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Exposure to Particles and Nitrogen Dioxide Among Workers in the Stockholm Underground Train System

OBJECTIVES: Exposure to fine particles in urban air has been associated with a number of negative health effects. High levels of fine particles have been detected at underground stations in big cities. We investigated the exposure conditions in four occupational groups in the Stockholm underground t...

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Autores principales: Plato, N., Bigert, C., Larsson, B.-M., Alderling, M., Svartengren, M., Gustavsson, P.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute 2019
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6717932/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31497336
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.shaw.2019.06.005
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author Plato, N.
Bigert, C.
Larsson, B.-M.
Alderling, M.
Svartengren, M.
Gustavsson, P.
author_facet Plato, N.
Bigert, C.
Larsson, B.-M.
Alderling, M.
Svartengren, M.
Gustavsson, P.
author_sort Plato, N.
collection PubMed
description OBJECTIVES: Exposure to fine particles in urban air has been associated with a number of negative health effects. High levels of fine particles have been detected at underground stations in big cities. We investigated the exposure conditions in four occupational groups in the Stockholm underground train system to identify high-exposed groups and study variations in exposure. METHODS: PM(1) and PM(2.5) were measured during three full work shifts on 44 underground workers. Fluctuations in exposure were monitored by a real-time particle monitoring instrument, pDR, DataRAM. Qualitative analysis of particle content was performed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Nitrogen dioxide was measured using passive monitors. RESULTS: For all underground workers, the geometric mean (GM) of PM(1) was 18 μg/m(3) and of PM(2.5) was 37 μg/m(3). The particle exposure was highest for cleaners/platform workers, and the GM of PM(1) was 31.6 μg/m(3) [geometric standard deviation (GSD), 1.6] and of PM(2.5) was 76.5 μg/m(3) (GSD, 1.3); the particle exposure was lowest for ticket sellers, and the GM of PM(1)  was 4.9 μg/m(3) (GSD, 2.1) and of PM(2.5) was 9.3 μg/m(3) (GSD, 1.5). The PM(1) and PM(2.5) levels were five times higher in the underground system than at the street level, and the particles in the underground had high iron content. The train driver's nitrogen dioxide exposure level was 64.1 μg/m(3) (GSD, 1.5). CONCLUSIONS: Cleaners and other platform workers were statistically significantly more exposed to particles than train drivers or ticket sellers. Particle concentrations (PM(2.5)) in the Stockholm underground system were within the same range as in the New York underground system but were much lower than in several older underground systems around the world.
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spelling pubmed-67179322019-09-06 Exposure to Particles and Nitrogen Dioxide Among Workers in the Stockholm Underground Train System Plato, N. Bigert, C. Larsson, B.-M. Alderling, M. Svartengren, M. Gustavsson, P. Saf Health Work Original Article OBJECTIVES: Exposure to fine particles in urban air has been associated with a number of negative health effects. High levels of fine particles have been detected at underground stations in big cities. We investigated the exposure conditions in four occupational groups in the Stockholm underground train system to identify high-exposed groups and study variations in exposure. METHODS: PM(1) and PM(2.5) were measured during three full work shifts on 44 underground workers. Fluctuations in exposure were monitored by a real-time particle monitoring instrument, pDR, DataRAM. Qualitative analysis of particle content was performed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Nitrogen dioxide was measured using passive monitors. RESULTS: For all underground workers, the geometric mean (GM) of PM(1) was 18 μg/m(3) and of PM(2.5) was 37 μg/m(3). The particle exposure was highest for cleaners/platform workers, and the GM of PM(1) was 31.6 μg/m(3) [geometric standard deviation (GSD), 1.6] and of PM(2.5) was 76.5 μg/m(3) (GSD, 1.3); the particle exposure was lowest for ticket sellers, and the GM of PM(1)  was 4.9 μg/m(3) (GSD, 2.1) and of PM(2.5) was 9.3 μg/m(3) (GSD, 1.5). The PM(1) and PM(2.5) levels were five times higher in the underground system than at the street level, and the particles in the underground had high iron content. The train driver's nitrogen dioxide exposure level was 64.1 μg/m(3) (GSD, 1.5). CONCLUSIONS: Cleaners and other platform workers were statistically significantly more exposed to particles than train drivers or ticket sellers. Particle concentrations (PM(2.5)) in the Stockholm underground system were within the same range as in the New York underground system but were much lower than in several older underground systems around the world. Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute 2019-09 2019-06-20 /pmc/articles/PMC6717932/ /pubmed/31497336 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.shaw.2019.06.005 Text en © 2019 The Authors http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
spellingShingle Original Article
Plato, N.
Bigert, C.
Larsson, B.-M.
Alderling, M.
Svartengren, M.
Gustavsson, P.
Exposure to Particles and Nitrogen Dioxide Among Workers in the Stockholm Underground Train System
title Exposure to Particles and Nitrogen Dioxide Among Workers in the Stockholm Underground Train System
title_full Exposure to Particles and Nitrogen Dioxide Among Workers in the Stockholm Underground Train System
title_fullStr Exposure to Particles and Nitrogen Dioxide Among Workers in the Stockholm Underground Train System
title_full_unstemmed Exposure to Particles and Nitrogen Dioxide Among Workers in the Stockholm Underground Train System
title_short Exposure to Particles and Nitrogen Dioxide Among Workers in the Stockholm Underground Train System
title_sort exposure to particles and nitrogen dioxide among workers in the stockholm underground train system
topic Original Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6717932/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31497336
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.shaw.2019.06.005
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