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Chen D, Werder EJ, Stewart PA, Stenzel MR, Gerr FE, Lawrence KG, Groth CP, Huynh TB, Ramachandran G, Banerjee S, Jackson WB, Christenbury K, Kwok RK, Sandler DP, Engel LS. Exposure to volatile hydrocarbons and neurologic function among oil spill workers up to 6 years after the Deepwater Horizon disaster. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 231:116069. [PMID: 37149022 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Revised: 05/03/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND During the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) disaster, oil spill response and cleanup (OSRC) workers were exposed to toxic volatile components of crude oil. Few studies have examined exposure to individual volatile hydrocarbon chemicals below occupational exposure limits in relation to neurologic function among OSRC workers. OBJECTIVES To investigate the association of several spill-related chemicals (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, n-hexane, i.e., BTEX-H) and total petroleum hydrocarbons (THC) with neurologic function among DWH spill workers enrolled in the Gulf Long-term Follow-up Study. METHODS Cumulative exposure to THC and BTEX-H across the oil spill cleanup period were estimated using a job-exposure matrix that linked air measurement data to detailed self-reported DWH OSRC work histories. We ascertained quantitative neurologic function data via a comprehensive test battery at a clinical examination that occurred 4-6 years after the DWH disaster. We used multivariable linear regression and modified Poisson regression to evaluate relationships of exposures (quartiles (Q)) with 4 neurologic function measures. We examined modification of the associations by age at enrollment (<50 vs. ≥50 years). RESULTS We did not find evidence of adverse neurologic effects from crude oil exposures among the overall study population. However, among workers ≥50 years of age, several individual chemical exposures were associated with poorer vibrotactile acuity of the great toe, with statistically significant effects observed in Q3 or Q4 of exposures (range of log mean difference in Q4 across exposures: 0.13-0.26 μm). We also observed suggestive adverse associations among those ≥ age 50 years for tests of postural stability and single-leg stance, although most effect estimates did not reach thresholds of statistical significance (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Higher exposures to volatile components of crude oil were associated with modest deficits in neurologic function among OSRC workers who were age 50 years or older at study enrollment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dazhe Chen
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Emily J Werder
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
| | | | - Mark R Stenzel
- Exposure Assessment Applications, LLC, Arlington, VA, USA
| | - Fredric E Gerr
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Iowa College of Public Health, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Kaitlyn G Lawrence
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
| | - Caroline P Groth
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA
| | - Tran B Huynh
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Gurumurthy Ramachandran
- Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Sudipto Banerjee
- Department of Biostatistics, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California - Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - W Braxton Jackson
- Social & Scientific Systems, Inc, a DLH Holdings Company, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Kate Christenbury
- Social & Scientific Systems, Inc, a DLH Holdings Company, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Richard K Kwok
- Population Studies and Genetics Branch, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Dale P Sandler
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
| | - Lawrence S Engel
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.
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Chen D, Sandler DP, Keil AP, Heiss G, Whitsel EA, Edwards JK, Stewart PA, Stenzel MR, Groth CP, Ramachandran G, Banerjee S, Huynh TB, Jackson WB, Blair A, Lawrence KG, Kwok RK, Engel LS. Volatile Hydrocarbon Exposures and Incident Coronary Heart Disease Events: Up to Ten Years of Follow-up among Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Workers. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES 2023; 131:57006. [PMID: 37224072 PMCID: PMC10208425 DOI: 10.1289/ehp11859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Revised: 04/09/2023] [Accepted: 04/28/2023] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND During the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) disaster, response and cleanup workers were potentially exposed to toxic volatile components of crude oil. However, to our knowledge, no study has examined exposure to individual oil spill-related chemicals in relation to cardiovascular outcomes among oil spill workers. OBJECTIVES Our aim was to investigate the association of several spill-related chemicals [benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, n-hexane (BTEX-H)] and total hydrocarbons (THC) with incident coronary heart disease (CHD) events among workers enrolled in a prospective cohort. METHODS Cumulative exposures to THC and BTEX-H across the cleanup period were estimated via a job-exposure matrix that linked air measurement data with self-reported DWH spill work histories. We ascertained CHD events following each worker's last day of cleanup work as the first self-reported physician-diagnosed myocardial infarction (MI) or a fatal CHD event. We estimated hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals for the associations of exposure quintiles (Q) with risk of CHD. We applied inverse probability weights to account for bias due to confounding and loss to follow-up. We used quantile g-computation to assess the joint effect of the BTEX-H mixture. RESULTS Among 22,655 workers with no previous MI diagnoses, 509 experienced an incident CHD event through December 2019. Workers in higher quintiles of each exposure agent had increased CHD risks in comparison with the referent group (Q1) of that agent, with the strongest associations observed in Q5 (range of HR = 1.14 - 1.44 ). However, most associations were nonsignificant, and there was no evidence of exposure-response trends. We observed stronger associations among ever smokers, workers with ≤ high school education, and workers with body mass index < 30 kg / m 2 . No apparent positive association was observed for the BTEX-H mixture. CONCLUSIONS Higher exposures to volatile components of crude oil were associated with modest increases in risk of CHD among oil spill workers, although we did not observe exposure-response trends. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP11859.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dazhe Chen
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Dale P. Sandler
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
| | - Alexander P. Keil
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Gerardo Heiss
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Eric A. Whitsel
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Jessie K. Edwards
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | | | - Mark R. Stenzel
- Exposure Assessment Applications, LLC, Arlington, Virginia, USA
| | - Caroline P. Groth
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA
| | - Gurumurthy Ramachandran
- Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Sudipto Banerjee
- Department of Biostatistics, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California – Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Tran B. Huynh
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - W. Braxton Jackson
- Social & Scientific Systems, Inc, a DLH Holdings Company, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Aaron Blair
- Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, Maryland, USA
| | - Kaitlyn G. Lawrence
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
| | - Richard K. Kwok
- Population Studies and Genetics Branch, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Lawrence S. Engel
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
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Stenzel MR, Groth CP, Huynh TB, Ramachandran G, Banerjee S, Kwok RK, Engel LS, Blair A, Sandler DP, Stewart PA. Exposure Group Development in Support of the NIEHS GuLF Study. Ann Work Expo Health 2022; 66:i23-i55. [PMID: 35390128 PMCID: PMC8989038 DOI: 10.1093/annweh/wxab093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2021] [Revised: 10/03/2021] [Accepted: 10/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
In the GuLF Study, a study investigating possible adverse health effects associated with work on the oil spill response and clean-up (OSRC) following the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, we used a job-exposure matrix (JEM) approach to estimate exposures. The JEM linked interview responses of study participants to measurement data through exposure groups (EGs). Here we describe a systematic process used to develop transparent and precise EGs that allowed characterization of exposure levels among the large number of OSRC activities performed across the Gulf of Mexico over time and space. EGs were identified by exposure determinants available to us in our measurement database, from a substantial body of other spill-related information, and from responses provided by study participants in a detailed interview. These determinants included: job/activity/task, vessel and type of vessel, weathering of the released oil, area of the Gulf of Mexico, Gulf coast state, and time period. Over 3000 EGs were developed for inhalation exposure and applied to each of 6 JEMs of oil-related substances (total hydrocarbons, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, total xylene, and n-hexane). Subsets of those EGs were used for characterization of exposures to dispersants, particulate matter, and oil mist. The EGs allowed assignment to study participants of exposure estimates developed from measurement data or from estimation models through linkage in the JEM for the investigation of exposure-response relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark R Stenzel
