Asbestos exposure among Seoul metropolitan subway workers during renovation of subway air-conditioning systems

Air quality in underground spaces has seldom been evaluated in Korea. Accordingly, the current study recently evaluated asbestos exposure among Seoul metropolitan subway workers during the renovation of the subway's air-conditioning system. To identify possible routes of asbestos exposure, suspected sources, including gaskets, ceiling boards, ceiling materials, and dust settled inside ducts, were all sampled. Personal air samples were also taken to evaluate any asbestos exposure during the renovation. The asbestos fibers found in the samples were analyzed using a transmission electron microscope (TEM) equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray analyzer (EDX). Twelve out of eighteen bulk samples contained asbestos, the majority of which was chrysotile fibers. Asbestos was detected in 9 out of 72 personal air samples and the level ranged from 0.003 to 0.02 fibers/cm(3). While asbestos levels were below Korean occupational limit of 2 fibers/cm(3), they were still detectable and therefore further monitoring would be appropriate.     

A quantitative estimate of nonsmokers' lung cancer risk from passive smoking

This work presents a quantitative assessment of nonsmokers' risk of lung cancer from passive smoking. The estimates given should be viewed as preliminary and subject to change as improved research becomes available. It is estimated that U.S. nonsmokers are exposed to from 0 to 14 mg of tobacco tar per day, and that the typical nonsmoker is exposed to 1.4 mg per day. A phenomenological exposure-response relationship is derived, yielding 5 lung cancer deaths per year per 100,000 persons exposed, per mg daily tar exposure. This relationship yields lung cancer mortality rates and mortality ratios for a U.S. cohort which are consistent to within 5% with the results of both of the large prospective epidemiological studies of passive smoking and lung cancer in the United States and Japan. Aggregate exposure to ambient tobacco smoke is estimated to produce about 5000 lung cancer deaths per year in U.S. nonsmokers aged ≥ 35 yr, with an average loss of life expectancy of 17 ± 9 yr per fatality. The estimated risk to the most-exposed passive smokers appears to be comparable to that from pipe and cigar smoking. Mortality from passive smoking is estimated to be about two orders of magnitude higher than that estimated for carcinogens currently regulated as hazardous air pollutants under the federal Clean Air Act.     

Radioactivity in asbestos

²²⁶Ra has been measured in five asbestos group minerals. The activity levels are variable, are consistent with other forms of rock and range from 0.01–0.4 pCi ²²⁶Ra/g. Alpha particles from asbestos fibers immobilized in the lower lung near pleural surfaces and in the upper lung on bronchial surfaces may be implicated in initiating mesothelioma and bronchial carcinoma.     

Assessing inhalatory and dermal exposures and their resultant health-risks for workers exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) contained in oil mists in a fastener manufacturing industry

This study first assessed workers' inhalatory and dermal exposures to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) contained in oil mists. Then, their resultant lung cancer and skin cancer risks were estimated. Finally, control strategies were initiated from the health-risk management aspect. All threading workers in a fastener manufacturing plant were included. 16 inhalatory and 88 dermal PAH exposure samples were collected. Results show that the inhalatory gas phase total PAH exposure level (8.60x10(4) ng/m(3)) was much higher than that of particle phase (2.30x10(3) ng/m(3)). Workers' mean inhalatory exposure level (8.83x10(4) ng/m(3)) was lower, but its corresponding 1-sided upper 95% confidence level (UCL(1,95%)=1.02x10(5) ng/m(3)) was higher than the time-weighted average permissible exposure level (PEL-TWA) regulated in Taiwan for PAHs (1.00x10(5) ng/m(3)). The mean whole body total PAHs dermal exposure levels was 5.44x10(6) ng/day and the top five exposed surface areas were lower arm, hand, upper arm, neck, and head/front. The estimated lifetime skin cancer risk (9.72x10(-3)) was lower than that of lung cancer risk (1.64x10(-2)), but both were higher than the significant risk level (10(-3)) defined by the US Supreme Court in 1980. The installation of a local exhaust ventilation system at the threading machine should be considered as the first priority measurement because both lung and skin cancer risks can be reduced simultaneously. If the personal protection equipment would be adopted in the future, both respiratory protection equipment and protective clothing should be used simultaneously.     

