HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS REGISTER		Author Keyword(s) Vol Page [Advanced]

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: oem.2007.032805v1 65/5/300    most recent Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this link to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Add article to my folders Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Google Scholar Articles by Semple, S Articles by Seaton, A PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Semple, S Articles by Seaton, A

Exposure to particulate matter on an Indian stone-crushing site

¹ Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, University of Aberdeen, UK
² Department of Paediatrics, West Middlesex University Hospital, UK
³ Institute of Occupational Medicine, Edinburgh, UK

Correspondence to:
Dr Sean Semple, Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen AB25 2ZP, UK; sean.semple{at}abdn.ac.uk

Background/objectives: A large number of labourers work in the stone-crushing industry in India. Many of these workers are also exposed to high levels of particulate matter in their homes from the use of biomass fuels. As part of our investigations to examine the health of these workers we characterised their exposure to respirable crystalline silica and a number of other particulate matter exposure metrics in both occupational and domestic settings.

Methods: We used a combination of direct reading and gravimetric sampling of respirable dust, total inhalable dust and particulate matter <2.5 µm in diameter (PM_2.5) at work (n = 19), within the general environment (n = 6) and inside the home (n = 7). We used x-ray diffraction to quantify the level of crystalline silica in the respirable dust samples.

Results: After correcting for the length of the working week, the arithmetic mean 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA) total inhalable dust exposure for this group was 143 mg/m³, the mean 8-hour TWA respirable dust exposure was 39.7 mg/m³ and the 8-hour TWA crystalline silica exposure was 2.29 mg/m³. Our real-time data showed peaks in exposure under certain environmental and/or working conditions. General environmental and domestic PM_2.5 exposures were also high.

Conclusions: Particulate matter exposures experienced by this group of workers and their families are likely to produce impaired lung function within a short time-frame. There is a need to introduce simple measures to reduce particulate matter exposure from both occupational sources and the use of biomass fuels in homes on this and similar sites.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				O. P. Kurmi, S. Semple, M. Steiner, G. D. Henderson, and J. G. Ayres Particulate Matter Exposure during Domestic Work in Nepal Ann. Hyg., August 1, 2008; 52(6): 509 - 517. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]