- Exposure Assessment Applications, LLC, 6045 N. 27th. St., Arlington, VA, 22207, USA
| | - Caroline P Groth
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, WVU School of Public Health, West Virginia University, One Medical Center Drive, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
| | - Tran B Huynh
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, 3215 Market St, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Gurumurthy Ramachandran
- Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Sudipto Banerjee
- Department of Biostatistics, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, University of California-Los Angeles, 650 Charles E. Young Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, USA
| | - Richard K Kwok
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, 111 T.W. Alexander Drive-MD A3-05, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA.,Office of the Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, 31 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Lawrence S Engel
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, 111 T.W. Alexander Drive-MD A3-05, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA.,Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, 35 Dauer Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Aaron Blair
- Division of Caner Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Building 9609, MSC 9760, Bethesda, MD 20892-9760, USA
| | - Dale P Sandler
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, 111 T.W. Alexander Drive-MD A3-05, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
| | - Patricia A Stewart
- Stewart Exposure Assessments, LLC, 6045 N. 27th. St., Arlington, VA 22207, USA
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Pratt GC, Stenzel MR, Kwok RK, Groth CP, Banerjee S, Arnold SF, Engel LS, Sandler DP, Stewart PA. Modeled Air Pollution from In Situ Burning and Flaring of Oil and Gas Released Following the Deepwater Horizon Disaster. Ann Work Expo Health 2022; 66:i172-i187. [PMID: 32936300 PMCID: PMC8989033 DOI: 10.1093/annweh/wxaa084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2020] [Revised: 05/27/2020] [Accepted: 08/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2023] Open
Abstract
The GuLF STUDY, initiated by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, is investigating the health effects among workers involved in the oil spill response and clean-up (OSRC) after the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) explosion in April 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. Clean-up included in situ burning of oil on the water surface and flaring of gas and oil captured near the seabed and brought to the surface. We estimated emissions of PM2.5 and related pollutants resulting from these activities, as well as from engines of vessels working on the OSRC. PM2.5 emissions ranged from 30 to 1.33e6 kg per day and were generally uniform over time for the flares but highly episodic for the in situ burns. Hourly emissions from each source on every burn/flare day were used as inputs to the AERMOD model to develop average and maximum concentrations for 1-, 12-, and 24-h time periods. The highest predicted 24-h average concentrations sometimes exceeded 5000 µg m-3 in the first 500 m downwind of flaring and reached 71 µg m-3 within a kilometer of some in situ burns. Beyond 40 km from the DWH site, plumes appeared to be well mixed, and the predicted 24-h average concentrations from the flares and in situ burns were similar, usually below 10 µg m-3. Structured averaging of model output gave potential PM2.5 exposure estimates for OSRC workers located in various areas across the Gulf. Workers located nearest the wellhead (hot zone/source workers) were estimated to have a potential maximum 12-h exposure of 97 µg m-3 over the 2-month flaring period. The potential maximum 12-h exposure for workers who participated in in situ burns was estimated at 10 µg m-3 over the ~3-month burn period. The results suggest that burning of oil and gas during the DWH clean-up may have resulted in PM2.5 concentrations substantially above the U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standard for PM2.5 (24-h average = 35 µg m-3). These results are being used to investigate possible adverse health effects in the GuLF STUDY epidemiologic analysis of PM2.5 exposures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory C Pratt
- University of Minnesota, School of Public Health, Division of Environmental Health, 420 Delaware St. S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Mark R Stenzel
- Exposure Assessment Applications, LLC, 6045 27th St N, Arlington, VA 22207, USA
| | - Richard K Kwok
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, P.O. Box 12233, MD A3-05, 111 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 22709, USA
| | - Caroline P Groth
- Department of Biostatistics, West Virginia University School of Public Health, 64 Medical Center Drive, P.O. Box 9190, Morgantown, WV 26506-9190, USA
| | - Sudipto Banerjee
- University of California-Los Angeles, School of Public Health, Department of Biostatistics, Suite: 51-254 CHS, 650 charles E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Susan F Arnold
- University of Minnesota, School of Public Health, Division of Environmental Health, 420 Delaware St. S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Lawrence S Engel
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, P.O. Box 12233, MD A3-05, 111 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 22709, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, McGavran-Greenberg Hall, Campus Box 7435, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Dale P Sandler
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, P.O. Box 12233, MD A3-05, 111 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 22709, USA
| | - Patricia A Stewart
- Stewart Exposure Assessments, LLC, 6045 27th St N, Arlington, VA 22207, USA
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5
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Stewart P, Groth CP, Huynh TB, Gorman Ng M, Pratt GC, Arnold SF, Ramachandran G, Banerjee S, Cherrie JW, Christenbury K, Kwok RK, Blair A, Engel LS, Sandler DP, Stenzel MR. Assessing Exposures from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Response and Clean-up. Ann Work Expo Health 2022; 66:i3-i22. [PMID: 35390131 PMCID: PMC8989041 DOI: 10.1093/annweh/wxab107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2021] [Revised: 10/31/2021] [Accepted: 11/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The GuLF Study is investigating adverse health effects from work on the response and clean-up after the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil release. An essential and necessary component of that study was the exposure assessment. Bayesian statistical methods and over 135 000 measurements of total hydrocarbons (THC), benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, xylene, and n-hexane (BTEX-H) were used to estimate inhalation exposures to these chemicals for >3400 exposure groups (EGs) formed from three exposure determinants: job/activity/task, location, and time period. Recognized deterministic models were used to estimate airborne exposures to particulate matter sized 2.5 µm or less (PM2.5) and dispersant aerosols and vapors. Dermal exposures were estimated for these same oil-related substances using a model modified especially for this study from a previously published model. Exposures to oil mist were assessed using professional judgment. Estimated daily THC arithmetic means (AMs) were in the low ppm range (<25 ppm), whereas BTEX-H exposures estimates were generally <1000 ppb. Potential 1-h PM2.5 air concentrations experienced by some workers may have been as high as 550 µg m-3. Dispersant aerosol air concentrations were very low (maximum predicted 1-h concentrations were generally <50 µg m-3), but vapor concentrations may have exceeded occupational exposure excursion guidelines for 2-butoxyethanol under certain circumstances. The daily AMs of dermal exposure estimates showed large contrasts among the study participants. The estimates are being used to evaluate exposure-response relationships in the GuLF Study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia Stewart
- Stewart Exposure Assessments, LLC, 6045 N. 27th. St., Arlington, VA 22207, USA,Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +0/703-534-2956; e-mail:
| | - Caroline P Groth
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, West Virginia University, One Medical Center Drive, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
| | - Tran B Huynh
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, 3215 Market St., Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Melanie Gorman Ng
- School of Population and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, 3rd Floor, 2206 East Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3Canada
| | - Gregory C Pratt
- Division of Environmental Health, University of Minnesota, School of Public Health, 420 Delaware St. S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Susan F Arnold
