Assessment of concentration peaks in setting exposure limits for air contaminants at workplaces, with special emphasis on narcotic and irritative gases and vapors.

Ulfvarson, Ulf

doi:10.5271/sjweh.2022

Cited by 10 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 11 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Direct comparisons between the study of Garabrant et al4 and the one reported here are difficult given the different categorisations of exposure. The data presented here indicate that risk ratios for the [10][11][12][13][14] mg/m' group v < 1 mg/m' group were 30 0, 83-6, 8-0, 2-3, and 2 0, for nasal, eye, and throat irritation, cough and breathlessness respectively. Standardising for the difference in exposure between the high and lower groups, this comparison suggests that the results of the exposure-response analysis based on daily average exposures are generally consistent with those reported by Garabrant et al4 As with other epidemiological studies in which subjective recall of health events is elicited, biased reporting can either mask an existing dose-response relation or produce a spurious association.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Dose related acute irritant symptom responses to occupational exposure to sodium borate dusts.

Wegman

Eisen

et al. 1992

Occupational and Environmental Medicine

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A repeated measurement design was employed in the study of acute symptoms of eye and respiratory tract irritation resulting from occupational exposure to sodium borate dusts. The symptom assessment ofthe 79 exposed and 27 unexposed subjects comprised interviews before the shift began and then at regular hourly intervals for the next six hours of the shift, four days in a row. Exposures were monitored concurrently with a personal real time aerosol monitor. Two different exposure profiles, a daily average and short term (15 minute) average, were used in the analysis. Exposure-response relations were evaluated by linking incidence rates for each symptom with categories of exposure. Acute incidence rates for nasal, eye, and throat irritation, and coughing and breathlessness were found to be associated with increased exposure levels of both exposure indices. Steeper exposureresponse slopes were seen when short term exposure concentrations were used. Results from multivariate logistic regression analysis suggest that current smokers tended to be less sensitive to the exposure to airborne sodium borate dust. There was no indication that anhydrous sodium borate was more potent than the other sodium borates in this work environment.Sodium tetraborate is an alkaline salt form of boron. Refined sodium borate usually occurs as colourless All employees who had direct exposure to refined sodium borate dusts and whose exposures could be adequately characterised according to type of sodium borate were selected. Of those eligible, seventy nine (92%) participated in the study. A comparison group of 27 subjects in the same plant was also identified, which included all current non-office hourly employees who had no routine exposure to sodium borate dusts (other than background). Most of them were maintenance workers. Exposed and unexposed workers were similar in demographic background Dose related acute irritant symptom responses to occupational exposure to sodium borate dusts and history of employment. The health outcome of primary interest was irritation of respiratory or mucous membranes, symptoms that are reversible and, hence could occur many times during a day. As a result the study design allowed for health outcomes and exposure to be directly measured on each subject throughout four, generally consecutive, days. On each of the four study days the subject was surveyed (1) by continuous monitoring for particulate exposure and (2) MEASUREMENT OF HEALTH OUTCOMESThe health outcomes studied included irritant symptoms (eye irritation, nose and throat irritation, nose bleeding, coughing, breathlessness, and sneezing) and peak expiratory flow. To document the occurrence of symptoms, a closed ended questionnaire was developed, designed to be completed within one to two minutes (available upon request to the authors). The survey instrument was pilot tested to confirm that the questions were clear and answerable. Peak expiratory flow was measured by a mini-Wright peak flow meter with the best of three efforts at each survey se...

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Dose related acute irritant symptom responses to occupational exposure to sodium borate dusts.

Wegman

Eisen

et al. 1992

Occupational and Environmental Medicine

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It is unlikely that this association was due to hexylene glycol. Irritation is one of the most important critical effects in the setting of hygienic standards for organic solvents in workplaces (19). Yet acute, temporary effects of organic soivents on lung function have not been reported in the literature.…”

Section: Lung Functionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporary health effects from exposure to water-borne paints.

