Assessment of worker chemical exposures in California vape shops.

E-cigarettes are battery-operated devices that heat a liquid mixture to make an aerosol that is inhaled, or vaped, by the user. Vape shops are retail environments designed to fulfill customer demand for diverse e-liquid flavors and hardware options, which create unique worker exposure concerns. To characterize exposures to vape shop workers, especially to flavoring chemicals associated with known respiratory toxicity, this study recruited vape shops from the San Francisco Bay Area. In six shops, we measured air concentrations for volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, flavoring chemicals, and nicotine in personal and/or area samples; analyzed components of e-liquids vaped during field visits; and assessed metals on surface wipe samples. Interviews and observations were conducted over the course of a workday in the same six shops and interviews were performed in an additional six where sampling was not conducted. Detections of the alpha-diketone butter flavoring chemicals diacetyl and/or 2,3-pentanedione were common: in the headspace of purchased e-liquids (18 of 26 samples), in personal air samples (5 of 16), and in area air samples (2 of 6 shops). Two exceedances of recommended exposure limits for 2,3-pentanedione (a short-term exposure limit and an 8-hr time-weighted average) were measured in personal air samples. Other compounds detected in the area and personal air samples included substitutes for diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione (acetoin and 2,3-hexanedione) and compounds that may be contaminants or impurities. Furthermore, a large variety (82) of other flavoring chemicals were detected in area air samples. None of the 12 shops interviewed had a health and safety program. Six shops reported no use of any personal protective equipment (PPE) (e.g., gloves, chemical resistant aprons, eye protection) and the others stated occasional use; however, no PPE use was observed during any field investigation day. Recommendations were provided to shops that included making improvements to ventilation, hygiene, use of personal protective equipment, and, if possible, avoidance of products containing the alpha-diketone flavoring chemicals. Future research is needed to evaluate the long-term health risks among workers in the vape shop retail industry and for e-cigarette use generally. Specific areas include further characterizing e-liquid constituents and emissions, evaluating ingredient health risks, evaluating the contributions of different routes of exposure (dermal, inhalation, and ingestion), and determining effective exposure mitigation measures.

Exposure to Radon and Progeny in a Tourist Cavern.

ABSTRACT: The primary objective of this work was to characterize employee exposure to radon and progeny while performing guide/interpretation and concessions duties in a tourist cavern. Radon gas and progeny concentrations, fraction of unattached progeny, and other environmental parameters were evaluated in a popular tourist cavern in Southeastern New Mexico. Alpha-track detectors were used to measure radon gas in several cavern locations during a 9-mo period. Additionally, radon gas and attached and unattached fractions of radon progeny were measured at three primary cavern work locations during a 1-d period using a SARAD EQF 3220. Radon gas concentrations in the cavern were elevated due to extremely low air exchange rates with substantial seasonal variation. Mean measured radon concentrations ranged from 970 to 2,600 Bq m-3 in the main cavern and from 5,400 to 6,000 Bq m-3 in a smaller cave associated with the regional cave system. Measurements of unattached fractions (0.40-0.60) were higher than those commonly found in mines and other workplaces, leading to the potential for relatively high worker dose. Although radon gas concentrations were below the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Permissible Exposure Limit, employees working in the cavern have the potential to accrue ionizing radiation dose in excess of the annual effective dose limit recommended by the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements due to a high unattached fraction of radon progeny. There was a strong negative correlation between unattached fractions and equilibrium factors, but these parameters should be further evaluated for seasonal variation. Introduction of engineering controls such as ventilation could damage the cavern environment, so administrative controls, such as time management, are preferred to reduce employee dose.

Potential occupational and respiratory hazards in a Minnesota cannabis cultivation and processing facility.

BACKGROUND: Cannabis has been legalized in some form for much of the United States. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) received a health hazard evaluation request from a Minnesota cannabis facility and their union to undertake an evaluation. METHODS: NIOSH representatives visited the facility in August 2016 and April 2017. Surface wipe samples were collected for analysis of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol acid (Δ9-THCA), cannabidiol, and cannabinol. Environmental air samples were collected for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), endotoxins (limulus amebocyte lysate assay), and fungal diversity (NIOSH two-stage BC251 bioaerosol sampler with internal transcribed spacer region sequencing analysis). RESULTS: Surface wipe samples identified Δ9-THC throughout the facility. Diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione were measured in initial VOC screening and subsequent sampling during tasks where heat transference was greatest, though levels were well below the NIOSH recommended exposure limits. Endotoxin concentrations were highest during processing activities, while internal transcribed spacer region sequencing revealed that the Basidiomycota genus, Wallemia, had the highest relative abundance. CONCLUSIONS: To the authors' knowledge, this is the first published report of potential diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione exposure in the cannabis industry, most notably during cannabis decarboxylation. Endotoxin exposure was elevated during grinding, indicating that this is a potentially high-risk task. The findings indicate that potential health hazards of significance are present during cannabis processing, and employers should be aware of potential exposures to VOCs, endotoxin, and fungi. Further research into the degree of respiratory and dermal hazards and resulting health effects in this industry is recommended.

Temperature-dependent emission concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in paving and built-up roofing asphalts.