- Division of Environmental Health, University of Minnesota, School of Public Health, 420 Delaware St. S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Gurumurthy Ramachandran
- Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD 21205, USA,Department of Biostatistics, Suite: 51-254 CHS. UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, 650 Charles E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, USA
| | - Sudipto Banerjee
- Department of Biostatistics, Suite: 51-254 CHS. UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, 650 Charles E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, USA
| | - John W Cherrie
- Insitute of Occupational Medicine, Research Avenue North, Riccarton, Edinburgh, Midlothian EH14 4AP, UK
| | - Kate Christenbury
- Public Health Sciences, Social and Scientific Systems Inc., a DLH Holdings Company, 4505 Emperor Blvd, Suite 400, Durham, NC 27703, USA
| | - Richard K Kwok
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, 111 T.W. Alexander Drive – MD A3-05, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA,Office of the Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Aaron Blair
- National Cancer Institute, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Building 9609 MSC 9760, Bethesda, MD 20892-9760, USA
| | - Lawrence S Engel
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, 111 T.W. Alexander Drive – MD A3-05, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA,Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, 35 Dauer Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Dale P Sandler
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, 111 T.W. Alexander Drive – MD A3-05, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
| | - Mark R Stenzel
- Exposure Assessment Applications, LLC, 6045 N. 27th. St., Arlington, VA 22207, USA
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6
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Chen D, Lawrence KG, Pratt GC, Stenzel MR, Stewart PA, Groth CP, Banerjee S, Christenbury K, Curry MD, Jackson WB, Kwok RK, Blair A, Engel LS, Sandler DP. Fine Particulate Matter and Lung Function among Burning-Exposed Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Workers. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES 2022; 130:27001. [PMID: 35103485 PMCID: PMC8805798 DOI: 10.1289/ehp8930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2021] [Revised: 11/01/2021] [Accepted: 01/03/2022] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND During the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) disaster, controlled burning was conducted to remove oil from the water. Workers near combustion sites were potentially exposed to increased fine particulate matter [with aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5μm (PM2.5)] levels. Exposure to PM2.5 has been linked to decreased lung function, but to our knowledge, no study has examined exposure encountered in an oil spill cleanup. OBJECTIVE We investigated the association between estimated PM2.5 only from burning/flaring of oil/gas and lung function measured 1-3 y after the DWH disaster. METHODS We included workers who participated in response and cleanup activities on the water during the DWH disaster and had lung function measured at a subsequent home visit (n=2,316). PM2.5 concentrations were estimated using a Gaussian plume dispersion model and linked to work histories via a job-exposure matrix. We evaluated forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1; milliliters), forced vital capacity (FVC; milliliters), and their ratio (FEV1/FVC; %) in relation to average and cumulative daily maximum exposures using multivariable linear regressions. RESULTS We observed significant exposure-response trends associating higher cumulative daily maximum PM2.5 exposure with lower FEV1 (p-trend=0.04) and FEV1/FVC (p-trend=0.01). In comparison with the referent group (workers not involved in or near the burning), those with higher cumulative exposures had lower FEV1 [-166.8mL, 95% confidence interval (CI): -337.3, 3.7] and FEV1/FVC (-1.7, 95% CI: -3.6, 0.2). We also saw nonsignificant reductions in FVC (high vs. referent: -120.9, 95% CI: -319.4, 77.6; p-trend=0.36). Similar associations were seen for average daily maximum PM2.5 exposure. Inverse associations were also observed in analyses stratified by smoking and time from exposure to spirometry and when we restricted to workers without prespill lung disease. CONCLUSIONS Among oil spill workers, exposure to PM2.5 specifically from controlled burning of oil/gas was associated with significantly lower FEV1 and FEV1/FVC when compared with workers not involved in burning. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP8930.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dazhe Chen
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Kaitlyn G. Lawrence
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
| | - Gregory C. Pratt
- Division of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Mark R. Stenzel
- Exposure Assessment Applications, LLC, Arlington, Virginia, USA
| | | | - Caroline P. Groth
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA
| | - Sudipto Banerjee
- Department of Biostatistics, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California–Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | | | | | | | - Richard K. Kwok
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
- Office of the Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Aaron Blair
- Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, Maryland, USA
| | - Lawrence S. Engel
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
| | - Dale P. Sandler
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
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7
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Ramachandran G, Groth CP, Huynh TB, Banerjee S, Stewart PA, Engel LS, Kwok RK, Sandler DP, Stenzel M. Using Real-Time Area VOC Measurements to Estimate Total Hydrocarbons Exposures to Workers Involved in the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Ann Work Expo Health 2021; 66:i156-i171. [PMID: 34516617 PMCID: PMC8989043 DOI: 10.1093/annweh/wxab066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2020] [Revised: 07/30/2021] [Accepted: 08/02/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Even though the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response and clean-up (OSRC) had one of the largest exposure monitoring efforts of any oil spill, a number of exposure groups did not have sufficient personal data available or there were gaps in days measured to adequately characterize exposures for the GuLF STUDY, an epidemiologic study investigating the health of the OSRC workers. Area measurements were available from real-time air monitoring instruments and used to supplement the personal exposure measurements. OBJECTIVES The objective was to present a method that used real-time volatile organic compounds (VOCs) area measurements transformed to daily total hydrocarbons (THC) time-weighted averages (TWAs) to supplement THC personal full-shift measurements collected using passive charcoal badges. A second objective was to develop exposure statistics using these data for workers on vessels piloting remotely operated vehicle (ROV) vessels and other marine vessels (MVs) not at the job title level, but at the vessel level. METHODS From hourly vessel averages derived from ~26 million real-time VOC measurements, we estimated full-shift VOC TWAs. Then, we determined the relationship between these TWAs and corresponding full-shift THC personal measurements taken on the same vessel-day. We used this relationship to convert the full-shift VOC measurements to full-shift 'THC' TWA estimates when no personal THC measurements existed on a vessel-day. We then calculated arithmetic means (AMs) and other statistics of THC exposures for each vessel. RESULTS The VOC-derived estimates substantially supplemented the THC personal measurements, with the number of vessel-days for which we have exposure estimates increasing by ~60%. The estimates of the AMs are some of the highest observed in the GuLF STUDY. As expected, the AMs decreased over time, consistent with our findings on other vessels. CONCLUSIONS Despite the inherent limitations of using real-time area measurements, we were able to develop additional daily observations of personal THC exposures for workers on the ROV vessels and other MVs over time. The estimates likely resulted in more representative estimates of the AMs in the GuLF STUDY. The method used here can be applied in other occupational settings and industries for personal exposure estimation where large amounts of area measurements and more limited numbers of personal measurements are available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gurumurthy Ramachandran
- Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 N Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA,Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +1-612-619-6702; e-mail:
| | - Caroline P Groth
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, WVU School of Public Health, West Virginia University, One Medical Center Drive, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
| | - Tran B Huynh
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, 3215 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Sudipto Banerjee
- Department of Biostatistics, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, University of California—Los Angeles, 650 Charles E. Young Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Patricia A Stewart
- Stewart Exposure Assessments, LLC, 6045 N 27th Street, Arlington, VA 22207, USA
| | - Lawrence S Engel
