Occupational Exposures in the Culinary Underbelly: Air Pollution in Restaurants

Details

• Journal Article:
  Environmental Science and Technology
• Personal Author:
  Saporito, Antonio F. ; Hashmi, Mehmood ; Yu, Wuyue ; Michanowicz, Drew R. ; Lebel, Eric D. ; Lucha, Nicole ; Huang, Gan ; Finnegan, Colin J. ; Albergamo, Vittorio ; Lyu, Wenjie ; Chillrud, Steven N. ; Ross, James M. ; Burns, Dru A. ; LeBouf, Ryan F. ; Galarza, Christopher ; Zelikoff, Judith T. ; Gordon, Terry
  More +
• Description:
  Occupational exposure to commercial cooking emissions has not been comprehensively studied, particularly in a Western context. This investigation measured the concentration and composition of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), and black carbon (BC) in 18 New York City restaurants. Eight-hour gravimetric PM1,2.5,10 mass concentrations were measured in kitchen and dining areas, and PM1 was speciated using X-ray fluorescence. Evacuated canisters and XAD-2 sorbent tubes collected VOCs and PAHs, respectively, and were speciated using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Lastly, spatial concentration gradients for PM2.5 and day-of-the-week effects were considered in eight additional restaurants. A median PM2.5 concentration of 79.6 µg/m3 was found in kitchens, with real-time values spiking into the thousands of micrograms per cubic meter in some restaurants-values below the Occupational Safety and Health Administration 8 h permissible exposure limit of 5 mg/m3 for particles not otherwise regulated (respirable fraction), but well above the 24 h World Health Organization recommended ambient exposure limit of 15 µg/m3 for 2021. Benzene, a known carcinogen, was frequently detected in the kitchen areas, while PAHs were often undetected. These data warrant further investigation into the cardiopulmonary health of restaurant workers. Description provided by NIOSH
• Subjects:
  • Air Pollution
  • Occupational Exposure
  • Occupational Health
  • Safety
• Keywords:
  • Occupational exposure
  • Cooking equipment
  • Emission sources
  • Food services
  • Air pollution
  • Volatile organic compounds
  • VOCs
  • Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
  • Particulates
  • Exposure assessment
  More +
• ISSN:
  0013-936X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; New York ; New York City Region OSHA ; Pennsylvania ; Philadelphia Region OSHA ; San Francisco Region OSHA ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  RHD - Respiratory Health Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  10 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071857
• Citation:
  Environ Sci Technol 2026 Jun; :Epub ahead of print
• Contact Point Address:
  Antonio F. Saporito, Division of Environmental Medicine, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York 10010, United States
• Email:
  Antonio.saporito@nyulangone.org
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2026
• Performing Organization:
  Mount Sinai School of Medicine
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  2005/07/01
• End Date:
  2027/06/30
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/260079/cdc_260079_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.51 MB]
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:1d48d545ee198e569c09d0e489e871bb9b045d9d2ab8ab1396024215d15ea7d30964f432589498f1b7a6aabffeb26abdf701b99c7d7c32c6566a47dfb95a1b0c