Respiratory Group, Division of Applied Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB25 2ZG, UK.
MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, 200 Renfield Street, Glasgow G2 3QB, UK.
Ann Work Expo Health. 2017 Aug 1;61(7):809-821. doi: 10.1093/annweh/wxx058.
Second-hand tobacco smoke (SHS) is an avoidable and harmful exposure in the workplace but >25000 prison staff continue to be exposed on a daily basis in the UK and many more worldwide. SHS exposures in prisons are incompletely understood but may be considerable given the large proportion of smoking prisoners and limited ventilation. This study characterized the exposure of prison staff to SHS in all 15 prisons in Scotland using multiple methods. Exposure assessment strategies included 6-day area measurement of fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) and airborne nicotine in each prison together with short (30-minute) measurements of PM2.5 covering a range of locations/activities. Pre- and post-shift saliva samples were also gathered from non-smoking staff and analysed for cotinine to estimate exposure. There was evidence of exposure to SHS in all prisons from the results of PM2.5 and nicotine measurements. The salivary cotinine results from a sub-sample of non-smoking workers indicated SHS exposures of similar magnitude to those provided by the 6-day area measurements of PM2.5. There was a high degree of exposure variability with some locations/activities involving exposure to SHS concentrations that were comparable to those measured in bars in Scotland prior to smoke-free legislation in 2006. The median shift exposure to SHS-PM2.5 was ~20 to 30 µg m-3 and is broadly similar to that experienced by someone living in a typical smoking home in Scotland. This is the most comprehensive assessment of prison workers' exposure to SHS in the world. The results are highly relevant to the development of smoke-free policies in prisons and should be considered when deciding on the best approach to provide prison staff with a safe and healthy working environment.
二手烟草烟雾（SHS）是工作场所中可避免且有害的暴露源，但在英国及全球范围内，仍有超过 25000 名监狱工作人员每天都在接触 SHS。由于吸烟囚犯比例较大且通风有限，监狱内 SHS 的暴露情况尚不完全清楚，但可能相当严重。本研究采用多种方法，对苏格兰所有 15 所监狱的监狱工作人员接触 SHS 的情况进行了全面描述。暴露评估策略包括对每所监狱内的细颗粒物（PM2.5）和空气中的尼古丁进行为期 6 天的区域测量，以及对涵盖各种地点/活动的 PM2.5 进行 30 分钟的短期测量。还从非吸烟工作人员那里收集了班前和班后唾液样本，并对可替宁进行了分析，以估计暴露情况。从 PM2.5 和尼古丁测量结果来看，所有监狱均有 SHS 暴露的证据。非吸烟工人的唾液可替宁亚组样本结果表明，与 PM2.5 6 天区域测量结果相似，存在类似程度的 SHS 暴露。暴露情况存在很大的可变性，一些地点/活动涉及的 SHS 浓度与 2006 年苏格兰禁烟法规实施前酒吧内测量到的浓度相当。中位轮班 SHS-PM2.5 暴露量约为 20 至 30 µg m-3，与苏格兰典型吸烟家庭中接触到的水平大致相同。这是对全球范围内监狱工作人员接触 SHS 情况最全面的评估。这些结果与监狱内制定无烟政策高度相关，在决定为监狱工作人员提供安全健康的工作环境的最佳方法时应予以考虑。
