Opportunities and Challenges in Reducing Personal Inhalation Exposure to Air Pollution Among Electronic Waste Recovery Workers in Ghana

Details

• Personal Author:
  Arko-Mensah J ; Batterman SA ; Fobil JN ; Laskaris Z ; Mukherjee B ; O'Neill MS ; Robins TG
• Description:
  Background: Informal sector electronic waste (e-waste) recovery produces toxic emissions resulting from burning e-waste to recover valuable metals. Objectives: To identify high-risk worker groups by measuring relative levels of personal inhalation exposure to particulate matter (PM) of fine (<=2.5 um) and coarse (2.5-10 um) fractions (PM2.5 and PM2.5-10, respectively) across work activities among e-waste workers, and to assess how wind conditions modify levels of PM by activity and site location. Methods: At the Agbogbloshie e-waste site, 170 partial-shift PM samples and time-activity data were collected from participants (N = 105) enrolled in the GeoHealth cohort study. Personal sampling included continuous measures of size-specific PM from the worker's breathing zone and time-activity derived from wearable cameras. Linear mixed models were used to estimate changes in personal PM2.5 and PM2.5-10 associated with activities and evaluate effect modification by wind conditions. Results: Mean (+/- standard deviation) personal PM2.5 and PM2.5-10 concentrations were 80 (+/- 81) and 123 (+/- 139) ug m-3, respectively. The adjusted mean PM2.5 concentration for burning e-waste was 88 ug m-3, a 28% increase above concentrations during non-recovery activities (such as eating). Transportation-related and burning activities were associated with the highest PM2.5-10 concentrations. Frequent changes in wind direction were associated with higher PM2.5 concentrations when burning, and high wind speeds with higher PM2.5-10 concentrations when dismantling e-waste downwind of the burning zone. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aerosols Air Pollution Cohort Studies Electrical Equipment And Supplies Occupational Health Particulate Matter Recycling Safety
• Keywords:
  Aerosol Particles Air Pollution Author Keywords: Air Pollution Breathing Zone Cohort Studies Electronic Equipment Electronic Waste Ghana Informal Sector Particulate Matter Particulates Personal Inhalation Waste Disposal

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Michigan ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  381-397
• Volume:
  64
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20062454
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2021 May; 64(5):381-397
• Contact Point Address:
  Zoey Laskaris, PhD, MPH, Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health,1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029, USA
• Email:
  laskaris@umich.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• Performing Organization:
  University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• End Date:
  20280630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a217777104f605224d73fb5e5c5f29e6303eacc6c5178cbfc4eed14135292af29eb2af23d54a0ab8e43cec781241717e294b7eea8a0e4fb7412de40d75fe9e70
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/225700/cdc_225700_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.22 MB ]