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Hans Kromhout

Publications and source records attributed to Hans Kromhout.

49 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed2003

DREAM: a method for semi-quantitative dermal exposure assessment.

This paper describes a new method (DREAM) for structured, semi-quantitative dermal exposure assessment for chemical or biological agents that can be used in occupational hygiene or epidemiology. It is anticipated that DREAM could serve as an initial assessment of dermal exposure, amongst others, resulting in a ranking of tasks and subsequently jobs. DREAM consists of an inventory and evaluation part. Two examples of dermal exposure of workers of a car-construction company show that DREAM characterizes tasks and gives insight into exposure mechanisms, forming a basis for systematic exposure reduction. DREAM supplies estimates for exposure levels on the outside clothing layer as well as on skin, and provides insight into the distribution of dermal exposure over the body. Together with the ranking of tasks and people, this provides information for measurement strategies and helps to determine who, where and what to measure. In addition to dermal exposure assessment, the systematic description of dermal exposure pathways helps to prioritize and determine most adequate measurement strategies and methods. DREAM could be a promising approach for structured, semi-quantitative, dermal exposure assessment.

Environmental Exposure↗
PubMed2002

Respiratory symptoms and occupation: a cross-sectional study of the general population.

BACKGROUND: This study focused on respiratory symptoms due to occupational exposures in a contemporary general population cohort. Subjects were from the Dutch Monitoring Project on Risk Factors for Chronic Diseases (MORGEN). The composition of this population enabled estimation of respiratory risks due to occupation from the recent past for both men and women. METHODS: The study subjects (aged 20-59) were all inhabitants of Doetinchem, a small industrial town, and came from a survey of a random sample of 1104 persons conducted in 1993. A total of 274 cases with respiratory symptoms (subdivided in asthma and bronchitis symptoms) and 274 controls without symptoms were matched for age and sex. Relations between industry and occupation and respiratory symptoms were explored and adjusted for smoking habits and social economic status. RESULTS: Employment in the 'construction' (OR = 3.38; 95%CI 1.02 - 11.27), 'metal' (OR = 3.17; 95%CI 0. 98 - 10.28), 'rubber, plastics and synthetics' (OR = 6.52; 95%CI 1.26 - 53.80), and 'printing' industry (OR = 3.96; 95%CI 0.85 - 18.48) were positively associated with chronic bronchitis symptoms. In addition, the 'metal' industry was found to be weakly associated with asthma symptoms (OR = 2.59; 95%CI 0.87 - 7.69). Duration of employment within these industries was also positively associated with respiratory symptoms. CONCLUSION: Respiratory symptoms in the general population are traceable to employment in particular industries even in a contemporary cohort with relatively young individuals.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Urothelial cell DNA adducts in rubber workers.

Workers employed in the rubber industry appear to have a significant excess cancer risk in a variety of sites, including cancer of the urinary bladder. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated the occurrence of DNA adducts in exfoliated bladder cells of currently exposed, nonsmoking rubber workers (n = 52) and their relationship with occupational exposure estimates and acetylation phenotype (NAT2). Four DNA adducts were identified, with the proportion of positive samples (e.g., DNA samples with quantifiable levels of a specific DNA adduct) ranging from 3.8 to 79%. The highest proportion of positive samples and the highest relative adduct labeling levels were in workers involved in the production functions "mixing" and "curing," areas with potential for substantial exposure to a wide range of chemical compounds used in rubber manufacturing (P < 0.05 for adducts 2 and/or 3, compared to all other departments). No statistically significant relationships were found between identified DNA adducts and urinary mutagenicity or personal inhalable and dermal exposure estimates. Interestingly, subjects with a fast NAT2 acetylation phenotype tended to have higher levels of DNA adducts. This study suggests that rubber workers engaged in mixing and curing may be exposed to compounds that can form DNA adducts in urothelial cells. Larger studies among rubber workers should be conducted to study in more detail the potential carcinogenicity of exposures encountered in these work areas.

Acetylation↗
PubMed2002

Bitumen, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and vehicle exhaust: exposure levels and controls among Norwegian asphalt workers.

OBJECTIVES: To characterize exposures of asphalt workers in Norway and to evaluate exposure control measures. METHODS: Representative asphalt paving and mixing operations were monitored in Norway in 1991-92 for exposures to bitumen fume, organic vapor, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and vehicle exhaust (NO2, CO). Linear regression was used to evaluate introduced control measures. RESULTS: A total of 320 samples of airborne organic matter were gathered (279 from paving). Median personal bitumen fume measurements ranged from 0.03 to 0.15 mg/m3 and were similar in paving and asphalt mixing. According to principal component analysis, there were three independent sets of PAHs: (i) PAHs lighter than 228 g/mol; (ii) 4- to 6-ring PAHs non-detectable in 80-90% of samples; and (iii) naphthalene. Some NO2 (1/49) and CO (12/58) concentrations near paving equipment exceeded 15 min exposure limits, 2 and 25 p.p.m., respectively. Changing sampling methods midway through the study had a significant impact on the measured bitumen fume and organic vapor levels. For pavers, lower application temperatures reduced organic vapor, but not bitumen fume, exposures. Retrofitting a paving machine produced at least a 5-fold reduction in exposure to airborne organic matter. Work in tunnels increased PAH exposures, but general ventilation partially counteracted this effect. CONCLUSIONS: The observed exposure levels indicate that some potentially hazardous exposures may have occurred during paving in Norway. Bitumen fume, organic vapor and PAH exposures can be reduced using appropriate engineering control measures.