OBJECTIVES: To characterize temperature-dependent emissions from paving and built-up roofing asphalt (BURA) and to quantify differences in temperature-related concentrations and composition. METHODS: Using headspace gas chromatography, 18 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission concentrations were quantified over eight temperatures (120-315°C) for paving asphalt (n = 20) and Types II, III, and IV BURA (n = 5) and were summarized by geometric means (GMs) and geometric standard deviations (GSDs) at each temperature. The relationships between temperature and concentration were evaluated for PAH analytes using mixed-effects regression models. Temperature was categorized into regimes: Regime 1 (120-150°C) representing temperatures typical of paving asphalt application, Regime 2 (180-230°C) representing temperatures typical of BURA application, and Regime 3 (260-315°C) which were high temperatures outside typical application temperatures. An interaction term was used to evaluate differential effects of temperature on paving asphalt versus BURA. RESULTS: In the paving regime (120-150°C), paving asphalt emission concentrations were highest for 2- and 3-ring PAHs [GM (GSD) at 150°C of 4.51 (2.07), 3.77 (1.63), 2.26 (1.53), and 1.80 (1.66) µg m(-3) for 2-methyl naphthalene, naphthalene, phenanthrene, and acenaphthene, respectively], with all the 4- and 5- to 6-ring individual PAHs mean concentrations below the detection limit, with the exception of benz[a]anthracene. In the BURA regime (180-230°C), BURA emission concentrations were highest for 2- and 3-ring PAHs [GM (GSD) at 205°C of 121.3 (1.37), 99.5 (1.31), 69.5 (1.32), and 68.1 (1.37) µg m(-3) for acenaphthene, anthracene, 2-methyl naphthalene, and phenanthrene, respectively], with lower but detectable concentrations for 4- and 5- to 6-ring PAHs. For both paving asphalt and BURA, concentrations increased log linearly with temperature. At a given temperature, the highest concentrations were observed for 2-ring PAHs with lower and decreasing concentrations observed with increased ring size. Temperature was a statistically significant (P < 0.01) predictor of concentration for each analyte. Furthermore, the categorical temperature regime variable explained a large percent of the variability in concentrations accounting for 74-92% of the total variability in PAH concentration. In both paving asphalt and BURA, the relationship between temperature and concentration was non-linear. There was a statistically significant difference between paving asphalt and BURA in the temperature-concentration relationship for the each analyte. Temperature alone did not account for differences in paving asphalt and BURA concentrations in 5- to 6-ring PAHs. CONCLUSIONS: Emission concentrations are driven by temperature for both paving asphalt and BURA samples under studied experimental conditions. There are differences in paving asphalt and BURA emission concentrations that are not explained by temperature alone; concentrations were higher and consisted of larger ring (4 and 5 to 6) PAHs for BURA as compared to paving asphalt at the respective application temperature ranges.

Modeling spatial patterns of traffic-related air pollutants in complex urban terrain.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between traffic emissions and mobile-source air pollutant concentrations is highly variable over space and time and therefore difficult to model accurately, especially in urban settings with complex terrain. Regression-based approaches using continuous real-time mobile measurements may be able to characterize spatiotemporal variability in traffic-related pollutant concentrations but require methods to incorporate temporally varying meteorology and source strength in a physically interpretable fashion. OBJECTIVE: We developed a statistical model to assess the joint impact of both meteorology and traffic on measured concentrations of mobile-source air pollutants over space and time. METHODS: In this study, traffic-related air pollutants were continuously measured in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York (USA), which is affected by traffic on a large bridge and major highway. One-minute average concentrations of ultrafine particulate matter (UFP), fine particulate matter [≤ 2.5 µm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5)], and particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were measured using a mobile-monitoring protocol. Regression modeling approaches to quantify the influence of meteorology, traffic volume, and proximity to major roadways on pollutant concentrations were used. These models incorporated techniques to capture spatial variability, long- and short-term temporal trends, and multiple sources. RESULTS: We observed spatial heterogeneity of both UFP and PM2.5 concentrations. A variety of statistical methods consistently found a 15-20% decrease in UFP concentrations within the first 100 m from each of the two major roadways. For PM2.5, temporal variability dominated spatial variability, but we observed a consistent linear decrease in concentrations from the roadways. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of mobile monitoring and regression analysis was able to quantify local source contributions relative to background while accounting for physically interpretable parameters. Our results provide insight into urban exposure gradients.

Quantifying the efficiency and equity implications of power plant air pollution control strategies in the United States.

BACKGROUND: In deciding among competing approaches for emissions control, debates often hinge on the potential tradeoffs between efficiency and equity. However, previous health benefits analyses have not formally addressed both dimensions. OBJECTIVES: We modeled the public health benefits and the change in the spatial inequality of health risk for a number of hypothetical control scenarios for power plants in the United States to determine optimal control strategies. METHODS: We simulated various ways by which emission reductions of sulfur dioxide (SO(2)), nitrogen oxides, and fine particulate matter (particulate matter < 2.5 microm in diameter; PM(2.5)) could be distributed to reach national emissions caps. We applied a source-receptor matrix to determine the PM(2.5) concentration changes associated with each control scenario and estimated the mortality reductions. We estimated changes in the spatial inequality of health risk using the Atkinson index and other indicators, following previously derived axioms for measuring health risk inequality. RESULTS: In our baseline model, benefits ranged from 17,000-21,000 fewer premature deaths per year across control scenarios. Scenarios with greater health benefits also tended to have greater reductions in the spatial inequality of health risk, as many sources with high health benefits per unit emissions of SO(2) were in areas with high background PM(2.5) concentrations. Sensitivity analyses indicated that conclusions were generally robust to the choice of indicator and other model specifications. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis demonstrates an approach for formally quantifying both the magnitude and spatial distribution of health benefits of pollution control strategies, allowing for joint consideration of efficiency and equity.