Trends In Occupational Exposure Research Articles

Wood dust in France. Trends in the population of exposed workers between 1982 and 2017 based on a job-exposure matrix assessment.

Many occupations and industries use wood as a raw material and wood dust is a well-known carcinogen. This study presents trends in occupational exposure to wood dust for all workers (employees and self-employed workers) in France between 1982 and 2017 and focuses on the exposed workers in 2017. Exposures to this carcinogen were assessed using the Matgéné job-exposure matrix. Trends in the prevalence and proportion of exposure over the study period were estimated by linking the matrix with population data from the 1982, 1990, 1999, 2007, and 2017 censuses and are described for selected industry groups. The number of exposed workers to wood dust has decreased significantly over the last 40 years, from 466,900 potentially exposed workers in 1982 to 305,000 workers in 2017. The proportion of exposed workers has also decreased over time, although not uniformly across industries. Increases in the proportion of exposed workers are observed in certain industries, such as "Sawmilling and logging" (from 61.2% to 73.6% over the period for men) and "Finishing of sale premises" (from 3.3% to 6.2% for women). This article is the first to describe occupational exposure to wood dust in France for all workers and to follow its evolution over the last 40 years. Occupations and industries still at risk in 2017 are also described with the aim of helping to improve prevention policies.

Time trends in occupational exposure to chemicals in Sweden: proportion exposed, distribution across demographic and labor market strata, and exposure levels.

This study investigated time trends in occupational exposure to various chemicals in Sweden and the distribution across demographic and labor market sectors. Exposure to six chemicals was investigated from 1980 to 2013 by application of a job exposure matrix to national population registers. Respirable crystalline silica (RCS), diesel engine exhaust, welding fumes, wood dust, chlorinated hydrocarbon solvents, and lead were selected to represent different groups of chemicals. Trends in exposure prevalence were investigated by linear regression and compared to the occupationally active population. Confidence intervals for the rate of change over time were obtained by bootstrapping. The proportion of workers born outside the Nordic countries increased over time in those exposed to RCS, diesel exhaust and wood dust. There was a shift of exposed jobs to small companies (<50 employees), especially for RCS, welding fumes, wood dust, and chlorinated hydrocarbon solvents. For RCS and welding fumes, there was a marked drop in exposure levels from 1980 to 1990 but small changes thereafter. Exposure to lead diminished, both in terms of prevalence and intensity. Over time, several exposures tended to shift to small companies, the construction sector, and migrant workers, all factors being indicative of less well-controlled working conditions. Occupational exposure to chlorinated organic solvents and lead diminished, while exposure levels to RCS and welding fumes have changed little since 1990. In view of the serious and well-established negative health effects, increased efforts to reduce exposure to RCS and welding fumes are needed.

Magnitude and profile of occupational exposures to blood and body fluids among health-care workers: A study from a tertiary care teaching hospital

Background: Health-care workers (HCWs) are always at risk of occupational exposures (OEs) to bloodborne pathogens which mostly occur through needlestick injuries (NSIs). Knowledge about the magnitude and profile of such incidents in a hospital can help to plan effective intervention strategies to reduce such mishaps. Objectives: This study was carried out to find out the magnitude and trends in OE that had occurred in the past 2 years to the HCWs of our hospital which is an 1800 bedded centre to plan effective strategies for the prevention of such incidents. Materials and Methods: An observational study was carried out by collecting data on OEs among our HCWs in the past 2 years from the OE register maintained by the Hospital Infection Control Committee. The circumstances at which these incidents occurred also were analysed. Results: A total of 172 incidents were reported of which 161 (93.6%) were NSIs and 11 (6.4%) splashes. Nurses sustained highest number (38.95%) of NSIs, and maximum incidents occurred in the medical wards (34.9%) and the morning shift (51.3%). Majority (43.6%) occurred during recapping of needles. Discussion and Conclusion: NSIs occur in all categories of HCWs. A multilevel approach that includes regular awareness programmes that can bring about changes in attitude, strict waste management policies and innovative needles and syringes can reduce such incidents.

