Personal exposure to gaseous and particulate phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and nanoparticles and lung deposited surface area (LDSA) for soot among Norwegian chimney sweepers

• Published in: Journal of occupational and environmental hygiene Vol. 21; no. 1; pp. 24 - 34
• Main Authors: Moazami, Therese Nitter, Jørgensen, Rikke Bramming, Svendsen, Kristin V Hirsch, Teigen, Krister Aune, Hegseth, Marit Nøst
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis LLC 2024
• Subjects: Air Pollutants - analysis; Chimneys; Dust - analysis; Environmental Monitoring - methods; Exposure; Exposure limits; Fire prevention; Fire protection; Fire safety; Gases; Health risks; Inflammation; Lung - chemistry; Lungs; Molecular weight; Nanoparticles; Occupational exposure; Occupational Exposure - analysis; Occupational health; Particulate Matter - analysis; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons - analysis; Protective equipment; Real time; Soot; Surface area; Sweeping; Vacuum cleaners; Waste sorting; Workweeks; personal protective equipment; occupational exposure; ultrafine particles; Cancer; DiSCmini; sweeping
• ISSN: 1545-9624; 1545-9632
• DOI: 10.1080/15459624.2023.2264349

Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) of high molecular weight from chimney soot can cause cancer among chimney sweepers. These sweepers may also be exposed to high concentrations of nanosized particles, which can cause significant inflammatory responses due to their relatively greater surface area per mass. In this study, the authors aimed to assess the exposure profiles of airborne personal exposure to gaseous and particulate PAHs, and real-time samples of the particle number concentrations (PNCs), particle sizes, and lung-deposited surface areas (LDSAs), for chimney sweepers in Norway. Additionally, the authors aimed to assess the task-based exposure concentrations of PNCs, sizes, and LDSAs while working on different tasks. The results are based on personal samples of particulate PAHs (  = 68), gaseous PAHs (  = 28), and real-time nanoparticles (  = 8) collected from 17 chimney sweepers. Samples were collected during a "typical work week" of chimney sweeping and fire safety inspections, then during a "massive soot" week, where larger sweeping missions took place. Significantly higher PAH concentrations were measured during the "massive soot" week compared to the "typical work week," however, the time-weighted average (TWA) (8-hr) of all gaseous and particulate PAHs ranged from 0.52 to 4.47 µg/m and 0.49 to 2.50 µg/m , respectively, well below the Norwegian occupational exposure limit (OEL) of 40 µg/m . The PNCs were high during certain activities, such as emptying the vacuum cleaner. Additionally, during 2 days of sweeping in a waste sorting facility, the TWAs of the PNCs were 3.6 10 and 7.1 10 particles/cm on the first and second days, respectively, which were near and above the proposed nano reference limit TWA value of 4.0 10 particles/cm proposed by the International Workshop on Nano Reference Values. The corresponding TWAs of the LDSAs were 49.5 and 54.5 µm /cm , respectively. The chimney sweepers seemed aware of the potential health risks associated with exposure, and suitable personal protective equipment was used. However, the PNCs reported for the activities show that when the activities change or increase, the PNCs' TWAs can become unacceptably high.