Semple S, Green D A, McAlpine G, Cowie H, Seaton A
Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen AB25 2ZP, UK.
Occup Environ Med. 2008 May;65(5):300-5. doi: 10.1136/oem.2007.032805. Epub 2007 Aug 6.
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: A large number of labourers work in the stone-crushing industry in India. Many of these workers are also exposed to high levels of particulate matter in their homes from the use of biomass fuels. As part of our investigations to examine the health of these workers we characterised their exposure to respirable crystalline silica and a number of other particulate matter exposure metrics in both occupational and domestic settings.
We used a combination of direct reading and gravimetric sampling of respirable dust, total inhalable dust and particulate matter <2.5 mum in diameter (PM(2.5)) at work (n = 19), within the general environment (n = 6) and inside the home (n = 7). We used x-ray diffraction to quantify the level of crystalline silica in the respirable dust samples.
After correcting for the length of the working week, the arithmetic mean 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA) total inhalable dust exposure for this group was 143 mg/m(3), the mean 8-hour TWA respirable dust exposure was 39.7 mg/m(3) and the 8-hour TWA crystalline silica exposure was 2.29 mg/m(3). Our real-time data showed peaks in exposure under certain environmental and/or working conditions. General environmental and domestic PM(2.5) exposures were also high.
Particulate matter exposures experienced by this group of workers and their families are likely to produce impaired lung function within a short time-frame. There is a need to introduce simple measures to reduce particulate matter exposure from both occupational sources and the use of biomass fuels in homes on this and similar sites.
背景/目的：印度有大量劳动者从事碎石行业。这些工人中有许多人在家中也因使用生物质燃料而接触到高浓度颗粒物。作为我们对这些工人健康状况调查的一部分，我们对他们在职业和家庭环境中接触可吸入结晶二氧化硅及其他一些颗粒物暴露指标的情况进行了特征描述。
我们结合了直接读数法和重量法对工作场所（n = 19）、一般环境（n = 6）和家中（n = 7）的可吸入粉尘、总吸入粉尘和直径小于2.5微米的颗粒物（PM2.5）进行采样。我们使用X射线衍射法对可吸入粉尘样本中的结晶二氧化硅含量进行定量。
在对工作周时长进行校正后，该组工人8小时时间加权平均（TWA）总吸入粉尘暴露量的算术平均值为143毫克/立方米，8小时TWA可吸入粉尘暴露量的平均值为39.7毫克/立方米，8小时TWA结晶二氧化硅暴露量为2.29毫克/立方米。我们的实时数据显示在某些环境和/或工作条件下暴露量会出现峰值。一般环境和家庭环境中的PM2.5暴露量也很高。
这群工人及其家人接触的颗粒物很可能在短时间内导致肺功能受损。有必要采取简单措施，减少该场所及类似场所职业来源和家庭使用生物质燃料产生的颗粒物暴露。
