Exposure to Quartz in Finnish Workplaces Declined during the First Six Years after the Signing of the NEPSI Agreement, but Evened out between 2013 and 2017
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Methods
2.1. Sampling Sites
2.2. Sampling
2.3. FTIR and XRD Methodology
2.4. Analysis by FTIR
2.5. Analysis by XRD
2.6. Estimating the Amount of Workers Exposed to Respirable Crystalline Silica
2.7. Estimating the Amount of Workers with Silicosis or Cancers Attributable to Quartz Exposure
2.8. Estimating Statistical Significance of the Trend in Respirable Quartz Exposure from 2013 to 2017
3. Results
3.1. Measured Exposure (2006–2017)
3.2. Exposure in Different Occupations (2013–2015) and the Number of Exposed Workers from 1995 to 2015
3.3. Annual Incidence Rate and Annual Prevalence of Work-Related Silicosis and Lung Cancer from Respirable Quartz Exposure between 2005 and 2014
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Year | Number of Samples | Average (mg/m3) | Median (mg/m3) | 95% Percentile (mg/m3) | Nr. of Results > OEL8h |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 2006 | 99 | 0.2036 | 0.0340 | 1.0100 | 44 |
1 2007 | 71 | 0.0365 | 0.0100 | 0.1400 | 15 |
1 2008 | 276 | 0.0443 | 0.0090 | 0.1325 | 41 |
1 2009 | 155 | 0.0213 | 0.0065 | 0.0586 | 13 |
1 2010 | 102 | 0.0158 | 0.0055 | 0.0596 | 8 |
1 2011 | 197 | 0.0656 | 0.0055 | 0.1720 | 33 |
1 2012 | 195 | 0.0180 | 0.0040 | 0.0522 | 11 |
1 2013 | 44 | 0.0134 | 0.0058 | 0.0430 | 2 |
2014 | 87 | 0.0111 | 0.0050 | 0.0414 | 3 |
2015 | 67 | 0.0252 | 0.0040 | 0.0911 | 4 |
2016 | 95 | 0.0163 | 0.0060 | 0.0502 | 5 |
2017 | 158 | 0.0181 | 0.0050 | 0.0781 | 10 |
The Number of Exposed Workers Per Time-Period | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Occupation | 2 1995–1997 | 2 1998–2000 | 2 2001–2003 | 2 2004–2006 | 2 2007–2009 | 2010–2012 | 2013–2015 |
1 Construction carpenters | 7563 | 11,262 | 11,307 | 12,115 | 12,374 | 11,602 | 11,299 |
1 Assisting building workers | 3802 | 5704 | 6745 | 8826 | 9568 | 15,732 | 14,071 |
1 Building occupations, nec | 3469 | 3569 | 5214 | 6420 | 7439 | 2961 | 3597 |
1 Assisting construction workers, nec | 1756 | 2633 | 3115 | 4075 | 4417 | 2798 | 3010 |
1 Bricklayers, plasterers, and tile setters | 2495 | 3334 | 3347 | 3586 | 3662 | 2309 | 2415 |
Concrete-mixer operators and cast concrete product workers | 1771 | 2207 | 2401 | 2379 | 2960 | 2774 | 3279 |
Foundry Workers | 1496 | 2049 | 2125 | 2381 | 1888 | 1382 | 1153 |
Well drilling and quarrying | 588 | 883 | 725 | 1617 | 1726 | 2061 | 1559 |
Metal smelting furnacemen | 1813 | 1812 | 1810 | 1255 | 1427 | 634 | 736 |
Stone cutters | 766 | 1080 | 1353 | 1012 | 1154 | 654 | 865 |
Miners, shot firers etc. | 678 | 606 | 746 | 704 | 1089 | 953 | 1199 |
Occupations in smelting, metallurgical and foundry work, nec | 898 | 923 | 905 | 1354 | 920 | 408 | 475 |
Glass molders etc. | 679 | 953 | 943 | 1108 | 746 | 258 | 241 |
Reinforced concrete layers, stonemasons etc. | 487 | 651 | 654 | 700 | 715 | 436 | 577 |
Concrete shutterers and finishers | 524 | 587 | 669 | 507 | 647 | 899 | 899 |
Miners and quarrymen, nec | 551 | 701 | 433 | 456 | 321 | 422 | 1199 |
Potters | 218 | 245 | 201 | 301 | 268 | 258 | 17 |
Occupations related to glass, ceramic, and fine earthenware, nec | 310 | 217 | 201 | 109 | 240 | 219 | 196 |
1 Refinery workers, other occupations in the chemical industry | 257 | 280 | 189 | 241 | 231 | 308 | 336 |
Concentration plant workers | 91 | 136 | 139 | 177 | 214 | 206 | 306 |
Glass and ceramics decorators, ceramics dippers | 148 | 162 | 88 | 94 | 53 | 31 | 59 |
Glass and ceramics kilnmen | 102 | 74 | 118 | 39 | 31 | 910 | 774 |
Glass and clay mixers | 16 | 11 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 17 | 2 |
Sum of all occupations (total number of workers) | 30,478 | 40,079 | 43,439 | 49,462 | 52,103 | 48,232 | 48,264 |
Sum of workers covered by the NEPSI treaty | 11,136 | 13,297 | 13,522 | 14,199 | 14,412 | 12,522 | 13,526 |
Year | Silicosis | Lung Cancers |
---|---|---|
2005 | 8 | 0 |
2006 | 14 | 0 |
2007 | 9 | 1 |
2008 | 10 | 1 |
2009 | 5 | 0 |
2010 | 5 | 0 |
2011 | 8 | 2 |
2012 | 8 | 1 |
2013 | 5 | 0 |
2014 | 11 | 0 |
Sum | 84 | 5 |
Average | 7.7 | 0.45 |
Annual prevalence | 2:10,000 | 1:100,000 |
Occupations | Incidence |
---|---|
Miners; shot firers and quarrymen in mining | 30 |
Shot firers in building industries | 6 |
Painters; carpenters; assistant building workers; plumbers; percussion drillers and deep drillers; assisting building and construction workers; other occupations in building industries | 19 |
Foundry workers; occupations in smelting and metallurgical work | 13 |
Welders, boilermakers, metal workers | 6 |
Production of stone- and concrete products, cement, and tiles | 8 |
Others | 7 |
Sum | 89 |
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Tuomi, T.; Linnainmaa, M.; Pennanen, S. Exposure to Quartz in Finnish Workplaces Declined during the First Six Years after the Signing of the NEPSI Agreement, but Evened out between 2013 and 2017. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15, 906. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15050906
Tuomi T, Linnainmaa M, Pennanen S. Exposure to Quartz in Finnish Workplaces Declined during the First Six Years after the Signing of the NEPSI Agreement, but Evened out between 2013 and 2017. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2018; 15(5):906. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15050906
Chicago/Turabian StyleTuomi, Tapani, Markku Linnainmaa, and Sirpa Pennanen. 2018. "Exposure to Quartz in Finnish Workplaces Declined during the First Six Years after the Signing of the NEPSI Agreement, but Evened out between 2013 and 2017" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 15, no. 5: 906. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15050906