Potential exposures among repair technicians engaged in vehicle resurfacing operations prior to spray painting have not been thoroughly characterized. Environmental and personal air monitoring conducted in the State of Rhode Island have shown that automotive repair technicians may be exposed to metal particulates in sanding dust and methylene chloride vapors during vehicle paint removal operations. Hand wipe samples demonstrated that metals in sanding dust adhered to the hands of workers throughout the duration of the work day and were available for incidental ingestion from the handling of food/nonfood items and hand-to-mouth contact. A blood lead (PbB) screening effort among 21 workers at 2 facilities showed that 4 non-/less-exposed workers had mean PbB levels at the U.S. geometric mean of 2.8 microg/dL, while 2 out of 9 (22%) dedicated vehicle repair technicians had PbB levels at or above 30 microg Pb/dL whole blood--the level for potential adverse reproductive effects. Methylene chloride exposures were also found to exceed the Occupational Safety and Health Administrations (OSHA) 8-hr time-weighted average (TWA) action level and permissible exposure limit (PEL) in a limited number of samples (120 and 26 ppm, integrated work shift samples). Our findings suggest that thousands of professional technicians and vocational high school students may be at increased risk of adverse reproductive and/or other systemic effects.

No abstract

Surface preparation activities conducted during automotive refinishing present several potential human health and environmental risks. This study examines the chemical composition of vehicle sanding dust and the prevalence of methylene chloride use as a basis for evaluating potential chemical exposures in the work environment, fugitive environmental releases, and take-home toxics. This article reports on the findings of (1) a statewide technology and work practices survey of 353 licensed auto body shops and (2) laboratory analyses of sanding dust representing more than 200 vehicles, 10 commercial body filler compounds, and work shirts worn during vehicle sanding while using nonventilated equipment. Survey data revealed that the majority of shops (78%) do not use ventilated sanding equipment, that most workers (55%) take their work clothes and shoes home at the end of the workday, and that 17% of the respondents used a methylene chloride-based paint stripper as an adjunct to mechanical sanding. Laboratory results showed that Pb, As, Cr, Mn, and Ni were present in the sanding dust at every facility tested. Lead concentrations in sanding dust were found to be highest at facilities that performed complete vehicle refinishing (range 770 to 7300 ppm) and at a collision repair shop that used a high-lead content body filler compound (1800 ppm). Hexavalent chromium also was found in two vocational high school paint dust samples at concentrations of 54 and 710 ppm. When total lead and chromium concentrations reached 7300 and 2300 ppm, respectively, facility sanding dust samples failed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure for hazardous waste. Metals found in the sanding dust also were present on the work shirts of technicians-ranging from 0.06 (Cd) to 81 (Mg) microg/inch2 of cloth-who sanded on paint without ventilated equipment. Results suggest that sanding dust and methylene chloride paint strippers used in vehicle resurfacing operations pose a potential hazard to human health and the environment.

Neurocysticercosis results from the infestation of the central nervous system with invading tapeworm larvae. Though uncommon in the US prior to 1965, new cases are currently being diagnosed at an unprecedented rate. Drawing on environmental health, intervention and risk data retrieved from standard/alternative databases and in-country sources, we present an update and summary of modifiable risk factors and field-tested primary prevention measures. While points of intervention, subpopulations at risk and overall magnitude of the problem are addressed, particular attention is paid to defining risk reduction measures that can be adopted by individuals and high risk groups in the near-term to interrupt or eliminate pathways of exposure leading to disease transmission. Though global eradication is not attainable in the near future, effective preventative measures exist and should be taken now by international travellers and workers, US/foreign government agencies, and individuals living in endemic regions to reduce human suffering.

In 1996 a survey of pollution prevention, environmental control, and occupational health and safety practices was conducted in the Rhode Island automotive refinishing industry sector. In conjunction with project partners, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management developed a multidimensional survey instrument to identify risk reduction opportunities. Investigators sought to characterize the range of environmental and industrial hygiene control employed by Rhode Island facilities for the purposes of focusing state technical and compliance assistance efforts. Data were collected on a diverse range of subject areas including work force demographics; source reduction; potential health hazards; worker protection and safety; solid and hazardous waste management; and air pollution control. Nearly one-half of the shops employ three or fewer people, and in many cases, spray painters double as body repair technicians thereby increasing their potential exposure to workplace contaminants. While nearly all of the shops reported that they use spray painting booths, only 38% own booths the more effective downdraft design. Based on the self-reported data, recently promulgated state air pollution control regulations (requiring the use of compliant coatings, enclosed or modified spray gun cleaners, and high-volume, low-pressure, spray guns) appear to be effective at motivating companies toward source reduction. A range of risk reduction opportunities were identified as input material changes, technology changes, and improved operating practices. Better methods of risk communication; a professional licensing requirement; and targeted training, compliance, and technical assistance would help to achieve greater levels of risk reduction in this mature, high-hazard industry.

Our findings suggest that the new self-certification approach to environmental and worker protection is effective and can be used as an adjunct to further enhance state and federal enforcement programs.

No abstract

Risk-based, background, and laboratory quantitation limit-derived standards for carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (cPAHs) in residential and nonresidential soils vary across the northeast region of the United States. The magnitude and extent of this variation, however, have not been systematically studied. This article examines the technical basis and methodology used by eight northeastern states in the development of risk-based screening values, guidelines, and standards for cPAHs in soils. Exposure pathways, human receptors, algorithms, and input variables used by each state in the calculation of acceptable human health risks are identified and reviewed within the context of environmental policy and regulatory impacts. Emphasis is placed on a comparative analysis of multipathway exposures (incidental ingestion, dermal contact, and particulate inhalation) and key science-policy decisions that have led to the promulgation and adoption of different exposure criteria for cPAHs in the Northeast. More than 425 data points and 20 distinct exposure factors across eight state programs, 18 age subgroups, six activity scenarios, and three exposure pathways were systematically evaluated. Risk-based values for one state varied either above or below risk-based, background or laboratory quantitation limit-derived standards of another state for the same cPAH and receptor. Standards for cPAHs in soils were found to differ significantly across the northeast region--in some cases, by one or two orders of magnitude. While interstate differences can be expected to persist, future changes in federal guidance could mean a shift in risk drivers, compliance status, or calculated cumulative risks for individual properties impacted by PAH releases.