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 111 T.W. Alexander Drive—MD A3-05, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA,Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 35 Dauer Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Richard K Kwok
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 111 T.W. Alexander Drive—MD A3-05, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA,Office of the Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Dale P Sandler
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 111 T.W. Alexander Drive—MD A3-05, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
| | - Mark Stenzel
- Exposure Assessment Applications, LLC, 6045 N 27th Street, Arlington, VA 22207, USA
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8
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Groth CP, Huynh TB, Banerjee S, Ramachandran G, Stewart PA, Quick H, Sandler DP, Blair A, Engel LS, Kwok RK, Stenzel MR. Linear Relationships Between Total Hydrocarbons and Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, Xylene, and n-Hexane during the Deepwater Horizon Response and Clean-up. Ann Work Expo Health 2021; 66:i71-i88. [PMID: 34473212 PMCID: PMC8989044 DOI: 10.1093/annweh/wxab064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2020] [Revised: 06/20/2021] [Accepted: 07/29/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Our objectives were to (i) determine correlations between measurements of THC and of BTEX-H, (ii) apply these linear relationships to predict BTEX-H from measured THC, (iii) use these correlations as informative priors in Bayesian analyses to estimate exposures. METHODS We used a Bayesian left-censored bivariate framework for all 3 objectives. First, we modeled the relationships (i.e. correlations) between THC and each BTEX-H chemical for various overarching groups of measurements using linear regression to determine if correlations derived from linear relationships differed by various exposure determinants. We then used the same linear regression relationships to predict (or impute) BTEX-H measurements from THC when only THC measurements were available. Finally, we used the same linear relationships as priors for the final exposure models that used real and predicted data to develop exposure estimate statistics for each individual exposure group. RESULTS Correlations between measurements of THC and each of the BTEX-H chemicals (n = 120 for each of BTEX, 36 for n-hexane) differed substantially by area of the Gulf of Mexico and by time period that reflected different oil-spill related exposure opportunities. The correlations generally exceeded 0.5. Use of regression relationships to impute missing data resulted in the addition of >23 000 n-hexane and 541 observations for each of BTEX. The relationships were then used as priors for the calculation of exposure statistics while accounting for censored measurement data. CONCLUSIONS Taking advantage of observed relationships between THC and BTEX-H allowed us to develop robust exposure estimates where a large amount of data were missing, strengthening our exposure estimation process for the epidemiologic study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline P Groth
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, WVU School of Public Health, West Virginia University, One Medical Center Drive, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA,Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: (304) 581 - 1835; e-mail:
| | - Tran B Huynh
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, 3215 Market St, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Sudipto Banerjee
- Department of Biostatistics, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, University of California –Los Angeles, 650 Charles E. Young Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Gurumurthy Ramachandran
- Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Patricia A Stewart
- Stewart Exposure Assessments, LLC, 6045 N. 27th. St., Arlington, VA 22207, USA
| | - Harrison Quick
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, 3215 Market St, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Dale P Sandler
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 111 T.W. Alexander Drive MD A3-05, P.O. Box 12233, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
| | - Aaron Blair
- National Cancer Institute, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Building 9609 MSC 9760, Bethesda, MD 20892-9760, USA
| | - Lawrence S Engel
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 111 T.W. Alexander Drive MD A3-05, P.O. Box 12233, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA,Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 35 Dauer Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Richard K Kwok
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 111 T.W. Alexander Drive MD A3-05, P.O. Box 12233, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA,Office of the Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Mark R Stenzel
- Exposure Assessment Applications, LLC, 6045 N. 27th. St., Arlington, VA 22207, USA
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9
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Solo-Gabriele HM, Fiddaman T, Mauritzen C, Ainsworth C, Abramson DM, Berenshtein I, Chassignet EP, Chen SS, Conmy RN, Court CD, Dewar WK, Farrington JW, Feldman MG, Ferguson AC, Fetherston-Resch E, French-McCay D, Hale C, He R, Kourafalou VH, Lee K, Liu Y, Masi M, Maung-Douglass ES, Morey SL, Murawski SA, Paris CB, Perlin N, Pulster EL, Quigg A, Reed DJ, Ruzicka JJ, Sandifer PA, Shepherd JG, Singer BH, Stukel MR, Sutton TT, Weisberg RH, Wiesenburg D, Wilson CA, Wilson M, Wowk KM, Yanoff C, Yoskowitz D. Towards integrated modeling of the long-term impacts of oil spills. MARINE POLICY 2021; 131:1-18. [PMID: 37850151 PMCID: PMC10581399 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpol.2021.104554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2023]
Abstract
Although great progress has been made to advance the scientific understanding of oil spills, tools for integrated assessment modeling of the long-term impacts on ecosystems, socioeconomics and human health are lacking. The objective of this study was to develop a conceptual framework that could be used to answer stakeholder questions about oil spill impacts and to identify knowledge gaps and future integration priorities. The framework was initially separated into four knowledge domains (ocean environment, biological ecosystems, socioeconomics, and human health) whose interactions were explored by gathering stakeholder questions through public engagement, assimilating expert input about existing models, and consolidating information through a system dynamics approach. This synthesis resulted in a causal loop diagram from which the interconnectivity of the system could be visualized. Results of this analysis indicate that the system naturally separates into two tiers, ocean environment and biological ecosystems versus socioeconomics and human health. As a result, ocean environment and ecosystem models could be used to provide input to explore human health and socioeconomic variables in hypothetical scenarios. At decadal-plus time scales, the analysis emphasized that human domains influence the natural domains through changes in oil-spill related laws and regulations. Although data gaps were identified in all four model domains, the socioeconomics and human health domains are the least established. Considerable future work is needed to address research gaps and to create fully coupled quantitative integrative assessment models that can be used in strategic decision-making that will optimize recoveries from future large oil spills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helena M. Solo-Gabriele
- Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA
| | | | - Cecilie Mauritzen
- Department of Climate, Norwegian Meteorological Institute, Oslo, Norway
| | - Cameron Ainsworth
- College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA
| | - David M. Abramson
- School of Global Public Health, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Igal Berenshtein
- Department of Ocean Sciences, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33149, USA
- Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33149, USA
| | - Eric P. Chassignet
- Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA
| | - Shuyi S. Chen
- Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Robyn N. Conmy
- Office of Research and Development, US Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH 45268, USA
| | - Christa D. Court
- Food and Resource Economics Department, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - William K. Dewar
- Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Geophysique de l’Environnement, French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), Grenoble, France 38000, and Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA
| | | | - Michael G. Feldman
- Consortium for Ocean Leadership, Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, Washington, DC 20005, USA
| | - Alesia C. Ferguson
- Built Environment Department, College of Science and Technology, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro, NC 27411, USA
| | | | | | - Christine Hale
- Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Texas A&M University Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX 78412, USA
| | - Ruoying He
- Dept. of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - Vassiliki H. Kourafalou
- Department of Ocean Sciences, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33149, USA
| | - Kenneth Lee
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Ecosystem Science, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0E6, Canada
