Construction of a job exposure matrix to dust, fluoride, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the Norwegian aluminum industry using prediction models

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bakke B ; Henneberger, Paul K. ; Kongerud J ; Soyseth V ; Virji, M. Abbas
• Description:
  Background: The Norwegian aluminum industry developed and implemented a protocol for prospective monitoring of employees' exposure using personal samplers. We analyzed these data to develop prediction lines to construct a job exposure matrix ( JEM) for the period 1986.1995. Methods: The protocol for personal monitoring of exposure was implemented in all seven Norwegian aluminum plants in 1986 and continued until 1995. Personal samplers were used to collect total dust, fluorides, and total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). In addition, exposure could be categorized according to process, i.e. prebake, Soderberg, and "other." We constructed four-dimensional JEMs characterized by: Plant, Job descriptor, Process, and Year. Totally 8074, 6734, and 3524 measurements were available for dust, fluorides, and PAH, respectively. The data were analyzed using linear mixed models with two-way interactions. The models were assessed using the Akaike criterion (AIC) and unadjusted R2. The significance level was set to 10% (two-sided) for retaining variables in the model. Results: In 1986, the geometric mean (95% confidence interval in parentheses) for total dust, total fluorides, and PAH were 3.18 (0.46.22.2) mg m-3, 0.58 (0.085-4.00) mg m-3, and 33.9 (2.3-504) ug m-3, respectively. During 10 years of follow-up, the exposure to total dust, fluorides, and PAH decreased by 9.2, 11.7, and 14.9% per year, respectively. Each model encompassed from 49 to 72 significant components of the interaction terms. The interaction components were at least as important as the main effects, and 65 to 91% of the significant components of the interaction terms were time-dependent. Conclusion: Our prediction models indicated that exposures were highly time-dependent. We expect that the time-dependent changes in exposure are of major importance for longitudinal studies of health effects in the aluminum industry. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aluminum Compounds Dust Fluorides Hydrocarbons Metal Workers Occupational Health Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Aluminum-compounds Aluminum-industry Author Keywords: Aluminium Dust-exposure Dusts Epidemiology Exposure-levels Exposure Assessment-mixed Models Exposure Estimation Fluoride-compounds Measurement Strategy Models Monitoring-systems Polycyclic-aromatic-hydrocarbons Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Risk-factors Samplers Work-environment Workers

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• ISSN:
  0003-4878
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies ; RHD - Respiratory Health Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  59
• Issue:
  9
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046795
• Citation:
  Ann Occup Hyg 2015 Nov; 59(9):1106-1121
• Contact Point Address:
  Vidar Søyseth, Division of Respiratory Disease Studies, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, MS 2800, 1095 Willowdale Road, Morgantown, WV 26505
• Email:
  Vidar.soyseth@medisin.uio.no
• CAS Registry Number:
  Aluminum (CAS RN 7429-90-5) ; Fluoride (CAS RN 16984-48-8)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2016
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Annals of Occupational Hygiene
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:81a8f9a4d6ec9dd2c50a7a1167454b9d0fd03a7563ac091723cfefa35ca3e088e19c2662df14db965bf6f21b52fb93bf19a0ad32689c6ec0f85fbd38ec0e58dc
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/202106/cdc_202106_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.32 MB ]