Occupational Exposure during Asphalt Paving-Comparison of Hot and Warm Mix Asphalt in Field Experiments.

Objectives: Several studies have demonstrated an increased risk of adverse health effects, including reduced lung function and lung cancer among asphalt pavers, which has been related to occupational exposure to contaminants during asphalt paving. Consequently, occupational exposure among asphalt pavers must be reduced. The aim of this study was to compare the impact of hot mix asphalt (HMA) and warm mix asphalt (WMA) paving on occupational exposure levels during road paving in field experiments.

Correction: Comparison of air samplers for determination of isocyanic acid and applicability for work environment exposure assessment.

Correction for 'Comparison of air samplers for determination of isocyanic acid and applicability for work environment exposure assessment' by Mikolaj Jan Jankowski et al., Environ. Sci.

Correction: The stability and generation pattern of thermally formed isocyanic acid (ICA) in air - potential and limitations of proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) for real-time workroom atmosphere measurements.

Correction for 'The stability and generation pattern of thermally formed isocyanic acid (ICA) in air - potential and limitations of proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) for real-time workroom atmosphere measurements' by Mikolaj Jan Jankowski et al., Environ. Sci.

Correction: The applicability of proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) for determination of isocyanic acid (ICA) in work room atmospheres.

Correction for 'The applicability of proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) for determination of isocyanic acid (ICA) in work room atmospheres' by Mikolaj Jan Jankowski et al., Environ. Sci.

Comparison of air samplers for determination of isocyanic acid and applicability for work environment exposure assessment.

Isocyanic acid (ICA) is one of the most abundant isocyanates formed during thermal decomposition of polyurethane (PUR), and other nitrogen containing polymers. Hot-work, such as flame cutting, forging, grinding, turning and welding may give rise to thermal decomposition of said polymers potentially forming significant amounts of ICA. A newly launched dry denuder sampler for airborne isocyanates using di-n-butylamine (DBA) demonstrated build-up of background ICA-DBA over time.

The stability and generation pattern of thermally formed isocyanic acid (ICA) in air - potential and limitations of proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) for real-time workroom atmosphere measurements.

Isocyanic acid (ICA) in vapour phase has been reported to be of unstable nature, making the occupational hygienic relevance of ICA questionable. The stability of pure ICA in clean air at different humidity conditions was investigated by Fourier transform-infrared spectrometric (FT-IR) measurements. Furthermore, the stability of ICA in a complex atmosphere representative thermal degradation hot-work procedures were examined by performing parallel measurements by proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometric (PTR-MS) instrumentation and off-line denuder air sampling using di-n-butylamine (as a derivatization agent prior to liquid chromatography mass spectrometric (LC-MS) determination).

Pulmonary function and serum pneumoproteins in professional ski waxers.

Context: Professional ski waxers are exposed to particulate matter (PM) during work, but little is known about untoward pulmonary effects.

Objectives: The aim was to study lung function and pneumoproteins in professional ski waxers before and during exposure to PM generated during ski waxing and ski preparation.

Material And Methods: Forty-five male professional ski waxers examined on an exposure-free day in the morning and at least 6 h later were re-examined during ski waxing 2 d later in a cross-shift study.

The applicability of proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) for determination of isocyanic acid (ICA) in work room atmospheres.

A method is presented for the real-time quantitative determination of isocyanic acid (ICA) in air using proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry (PTR-MS). Quantum mechanical calculations were performed to establish the ion-polar molecule reaction rate of ICA and other isocyanates. The PTR-MS was calibrated against different ICA air concentrations and humidity conditions using Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) as quantitative reference.

Chemical exposure among professional ski waxers--characterization of individual work operations.

Background: Preparation of skis prior to skiing competitions involves several individual work operations and the use of a wide variety of chemically based ski waxing products to improve the performance of the skis, including products used after skiing for wax removal and ski sole cleaning. Modern ski waxes consist mainly of petroleum-derived straight-chain aliphatic hydrocarbons, perfluoro-n-alkanes or polyfluorinated n-alkanes. The wax cleaning products contain solvents such as neat aliphatic hydrocarbons (aliphates) or a mixture with limonene.

Compact semi-automatic incident sampler for personal monitoring of volatile organic compounds in occupational air.

Suddenly occurring and time limited chemical exposures caused by unintended incidents might pose a threat to many workers at various work sites. Monitoring of exposure during such occasional incidents is challenging. In this study a compact, low-weight and personal semi-automatic pumped unit for sampling of organic vapor phase compounds from occupational air during sporadic and suddenly occurring incidents has been developed, providing simple activation by the worker potentially subjected to the sudden occurring exposures when a trained occupational hygienist is not available.

Organophosphates in aircraft cabin and cockpit air--method development and measurements of contaminants.

Methods for measurements and the potential for occupational exposure to organophosphates (OPs) originating from turbine and hydraulic oils among flying personnel in the aviation industry are described. Different sampling methods were applied, including active within-day methods for OPs and VOCs, newly developed passive long-term sample methods (deposition of OPs to wipe surface areas and to activated charcoal cloths), and measurements of OPs in high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) recirculation filters (n = 6). In total, 95 and 72 within-day OP and VOC samples, respectively, have been collected during 47 flights in six different models of turbine jet engine, propeller and helicopter aircrafts (n = 40).

Occupational exposure to airborne perfluorinated compounds during professional ski waxing.

