Center for Primary Care and Public Health (unisanté), University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
Center for Primary Care and Public Health (unisanté), University of Lausanne, Switzerland; Institute of Public Health, Suranaree University of Technology, Thailand.
Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2020 Apr;225:113472. doi: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2020.113472. Epub 2020 Feb 5.
Carbon nanotubes (CNT) trigger fascination as well as anxiety, given their unique physical and chemical properties, and continuing concerns around their possible health effects. CNT exposure assessment is an integral component of occupational and environmental epidemiology, risk assessment, and management. We conducted a systematic review to analyze the quality of CNT occupational exposure assessments in field studies and to assess the relevance of available quantitative data from occupational hygiene and epidemiological perspectives. PubMed and Scopus databases were searched for the period 2000-2018. To grade the quality of each study, we used a standardized grid of seven criteria. The first criterion addressed 12 items deemed most relevant CNT physical-chemical properties with respect to their in vitro and in vivo toxicity. We included 27 studies from 11 countries in the review and graded them high (n = 2), moderate (n = 15) and low quality (n = 10). Half of the studies measured elemental carbon mass concentration (EC) using different methods and aerosol fractions. In 85% of studies, the observed values exceed the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Recommended Exposure Limit. The quantification of CNT agglomerates and/or CNT contained fibers becomes increasingly common although lacking methodological standardization. Work activities with the greatest mean CNT mass concentrations were non-enclosed and included sieving, harvesting, packaging, reactor cleaning, extrusion and pelletizing. Some of the large studies defined standardized job titles according to exposure estimates at corresponding workstations and classified them by decreasing CNT exposure level: technicians > engineers > chemists. The already initiated harmonization of CNT exposure assessment and result reporting need to continue to favor not only studies in the field, but also to identify companies and workers using CNTs to characterize their exposures as well as monitor their health. This will enable an objective and realistic evaluation of risks associated with CNT applications and an appropriate risk management.
碳纳米管（CNT）因其独特的物理和化学性质，以及对其潜在健康影响的持续关注，引起了人们的极大关注和担忧。CNT 暴露评估是职业和环境流行病学、风险评估和管理的一个组成部分。我们进行了一项系统评价，以分析现场研究中 CNT 职业暴露评估的质量，并从职业卫生和流行病学角度评估现有定量数据的相关性。我们在 PubMed 和 Scopus 数据库中搜索了 2000 年至 2018 年期间的文献。为了对每项研究的质量进行评分，我们使用了一个标准化的 7 项标准网格。第一项标准针对的是与 CNT 体外和体内毒性最相关的 12 项物理化学性质。我们从 11 个国家的 27 项研究中进行了综述，并将其评为高质量（n=2）、中等质量（n=15）和低质量（n=10）。一半的研究使用不同的方法和气溶胶分数测量元素碳质量浓度（EC）。在 85%的研究中，观察到的数值超过了美国国家职业安全与健康研究所推荐的暴露限值。尽管缺乏方法标准化，但 CNT 团聚体和/或 CNT 所含纤维的定量分析越来越常见。平均 CNT 质量浓度最高的工作活动是非封闭的，包括筛选、收割、包装、反应器清洗、挤压和造粒。一些大型研究根据相应工作场所的暴露估计值定义了标准化的职称，并根据 CNT 暴露水平的降低进行分类：技术员>工程师>化学家。已经开始的 CNT 暴露评估和结果报告的协调需要继续进行，不仅要有利于现场研究，还要识别使用 CNT 的公司和工人，以对其暴露进行特征描述，并监测其健康状况。这将使人们能够客观和现实地评估与 CNT 应用相关的风险，并进行适当的风险管理。
