Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1090 Tusculum Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45226, USA; Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati, 160 Panzeca Way, Cincinnati, OH 45267, USA.
Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1090 Tusculum Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45226, USA.
Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2018 Apr;221(3):429-440. doi: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2018.01.006. Epub 2018 Jan 11.
Recent animal studies have suggested the potential for wide-ranging health effects resulting from exposure to carbon nanotubes and nanofibers (CNT/F). To date, no studies in the US have directly examined the relationship between occupational exposure and potential human health effects.
Our goal was to measure CNT/F exposures among US workers with representative job types, from non-exposed to highly exposed, for an epidemiologic study relating exposure to early biologic effects.
108 participants were enrolled from 12 facilities across the US. Personal, full-shift exposures were assessed based on the mass of elemental carbon (EC) at the respirable and inhalable aerosol particle size fractions, along with quantitatively characterizing CNT/F and estimating particle size via transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Additionally, sputum and dermal samples were collected and analyzed to determine internal exposures and exposures to the hands/wrists.
The mean exposure to EC was 1.00 μg/m at the respirable size fraction and 6.22 μg/m at the inhalable fraction. Analysis by TEM found a mean exposure of 0.1275 CNT/F structures/cm, generally to agglomerated materials between 2 and 10 μm. Internal exposures to CNT/F via sputum analysis were confirmed in 18% of participants while ∼70% had positive dermal exposures.
We demonstrated the occurrence of a broad range of exposures to CNT/F within 12 facilities across the US. Analysis of collected sputum indicated internal exposures are currently occurring within the workplace. This is an important first step in determining if exposures in the workforce have any acute or lasting health effects.
最近的动物研究表明，暴露于碳纳米管和纳米纤维（CNT/F）可能会对广泛的健康产生影响。迄今为止，美国还没有研究直接检查职业暴露与潜在人类健康影响之间的关系。
我们的目标是测量具有代表性工作类型的美国工人中的 CNT/F 暴露情况，从无暴露到高暴露，以进行一项与暴露相关的早期生物学效应的流行病学研究。
从美国的 12 个设施中招募了 108 名参与者。根据可吸入和可吸入气溶胶颗粒大小的元素碳（EC）质量评估个人全班暴露情况，同时定量表征 CNT/F 并通过透射电子显微镜（TEM）估计粒径。此外，还收集和分析了痰液和皮肤样本，以确定内部暴露和手部/手腕暴露情况。
可吸入部分的 EC 平均暴露水平为 1.00μg/m，可吸入部分的 EC 平均暴露水平为 6.22μg/m。通过 TEM 分析发现，平均暴露于 0.1275 CNT/F 结构/cm，通常为 2 至 10μm 之间的团聚材料。通过痰液分析确认了 18%的参与者存在 CNT/F 的内部暴露，而约 70%的参与者手部/手腕存在阳性暴露。
我们在美国的 12 个设施中证明了广泛存在 CNT/F 的暴露情况。对收集的痰液进行分析表明，目前在工作场所内发生了内部暴露。这是确定劳动力暴露是否对急性或长期健康有任何影响的重要第一步。