| | - Yonggang Liu
- College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA
| | - Michelle Masi
- Southeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Galveston, TX 77551, USA
| | | | - Steven L. Morey
- School of the Environment, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Tallahassee, FL 32307, USA
| | - Steven A. Murawski
- College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA
| | - Claire B. Paris
- Department of Ocean Sciences, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33149, USA
| | - Natalie Perlin
- Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33149, USA
| | - Erin L. Pulster
- College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA
| | - Antonietta Quigg
- Department of Marine Biology, Texas A&M University at Galveston, Galveston, TX 77553, USA
| | - Denise J. Reed
- Pontchartrain Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of New Orleans, 2000 Lakeshore Drive, New Orleans, LA 70148, USA
| | - James J. Ruzicka
- Cooperative Institute for Marine Resources Studies, Oregon State University, Newport, OR 97365, USA
| | - Paul A. Sandifer
- Center for Coastal Environmental and Human Health, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC 29424, USA
| | - John G. Shepherd
- School of Ocean & Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre, University of Southampton, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
| | - Burton H. Singer
- Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Michael R. Stukel
- Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA
| | - Tracey T. Sutton
- Guy Harvey Oceanographic Center, Halmos College of Arts and Sciences, Nova Southeastern University, Dania Beach, FL 33004, USA
| | - Robert H. Weisberg
- College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA
| | - Denis Wiesenburg
- School of Ocean Science and Engineering, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS 39406, USA
| | | | - Monica Wilson
- Florida Sea Grant, University of Florida, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA
| | - Kateryna M. Wowk
- Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Texas A&M University Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX 78412, USA
| | - Callan Yanoff
- Consortium for Ocean Leadership, Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, Washington, DC 20005, USA
| | - David Yoskowitz
- Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Texas A&M University Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX 78412, USA
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10
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Stenzel MR, Groth CP, Banerjee S, Ramachandran G, Kwok RK, Engel LS, Sandler DP, Stewart PA. Exposure Assessment Techniques Applied to the Highly Censored Deepwater Horizon Gulf Oil Spill Personal Measurements. Ann Work Expo Health 2021; 66:i56-i70. [PMID: 34417597 DOI: 10.1093/annweh/wxab060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2020] [Revised: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 07/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The GuLF Long-term Follow-up Study (GuLF STUDY) is investigating potential adverse health effects of workers involved in the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill response and cleanup (OSRC). Over 93% of the 160 000 personal air measurements taken on OSRC workers were below the limit of detection (LOD), as reported by the analytic labs. At this high level of censoring, our ability to develop exposure estimates was limited. The primary objective here was to reduce the number of measurements below the labs' reported LODs to reflect the analytic methods' true LODs, thereby facilitating the use of a relatively unbiased and precise Bayesian method to develop exposure estimates for study exposure groups (EGs). The estimates informed a job-exposure matrix to characterize exposure of study participants. A second objective was to develop descriptive statistics for relevant EGs that did not meet the Bayesian criteria of sample size ≥5 and censoring ≤80% to achieve the aforementioned level of bias and precision. One of the analytic labs recalculated the measurements using the analytic method's LOD; the second lab provided raw analytical data, allowing us to recalculate the data values that fell between the originally reported LOD and the analytical method's LOD. We developed rules for developing Bayesian estimates for EGs with >80% censoring. The remaining EGs were 100% censored. An order-based statistical method (OBSM) was developed to estimate exposures that considered the number of measurements, geometric standard deviation, and average LOD of the censored samples for N ≥ 20. For N < 20, substitution of ½ of the LOD was assigned. Recalculation of the measurements lowered overall censoring from 93.2 to 60.5% and of the THC measurements, from 83.1 to 11.2%. A total of 71% of the EGs met the ≤15% relative bias and <65% imprecision goal. Another 15% had censoring >80% but enough non-censored measurements to apply Bayesian methods. We used the OBSM for 3% of the estimates and the simple substitution method for 11%. The methods presented here substantially reduced the degree of censoring in the dataset and increased the number of EGs meeting our Bayesian method's desired performance goal. The OBSM allowed for a systematic and consistent approach impacting only the lowest of the exposure estimates. This approach should be considered when dealing with highly censored datasets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark R Stenzel
- Exposure Assessment Applications, LLC, Arlington, VA, USA
| | - Caroline P Groth
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, WVU School of Public Health, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA
| | - Sudipto Banerjee
- Department of Biostatistics, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Gurumurthy Ramachandran
- Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Richard K Kwok
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.,Office of the Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Lawrence S Engel
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.,Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Dale P Sandler
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
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11
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Huynh TB, Groth CP, Ramachandran G, Banerjee S, Stenzel M, Blair A, Sandler DP, Engel LS, Kwok RK, Stewart PA. Estimates of Inhalation Exposures among Land Workers during the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Clean-up Operations. Ann Work Expo Health 2021; 66:i124-i139. [PMID: 34368831 PMCID: PMC8989042 DOI: 10.1093/annweh/wxab028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2020] [Revised: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/31/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster, thousands of workers and volunteers cleaned the shoreline across four coastal states of the Gulf of Mexico. For the GuLF STUDY, we developed quantitative estimates of oil-related chemical exposures [total petroleum hydrocarbons (THC), benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, and n-hexane (BTEX-H)] from personal measurements on workers performing various spill clean-up operations on land. These operations included decontamination of vessels, equipment, booms, and personnel; handling of oily booms; hazardous waste management; beach, marsh, and jetty clean-up; aerial missions; wildlife rescue and rehabilitation; and administrative support activities. Exposure estimates were developed for unique groups of workers by (i) activity, (ii) state, and (iii) time period. Estimates of the arithmetic means (AMs) for THC ranged from 0.04 to 3.67 ppm. BTEX-H estimates were substantially lower than THC (in the parts per billion range). Both THC and BTEX-H estimates were substantially lower than their respective occupational exposure limits. The work group, 'Fueled engines' consistently was one of the higher exposed groups to THC and BTEX-H. Notable differences in the AM exposures were observed by activity, time and, to a lesser degree, by state. These exposure estimates were used to develop job-exposure matrices for the GuLF STUDY.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tran B Huynh
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, 3215 Market St., Philadelphia, PA 19004, USA,Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +1-612-669-8234; e-mail:
| | - Caroline P Groth
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, West Virginia University, One Medical Center Drive, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
| | - Gurumurthy Ramachandran
- Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Sudipto Banerjee
- Department of Biostatistics, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, University of California—Los Angeles, 650 Charles E. Young Dr. South, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Mark Stenzel
- Exposure Assessment Applications, LLC, 6045 N. 27th. St., Arlington, VA 22207, USA
| | - Aaron Blair
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20892, USA
| | - Dale P Sandler
- Chronic Disease Epidemiology Group, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 111 T.W. Alexander Drive – MD A3-05, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
| | - Lawrence S Engel
- Chronic Disease Epidemiology Group, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 111 T.W. Alexander Drive – MD A3-05, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA,Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 135 Dauer Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Richard K Kwok
