Diesel and Silica Monitoring at Two Sites Following Hurricane Sandy

Abstract

Following Hurricane Sandy, which hit New York City and New Jersey in October 2012, industrial hygienists from the Mount Sinai and Belleview/New York University occupational medicine clinics conducted monitoring for diesel exhaust and silica in lower Manhattan and Rockaway Peninsula. Average daytime elemental carbon levels at three stations in lower Manhattan on December 4, 2012, ranged from 9 to18 μg/m3. Sub-micron particle counts at various times on the same day were over 200,000 particles per cubic centimeter on many streets in lower Manhattan. In Rockaway Peninsula on December 12, 2012, all average daytime elemental carbon levels were below a detection limit of approximately 7 μg/m3. The average daytime crystalline silica dust concentration was below detection at two sites on Rockaway Peninsula, and was 0.015 mg/m3 quartz where sand was being replaced on the beach. The daily average levels of elemental carbon and airborne particulates that we measured are in the range of levels that have been found to cause respiratory effects in sensitive subpopulations like asthmatic patients after 2 hr of exposure. Control of exposure to diesel exhaust must be considered following natural disasters where diesel-powered equipment is used in cleanup and recovery. Although peak silica exposures were not likely captured in this study, but were reported by a government agency to have exceeded recommended guidelines for at least one cleanup worker, we recommend further study of silica exposures when debris removal operations or traffic create visible levels of suspended dust from soil or sand.