title: Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) among highway toll station workers in taipei: direct and indirect exposure assessment.
abstract: In this study, the authors assessed occupational exposure to PM2.5 among 47 highway toll station workers in Taipei, Taiwan. The subjects were monitored for 10 days to assess integrated 8-hr fine particulate matter (PM2.5) breathing zone concentration. Researchers constructed a microenvironment-time-concentration matrix and applied direct and indirect approaches to assess cumulative exposure. Mean PM2.5 concentration for workers in the truck and bus lanes was 308 microg/m3 (SD = 115.5 microg/m3), substantially higher compared with cash-payment car lanes (mean 115, SD = 41.8, p < 0.001) and ticket-payment car lanes (mean 109, SD = 48.7, p < 0.001). Concentration per vehicle in the truck and bus lanes was 6.4 and 3.7 times higher, respectively, than that of ticket- or cash-payment car lanes. Mean cumulative exposure for the 10-day period was 4,900-13,407 microg/m3.hr, with a mean of 8,019 microg/m3.hr (SD = 2,375.3). Indirect and direct concentrations were strongly correlated (r2 = .61, F(1,125); p = 0.000). The results of this study show that personal exposure to PM2.5 can be reliably estimated using indirect approaches.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, National Defence Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ching-Huang
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Saou-Hsing
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Liou
authors.forename: Tung-Sheng
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Shih
authors.forename: Perng-Jy
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: Hsiao-Lung
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yue-Cune
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Timothy J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Buckley
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Strickland
authors.forename: Jouni J K
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Jaakkola
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D010316:Particle Size; D012907:Smoking; D013624:Taiwan; D001335:Vehicle Emissions / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D001335:Vehicle Emissions