- Chronic Disease Epidemiology Group, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 111 T.W. Alexander Drive – MD A3-05, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA,Office of the Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Patricia A Stewart
- Stewart Exposure Assessments, LLC, 6045 N. 27th. St., Arlington, VA 22207, USA
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12
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Groth CP, Banerjee S, Ramachandran G, Stewart PA, Sandler DP, Blair A, Engel LS, Kwok RK, Stenzel MR. Methods for the Analysis of 26 Million VOC Area Measurements during the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Clean-up. Ann Work Expo Health 2021; 66:i140-i155. [PMID: 34184747 PMCID: PMC8989035 DOI: 10.1093/annweh/wxab038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2020] [Revised: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The NIEHS GuLF STUDY is an epidemiologic study of the health of workers who participated in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill response and clean-up effort. Even with a large database of approximately 28 000 personal samples that were analyzed for total hydrocarbons (THCs) and other oil-related chemicals, resulting in nearly 160 000 full-shift personal measurements, there were still exposure scenarios where the number of measurements was too limited to rigorously assess exposures. Also available were over 26 million volatile organic compounds (VOCs) area air measurements of approximately 1-min duration, collected from direct-reading instruments on 38 large vessels generally located near the leaking well. This paper presents a strategy for converting the VOC database into hourly average air concentrations by vessel as the first step of a larger process designed to use these data to supplement full-shift THC personal exposure measurements. We applied a Bayesian method to account for measurements with values below the analytic instrument's limit of detection while processing the large database into average instrument-hour concentrations and then hourly concentrations across instruments on each day of measurement on each of the vessels. To illustrate this process, we present results on the drilling rig ship, the Discoverer Enterprise. The methods reduced the 26 million measurements to 21 900 hourly averages, which later contributed to the development of additional full-shift THC observations. The approach used here can be applied by occupational health professionals with large datasets of direct-reading instruments to better understand workplace exposures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline P Groth
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, WVU School of Public Health, West Virginia University, One Medical Center Drive, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA,Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: (304)-581-1835; e-mail:
| | - Sudipto Banerjee
- Department of Biostatistics, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, University of California–Los Angeles, 650 Charles E. Young Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Gurumurthy Ramachandran
- Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Patricia A Stewart
- Stewart Exposure Assessments, LLC, 6045 N. 27th. St., Arlington, VA 22207, USA
| | - Dale P Sandler
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 111 T.W. Alexander Drive.–MD A3-05, P.O. Box 12233, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
| | - Aaron Blair
- National Cancer Institute, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Building 9609 MSC 9760, Bethesda, MD 20892-9760, USA
| | - Lawrence S Engel
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 111 T.W. Alexander Drive.–MD A3-05, P.O. Box 12233, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA,Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 35 Dauer Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Richard K Kwok
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 111 T.W. Alexander Drive.–MD A3-05, P.O. Box 12233, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA,Office of the Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Mark R Stenzel
- Exposure Assessment Applications, LLC, 6045 N. 27th. St., Arlington, VA 22207, USA
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13
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Martin Remy A, Robert A, Jacoby N, Wild P. Is Urinary Chromium Specific to Hexavalent Chromium Exposure in the Presence of Co-exposure to Other Chromium Compounds? A Biomonitoring Study in the Electroplating Industry. Ann Work Expo Health 2021; 65:332-345. [PMID: 33599259 DOI: 10.1093/annweh/wxaa107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2020] [Revised: 10/09/2020] [Accepted: 11/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Electroplating processes are widely used in metal industries to improve the resistance properties of manufactured metal parts. Workers in this industry are potentially exposed both to hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) and to other chromium compounds [mostly trivalent chromium (Cr(III))], due to the use of chromic acid baths. The goal of this study was to validate urinary chromium as a Cr(VI) exposure biomarker in the presence of exposure to other chromium compounds. METHODS A biomonitoring study consisted in monitoring airborne chromium exposure and urinary chromium for one working week in 93 workers from nine electroplating companies. Chromium concentrations were measured in all urinations of each volunteer for the working week. Individual airborne soluble and insoluble Cr(VI) as well as Cr(III) concentrations were measured for all of the shifts of the week. The main statistical analysis consisted in modelling, in a Bayesian framework, the pre- and post-shift urinary chromium as a function of airborne Cr(III) and airborne Cr(VI), taking into account the day of the week and the time of collection of the urines (pre- or post-shift). RESULTS Preliminary descriptions showed an increase in pre-shift urinary chromium during the working week. The model showed an increase in urinary chromium over the shift related to the shift-specific airborne Cr(VI) concentration as well as an increasing trend over the week and a relationship with the mean weekly Cr(VI) thought to reflect chronic exposure. Taking into account the Cr(VI) exposure, there was no evidence of an effect of Cr(III) exposure on urinary chromium. A biological limit value (BLV) was derived from the French occupational exposure limit for Cr(VI) of 1 µg m-3 and was estimated at between 1.9 and 2.6 µg g-1 creatinine for a urinary sample collected at the end of the shift on the last working day of the week. CONCLUSIONS In the present context of mixed exposure to Cr(III) and Cr(VI) in electroplating, this study showed that urinary chromium depended only on airborne Cr(VI) concentrations, which justifies using a BLV for assessing workers' exposure. The estimated BLV was close to the recommended French BLV, which is 1.8 µg g-1 creatinine, in the electroplating industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aurélie Martin Remy
- Department of Toxicology and Biomonitoring, Institut National de Recherche et de Sécurité, Rue du Morvan, CS, Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, France
| | - Alain Robert
- Department of Toxicology and Biomonitoring, Institut National de Recherche et de Sécurité, Rue du Morvan, CS, Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, France
| | - Nadège Jacoby
- Department of Toxicology and Biomonitoring, Institut National de Recherche et de Sécurité, Rue du Morvan, CS, Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, France
| | - Pascal Wild
- Department of Scientific Management, Institut National de Recherche et de Sécurité, Rue du Morvan, CS, Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, France
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14
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Huynh TB, Groth CP, Ramachandran G, Banerjee S, Stenzel M, Blair A, Sandler DP, Engel LS, Kwok RK, Stewart PA. Estimates of Inhalation Exposures to Oil-Related Components on the Supporting Vessels During the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Ann Work Expo Health 2021; 66:i111-i123. [PMID: 33791771 PMCID: PMC8989039 DOI: 10.1093/annweh/wxaa113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2020] [Revised: 09/26/2020] [Accepted: 10/29/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill response and clean-up (OSRC) involved over 9000 large and small vessels deployed in waters of the Gulf of Mexico across four states (Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi). For the GuLF STUDY, we developed exposure estimates of oil-related components for many work groups to capture a wide range of OSRC operations on these vessels, such as supporting the four rig vessels charged with stopping the spill at the wellhead; skimming oil; in situ burning of oil; absorbing and containing oil by boom; and environmental monitoring. Work groups were developed by: (i) vessel activity; (ii) location (area of the Gulf or state); and (iii) time period. Using Bayesian methods, we computed exposure estimates for these groups for: total hydrocarbons measured as total petroleum hydrocarbons (THC), benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, and n-hexane (BTEX-H). Estimates of the arithmetic means for THC ranged from 0.10 ppm [95% credible interval (CI) 0.04, 0.38 ppm] in time periods 2 and 3 (16 July-30 September 2010) to 15.06 ppm (95% CI 10.74, 22.41 ppm) in time period 1a (22 April-15 May 2010). BTEX-H estimates were substantially lower (in the parts per billion range). Exposure levels generally fell over time and differed statistically by activity, location, and time for some groups. These exposure estimates have been used to develop job-exposure matrices for the GuLF STUDY.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tran B Huynh
