a company survey (in Finland, France, Germany and Spain), exposure measurements (from Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom) and expert judgements were used to generate preliminary estimates of exposure to different types of wood dust. The estimates were generated according to industrial class (six wood industries, four other sectors) and level of exposure (five classes). These estimates were reviewed and finalized by national experts from 15 member states. Crude estimates were generated also for 10 new member states (EU-10). The basic data and final estimates were included in the WOODEX database. In 2000-2003, about 3.6 million workers (2.0% of the employed EU-25 population) were occupationally exposed to inhalable wood dust. Of those, construction employed 1.2 million exposed workers (33%), mostly construction carpenters. The numbers of exposed workers were 700,000 (20%) in the furniture industry, 300,000 (9%) in the manufacture of builders' carpentry, 200,000 (5%) in sawmilling, 150,000 (4%) in forestry and <100,000 in other wood industries. In addition, there were 700,000 exposed workers (20%) in miscellaneous industries employing carpenters, joiners and other woodworkers. The numbers of exposed workers varied by country ranging from <3,000 in Luxembourg and Malta to 700,000 in Germany. The highest exposure levels were estimated to occur in the construction sector and furniture industry. Due to limited exposure data there was considerable uncertainty in the estimates concerning construction woodworkers. About 560,000 workers (16% of the exposed) may be exposed to a level exceeding 5 mg m(-3). Mixed exposure to more than one species of wood and dust from wooden boards was very common, but reliable data on exposure to different species of wood could not be retrieved. This kind of assessment procedure integrating measurement data, company data, country-specific data and expert judgement could also serve as one model for the assessment of other occupational exposures.
Acute exposure guideline levels (AEGLs) are derived to protect the human population from adverse health effects in case of single exposure due to an accidental release of chemicals into the atmosphere. AEGLs are set at three different levels of increasing toxicity for exposure durations ranging from 10 min to 8 h. In the AEGL setting for methylene chloride, specific additional topics had to be addressed. This included a change of relevant toxicity endpoint within the 10-min to 8-h exposure time range from central nervous system depression caused by the parent compound to formation of carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) via biotransformation to carbon monoxide. Additionally, the biotransformation of methylene chloride includes both a saturable step as well as genetic polymorphism of the glutathione transferase involved. Physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling was considered to be the appropriate tool to address all these topics in an adequate way. Two available PBPK models were combined and extended with additional algorithms for the estimation of the maximum COHb levels. The model was validated and verified with data obtained from volunteer studies. It was concluded that all the mentioned topics could be adequately accounted for by the PBPK model. The AEGL values as calculated with the model were substantiated by experimental data with volunteers and are concluded to be practically applicable.
A cross-industry occupational hygiene survey was commissioned by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to determine the levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure in UK industry and to determine if one or more target analytes were suitable as markers for assessing total exposure to PAHs. There were no broadly applicable UK exposure standards for assessing total exposure to PAHs. Until 1993 a guidance value for assessing exposure in coke ovens only, where PAH exposure is known to be the highest, was based on gravimetric analysis of cyclohexane-soluble material. Biological monitoring based on urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) is widely reported to be an effective indicator of exposure by both dermal and inhalation routes but there was no UK guidance value. The survey involved an occupational hygiene study of 25 sites using both airborne monitoring of a total of 17 individual PAHs and biological monitoring. The results showed 8 h TWA levels of total PAH in air ranged from 0.4 to 1912.6 microg m(-3) with a GM of 15.8 microg m(-3). The profile of PAHs was dominated by naphthalene, the most volatile 2-ring PAH. Airborne benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) correlated well (r(2) = 0.971) with levels of carcinogenic 4-6 ring PAHs and was an effective marker of exposure for all industries where significant particle bound PAH levels were found and, in particular, for CTPV exposure. The 8 h TWA levels of BaP ranged from <0.01 to 6.21 microg m(-3) with a GM of 0.036 microg m(-3); 90% were <0.75 microg m(-3) and 95% were <2.0 microg m(-3). Two hundred and eighteen urine samples collected from different workers at the end of shift and 213 samples collected pre-shift next day were analysed for 1-OHP. Levels of 1-OHP in end-of-shift samples were generally higher than those in pre-shift-next-day samples and showed a good correlation (r(2) = 0.768) to airborne BaP levels if samples from workers using respiratory protection or with significant dermal exposure were excluded. Urinary 1-OHP in end-of-shift samples ranged from the limit of detection (0.5 micromol mol(-1) creatinine) to 60 micromol mol(-1) creatinine with a mean of 2.49 micromol mol(-1) and a 90th percentile value of 6.7 micromol mol(-1) creatinine. The highest 1-OHP levels were found in samples from workers impregnating timber with creosote where exposure was dominated by naphthalene. If the 11 samples from these workers were excluded from the dataset, the 90% value for end-of-shift urine samples was 4 micromol mol(-1) creatinine (n = 207) and this value has since been adopted by the HSE as a biological monitoring benchmark value.