The concentration levels of 11 perfluorinated carboxylic (PFCA) and eight sulfonic (PFSA) acids were determined in the serum of 13 professional ski waxers. The same components were also determined in workroom aerosols and in fluoro containing solid ski waxes and ski wax powders. The highest median concentration (50 ng/mL) was detected for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which is around 25 times higher than the background level.

Sensitive determination of a glyoxal-DNA adduct biomarker candidate by column switching capillary liquid chromatography electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

A method based on column switching packed capillary liquid chromatography electrospray mass spectrometry has been developed for the determination of the adduct glyoxal-deoxyguanosine, a biomarker candidate for the assessment of glyoxal exposure, in DNA hydrolysate solutions. Microgram amounts of DNA were isolated and enzymatically hydrolyzed to deoxyribonucleosides, prior to ultrafiltration and subsequent dilution to a sample solution consisting of water-acetonitrile-formic acid (98 : 2 : 0.2, v/v).

Occupational exposure to hexabromocyclododecane at an industrial plant.

Occupational exposure to hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) among workers at an industrial plant producing expandable polystyrene (PS) added HBCD as flame retardant has been assessed in the present study. Airborne dust samples were collected near the breathing zone of 10 male workers during three 8-h work shifts. The HBCD concentrations in the airborne dust varied from 0.

Determination of the dialdehyde glyoxal in workroom air-development of personal sampling methodology.

The dialdehyde glyoxal (ethanedial) is an increasingly used industrial chemical with potential occupational health risks. This study describes the development of a personal sampling methodology for the determination of glyoxal in workroom air. Among the compounds evaluated as derivatizing agents; N-methyl-4-hydrazino-7-nitrobenzofurazan (MNBDH), 1,2-phenylenediamine (OPDA), 1-dimethylaminonaphthalene-5-sulfonylhydrazine (dansylhydrazine, DNSH) and 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH), DNPH was the only reagent that was suitable.

Characterization of adducts formed in the reaction of glutaraldehyde with 2'-deoxyadenosine.

Glutaraldehyde (1,5-pentanedial) is a widely used industrial chemical that has been found to be mutagenic in bacteria and mammalian cells. In this study, we examined the reaction of glutaraldehyde with 2'-deoxyadenosine and calf thymus DNA in aqueous buffered solutions. The 2'-deoxyadenosine adducts were isolated by reversed phase HPLC and characterized by their UV absorbance and 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopic and mass spectrometric features.

On-line SPE-Nano-LC-Nanospray-MS for rapid and sensitive determination of perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonate in river water.

An instrumental set up including on-line solid-phase extraction, nano-liquid chromatography, and nanospray mass spectrometry is constructed to improve the sensitivity for quantitation of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in surface water. Sample volumes of 1000 microL are loaded onto a microbore 1.0-mm i.

Occupational exposure to airborne solvents during nail sculpturing.

This study describes occupational exposure to acrylates and other solvents during nail sculpturing, including comparative measurements of the exposure using four different sculpturing methods: The acrylic method, the UV-gel method, the acrylic powder method and the resin method. Thirty-two nail technicians working in 22 different salons participated in the study. In total, 92 measurements were performed, comprising 70 solvent measurements and 22 measurements of ethyl 2-cyanoacrylate.

Hand tremor related to smoking habits and the consumption of caffeine in male industrial workers.

Tremor was measured in 49 smokers/snuffers and in 49 non-smokers/non-snuffers in a cross-sectional study. The Kløve-Matthews static steadiness test and TREMOR 7.0 from the CATSYS test system were used to assess the hand tremor.

Airborne exposure and biological monitoring of bar and restaurant workers before and after the introduction of a smoking ban.

The aims were to assess the impact of a total smoking ban on the level of airborne contaminants and the urinary cotinine levels in the employees in bars and restaurants. In a follow up design, 13 bars and restaurants were visited before and after the implementation of a smoking ban. Ninety-three employees in the establishments were initially included into the study.

Air formaldehyde and solvent concentrations during surface coating with acid-curing lacquers and paints in the woodworking and furniture industry.

An investigation of contemporary exposure to formaldehyde and organic solvents has been carried out during surface coating with acid-curing lacquers and paints in the Norwegian woodworking and furniture industry over a period of 3 years. The investigation covered 27 factories of different sizes and with different types of production, and totally 557 parallel formaldehyde and solvent samples were collected. The formaldehyde concentration (geometric mean) was 0.

Determination of benzo[a]pyrene tetrols by column-switching capillary liquid chromatography with fluorescence and micro-electrospray ionization mass spectrometric detection.

The present work displays capillary liquid chromatographic column switching methodology tailored for determination of benzo[a]pyrene tetrol isomers in biological matrices using on-line fluorescence and micro-electrospray ionization mass spectrometric detection. A well-established off-line crude solid phase extraction procedure was used in order to make the method compatible with several biological matrices. The solid phase extraction eluates were evaporated to dryness, redissolved in 1.

Reaction of glyoxal with 2'-deoxyguanosine, 2'-deoxyadenosine, 2'-deoxycytidine, cytidine, thymidine, and calf thymus DNA: identification of DNA adducts.

Glyoxal (ethanedial) is an increasingly used industrial chemical that has been found to be mutagenic in bacteria and mammalian cells. In this study, the reactions of glyoxal with 2'-deoxyguanosine, 2'-deoxyadenosine, 2'-deoxycytidine, cytidine, thymidine, and calf thymus DNA have been studied in aqueous buffered solutions. The nucleoside adducts were isolated by reversed-phase liquid chromatography and characterized by their UV absorbance and 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopic and mass spectrometric features.