title: Estimation of the diesel exhaust exposures of railroad workers: II. National and historical exposures.
abstract: The diesel exhaust exposures of railroad workers in thirteen job groups from four railroads in the United States were used to estimate U.S. national average exposures with a linear statistical model which accounts for the significant variability in exposure caused by climate, the differences among railroads and the uneven distribution of railroad workers across climatic regions. Personal measurements of respirable particulate matter, adjusted to remove the contribution of cigarette smoke particles, were used as a marker for diesel exhaust. The estimated national means of adjusted respirable particulate matter (ARP) averaged 10 micrograms/m3 lower than the simple means for each job group, reflecting the climatic differences between the northern railroads studied and the distribution of railroad workers nationally. Limited historical records, including some industrial hygiene data, were used to evaluate past diesel exhaust exposures, which were estimated to be approximately constant from the 1950's to 1983.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science and Physiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Woskie
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Hammond
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Schenker
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Garshick
authors.forename: F E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Speizer
mesh_terms: D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D002274:Carcinogens, Environmental; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D009790:Occupations; D010578:Petroleum; D011890:Railroads; D014481:United States; D014887:Weather
chemical_list: D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D002274:Carcinogens, Environmental; D010578:Petroleum