Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, PO Box 118, Lund SE-22100, Sweden.
Division of Ergonomics and Aerosol Technology, Department of Design Sciences, Lund University, PO Box 118, Lund SE-22100, Sweden.
Ann Work Expo Health. 2017 Jun 1;61(5):539-553. doi: 10.1093/annweh/wxx024.
OBJECTIVES: Occupational exposure to diesel exhaust is common due the widespread use of diesel-powered combustion engines. Diesel exhaust is chemically complex and consists of thousands of compounds present as gases and particulate matter. Both nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and elemental carbon (EC) have been used as markers for diesel exhaust exposure. Currently EC is regarded as the best surrogate of diesel exhaust. The objective was to quantify the occupational exposure to diesel exhaust in underground tunnel construction work using a multi-metric approach, and to investigate the correlations between NO2, respirable EC, respirable organic carbon (OC), respirable total carbon (TC), respirable dust (RD), and particle number. Also, the use of NO2 as a proxy for diesel exhaust was evaluated, how much of the variability in the diesel exhaust exposure was attributed to within and between individual factors and if there was a difference between expert and self-administered measurements of NO2. METHODS: The personal exposure to diesel exhaust was assessed by expert supervised measurements of NO2, EC, OC, TC, RD and particle number in the breathing zones of underground tunnel workers. Stationary sampling of NO2, EC, OC, TC, RD, size-fractioned mass concentration, and particle number were conducted. The personal and stationary measurements were conducted on three occasions simultaneously. The workers measured their exposure by repeated self-administered measurements of NO2. The self-administered measurements were performed twice for each worker with at least one month lag between the samplings. RESULTS: In the simultaneous sampling of diesel exhaust, the geometric mean (GM) concentration of NO2 and respirable EC were 72 µg m-3 (10th-90th percentile 34-140 µg m-3) and 2.6 µg m-3 (10th-90th percentile 1.6-7.3 µg m-3), respectively. The GM for OC and TC was 28 µg m-3 (10th-90th percentile 20-42 µg m-3) and 31 µg m-3 (10th-90th percentile 20-50 µg m-3), respectively. The GM for RD and particle number was 180 µg m-3 (10th-90th percentile 20-530 µg m-3) and 47 900 cm-3 (10th-90th percentile 27500-94100 cm-3), respectively. A significant correlation was found between NO2 and respirable EC [Spearman's correlation r = 0.53 (P = 0.05)]. The within-worker variability of NO2 was 45.5% and the between-worker variability was 54.5%. The self-administered measured concentrations of NO2 (GM 70 µg m-3) did not statistically differ from the NO2 concentrations measured by an expert (P > 0.35). CONCLUSION: The diesel exhaust exposure in tunnel construction work was low. A significant correlation between NO2 and EC was observed. This indicates that NO2 could be used as a proxy for diesel exhaust in tunnel work if diesel exhaust is the only source of NO2 and if the ratio between EC and NO2 is known and constant. Passive sampling of NO2 is much easier and cheaper to perform compared with active sampling of EC. It is possible to utilize self-administered NO2 measurements in extreme and inaccessible work environments. This study adds support to continued use of NO2 as an exposure marker in combination with EC for diesel exhaust exposure. In tunnel construction work, the variability in the diesel exhaust exposure was high both between- and within-workers.
目的：由于柴油动力内燃机的广泛使用，职业性接触柴油废气较为常见。柴油废气化学成分复杂，由数千种存在于气体和颗粒物中的化合物组成。二氧化氮（NO2）和元素碳（EC）都曾被用作柴油废气暴露的标志物。目前，EC 被认为是柴油废气的最佳替代品。本研究旨在使用多指标方法量化地下隧道施工中柴油废气的职业暴露，并研究 NO2、可吸入 EC、可吸入有机碳（OC）、可吸入总碳（TC）、可吸入粉尘（RD）和颗粒数之间的相关性。此外，还评估了使用 NO2 作为柴油废气的替代物，柴油废气暴露的可变性有多少归因于个体内部和个体之间的因素，以及专家和自我管理的 NO2 测量之间是否存在差异。
方法：通过对地下隧道工人呼吸区进行专家监督的 NO2、EC、OC、TC、RD 和颗粒数测量，评估柴油废气的个人暴露情况。进行了 NO2、EC、OC、TC、RD、分级质量浓度和颗粒数的定点采样。同时在三个时间点进行个人和定点测量。工人们通过反复自我管理的 NO2 测量来测量他们的暴露情况。每个工人进行两次自我管理的测量，两次采样之间至少有一个月的时间间隔。
结果：在同时进行的柴油废气采样中，NO2 和可吸入 EC 的几何平均值（GM）浓度分别为 72µg/m3（第 10 至 90 百分位数 34-140µg/m3）和 2.6µg/m3（第 10 至 90 百分位数 1.6-7.3µg/m3）。OC 和 TC 的 GM 浓度分别为 28µg/m3（第 10 至 90 百分位数 20-42µg/m3）和 31µg/m3（第 10 至 90 百分位数 20-50µg/m3）。RD 和颗粒数的 GM 浓度分别为 180µg/m3（第 10 至 90 百分位数 20-530µg/m3）和 47900cm-3（第 10 至 90 百分位数 27500-94100cm-3）。NO2 和可吸入 EC 之间存在显著相关性（Spearman 相关系数 r=0.53，P=0.05）。NO2 的个体内变异性为 45.5%，个体间变异性为 54.5%。自我管理测量的 NO2 浓度（GM 为 70µg/m3）与专家测量的 NO2 浓度无统计学差异（P＞0.35）。
结论：隧道施工中的柴油废气暴露量较低。NO2 和 EC 之间存在显著相关性。这表明，如果柴油废气是 NO2 的唯一来源，并且 EC 与 NO2 的比值已知且恒定，则可以将 NO2 用作隧道工作中柴油废气的替代物。与 EC 的主动采样相比，NO2 的被动采样更容易且更便宜。在极端和难以进入的工作环境中，可以使用自我管理的 NO2 测量。本研究为继续使用 NO2 与 EC 结合作为柴油废气暴露的标志物提供了支持。在隧道施工中，柴油废气暴露的个体内和个体间变异性均很高。
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