Occupational Exposure to Ionizing Radiation in Interventional Cardiology Practices in Bangladesh during 2010-2014

Objective: The objective of this study is to assess, analyze and discuss the occupational exposure to ionizing radiation in interventional cardiology practices in Bangladesh for the last 5-year periods.&#x0D; Method: Each year, about 100 workers working in interventional cardiology departments of big hospitals in Dhaka City were monitored using Harshaw Thermoluminescent Dosimeters (TLDs) for quarterly basis. The effective dose of the occupational workers were measured using Two Harshaw TLD Readers (one is manual TLD reader, model-4500, and another is automatic TLD reader, model 6600 plus).&#x0D; Finding: The average annual effective dose (about 80 % workers) in interventional cardiology practices were &lt;2mSv in 2010-2014 and no monitored workers were found to have received an occupational exposure &gt;50 mSv in a single year or &gt;100 mSv in a 5 year period. The status and trends in occupational exposure demonstrate that radiation protection conditions at the majority of the workplace were adequate. Despite that, further optimization is necessary due to large variations observed in the maximum individual doses over the 5-year periods.&#x0D;

Should We Take Major Macro-Economic and Political Developments into Account When Assessing Long-Term Occupational Exposures for Epidemiological Research?

BACKGROUND Recent analyses of long-term trends in respirable dust and quartz concentrations from the long term monitoring program of the European Industrial Minerals Association (IMA- Europe) Dust Monitoring Program (covering the years 2000-2013) showed striking downward temporal trends in exposure which came to a halt at around the year 2009. At sites with less than 50 employees in the most affected Southern European countries temporal trends even reversed. Careful analyses and discussion with occupational health and safety representatives pointed at a direct detrimental effect of the current economic crisis on measured concentrations. This observation led us to hypothesize that similar disruptions of downward temporal trends in occupational exposures might also be visible in other large databases with longitudinal exposure measurements. METHODS Temporal time trends were estimated in two additional databases (ExpoSYN and URALASBEST) each covering more than 50 years of occupational exposure monitoring. More flexible spline analyses rather than standard log linear (multiplicative) models were used to look for reversed trends. RESULTS In all three databases macro-economic and political developments seemed to influence downward trends in occupational exposure concentrations. Effects of economic crises like those of the early 1980s, early 1990s and the most recent one as well as the period of political and economic reform in Russia were clearly visible as reduced downward or even reversed temporal trends in occupational exposure concentrations. CONCLUSIONS In exposure assessment for occupational epidemiological studies long term exposures are often modelled as log linear trends. Approaches allowing for disruptions of these trends by macro-economic and/or political developments are needed for more accurate and precise estimations of long-term exposure and will result in more reliable quantitative risk estimates.

0379 Should we take major macro-economic and political developments into account when assessing long-term occupational exposures for epidemiological research?

ObjectivesRecent analyses of long-term trends in respirable dust and quartz concentrations from the long term monitoring program of the European Industrial Minerals Association (IMA-Europe) Dust Monitoring Program (covering the years...

331 A dynamic population-based model for the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

ObjectivesWe present a mathematical model for the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), incorporating population dynamics, trends in smoking, and occupational exposure to respirable dust, fumes and gases. The...

Occupational radiation exposure in Tanzania (1996-2010): status and trends

Data on occupational radiation exposure using the thermoluminescence dosimetry methodology in Tanzania for the years 1996-2010 are analysed and discussed. The results of the analysis indicate that over 80 % of the total collective dose was from diagnostic radiology. In addition, <1 % of workers received annual individual doses above 5 mSv, and there were no doses that exceeded the recommended limit of 20 mSv y(-1), except for one incidence in non-destructive testing. Furthermore, the trends in occupational exposure remained approximately constant and largely within the ranges of average doses in the literature. The status and trends in occupational exposure demonstrate that radiation protection conditions at the majority of workplace were adequate. Despite that, further optimisation is necessary due to large variations observed in the maximum individual doses over three 5-y sub-periods.

An analysis to study trends in occupational exposure to antineoplastic drugs among health care workers

The use of antineoplastic agents for the treatment of cancer and other non-neoplastic diseases is an increasingly common practice in hospitals. As a result, workers involved with handling antineoplastic drugs may be accidentally exposed to these agents, placing them at potential risk for long term adverse effects. To date, the challenge of protecting workers’ health is persisting and expanding, with an increasing number of publications demonstrating that contamination of antineoplastic drugs (ADs) is still present on work surfaces after cleaning procedures are concluded. In this paper, five workplaces were selected for surveillance of professional exposure to ADs. Hospital pharmacies involved in the study were set in the North (Units A1 and B2), Center (Units C3 and D4) and South (Unit E5) of Italy. Contamination levels on a number of work surfaces and trends over a 10-year period are presented. Environmental and biological levels were obtained by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). A strong reduction of surface contamination was evidenced since 2003, when the recommended procedures for the safe handling of antineoplastic drugs started to be followed by health care workers. Employers’ adherence to these recommendations allowed risk characterisation to achieve other important goals. The percentage of positive urine samples was found to be around 30% in the 1990s and 2% in the 2000s. Moreover, no positive samples were detected in 2006 or 2007. In conclusion, our study emphasized that one helpful strategy to reduce risk to all potentially exposed workers is also provided by a data-storage system that allows potential risks of working to be rapidly identified and controlled.