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, 3215 Market St, Philadelphia PA 19004, USA
- Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: 612-669-8234; e-mail:
| | - Caroline P Groth
- Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, West Virginia University, One Medical Center Drive, Morgantown, WV 26506-9190, USA
| | - Gurumurthy Ramachandran
- Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Sudipto Banerjee
- Department of Biostatistics, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, University of California—Los Angeles, 650 Charles E. Young Dr. South, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Mark Stenzel
- Exposure Assessment Applications, 6045 N, 27th St, Arlington, LLC, Arlington, VA 22207, USA
| | - Aaron Blair
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20892, USA
| | - Dale P Sandler
- Chronic Disease Epidemiology Group, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 111 T.W. Alexander Drive – MD A3-05, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
| | - Lawrence S Engel
- Chronic Disease Epidemiology Group, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 111 T.W. Alexander Drive – MD A3-05, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 135 Dauer Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Richard K Kwok
- Chronic Disease Epidemiology Group, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 111 T.W. Alexander Drive – MD A3-05, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
| | - Patricia A Stewart
- Stewart Exposure Assessments, 6045 N, 27th St, Arlington, LLC, Arlington, VA 22207, USA
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Huynh TB, Groth CP, Ramachandran G, Banerjee S, Stenzel M, Quick H, Blair A, Engel LS, Kwok RK, Sandler DP, Stewart PA. Estimates of Occupational Inhalation Exposures to Six Oil-Related Compounds on the Four Rig Vessels Responding to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Ann Work Expo Health 2020; 66:i89-i110. [PMID: 33009797 PMCID: PMC8989034 DOI: 10.1093/annweh/wxaa072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2019] [Revised: 05/27/2020] [Accepted: 06/22/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill involved thousands of workers and volunteers to mitigate the oil release and clean-up after the spill. Health concerns for these participants led to the initiation of a prospective epidemiological study (GuLF STUDY) to investigate potential adverse health outcomes associated with the oil spill response and clean-up (OSRC). Characterizing the chemical exposures of the OSRC workers was an essential component of the study. Workers on the four oil rig vessels mitigating the spill and located within a 1852 m (1 nautical mile) radius of the damaged wellhead [the Discoverer Enterprise (Enterprise), the Development Driller II (DDII), the Development Driller III (DDIII), and the HelixQ4000] had some of the greatest potential for chemical exposures. OBJECTIVES The aim of this paper is to characterize potential personal chemical exposures via the inhalation route for workers on those four rig vessels. Specifically, we presented our methodology and descriptive statistics of exposure estimates for total hydrocarbons (THCs), benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, and n-hexane (BTEX-H) for various job groups to develop exposure groups for the GuLF STUDY cohort. METHODS Using descriptive information associated with the measurements taken on various jobs on these rig vessels and with job titles from study participant responses to the study questionnaire, job groups [unique job/rig/time period (TP) combinations] were developed to describe groups of workers with the same or closely related job titles. A total of 500 job groups were considered for estimation using the available 8139 personal measurements. We used a univariate Bayesian model to analyze the THC measurements and a bivariate Bayesian regression framework to jointly model the measurements of THC and each of the BTEX-H chemicals separately, both models taking into account the many measurements that were below the analytic limit of detection. RESULTS Highest THC exposures occurred in TP1a and TP1b, which was before the well was mechanically capped. The posterior medians of the arithmetic mean (AM) ranged from 0.11 ppm ('Inside/Other', TP1b, DDII; and 'Driller', TP3, DDII) to 14.67 ppm ('Methanol Operations', TP1b, Enterprise). There were statistical differences between the THC AMs by broad job groups, rigs, and time periods. The AMs for BTEX-H were generally about two to three orders of magnitude lower than the THC AMs, with benzene and ethylbenzene measurements being highly censored. CONCLUSIONS Our results add new insights to the limited literature on exposures associated with oil spill responses and support the current epidemiologic investigation of potential adverse health effects of the oil spill.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tran B Huynh
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Caroline P Groth
- Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506-9190, USA
| | - Gurumurthy Ramachandran
- Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA,Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +1-410-502-0182; e-mail:
| | - Sudipto Banerjee
- Department of Biostatistics, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, University of California—Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Mark Stenzel
- Exposure Assessment Applications, LLC, Arlington, VA 22207, USA
| | - Harrison Quick
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Aaron Blair
- National Cancer Institute, Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, Gaithersburg, MN 20892, USA
| | - Lawrence S Engel
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Epidemiology Branch, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA,University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Department of Epidemiology, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Richard K Kwok
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Epidemiology Branch, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
| | - Dale P Sandler
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Epidemiology Branch, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
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16
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LeBouf RF, Blackley BH, Fortner AR, Stanton M, Martin SB, Groth CP, McClelland TL, Duling MG, Burns DA, Ranpara A, Edwards N, Fedan KB, Bailey RL, Cummings KJ, Nett RJ, Cox-Ganser JM, Virji MA. Exposures and Emissions in Coffee Roasting Facilities and Cafés: Diacetyl, 2,3-Pentanedione, and Other Volatile Organic Compounds. Front Public Health 2020; 8:561740. [PMID: 33072698 PMCID: PMC7531227 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2020.561740] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2020] [Accepted: 08/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Roasted coffee and many coffee flavorings emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione. Exposures to VOCs during roasting, packaging, grinding, and flavoring coffee can negatively impact the respiratory health of workers. Inhalational exposures to diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione can cause obliterative bronchiolitis. This study summarizes exposures to and emissions of VOCs in 17 coffee roasting and packaging facilities that included 10 cafés. We collected 415 personal and 760 area full-shift, and 606 personal task-based air samples for diacetyl, 2,3-pentanedione, 2,3-hexanedione, and acetoin using silica gel tubes. We also collected 296 instantaneous activity and 312 instantaneous source air measurements for 18 VOCs using evacuated canisters. The highest personal full-shift exposure in part per billion (ppb) to diacetyl [geometric mean (GM) 21 ppb; 95th percentile (P95) 79 ppb] and 2,3-pentanedione (GM 15 ppb; P95 52 ppb) were measured for production workers in flavored coffee production areas. These workers also had the highest percentage of measurements above the NIOSH Recommended Exposure Limit (REL) for diacetyl (95%) and 2,3-pentanedione (77%). Personal exposures to diacetyl (GM 0.9 ppb; P95 6.0 ppb) and 2,3-pentanedione (GM 0.7 ppb; P95 4.4 ppb) were the lowest for non-production workers of facilities that did not flavor coffee. Job groups with the highest personal full-shift exposures to diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione were flavoring workers (GM 34 and 38 ppb), packaging workers (GM 27 and 19 ppb) and grinder operator (GM 26 and 22 ppb), respectively, in flavored coffee facilities, and packaging workers (GM 8.0 and 4.4 ppb) and production workers (GM 6.3 and 4.6 ppb) in non-flavored coffee facilities. Baristas in cafés had mean full-shift exposures below the RELs (GM 4.1 ppb diacetyl; GM 4.6 ppb 2,3-pentanedione). The tasks, activities, and sources associated with flavoring in flavored coffee facilities and grinding in non-flavored coffee facilities, had some of the highest GM and P95 estimates for both diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione. Controlling emissions at grinding machines and flavoring areas and isolating higher exposure areas (e.g., flavoring, grinding, and packaging areas) from the main production space and from administrative or non-production spaces is essential for maintaining exposure control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan F LeBouf
- Respiratory Health Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, WV, United States
