title: Exposure to volatile organic compounds in healthcare settings.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify and summarise volatile organic compound (VOC) exposure profiles of healthcare occupations.
  
  
  METHODS
  Personal (n=143) and mobile area (n=207) evacuated canisters were collected and analysed by a gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer to assess exposures to 14 VOCs among 14 healthcare occupations in five hospitals. Participants were volunteers identified by their supervisors. Summary statistics were calculated by occupation. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to reduce the 14 analyte inputs to five orthogonal factors and identify occupations that were associated with these factors. Linear regressions were used to assess the association between personal and mobile area samples.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Exposure profiles differed among occupations; ethanol had the highest geometric mean (GM) among nursing assistants (∼4900 and ∼1900 µg/m(3), personal and area), and 2-propanol had the highest GM among medical equipment preparers (∼4600 and ∼2000 µg/m(3), personal and area). The highest total personal VOC exposures were among nursing assistants (∼9200 µg/m(3)), licensed practical nurses (∼8700 µg/m(3)) and medical equipment preparers (∼7900 µg/m(3)). The influence of the PCA factors developed from personal exposure estimates varied by occupation, which enabled a comparative assessment of occupations. For example, factor 1, indicative of solvent use, was positively correlated with clinical laboratory and floor stripping/waxing occupations and tasks. Overall, a significant correlation was observed (r=0.88) between matched personal and mobile area samples, but varied considerably by analyte (r=0.23-0.64).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Healthcare workers are exposed to a variety of chemicals that vary with the activities and products used during activities. These VOC profiles are useful for estimating exposures for occupational hazard ranking for industrial hygienists as well as epidemiological studies.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA.
authors.forename: Ryan F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: LeBouf
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA.
authors.forename: M Abbas
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Virji
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA.
authors.forename: Rena
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA.
authors.forename: Paul K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Henneberger
authors.affiliation: Center for Indoor Environments and Health, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut, USA.
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Simcox
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA.
authors.forename: Aleksandr B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Stefaniak
mesh_terms: D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D006282:Health Personnel; D006787:Hospitals, Veterans; D006801:Humans; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis*; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014481:United States; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds