da Silveira Fleck Alan, Couture Caroline, Sauvé Jean-François, Njanga Pierre-Eric, Neesham-Grenon Eve, Lachapelle Guillaume, Coulombe Hugo, Hallé Stéphane, Aubin Simon, Lavoué Jérôme, Debia Maximilien
a Department of Environmental and Occupational Health , School of Public Health, Université de Montréal , Montreal , Canada.
b Department of Mechanical Engineering , École de Technologie Supérieure , Montreal , Canada.
J Occup Environ Hyg. 2018 Jul;15(7):549-558. doi: 10.1080/15459624.2018.1459044.
Exposure to diesel particulate matter (DPM) is frequently assessed by measuring indicators of carbon speciation, but these measurements may be affected by organic carbon (OC) interference. Furthermore, there are still questions regarding the reliability of direct-reading instruments (DRI) for measuring DPM, since these instruments are not specific and may be interfered by other aerosol sources. This study aimed to assess DPM exposure in 2 underground mines by filter-based methods and DRI and to assess the relationship between the measures of elemental carbon (EC) and the DRI to verify the association of these instruments to DPM. Filter-based methods of respirable combustible dust (RCD), EC, and total carbon (TC) were used to measure levels of personal and ambient DPM. For ambient measurements, DRI were used to monitor particle number concentration (PNC; PTrak), particle mass concentration (DustTrak DRX and DustTrak 8520), and the submicron fraction of EC (ECAirtec). The association between ambient EC and the DRI was assessed by Spearman correlation. Geometric mean concentrations of RCD, respirable TC (TC) and respirable elemental EC (EC) were 170 µg/m, 148 µg/m, and 83 µg/m for personal samples, and 197 µg/m, 151 µg/m, and 100 µg/m for ambient samples. Personal measurements had higher TCEC ratios compared to ambient samples (1.8 vs. 1.50) and weaker association between EC and TC. Among the DRI, the measures of EC by the Airtec (ρ = 0.86; P < 0.001) and the respirable particles by the DustTrak 8520 (ρ = 0.74; P < 0.001) showed the strongest association with EC, while PNC showed a weak and non-significant association with EC. In conclusion, this study provided important information about the concentrations of DPM in underground mines by measuring several indicators using filter-based methods and DRI. Among the DRI, the Airtec proved to be a good tool for estimating EC concentrations and, although the DustTrak showed good association with EC, interferences from other aerosol sources should be considered when using this instrument to assess DPM.
柴油颗粒物（DPM）暴露通常通过测量碳形态指标来评估，但这些测量可能会受到有机碳（OC）干扰的影响。此外，关于直接读数仪器（DRI）测量DPM的可靠性仍存在疑问，因为这些仪器并非特异性的，可能会受到其他气溶胶来源的干扰。本研究旨在通过基于滤膜的方法和DRI评估两个地下矿井中的DPM暴露情况，并评估元素碳（EC）测量值与DRI之间的关系，以验证这些仪器与DPM的关联。采用基于滤膜的可吸入可燃粉尘（RCD）、EC和总碳（TC）方法来测量个人和环境中的DPM水平。对于环境测量，使用DRI监测颗粒数浓度（PNC；PTrak）、颗粒质量浓度（DustTrak DRX和DustTrak 8520）以及EC的亚微米级部分（ECAirtec）。通过Spearman相关性评估环境EC与DRI之间的关联。个人样本中RCD、可吸入TC（TC）和可吸入元素EC（EC）的几何平均浓度分别为170μg/m、148μg/m和83μg/m，环境样本中分别为197μg/m、151μg/m和100μg/m。与环境样本相比，个人测量的TCEC比值更高（1.8对1.50），且EC与TC之间的关联较弱。在DRI中，Airtec测量的EC（ρ = 0.86；P < 0.001）和DustTrak 8520测量的可吸入颗粒（ρ = 0.74；P < 0.001）与EC的关联最强，而PNC与EC的关联较弱且无统计学意义。总之，本研究通过使用基于滤膜的方法和DRI测量多个指标，提供了有关地下矿井中DPM浓度的重要信息。在DRI中，Airtec被证明是估算EC浓度的良好工具，尽管DustTrak与EC显示出良好的关联，但在使用该仪器评估DPM时应考虑其他气溶胶来源的干扰。
