Estimation of the diesel exhaust exposures of railroad workers: I. Current exposures.
As a part of a series of epidemiological studies of railroad workers, measurements were made to characterize workers' exposures to diesel exhaust. Since diesel exhaust is not a single compound, an exposure marker was sought. The personal exposures to respirable particulate matter (RPM) of over 530 workers in 39 common jobs were measured in four U.S. railroads over a three-year period. Significant amounts of cigarette smoke (20-90%) were found in many of these samples. Therefore, the respirable particulate concentration, adjusted to remove the fraction of cigarette smoke (ARP), was chosen as a marker of diesel exhaust exposures. The geometric mean exposures to ARP ranged from 17 micrograms/m3 for clerks to 134 micrograms/m3 for locomotive shop workers. Significant interrailroad variations were observed in some job groups indicating that the different facilities, equipment, and work practices found among the railroads can affect a worker's exposure to diesel exhaust. Climate was also found to have a significant effect on exposure in some job groups.
Woskie
S R
SR
Department of Environmental Science and Physiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
Smith
T J
TJ
Hammond
S K
SK
Schenker
M B
MB
Garshick
E
E
Speizer
F E
FE
D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational / Q000032:analysis; D002274:Carcinogens, Environmental; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D006801:Humans; D009790:Occupations; D010578:Petroleum / Q000032:analysis; D011890:Railroads; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000032:analysis; D014887:Weather
D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D002274:Carcinogens, Environmental; D010578:Petroleum; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution