Chemical process based reconstruction of exposures for an epidemiological study. III. Analysis of industrial hygiene samples.
As part of an historical cohort study to investigate the mortality experience of industrial workers exposed to chloroprene (beta-CD) and other substances, all available industrial hygiene exposure monitoring data were collected and summarized. From discussions with on-site industrial hygiene personnel, it was apparent that these data were not collected for epidemiological purposes and, therefore, their use in characterization of exposures was problematic as the data mostly pertained to samples collected to investigate the performance of specific tasks. These data were, however, informative for validating the exposure modeling process used to estimate historical exposures. The data summarized below clearly indicate that exposures to beta-CD were lowered across the time period of this study. Typically, the exposures recorded were less than the occupational exposure limits of the periods in which the exposures were recorded. Additionally, exposure measurements recorded in the recent past do not represent the exposure actually experienced by the worker as a strict personal protective equipment use program has been in place for the facilities studied since the mid-1980s.
Hall
Thomas A
TA
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, 801 NE 13th Street, CHB 413, Oklahoma City, OK 73190, USA. tom-hall@ouhsc.edu
Esmen
Nurtan A
NA
Jones
Elizabeth P
EP
Basara
Heather
H
Phillips
Margaret L
ML
Marsh
Gary M
GM
Youk
Ada O
AO
Buchanich
Jeanine M
JM
Leonard
Robin C
RC
D002617:Chemical Industry; D002737:Chloroprene / Q000009:adverse effects; D016021:Epidemiologic Studies; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland / Q000453:epidemiology; D007629:Kentucky / Q000453:epidemiology; D008145:Louisiana / Q000453:epidemiology; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D016272:Occupational Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011108:Polymers / Q000138:chemical synthesis
D011108:Polymers; D002737:Chloroprene