Personal breathing zone exposures among hot-mix asphalt paving workers; preliminary analysis for trends and analysis of work practices that resulted in the highest exposure concentrations

Details

• Personal Author:
  Blackburn GR ; Cavallari JM ; Herrick, Robert F. ; Kriech AJ ; McClean MD ; Olsen, Larry D. ; Osborn LV ; Snawder, John E.
• Description:
  An exposure assessment of hot-mix asphalt (HMA) paving workers was conducted to determine which of four exposure scenarios impacted worker exposure and dose. Goals of this report are to present the personal-breathing zone (PBZ) data, discuss the impact of substituting the releasing/cleaning agent, and discuss work practices that resulted in the highest exposure concentration for each analyte. One-hundred-seven PBZ samples were collected from HMA paving workers on days when diesel oil was used as a releasing/cleaning agent. An additional 36 PBZ samples were collected on days when B-100 (100% biodiesel, containing no petroleum-derived products) was used as a substitute releasing/ cleaning agent. Twenty-four PBZ samples were collected from a reference group of concrete workers, who also worked in outdoor construction but had no exposure to asphalt emissions. Background and field blank samples were also collected daily. Total particulates and the benzene soluble fraction were determined gravimetrically. Total organic matter was determined using gas chromatography (GC) with flame ionization detection and provided qualitative information about other exposure sources contributing to worker exposure besides asphalt emissions. Thirty-three individual polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) were determined using GC with time-off light mass spectrometry; results were presented as either the concentration of an individual PAC or a summation of the individual PACs containing either 2- to 3-rings or 4- to 6- rings. Samples were also screened for PACs containing 4- to 6-rings using fluorescence spectroscopy. Arithmetic means, medians, and box plots of the PBZ data were used to evaluate trends in the data. Box plots illustrating the diesel oil results were more variable than the B-100. Also, the highest diesel oil results were much higher in concentration than the highest B-100 results. An analysis of the highest exposure results and field notes revealed a probable association between these exposures and the use of diesel oil, use of a diesel-powered screed, elevated HMA paving application temperatures, lubricating and working on broken-down equipment, and operation of a broom machine. [Supplementary materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene for the following free supplemental resource: a file containing tables summarizing statistical data and individual analyte results.] [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Construction Industry Construction Materials Environmental Monitoring Hydrocarbons Occupational Health Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Safety Vehicle Emissions
• Keywords:
  Asphalt-cements Asphalt-concretes Asphalt-fumes Asphalt-industry Author Keywords: Asphalt Paving Emissions Biodiesel Breathing-zone Cleaning-compounds Construction Construction-equipment Construction-industry Construction-materials Construction-workers Diesel Diesel-emissions Emission-sources Exposure-assessment Organic-compounds Personal-breathing Zone Polycyclic-aromatic-hydrocarbons Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds Road-construction Road-surfacing Total Organic Matter Work-practices

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• ISSN:
  1545-9624
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Connecticut ; Indiana ; Massachusetts ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  10
• Issue:
  12
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20043321
• Citation:
  J Occup Environ Hyg 2013 Dec; 10(12):663-673
• Contact Point Address:
  Linda V. Osborn, Heritage Research Group, 7901 West Morris Street, Indianapolis, IN 46231, USA
• Email:
  linda.osborn@heritage-enviro.com
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7fbe9a169caf7c765620272540af8efafcfb0e9d998d6be2177c95f90818dfcb99d0f277190405e679fe73f8427fc7bad8974115d4980a22d6d9532bb9911c38
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/195244/cdc_195244_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 183.06 KB ]