Never smoker lung cancer risks from exposure to particulate tobacco smoke

The average particulate environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure of never and current smokers and the average lung cancer mortality rate for current smokers is estimated from empirical data. These estimates are used in a linear downward extrapolation of the lung cancer risk/mg of particulate ETS exposure for current smokers to calculate the average lung cancer risk for never smokers and the number of never smoker lung cancer deaths (LCD) in the U.S. in 1980 from exposure to particulate ETS. The estimated average daily inhaled particulate ETS exposure for never smokers is 0.62 mg/day for men and 0.28 mg/day for women. The average never smoker is estimated to retain 11% of the inhaled exposure, for a daily retained exposure of 0.07 mg for men and 0.03 mg for women. Other estimates are: a daily retained exposure for current smokers of 310 mg for men and 249 mg for women, a smoking-attributable lung cancer risk for current smokers in 1980 of 284 LCD/100,000 men and 121 LCD/100,000 women, and an annual retained-exposure lung cancer risk for never smokers of 0.64 LCD/100,000 men and 0.015 LCD/100,000 women. These risks and exposures estimate 12 lung cancer deaths among never smokers from exposure to particulate ETS: 8 among the 11.96 million male never smokers and 4 among the 28.85 million female never smokers in the U.S. in 1980. Conversely, between 655 and 3,610 never smoker lung cancer deaths are estimated from methods based on the average lung cancer risk observed in epidemiological studies of exposure to ETS. Three possible reasons for the discrepancy between the exposure and risk-based estimates are discussed: the excess risks observed in epidemiological studies are due to bias, the relationship between exposure and risk is supralinear, or sidestream tobacco smoke is substantially more carcinogenic than an equivalent exposure to mainstream smoke.     

Radionuclides in cigarettes may lead to carcinogenesis via p16 inactivation

It is widely accepted that tobacco smoke is responsible for the vast majority of lung cancers worldwide. There are many known and suspected carcinogens present in cigarette smoke, including α-emitting radioisotopes. Epidemiologic studies have shown that increased lung cancer risk is associated with exposure to ionizing radiation, and it is estimated that the majority of smoking-induced lung cancers may be at least partly attributable to the inhaled and deposited radiation dose from radioisotopes in the cigarette smoke itself. Recent research shows that silencing of the tumor suppressor gene p16^INK4a (p16) by promoter methylation plays a role in smoking-related lung cancer. Inactivation of p16 has also been associated with lung cancer incidence in radiation-exposed workers, suggesting that radionuclides in cigarette smoke may be acting with other compounds to cause smoking-induced lung cancer. We evaluated the mechanism of ionizing radiation as an accepted cause of lung cancer in terms of its dose from tobacco smoke and silencing of p16. Because both radiation and cigarette smoking are associated with inactivation of p16, and p16 inactivation has been shown to play a major role in carcinogenesis, ionizing radiation from cigarette smoke likely plays a role in lung cancer risk. How large a role it plays, relative to chemical carcinogens and other modes of action, remains to be elucidated.     

Pesticide exposure and lung cancer mortality in Leningrad province in Russia

This study was carried out to examine the association between pesticide exposure and lung cancer mortality. We conducted an autopsy based case-control study in Leningrad Province in Russia. A total of 540 lung cancer cases and 582 controls were identified among subjects who had died in the hospitals of the Leningrad province between 1993 and 1998. Using work history records, we assessed exposure to pesticide at the level of industry and job title. Unconditional logistic regression was used to calculate adjusted odds ratio for pesticide exposure and lung cancer mortality. There was no association between ever exposure to pesticide and lung cancer mortality overall (odds ratio=1.06, 95% confidence interval=0.82-1.36) and in both men (odds ratio=1.11, 95% confidence interval=0.84-1.46) and women (odds ratio=0.74, 95% confidence interval=0.37-1.46). We observed no statistically significant odds ratio by duration of pesticide exposure, intensity of pesticide exposure, and cumulative pesticide exposures with lung cancer mortality in both smokers and nonsmokers. Odds ratio also did not differ when the analysis was restricted to individuals who had exposure data with high confidence scores. Our findings suggest no associations between pesticide exposures and mortality of lung cancer in the population of the Leningrad province in Russia that deserves further evaluation.     

