Air Pollutants, Occupational ; toxicity ; Humans ; Occupational Exposure ; adverse effects ; Welding

Adult ; Air Pollutants ; adverse effects ; Humans ; Male ; Military Medicine ; Monitoring, Physiologic ; Noise, Occupational ; adverse effects

Air Pollutants, Occupational ; adverse effects ; Dust ; Humans ; Lung ; drug effects ; physiopathology ; Welding

Air Pollutants, Occupational ; analysis ; Coke ; Fatty Liver ; epidemiology ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Occupational Exposure ; adverse effects ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVETo study albumin adduct with naphthalene metabolites, namely 1,2-naphthoquinone (1,2-NPQ) and 1,4-naphthoquinone (1,4-NPQ), as a potential biomarker for intermediate/long-term exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in coke oven workers.

METHODSTwenty-eight coke oven workers and 22 control workers were recruited from a cokery. Spot urine and venous blood samples were collected from the workers after four continuously working days and personal information was obtained by questionnaire. Plasma albumin adduct was detected with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

RESULTSAlbumin adduct with 1,2- & 1,4-NPQ (1,2-NPQ and 1,4-NPQ), respectively, were detected in all coke oven workers and controls. Median plasma level of 1,2-NPQ-Alb in coke oven workers was significantly higher than that in controls (76.6 pmol/g vs. 44.9 pmol/g, P < 0.01). However, there was no significant difference in plasma median level of 1,4-NPQ-Alb between the two groups (48.6 pmol/g vs. 44.2 pmol/g, P > 0.05). Plasma level of 1,2-NPQ-Alb was significantly higher than that of 1,4-NPQ-Alb in coke oven workers. Urine levels of naphthalene, 1-naphthol, 2-naphthol and 1-pyrenol in coke oven workers correlated significantly with their plasma level of 1,2-NPQ-Alb (Pearson coefficient of correlation greater than 0.371, P < 0.01), but did not do significantly with 1,4-NPQ-Alb.

CONCLUSIONPlasma level of 1,2-NPQ-Alb could effectively reflect their magnitude of personal internal dose of exposure to air PAH, so it could be used as a potential biomarker to evaluate their intermediate/long-term exposure to PAH in coke oven workers.

Air Pollutants, Occupational ; adverse effects ; Albumins ; Biomarkers ; blood ; Coke ; DNA Adducts ; Humans ; Male ; Naphthalenes ; metabolism ; Naphthoquinones ; blood ; Occupational Exposure

Objective: This study was designed to conduct a retrospective and systematic occupational health risk assessment (OHRA) of enterprises that used benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX) in Shanghai, China. Methods: All data for the study were obtained from 1,705 occupational health examination and evaluation reports from 2013 to 2017, and a semiquantitative model following Chinese OHRA guidelines (GBZ/T 298-2017) was applied for the assessment. Results: The selected enterprises using BTX were mainly involved in manufacturing of products. Using the exposure level method, health risk levels associated with exposure to BTX were classified as medium, negligible, or low. However, the risk levels associated with benzene and toluene were significantly different according to job types, with gluers and inkers exhibiting greater health risks. For the same job type, the health risk levels assessed using the comprehensive index method were higher than those using the exposure level method. Conclusion Our OHRA reveals that workers who are exposed to BTX still face excessive health risk. Additionally, the risk level varied depending on job categories and exposure to specific chemicals. Therefore, additional control measures recommended by OHRA guidelines are essential to reduce worker exposure levels.
Air Pollutants, Occupational/analysis* ; Benzene/analysis* ; China ; Humans ; Occupational Exposure/adverse effects* ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Assessment ; Toluene/analysis* ; Xylenes/analysis*

Air Pollutants, Occupational ; adverse effects ; analysis ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Dust ; analysis ; Humans ; Occupational Exposure ; adverse effects ; analysis ; Silicon ; adverse effects ; analysis ; Silicosis ; epidemiology ; United States ; epidemiology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the possible effects of long-term exposure to dust containing thorium and thoron progeny on dust-exposed miners.

METHODSA negative, high voltage, exhaled thoron progeny measurement system was used to estimate the miners' thorium lung burden.

RESULTSThe highest thorium lung burden of 638 miners was 11.11 Bq. The incidence of stage 0(+) pneumoconiosis was higher among dust-exposed miners. Lung cancer mortality of the dust-exposed miners was significantly higher than that of controls (P < 0.005).

CONCLUSIONThere is a difference in cancer rates between those who have long-term exposure to dust containing thorium (in which carcinogenic ThO(2) and SiO(2) exist) and thoron progeny and those who have not.

Air Pollutants, Radioactive ; adverse effects ; Body Burden ; China ; epidemiology ; Dust ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; epidemiology ; Mining ; Occupational Diseases ; epidemiology ; Occupational Exposure ; adverse effects ; Thorium ; adverse effects

Adult ; Air Pollutants, Occupational ; adverse effects ; Health Status ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Exposure ; adverse effects ; Toluene 2,4-Diisocyanate ; adverse effects ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of combined occupational exposure of chromium and iron on erythrocyte metabolism, and the possible mechanism.

METHODSA total of 115 chromate production workers were selected in a chemical factory of Jinan as exposure group, Dec, 2008, and 60 healthy residents from a community which was far away from the factory were enrolled as control group. Environmental concentrations of chromium and iron were collected by filter membrane sampling and determined. The peripheral blood of subjects were collected for determination of chromium, iron, copper in whole blood and folate, vitamin B₁₂ in serum, mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and correlation analysis was conducted.

RESULTSThe median (quartile interval) concentration of air-chromium and air-iron in workplace were 9.0 (10.5) and 11.2 (10.1) µg/m³, respectively, which were significantly higher than that of the control (0.1 (0.1) and 7.2 (2.5) µg/m³) (all P values < 0.01). Blood-chromium and blood-iron of the exposed group were 15.5 (14.1) µg/L and (895.1 ± 90.2) mg/L, which were significantly higher than the counterpart of the control (3.6(2.0) µg/L, (563.7 ± 49.3) mg/L) (all P values < 0.01). Serum folate ((6.9 ± 2.5) µg/L), serum vitamin B₁₂ ((396.4 ± 177.0) µg/L) and blood copper ((777.6 ± 103.5) µg/L) of the exposed group were all significantly lower comparing to the control group ((558.0 ± 330.8), (8.1 ± 3.8), (812.1 ± 94.6) µg/L) (all P values < 0.05). The relationships between blood chromium and serum folate, serum vitamin B₁₂ were statistical significant (r = -0.319 and -0.293, P < 0.01). Both serum vitamin B₁₂ and blood copper correlated with mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) (r = -0.223, -0.242, -0.261, -0.292, all P values < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONCombined chromium and iron exposure existed in the workplace. Adverse effect of Chromium on human erythrocyte may via folate and vitamin B₁₂ metabolism, while iron may via copper metabolism.

Air Pollutants, Occupational ; Chromates ; adverse effects ; Chromium ; adverse effects ; Copper ; blood ; Erythrocytes ; metabolism ; Folic Acid ; blood ; Humans ; Iron ; adverse effects ; Occupational Exposure ; analysis ; Vitamin B 12 ; blood