Trends in Occupational Exposure to Styrene in the European Glass Fibre-Reinforced Plastics Industry

Aim: This study presents temporal trends of styrene exposure for workers in the European glass fibre-reinforced plastics (GRP) industry during the period 1966–2002.Methods: Data of personal styrene exposure measurements were retrieved from reports, databases and peer-reviewed papers. Only sources with descriptive statistics of personal measurements were accepted. The styrene exposure data cover personal air samples and biological monitoring data, that is, urinary styrene metabolites (mandelic acid and/or phenylglyoxylic acid) and styrene in blood. Means of series of measurements were categorized by year, country, production process, job and sampling strategy. Linear mixed models were used to identify temporal trends and factors affecting exposure levels.Results: Personal exposure measurements were available from 60 reports providing data on 24145 1–8-h time-weighted average shift personal air samples. Available data of biological exposure indicators included measurements of mandelic acid in post-shift urine (6361 urine samples being analysed). Trend analyses of the available styrene exposure data showed that the average styrene concentration in the breathing zone of open-mould workers in the European GRP industry has decreased on average by 5.3% per year during the period 1966–1990 and by only 0.4% annually in the period after 1990. The highest exposures were measured in Southern Europe and the lowest exposures in Northern Europe with Central Europe in between. Biological indicators of styrene (mandelic acid in post-shift urine) showed a somewhat steeper decline (8.9%), most likely because urine samples were collected in companies that showed a stronger decrease of styrene exposure in air than GRP companies where no biological measurements were carried out.

Linking Expert Judgement and Trends in Occupational Exposure into a Job-Exposure Matrix for Historical Exposure to Asbestos in The Netherlands

The aim of this article was to describe the structure and content of a job-exposure matrix (JEM) for historical asbestos exposure in The Netherlands. The JEM contained 309 occupational job title groups in 70 branches of industry during 10 periods of 5 years during 1945-1994, resulting in 3090 evaluations. Dutch sources on asbestos exposure measurements provided quantitative guidance for 69 evaluations (2.2%) in 25 occupational title groups. In addition, three databases from the UK Health and Safety Executive contributed to 222 evaluations (7.2%) and several other sources aided in another 133 evaluations (4.3%). These evaluations resulted in seven categories of exposure levels for all 3090 combinations of occupational title groups and periods. A verification process with five experts was used to adjust the assignments of exposure categories. The trends in exposure patterns over time were described in relation to production activities, operational control measures and the presence of dust control measures. For the majority of asbestos-related diseases in the past decades, reliable information on their historical exposure patterns was lacking. The limited availability of exposure measurements in the past illustrates the need for a structured assessment of historical asbestos exposure through a JEM.

Trends in Inhalation Exposure—A Review of the Data in the Published Scientific Literature

As part of a larger study aimed at identifying the long-term changes in inhalation exposure for selected hazardous substances in a number of industrial sectors within the UK, we have reviewed the published literature on temporal changes in inhalation exposure. Scientific papers and reports of interest were identified using standard literature review techniques. Most studies did not express the results as relative annual trends in exposure, and so where possible the data were reanalysed using regression methods to produce estimates of the average annual percentage change in concentration. In the majority of instances, there were significant reductions in exposure, with percentage yearly declines up to 32%. In many studies, information about changes in the working environment, process conditions or other factors that may have influenced the change in exposure over time was lacking. Factors commonly cited as being responsible for exposure reductions included the introduction of new standards and response to regulatory requirements as well as changes in production methods. A large number of exposure measurement datasets exist for many industrial sectors for most of the second half of the 20th century and this resource has allowed us to identify trends in occupational exposure. It is most important that longitudinal exposure data continue to be collected along with relevant contextual information to enable future changes to be adequately assessed.