Mutagenicity, genotoxicity and carcinogenic risk assessment of indoor dust from three major cities around the Pearl River Delta

The mutagenicity and genotoxicity of workplace dust including commercial office, secondary school, shopping mall, hospital, electronics factory and manufacturing plant in Hong Kong and settled house dust from Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Guangzhou were measured. Results indicated that indoor dust contained both frameshift and base pair substitution mutagens. Dust from manufacturing plant showed highest mutagenic potency on TA98±S9 and TA100±S9 activation, whereas, electronics factory showed highest genotoxicity with and without S9 activation. TA100 (-S9) mutagenic potency was significantly correlated with genotoxicity expressed as SOSIP (-S9) of workplace dust (r(2)=0.37, p<0.01). The total PAHs concentration of settled house dust from PRD ranged from 1.63 to 29.2μg/g. Linear regression analyses indicated that the PAHs likely accounted for about 45% of the TA98 with S9 mutagenic activity of workplace dust. TA98 (-S9) mutagenicity (r(2)=0.27, p<0.05) and SOSIP (-S9) of house dust (r(2)=0.41, p<0.01) were both significantly correlated with the number of inhabitants in the house. To achieve a more accurate cancer risk assessment, the oral bioaccessibility of B(a)A, Chry, B(b+k)F, B(a)P, D(ah)A and I(cd)P in different dust ranging from 1.3% to 17% was taken into account. Risk assessments indicated that about 26% of house dust samples resulted in unacceptable cancer risk (>1×10(-6)) for preschool children.     

An analysis of cleaner production and its impact on health hazards in the workplace

The main focus of this paper is to bring out the cost effectiveness of cleaner production and the role played by cleaner production in minimizing the health hazards of pollutants in the workplace. Improvement in workplace health hazards due to implementation of cleaner production has been illustrated with the results of the study. This study was carried out in 16 Manufacturing units in two states of Maharashtra and Gujarat in India. The results clearly shows with the help of cost benefit analysis that cleaner technologies not only add to the bottom line of the company but also minimize exposure to toxic chemicals like Ammonia, phenol, carbon tetrachloride, toxic dust, etc. The main driving forces motivating the firms to go in for cleaner production are evaluated. It is found that in most of the units safety and health factors were ranked as one among the first four driving forces behind implementation of cleaner technologies. The paper ends with recommendations for the promotion of cleaner technologies.     

Preliminary indoor radon risk assessment at the Poços de Caldas Plateau,MG-Brazil

This paper aims to present an assessment of the environmental radiological exposure at a Brazilian area of high natural radiation and discusses the indoor radon exposure risk. A survey of inhabitant exposures arising from the inhalation of radon progeny and external gamma exposure was conducted in urban and rural areas of the Po?os de Caldas Plateau, which is recognized worldwide as a high natural radiation region. The results of this survey indicated that highest radiation exposure was restricted to the rural area of Po?os de Caldas. The radiation exposure in urban locations was quite similar to the values observed in normal background areas in some Brazilian counties. By the application of a constant relative risk model, an additional 20% in the lifetime risk of lung cancer mortality due to the exposure to radon progeny was estimated at Po?os de Caldas. It was also estimated that 16% of all lung cancer deaths at Po?os de Caldas county could be attributable to radon exposure.     