Humans↗
PubMed2002

Quantitative risk assessment for lung cancer after exposure to bitumen fume.

An international cohort of asphalt workers was assembled to study cancer risk after bitumen exposure. This article describes the combination of the exposure assessment with the exposure-response for a quantitative risk assessment for lung cancer mortality within the Dutch component of the study. We identified a retrospective cohort of 3,709 workers with at least one season of employment. Semi-quantitative exposure to bitumen fume was estimated by a job-exposure matrix. Exposure-response relations were fitted by Poisson regression, and excess lifetime risks through age 75 were calculated by a life table method. Working lifetime cumulative exposure to bitumen fume was calculated under different scenarios, representing past and future exposures. For workers with exposures accumulated in the past, excess risks for lung cancer varied from 7.8 to 14.3%. Calculations for future exposures resulted in considerably lower excess risks ranging from 0.6 to 2.6%. The calculated excess risks for lung cancer mortality after working lifetime exposure to bitumen fume depend strongly on when exposure was experienced and to some extent on the exposure-response model chosen, while confounding by smoking cannot be ruled out. Nevertheless, the excess lifetime risk for lung cancer in this Dutch cohort of asphalt workers is above benchmark risks as applied by the Dutch Health Council. Current exposure levels have decreased this risk considerably, but further exposure control may be required.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Dermal exposure assessment in occupational epidemiologic research.

Recognition of the importance of skin exposure in industrial settings has steadily increased over the last few decades. Unfortunately, the growing attention to dermal exposure in industrial hygiene has often not been reflected in the field of occupational epidemiology. An extensive literature survey was conducted to identify dermal exposure assessment methods that have been applied in epidemiologic studies. Subsequently, methodologies are postulated that could be applied to epidemiologic research. Attention is given to intensity, frequency, and duration of exposure, the exposed surface area, and personal, temporal and spatial variability in dermal exposure and uptake. It is anticipated that, in the near future, dermal exposure assessment in epidemiologic research will be based generally on expert judgment and to some degree on process-specific exposure models. Field studies collecting quantitative dermal exposure data and statistical modeling to identify exposure determinants will, however, be imperative if progress is to be made in the field of dermal exposure assessment for epidemiologic purposes.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2002

Trends in inhalation exposure to hydrocarbons among commercial painters in The Netherlands.

OBJECTIVES: An attempt was made to develop a database for measurements of exposure to solvents that could be used as a tool in the historical exposure assessment of commercial painters participating in a health surveillance program. METHODS: The measurement data on personal exposure from six studies still available for Dutch commercial painters were collected into a database. The database was analyzed to identify time trends for the inhalation exposure levels of hydrocarbons and the production conditions that influence exposure levels among commercial painters in The Netherlands. RESULTS: Altogether 304 measurements of solvent exposure were collected between 1980 and 1999, providing data for 137 workers. Toluene was selected as a marker for solvent exposure, since hydrocarbon exposures appeared to be strongly correlated. Exposure to toluene measured during the application of solvent-based paints has declined by 12% per year. The use of solvent-based paints, painting in small rooms, house (versus shipyard) painting, and spray-painting were associated with increased exposures. Water-based paint was also associated with increased exposure to toluene, relative to tasks in which no paint was used. The exposure model for toluene explained 86% of the between-worker variance. In a subset of the data, we observed that a single cell model did not adequately describe total solvent exposure among painters, because of the stronger-than-expected positive effect of source strength and the lack of the protective effect of general ventilation. CONCLUSIONS: An exposure model was developed that can be used to predict the intensity of inhalation exposure to aromatic solvents among commercial painters in The Netherlands.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Characterizing worker exposure to bitumen during hot mix paving and asphalt mixing operations.

A survey of bitumen exposure was carried out during hot mix paving and asphalt mixing. Four methods of characterizing and quantifying bitumen fume in inhalable particles were used: gravimetric, infrared spectroscopy, gas chromatography, and total absorbance (of the particle filter surface). Dermal deposition of bitumen was assessed by determination of cyclohexanesoluble matter in the material collected by paper or cotton pads worn on the inside of a person's wrists. The researchers studied the correlation patterns between results of these methods using pairwise correlation coefficients and principal component analysis (for air concentrations only). For hot mix paving, within- and between-worker variance components were evaluated, adjusting for area paved. Collected fume was dark in color and mainly consisted of aliphatic hydrocarbons of less than 20 carbon atoms. Inconsistent correlation patterns between dermal deposition and air levels were observed. Quantification of organic matter using either infrared spectroscopy or gas chromatography appeared to be good methods for monitoring inhalable bitumen fume. Cotton pads seem to be more promising than paper pads for measuring dermal exposure during paving. Paving workers were uniformly exposed to bitumen fume. Assessment of the uniformity of dermal exposure depended on the type of pad used. Day-to-day variability and intensity of inhalable and dermal bitumen exposures depended on area paved. The small size of the study limits the potential application of the results to the asphalt industry in general. More research is needed to develop a valid and inexpensive method of assessing total bitumen exposure.

Cotton Fiber↗
PubMedDate not supplied

FIOH-sponsored newsletter misrepresents asbestos hazards in Zimbabwe.

The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH) has received support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labor Office (ILO) to publish the African Newsletter on Occupational Health and Safety. The African Newsletter on Occupational Health and Safety should not be a medium for industry propaganda, or the source of misinformation among the workers of Africa. Instead, FIOH should provide the same level of scientific information in Africa that it does in Finland and other developed countries.

Asbestos↗