Cargando…

Air Quality in the Working Environment and Respiratory Health of Female Congolese Stone Quarry Workers

Background and Aim. Environmental and occupational exposure to high dust levels are known to be associated with lung function impairment. We assessed the ambient air quality in the working environment and the respiratory health of female stone quarry workers in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Con...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Leon-Kabamba, Ngombe, Ngatu, Nlandu Roger, Muzembo, Basilua Andre, Kakoma, Sakatolo, Michel-Kabamba, Nzaji, Danuser, Brigitta, Luboya, Oscar, Hirao, Tomohiro
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7709688/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33212892
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed5040171
_version_ 1783617804829720576
author Leon-Kabamba, Ngombe
Ngatu, Nlandu Roger
Muzembo, Basilua Andre
Kakoma, Sakatolo
Michel-Kabamba, Nzaji
Danuser, Brigitta
Luboya, Oscar
Hirao, Tomohiro
author_facet Leon-Kabamba, Ngombe
Ngatu, Nlandu Roger
Muzembo, Basilua Andre
Kakoma, Sakatolo
Michel-Kabamba, Nzaji
Danuser, Brigitta
Luboya, Oscar
Hirao, Tomohiro
author_sort Leon-Kabamba, Ngombe
collection PubMed
description Background and Aim. Environmental and occupational exposure to high dust levels are known to be associated with lung function impairment. We assessed the ambient air quality in the working environment and the respiratory health of female stone quarry workers in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in a context of severe economic, security, and health crises. Methods. This was a case-control study conducted in three stone quarry sites. Participants were 256 dust-exposed female stone quarry workers matched to 256 unexposed female office workers and market tax collectors (N = 512). They each answered a structured respiratory health questionnaire and underwent physical examination and a lung function test with the use of a spirometer and peak flow meter. Quality of ambient air in the working environment was assessed by means of a BRAMC air quality monitor (BR-AIR-329). Results. Results showed that exposed women did not use any personal protective equipment (PPE); in quarry sites, abnormally high levels of PM(2.5) (205 ± 13.2 μg/m(3) vs. 31.3 ± 10.3 μg/m(3) in control sites; p < 0.001) and volatile organic compounds (VOC, 2.2 ± 0.2 μg/m(3) vs. 0.5 ± 0.3 μg/m(3), respectively; p < 0.01) were found. Furthermore, respiratory complaints were more common among exposed women (32.4% vs. 3.5% in controls; p < 0.01), who had abnormal chest auscultation and reduced lung capacity than controls (mean PEFR: 344.8 ± 2.26 and 405 ± 67.7 L/s, respectively; p < 0.001 Conclusion. Findings from this study show that in the midst of severe crises in the DRC, women stone quarry workers are exposed to abnormally high levels of respiratory hazards, which contribute to impaired lung function. There is a need to regulate quarry work and improve the working conditions in quarry sites in the DRC.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-7709688
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2020
publisher MDPI
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-77096882020-12-03 Air Quality in the Working Environment and Respiratory Health of Female Congolese Stone Quarry Workers Leon-Kabamba, Ngombe Ngatu, Nlandu Roger Muzembo, Basilua Andre Kakoma, Sakatolo Michel-Kabamba, Nzaji Danuser, Brigitta Luboya, Oscar Hirao, Tomohiro Trop Med Infect Dis Article Background and Aim. Environmental and occupational exposure to high dust levels are known to be associated with lung function impairment. We assessed the ambient air quality in the working environment and the respiratory health of female stone quarry workers in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in a context of severe economic, security, and health crises. Methods. This was a case-control study conducted in three stone quarry sites. Participants were 256 dust-exposed female stone quarry workers matched to 256 unexposed female office workers and market tax collectors (N = 512). They each answered a structured respiratory health questionnaire and underwent physical examination and a lung function test with the use of a spirometer and peak flow meter. Quality of ambient air in the working environment was assessed by means of a BRAMC air quality monitor (BR-AIR-329). Results. Results showed that exposed women did not use any personal protective equipment (PPE); in quarry sites, abnormally high levels of PM(2.5) (205 ± 13.2 μg/m(3) vs. 31.3 ± 10.3 μg/m(3) in control sites; p < 0.001) and volatile organic compounds (VOC, 2.2 ± 0.2 μg/m(3) vs. 0.5 ± 0.3 μg/m(3), respectively; p < 0.01) were found. Furthermore, respiratory complaints were more common among exposed women (32.4% vs. 3.5% in controls; p < 0.01), who had abnormal chest auscultation and reduced lung capacity than controls (mean PEFR: 344.8 ± 2.26 and 405 ± 67.7 L/s, respectively; p < 0.001 Conclusion. Findings from this study show that in the midst of severe crises in the DRC, women stone quarry workers are exposed to abnormally high levels of respiratory hazards, which contribute to impaired lung function. There is a need to regulate quarry work and improve the working conditions in quarry sites in the DRC. MDPI 2020-11-17 /pmc/articles/PMC7709688/ /pubmed/33212892 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed5040171 Text en © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Leon-Kabamba, Ngombe
Ngatu, Nlandu Roger
Muzembo, Basilua Andre
Kakoma, Sakatolo
Michel-Kabamba, Nzaji
Danuser, Brigitta
Luboya, Oscar
Hirao, Tomohiro
Air Quality in the Working Environment and Respiratory Health of Female Congolese Stone Quarry Workers
title Air Quality in the Working Environment and Respiratory Health of Female Congolese Stone Quarry Workers
title_full Air Quality in the Working Environment and Respiratory Health of Female Congolese Stone Quarry Workers
title_fullStr Air Quality in the Working Environment and Respiratory Health of Female Congolese Stone Quarry Workers
title_full_unstemmed Air Quality in the Working Environment and Respiratory Health of Female Congolese Stone Quarry Workers
title_short Air Quality in the Working Environment and Respiratory Health of Female Congolese Stone Quarry Workers
title_sort air quality in the working environment and respiratory health of female congolese stone quarry workers
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7709688/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33212892
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed5040171
work_keys_str_mv AT leonkabambangombe airqualityintheworkingenvironmentandrespiratoryhealthoffemalecongolesestonequarryworkers
AT ngatunlanduroger airqualityintheworkingenvironmentandrespiratoryhealthoffemalecongolesestonequarryworkers
AT muzembobasiluaandre airqualityintheworkingenvironmentandrespiratoryhealthoffemalecongolesestonequarryworkers
AT kakomasakatolo airqualityintheworkingenvironmentandrespiratoryhealthoffemalecongolesestonequarryworkers
AT michelkabambanzaji airqualityintheworkingenvironmentandrespiratoryhealthoffemalecongolesestonequarryworkers
AT danuserbrigitta airqualityintheworkingenvironmentandrespiratoryhealthoffemalecongolesestonequarryworkers
AT luboyaoscar airqualityintheworkingenvironmentandrespiratoryhealthoffemalecongolesestonequarryworkers
AT hiraotomohiro airqualityintheworkingenvironmentandrespiratoryhealthoffemalecongolesestonequarryworkers