Societal implications of nanotechnology: occupational perspectives

Nanotechnology-infused products have begun to enter the market in spite of the fact that many sectors of society are still debating whether or not exposure to such products will result in detrimental side effects. Due to a lack of regulation of nanoproducts, it is difficult to track these products to assess how they interact with humans and the environment. Acknowledging this limitation, several studies are starting to investigate situations where individuals are exposed to nanoparticles in the workplace; it is to be noted that manufacturing of materials is the first stage in the product life cycle where exposure may occur. This paper reviews and discusses the potential societal implications associated with the manufacturing of nanoparticles: health concerns, workers’ perceptions, rights, ethics, and the role of policy and regulation. Scenarios are presented, possible implications are discussed, and recommendations are given for appropriate action. Finding the right solution to the identified implications represents a critical challenge. In summary, it is imperative that all stakeholders including industry, academia, government entities, and the public adopt a proactive attitude to ensure that nanotechnology matures in a sustainable manner.     

The effects of chronic exposure to asbestos fibers in the Amazon molly Poecilia formosa

Amazon mollies were exposed for 6 months to several concentrations of coarse and fine asbestos particles suspended in their aquarium water. At the end of this period, the fish were serially sectioned and the tissues examined for lesions. Pathological changes were found in the kidneys, the major site of accumulation of the mineral fibers after their entry into the body through the intestinal mucosa. There was no evidence of entry of particles through the gill epithelium. Epithelial hypertrophy and secondary lamellar telangiectasia of the gills appeared to be the result of physical abrasion by the asbestos particles. There was no cellular injury in the liver or the muscles.     

A study of effects of ambient urban air pollution using personal samplers; a preliminary report

Air pollution has been associated with an increased incidence of respiratory disease. However, significant differences may exist between air pollution levels measured at conventional fixed monitoring stations and actual levels inhaled by a subject. Furthermore, studies of effects of air pollution might best be done using asthmatics as study subjects, since they have irritable airways. This is a preliminary report of a study using a control and asthmatic group in which effects of air pollution are assessed by sympton and medication diaries and simple pulmonary function tests. Air pollution exposure is measured using a small portable sampler for particulates, SO₂ and NO₂; these samplers are carried by the subject (“personal”) and are situated inside and outside the home. Levels obtained are compared to data obtained from the same type of sampler located at a fixed monitoring station. Preliminary analysis of the data shows that the levels of pollutants are low and there are significant differences between the four air pollution measurements, with weak correlations among the various measurements. In this preliminary report, change in pulmonary function during the day correlates only with personal NO₂ measurements. This suggests the need for estimating air pollution exposure using “personal” samplers, when investigating health effects.     

Indoor air exposure to coal and wood combustion emissions associated with a high lung cancer rate in Xuan Wei, China

Residents of Xuan Wei County in China have unusually high lung cancer mortality that cannot be attributed to tobacco use or occupational exposure. They are exposed to smoke from unvented, open pit coal or wood fires (often used for cooking and heating). The variation in lung cancer rates among communes within the county suggests that indoor combustion of smoky coal may be the prime determinant of lung cancer. To characterize the air in Xuan Wei homes, samples of air particles and semivolatile organic compounds were collected from homes located in two communes; one commune has a high rate of lung cancer, and the other has a low rate. Samples collected in the commune where the lung cancer rate is high and where smoky coal is the predominant fuel contained high concentrations of small particles with high organic content; organic extracts of these samples were mutagenic. Samples from homes in the wood-burning commune, which has a low rate of lung cancer, consisted mostly of larger particles of lower organic content and mutagenicity. The smoky coal sample was a mouse skin carcinogen and was a more potent initiator of skin tumors in comparison to the wood or smokeless coal sample.     

Water pollution footprints induced by industrial import and export in China

With the rapid development of foreign trade in China, industrial import and export has been an absolute subject in recent years. The huge trade surplus of import and export trade of industrial products brings not only high profits, but also pollution costs as well. Based on the concept of water pollution footprints (WPFs), this study applies the input-output method and calculates pollutant-producing coefficients of 20 major industrial sectors in China and investigates the WPFs caused by the import and export trades of these industrial sectors. The research results show that WPF resulting from exports exceeds that of imports from 2011 to 2015 in China. The net inflow of pollution footprint is mainly from paper mills, printing and stationery manufacturing, and textile industry; whereas a great number of WPFs are transferred to other countries by these sectors, such as metal mining and dressing industry and oil and natural gas exploitation industry.     