Ulfvarson¹,

Alexandersson²,

Dahlqvist³

et al. 1992

Scand J Work Environ Health

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

SCULLMAN J. Temporary health effects from exposure to water-borne paints. Scand J Work En viron Health 1992;18:376-87. Temporary health effects of exposure to experimental paints were studied . Ten painters feeling nuisance from water-borne paints and eight painter s not feeling such nuisance applied eight experimental water-borne paints according to normal work routines. The effects were a decrease in forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in I s and peak expiratory flow, an increase in urine excretion, and a decrease in urine density. A small, but statistically highly significant, increase in the mean volume of erythrocytes was observed. The effects were similar in the two groups, but the "nuisance group" reacted with a larger urine excretion and a larger increase in the mean volume of erythrocytes. The effects did not influence physical work capacity. The effects on the lungs and urinary excretion were probably not associated with the organic solvents or ammonia in the paints. Instead, they were probably due to derivatives of isothiazolinone. This assumption needs verification.Key terms: blood pressure, forced vital capacity, isothiazolinones, lung function, mean volume of erythrocytes, organic solvents, peak expiratory flow, preservatives, urination.The work environment of house painters has been debated for a long time, and this trade has had recruitment difficulties. Besides, many house painters leave the trade too early. One reason is the fear of chronic effects on the brain because of exposure to organic solvents (1, 2). The use of water-borne paints should reduce or eliminate exposure to organic solvents, and nowadays, in Sweden, water-borne paints are used for most construction painting.Water-borne paints are mainly emulsion paints based on synthetic polymers, so-called latex paints. They have polyvinyl acetate as a binder or acrylate and copolymers for especially demanding purposes (eg, on joinery products). The latex paints contain water, but there are some volatile organic compounds as well. Small amounts (ie, tenths of a percent) of monomer residues may be present after the polymerization reaction (eg, vinyl acetate and butyl acrylate) (3). The paint manufacturers add organic solvents, usually glycols, glycol ethers, and esters, to promote the film formation process and to improve the application properties. The proportion of solvents has to be higher when the demand for gloss and abrasion resistance is high. The solvent contents are -s2% in wall paints and 7-8010 in paints for joinery products, sometimes even more than 10% (3).Latex emulsions can be a favorable substrate for the growth of microorganisms. Therefore, preservatives have to be added. Paint manufacturers often use mix- 8-9 (3). Some arnines can be added to certain paints or raw materials, partly for pH adjustment and partly to improve the emulsion of oils and alkyds in water.The use of water-borne paints can decrease or eliminate some of the health hazards met when paints with an organic solvent base are used . Yet water-bor...

show abstract

Interpreting Levels of Exposures To Chemical Agents

Rappaport¹

2001

Patty's Industrial Hygiene

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The past half‐century has witnessed great advances in the characterization of exposures to toxic chemicals in the workplace. With the development of robust personal monitors, it is now a relatively simple matter to measure the daily air levels among various workers in an observational group (a group of workers sharing observable factors such as job, location, department, etc.). Unfortunately, the interpretation of levels of exposure has not achieved the same degree of sophistication. In fact, decisions still tend to rely upon one‐to‐one comparisons of the highest measured air concentration with occupational exposure limits (OELs), much as they did 50 years ago (see, for example, Refs. 10–14). If the highest air concentration is less than the OEL, then exposure is acceptable (in compliance) and vice versa. While such interpretations would be reasonable if occupational exposures were relatively constant, they seem remarkably naïve when considered in light of daily exposure levels which vary between 10 and 4000 fold. Because exposures must be evaluated in the face of great variability within and between workers in observational groups, statistical methods are central to proper assessment procedures. Likewise, since monitoring is motivated by, and must ultimately relate to, exposure limits, the impact of exposure variability on the interpretation of OELs is important. The purpose of this chapter is to integrate statistical methods and the philosophical bases for exposure limits within a conceptual framework for interpreting exposure data. The methods will be illustrated with the four sets of exposure data depicted in graphical form. The sources and characteristics of these measurements are summarized and all data are listed in Appendix A for those who wish to work through the various examples in the text.

show abstract

Assessment of concentration peaks in setting exposure limits for air contaminants at workplaces, with special emphasis on narcotic and irritative gases and vapors.

Cited by 10 publications

References 11 publications

Dose related acute irritant symptom responses to occupational exposure to sodium borate dusts.

Dose related acute irritant symptom responses to occupational exposure to sodium borate dusts.

Temporary health effects from exposure to water-borne paints.

Interpreting Levels of Exposures To Chemical Agents

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About