Assessing exposure to pollution in industrial workplaces
Neutrons give insights into the workplace air quality A team of researchers investigated the level of exposure of workers in two lead processing factories in Portugal by measuring the levels of APM from the workplace air and the EBC of the employees. The team collected several APM samples in both factories and also in a “clean” workplace that was used as reference. Thanks to NMI3 funding, one of the samples was analysed by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) at the Higher Education Reactor of TU Delft. The remaining samples were analysed by INAA and by particle induced X-Ray emission at the Portuguese Research Reactor of the Nuclear and Technological Institute (IST/ITN). The EBC samples were then analysed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and were statistically compared among them and between the APM samples, so that the potential of EBC as a bio-indicator could be evaluated. On the way to healthier workplaces As expected, the results showed that the levels of APM and biomarkers of exposure in EBC, for several metals, were significantly higher than the ones of the outdoor environment and “clean” workplace. Furthermore, higher APM concentrations correspond to higher EBC biomarker concentrations, which reveals that EBC actually reflects exposure to environmental pollution. These results are an important contribution to establish EBC as a matrix fitted for exposure assessment. EBC can become extremely useful to control the inhalation of metals in polluted workplaces. This opens a window to the determination of the dose inhaled and respective effects on the health of exposed employees. This information will enable the adjustment of legislation on the levels of maximum exposure so that workers in such environments can be protected. Original Publication Félix PM, Almeida SM, Pinheiro T, Sousa J, Franco C, Wolterbeek HT (2013) Assessment of exposure to metals in lead processing industries, Int J Hyg Environ Health. 216(1):17-24
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