Considerations in deriving quantitative cancer criteria for inorganic arsenic exposure via inhalation

The inhalation unit risk (IUR) that currently exists in the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (US EPA's) Integrated Risk Information System was developed in 1984 based on studies examining the relationship between respiratory cancer and arsenic exposure in copper smelters from two US locations: the copper smelter in Anaconda, Montana, and the American Smelting And Refining COmpany (ASARCO) smelter in Tacoma, Washington. Since US EPA last conducted its assessment, additional data have become available from epidemiology and mechanistic studies. In addition, the California Air Resources Board, Texas Commission of Environmental Quality, and Dutch Expert Committee on Occupational Safety have all conducted new risk assessments. All three analyses, which calculated IURs based on respiratory/lung cancer mortality, generated IURs that are lower (i.e., less restrictive) than the current US EPA value of 4.3 × 10^− 3 (μg/m³)^− 1. The IURs developed by these agencies, which vary more than 20-fold, are based on somewhat different studies and use different methodologies to address uncertainties in the underlying datasets. Despite these differences, all were developed based on a cumulative exposure metric assuming a low-dose linear dose–response relationship. In this paper, we contrast and compare the analyses conducted by these agencies and critically evaluate strengths and limitations inherent in the data and methodologies used to develop quantitative risk estimates. In addition, we consider how these data could be best used to assess risk at much lower levels of arsenic in air, such as those experienced by the general public. Given that the mode of action for arsenic supports a threshold effect, and epidemiological evidence suggests that the arsenic concentration in air is a reliable predictor of lung/respiratory cancer risk, we developed a quantitative cancer risk analysis using a nonlinear threshold model. Applying a nonlinear model to occupational data, we established points of departure based on both cumulative exposure (μg/m³-years) to arsenic and arsenic concentration (μg/m³) via inhalation. Using these values, one can assess the lifetime risk of respiratory cancer mortality associated with ambient air concentrations of arsenic for the general US population.     

A carbon footprint analysis in the textile supply chain

This research work focuses on the application of life-cycle assessment methodology to determine the carbon footprint of different players involved in a supply chain of the textile sector. A case study of a product by a textile leader company was carried out. This study demonstrates that, in the textile chain, the main contribution to the greenhouse effect is provided by the electrical and thermal energy used and by the transportation (since different production phases are delocalised in a wide range that goes from South Africa, Italy, Romania and all around the world, from the distribution centre to the stores). The Monte Carlo analysis has been used in order to obtain, for each calculated impact, not only the average value but also the distribution curve of the results characterised by uncertainty parameters. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis was carried out to evaluate the impact of management choices such as:

??a change in the transportation modality, from aeroplane to boat;

??a combination of road and rail transportation; and

??a selection among suppliers that allows the firm to cut environmental impacts.     

Seasonal assessment of environmental tobacco smoke and respirable suspended particle exposures for nonsmokers in Bremen using personal monitoring

