Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Occupational and Environmental Medicine, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Ann Work Expo Health. 2022 Jan 7;66(1):14-26. doi: 10.1093/annweh/wxab063.
Paper dust has previously been linked to adverse health effects. However, a comprehensive dataset of paper dust exposures does not appear to have been published previously. Our study was intended to address this need by describing a large dataset of measurements made in Swedish soft tissue paper mills.
We compiled personal and area total dust exposure measurements collected from a range of operations by our research staff at four soft tissue paper mills in Sweden. We also compiled measurements made by the occupational health staff at each mill and the Swedish Work Environment Authority. We analyzed these measurements to describe patterns and trends in exposures and used mixed-effects regression models to identify measurement characteristics that predicted exposure levels.
We compiled 1578 measurements from 1971 to 2009, of which 1026 (65%) were personal samples. Statistically significant differences were found between measurements made by research, mill, and Swedish Work Environment Authority staff, as well as between personal and area measurements. The measurement data suggest that, beginning in the 1980s, exposures declined at three of the four mills, but that overexposures were still common at the end of the period. Papermaking and converting operations had the highest observed dust exposures. One mill had significantly lower exposures than the others. Type of measurement (personal versus area) and source of measurement (research staff, company, or regulatory agency) were not significant predictors of measured total dust exposure after controlling for mill, operation, and time.
Our analysis of measured paper dust exposures may be useful for historical and contemporary exposure assessment in our own and other epidemiological studies. We have identified specific characteristics (i.e. papermaking operations and mill) and time trends that are important data features to consider, and documented continuing overexposure situations. Our results highlight the ongoing need for application of exposure controls to reduce paper dust exposures in the soft tissue paper industry.
此前已有文献表明纸尘会对健康产生不良影响。然而，目前似乎尚未公布过涵盖面广泛的纸尘暴露数据。本研究旨在填补这一空白，对瑞典软质纸巾厂进行了大量的粉尘暴露测量。
我们整理了由研究人员在瑞典四家软质纸巾厂的多项作业中收集的个人和区域总粉尘暴露测量值，还整理了各工厂职业健康人员和瑞典工作环境管理局的测量值。我们分析了这些测量值，以描述暴露的模式和趋势，并使用混合效应回归模型确定了可预测暴露水平的测量特征。
我们从 1971 年至 2009 年共收集了 1578 份测量值，其中 1026 份（65%）为个人样本。研究人员、工厂和瑞典工作环境管理局人员的测量值、个人样本和区域样本之间均存在统计学显著差异。测量数据表明，在四个工厂中，有三个工厂的暴露情况从 20 世纪 80 年代开始下降，但在研究末期仍普遍存在过度暴露的情况。造纸和纸制品加工操作的粉尘暴露最高。有一个工厂的暴露水平明显低于其他工厂。在控制了工厂、操作和时间等因素后，测量类型（个人样本与区域样本）和测量来源（研究人员、公司或监管机构）并不是总粉尘暴露的显著预测因素。
我们对测量的纸尘暴露进行的分析可能有助于评估我们自身和其他流行病学研究中的历史和当代暴露情况。我们已经确定了一些重要的数据特征，包括特定的操作（如造纸操作和工厂）和时间趋势，并记录了持续的过度暴露情况。我们的研究结果强调了在软质纸巾行业中持续应用暴露控制措施以减少纸尘暴露的必要性。
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