A Pooled Analysis to Study Trends in Exposure to Antineoplastic Drugs Among Nurses

Several studies have shown that exposure to antineoplastic drugs can cause toxic effects on reproductive health as well as carcinogenic effects. Numerous studies have corroborated that hospital workers are exposed to these drugs. This study focused on trends in exposure to antineoplastic drugs since the introduction of guidelines in The Netherlands. Data from three cross-sectional exposure surveys conducted in The Netherlands were pooled to examine trends in occupational exposure to cyclophosphamide. Nurses' 24 h urine samples were analyzed in separate fractions, surface contamination was determined and gloves used during preparation or while handling patient urine were collected. The difference in detectable urine samples between 1997 and 2000 was determined by a generalized estimating equations (GEE) binomial regression model. Mixed models were used to study the time trend in surface and glove contamination levels. The percentage of nurses' urine samples with detectable cyclophosphamide had decreased 4-fold between 1997 and 2000. Median cyclophosphamide levels in the positive urine samples were 3-fold lower in 2000 than in 1997. Surface and glove contamination had statistically significantly decreased between 1997 and more recent years. Nurses working at outpatient clinics or oncology wards are still being exposed to cyclophosphamide, but their exposure decreased considerably between 1997 and 2000, presumably due to the introduction of detailed guidelines and regulations in The Netherlands, the subsequent increased use of LuerLock connections and infusion systems prefilled with saline, and growing hazard awareness of nurses working with antineoplastic drugs.

Long-term Trends in Occupational Exposure

Long-term Trends in Occupational Exposure

Long-term trends in occupational exposure: Are they real? What causes them? What shall we do with them?

The Beatles already knew it in 1967 when they sang‘‘It’s getting better all the time’’. Scientific evidencethat this holds true for occupational exposures hasonly been obtained very recently (Symanski et al.,1998a,b). Circumstantial evidence has been aroundfor much longer. Just a chat with an experiencedworker or a glance at old workplace photographsconveys the same notion.Symanski et al. reviewed the literature for longi-tudinally collected sets of data that allowed them toquantify long-term trends in exposure to chemicalagents. On the basis of 696 data sets published overa 30-year period (1967–1996), they observed a me-dian annual trend of y6% with an inter-quartilerange of y1% to y11%. Such a trend results ap-proximately in a halving of airborne concentrationsevery decade. Obtaining a clear insight in the under-lying dynamics was hampered by lack of infor-mation on measurement strategies, monitoring andanalytical methods. So, were the observed trendsreal or an artefact of changes in study methods?In the current volume of this journal three papershave been published describing long-term trends inoccupational exposures across three industriesbased on large sets of exposure data from the pav-ing, the carbon-black and the rubber manufacturingindustries (Burstyn et al., 2000; van Tongeren et al.,2000, Vermeulen et al., 2000). Two of these studieswere based on data collected in a similar fashionover a period of almost a decade (van Tongeren etal., 2000, Vermeulen et al., 2000). The third studywas based on a database that comprised individualmeasurement data from surveys in severalEuropean countries collected over more than twodecades (Burstyn et al., 2000). Remarkably, allthree studies present downward long-term trendsthat fall almost entirely within the inter-quartilerange described by Symanski and co-workers(1998b) (paving: y6% for bitumen fume, y14% forbitumen vapour and y11% for PAH; carbon-black:y7% to y13% for inhalable dust and y6% toy10% for respirable dust; rubber manufacturing:y6% for inhalable particulate and y7% for dermalexposure). Another recent study of trends in ex-posure to wood dust in the USA describes a similarannual reduction of 7% over the 1979–1997 period(Teschke et al., 1999).The paper by Vermeulen et al. in this issue isvery unusual. Not only the companies, measure-ment strategy and sampling and analytical methodsremained unchanged over time, but also detailed in-formation was collected on the evolution of theproduction process and control measures during thenine year period. Using this information, theauthors were able to explain more than 80% of thehistoric decline in mean inhalable particulate con-centration. For dermal exposure, only 30% of thedecline was explained by these factors. Eliminationof a source was proven to be the most e•ective con-trol measure for both inhalation and dermal ex-posures, reducing them 67% and 66%, respectively.Engineering measures to control exposure weresomewhat less e•ective, but were still associatedwith statistically significant exposure reductions of34% and 49%, respectively. Surprisingly, measuresaimed at reduction of emission did not appear tocontribute in general to a decrease in exposurelevels. Measures classified under this headingresulted both in decreased and increased exposure.Thus, it seems that the postulated long-term

Comprehensive evaluation of long-term trends in occupational exposure: Part 2. Predictive models for declining exposures.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the effects of various factors related to the industry, the contaminant, and the period and type of sampling on long term declining trends in occupational exposure. METHODS:...

Comprehensive evaluation of long-term trends in occupational exposure: Part 1. Description of the database.

OBJECTIVES: To conduct a comprehensive evaluation of long term changes in occupational exposure among a broad cross section of industries worldwide. METHODS: A review of the scientific literature identified studies...

Comprehensive evaluation of long-term trends in occupational exposure: Part 2. Predictive models for declining exposures

Comprehensive evaluation of long-term trends in occupational exposure: Part 2. Predictive models for declining exposures