The study was designed to determine seasonal differences in personal exposures to respirable suspended particles (RSP) and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) for nonsmokers in Bremen, Germany. The subjects were office workers, either living and working in smoking locations or living and working in nonsmoking locations. One hundred and twenty four randomly selected nonsmoking subjects collected air samples close to their breathing zone by wearing personal monitors for 24 h or, in some cases, for 7-day periods during the winter of 1999. The investigation was repeated in the summer with 126 subjects, comprised of as many of the studied winter population (89 subjects) as possible. Saliva cotinine analyses were undertaken to verify the nonsmoking status of the subjects. Subjects wore one personal monitor while at work and one while away from the workplace on weekdays, and a third monitor at the weekend. Collected air samples were analysed for RSP, nicotine, 3-ethenylpyridine (3-EP) and ETS particles. The latter were estimated using ultraviolet absorbance (UVPM), fluorescence (FPM) and solanesol (SolPM) measurements. ETS exposure was consistently higher in the winter than in the summer, this pattern being particularly evident for subjects both living and working with smokers. The highest median 24-h time weighted average (TWA) concentrations of ETS particles (SolPM, 25 microg m(-3)) and nicotine (1.3 microg m(-3)) were recorded for subjects performing weekday monitoring during the winter. These were significantly higher than equivalent levels of ETS particles (SolPM, 2.4 microg m(-3)) and nicotine (0.26 microg m(-3)) determined during the summer. There were no appreciable differences between winter and summer percent workplace contributions to median TWA ETS particle and nicotine weekday concentrations, the workplace in Bremen, in general, contributing between 35% and 61% of reported median concentrations. Workers, on average, spent one-third of their time at work during a weekday, indicating that concentrations were either comparable or higher in the workplace than in the home and other locations outside the workplace. Median 24-h weekend ETS particle and nicotine concentrations for smoking locations were not significantly different from equivalent weekday levels during the winter, but were significantly lower during the summer. Based upon median 24-h TWA SolPM and nicotine concentrations for the winter, extrapolated to 1 year's ETS exposure, those subjects both living and working in smoking locations (the most highly exposed group) would potentially inhale 13 cigarette equivalents/year (CEs/y). However, based on a similar extrapolation of summer measurements, the same group of subjects would potentially inhale between 1.3 and 1.9 CEs/y. The most highly exposed subjects in this study, based upon 90th percentile concentrations for those both living and working in smoking locations during the winter, would potentially inhale up to 67 CEs/y in the winter and up to 22 CEs/y in the summer. This clearly demonstrates that seasonal effects should be taken into account in the design and interpretation of ETS exposure studies. Air sampling over a 7-day period was shown to be technically feasible, and subsequent RSP, ETS particle and nicotine levels determined by 7-day monitoring were not found to be significantly different from equivalent levels determined by 24-h monitoring. However, the longer sampling period resulted in the collection of an increased quantity of analytes, which improved the limits of quantitation (LOQ) and allowed a more accurate determination of low level ETS exposure. This was reflected by a reduced percentage of data falling below the LOQ for 7-day monitoring compared with 24-h monitoring. The use of a liquid chromatographic method with tandem mass spectrometric detection for saliva cotinine measurement afforded a greatly improved LOQ and greater accuracy at low concentrations compared with the radioimmunoassay (RIA) method used in previous studies by these authors. In this study, 17 subjects out of 180 tested (9.4%) were found to have saliva cotinine levels exceeding the selected threshold of 25 ng ml(-1) used to discriminate between smokers and nonsmokers.     

Liquid discharges from patients undergoing 131I treatments

This work discusses the production and management of liquid radioactive wastes as excretas from patients undergoing therapy procedures with (131)I radiopharmaceuticals in Spain. The activity in the sewage has been estimated with and without waste radioactive decay tanks. Two common therapy procedures have been considered, the thyroid cancer (4.14GBq administered per treatment), and the hyperthyroidism (414MBq administered per treatment). The calculations were based on measurements of external exposure around the 244 hyperthyroidism patients and 23 thyroid cancer patients. The estimated direct activity discharged to the sewage for two thyroid carcinomas and three hyperthyroidisms was 14.57GBq and 1.27GBq, respectively, per week; the annual doses received by the most exposed individual (sewage worker) were 164muSv and 13muSv, respectively. General equations to calculate the activity as a function of the number of patient treated each week were also obtained.     

A sustainability approach for selecting maintenance strategy

Appropriate maintenance can prolong the life of an asset and prevent costly breakdowns that may result in lost production, failed shipping schedules and a decline in customer satisfaction. The goal of this study was to present a comprehensive framework that utilises sustainability metrics based on social, environmental and economic criteria to select an appropriate maintenance strategy among a variety of maintenance strategy alternatives, such as preventive, failure-based, reliability-centred, condition-based and total productive maintenance strategies, for a manufacturing company. The sustainability-based approach may significantly influence the personnel, energy, material and the overall costs in a company. In the first step of this paper, a sustainability-based decision-making structure is proposed for the maintenance strategy selection problem applying the concept of factor analysis to determine the leading factors in each of the sustainability pillars. In the next step, a fuzzy VIKOR framework is used to select the most appropriate maintenance strategy. The provided approach is illustrated using a manufacturing industry case study.