| | - Brie Hawley Blackley
- Respiratory Health Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, WV, United States
| | - Alyson R Fortner
- Respiratory Health Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, WV, United States
| | - Marcia Stanton
- Respiratory Health Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, WV, United States
| | - Stephen B Martin
- Respiratory Health Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, WV, United States
| | - Caroline P Groth
- Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, United States
| | - Tia L McClelland
- Respiratory Health Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, WV, United States
| | - Matthew G Duling
- Respiratory Health Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, WV, United States
| | - Dru A Burns
- Respiratory Health Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, WV, United States
| | - Anand Ranpara
- Respiratory Health Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, WV, United States
| | - Nicole Edwards
- Respiratory Health Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, WV, United States
| | - Kathleen B Fedan
- Respiratory Health Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, WV, United States
| | - Rachel L Bailey
- Respiratory Health Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, WV, United States
| | - Kristin J Cummings
- Respiratory Health Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, WV, United States.,California Department of Public Health, Richmond, CA, United States
| | - Randall J Nett
- Respiratory Health Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, WV, United States
| | - Jean M Cox-Ganser
- Respiratory Health Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, WV, United States
| | - M Abbas Virji
- Respiratory Health Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, WV, United States
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Kwok RK, Miller AK, Gam KB, Curry MD, Ramsey SK, Blair A, Engel LS, Sandler DP. Developing Large-Scale Research in Response to an Oil Spill Disaster: a Case Study. Curr Environ Health Rep 2019; 6:174-187. [PMID: 31376082 PMCID: PMC6699641 DOI: 10.1007/s40572-019-00241-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Research conducted in the wake of a disaster can provide information to help mitigate health consequences, support future recovery efforts, and improve resilience. However, a number of barriers have prevented time-sensitive research responses following previous disasters. Furthermore, large-scale disasters present their own special challenges due to the number of people exposed to disaster conditions, the number of groups engaged in disaster response, and the logistical challenges of rapidly planning and implementing a large study. In this case study, we illustrate the challenges in planning and conducting a large-scale post-disaster research study by drawing on our experience in establishing the Gulf Long-term Follow-up (GuLF) Study following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. We describe considerations in identifying at-risk populations and appropriate comparison groups, garnering support for the study from different stakeholders, obtaining timely scientific and ethics review, measuring and characterizing complex exposures, and addressing evolving community health concerns and unmet medical needs. We also describe the NIH Disaster Research Response (DR2) Program, which provides a suite of resources, including data collection tools, research protocols, institutional review board guidance, and training materials to enable the development and implementation of time-critical studies following disasters and public health emergencies. In describing our experiences related to the GuLF Study and the ongoing efforts through the NIH DR2 Program, we aim to help improve the timeliness, quality, and value of future disaster-related data collection and research studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard K Kwok
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), NIH, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA.
| | | | - Kaitlyn B Gam
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), NIH, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
| | - Matthew D Curry
- Social & Scientific Systems, Inc., Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Steven K Ramsey
- Social & Scientific Systems, Inc., Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Aaron Blair
- Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, NIH, Rockville, Maryland, USA
| | - Lawrence S Engel
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), NIH, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Dale P Sandler
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), NIH, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
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18
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Ramachandran G. Progress in Bayesian Statistical Applications in Exposure Assessment. Ann Work Expo Health 2019; 63:259-262. [PMID: 30753269 DOI: 10.1093/annweh/wxz007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Gurumurthy Ramachandran
- Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, USA
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Groth C, Banerjee S, Ramachandran G, Stenzel MR, Stewart PA. Multivariate left-censored Bayesian model for predicting exposure using multiple chemical predictors. ENVIRONMETRICS 2018; 29:e2505. [PMID: 30467454 PMCID: PMC6241297 DOI: 10.1002/env.2505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Environmental health exposures to airborne chemicals often originate from chemical mixtures. Environmental health professionals may be interested in assessing exposure to one or more of the chemicals in these mixtures, but often exposure measurement data are not available, either because measurements were not collected/assessed for all exposure scenarios of interest or because some of the measurements were below the analytical methods' limits of detection (i.e. censored). In some cases, based on chemical laws, two or more components may have linear relationships with one another, whether in a single or in multiple mixtures. Although bivariate analyses can be used if the correlation is high, often correlations are low. To serve this need, this paper develops a multivariate framework for assessing exposure using relationships of the chemicals present in these mixtures. This framework accounts for censored measurements in all chemicals, allowing us to develop unbiased exposure estimates. We assessed our model's performance against simpler models at a variety of censoring levels and assessed our model's 95% coverage. We applied our model to assess vapor exposure from measurements of three chemicals in crude oil taken on the Ocean Intervention III during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response and clean-up.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Groth
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611
| | - Sudipto Banerjee
- Department of Biostatistics, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095
| | - Gurumurthy Ramachandran
- Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
| | - Mark R. Stenzel
- Exposure Assessments Applications, LLC, Arlington, Virginia 22207
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Shoari N, Dubé JS. Toward improved analysis of concentration data: Embracing nondetects. ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY 2018; 37:643-656. [PMID: 29168890 DOI: 10.1002/etc.4046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2017] [Revised: 09/19/2017] [Accepted: 11/21/2017] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Various statistical tests on concentration data serve to support decision-making regarding characterization and monitoring of contaminated media, assessing exposure to a chemical, and quantifying the associated risks. However, the routine statistical protocols cannot be directly applied because of challenges arising from nondetects or left-censored observations, which are concentration measurements below the detection limit of measuring instruments. Despite the existence of techniques based on survival analysis that can adjust for nondetects, these are seldom taken into account properly. A comprehensive review of the literature showed that managing policies regarding analysis of censored data do not always agree and that guidance from regulatory agencies may be outdated. Therefore, researchers and practitioners commonly resort to the most convenient way of tackling the censored data problem by substituting nondetects with arbitrary constants prior to data analysis, although this is generally regarded as a bias-prone approach. Hoping to improve the interpretation of concentration data, the present article aims to familiarize researchers in different disciplines with the significance of left-censored observations and provides theoretical and computational recommendations (under both frequentist and Bayesian frameworks) for adequate analysis of censored data. In particular, the present article synthesizes key findings from previous research with respect to 3 noteworthy aspects of inferential statistics: estimation of descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing, and regression analysis. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:643-656. © 2017 SETAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niloofar Shoari
- Department of Construction Engineering, École de technologie supérieure, Montreal, Québec, Canada
| | - Jean-Sébastien Dubé
- Department of Construction Engineering, École de technologie supérieure, Montreal, Québec, Canada
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