Exposure assessment 2
Tuesday 7 October 2025, 11.00 – 12.30 Polar
Chairs: Calvin Ge, Ronnie Babigumira
Assessment of exposure to particulate aircraft and diesel engine exhaust for airport workers in The Netherlands for an epidemiological study
Remko Houba (presenter)
Nettie van der Meer, Hans Kromhout
Abstract
Objective Airport workers are exposed to aircraft engines exhaust and diesel engine exhaust from airport vehicles and machinery. However, health effect studies among airport workers are still scarce. We conducted an extensive measurement study to assess platform workers exposure to inhalable, respirable and ultrafine particulate matter at an airport in The Netherlands to characterize their exposure and to optimize the exposure assessment for an epidemiological study.
Methods All prevailing jobs with activities on the airside of the airport were divided into 10 similar exposure groups (SEGs). In total, 305 personal samples (sampling duration of 4-8 hours) were collected in August/September 2023. Personal measurements of inhalable dust, respirable dust and ultrafine particles (UFP) (real-time Naneos Partector 2) were carried out. Inhalable dust samples were analysed for several metals as markers of aircraft engine exhaust. Respirable dust samples were analysed for elementary carbon (EC) as a marker of diesel engine exhaust. During sampling workers carried GPS-loggers to identify their work locations. Real-time UFP levels have been analysed in relation to location at the airport. Mean shift-long and peak exposure to UFP (number, frequency and peak height) were estimated for each SEG. In addition, with linear mixed models the variation in exposure concentrations between and within SEGs were studied as well as other exposure determinants e.g. presence near diesel engines and aircrafts, meteorological conditions and number of aircraft movements.
Results The respirable and inhalable dust exposure from aircraft and diesel engine exhaust was low and showed a lack of contrast between SEGs. Exposures to EC and UFP however pointed to large contrast between SEGs and would be informative in health effects studies. Also, correlations between personal EC and UFP mean concentrations and peaks (>100K particles/cm3) were low (r=0.26-0.36) and the correlation between EC and UFP diameter was negligible (r=-0.06), suggesting that both exposure to EC and UFP will be informative in an epidemiological study. A study on acute (health) effects in this population of airport workers is currently ongoing.
Assessment of pesticide exposure among French agricultural workers throughout the year: preliminary results
Juliette Pompili (presenter)
Théophile Modena , Yannick Lecluse, Anne-Sophie Lacauve, Justine Lanson , Valérie Bouchart , Mathilde Bureau, Isabelle Baldi, Pierre Lebailly
Abstract
Objectives: Despite growing concerns about pesticide-related health risks among agricultural workers, exposure assessment studies have largely focused on pesticide application tasks, overlooking a wide range of activities involving potential indirect exposure, such as contact with treated crops or contaminated equipment (e.g., sowers and tractors). To address these gaps, the Pestexpo-TALDA study aimed to characterize pesticide exposure during routine workdays over a full year among 40 agricultural workers, using multiple exposure matrices, and to identify exposure determinants by production system (open field, cattle, or viticulture), season, and tasks. This analysis focused on preliminary results obtained in Normandy.
Material and Methods: The field study was conducted between 2023 and 2025. Dermal exposure was assessed by handwashing performed at three time points (morning, midday, evening) on one workday per month for 12 months. Samples were analysed for 300 pesticides and metabolites using five analytical methods, with LOQ ranging from 0.001 to 0.05 µg/L. Participant and farm characteristics were collected at baseline, and tasks performed during each sampling period were reported.
Results: A total of 421 hand-wash samples were analysed from 19 agricultural workers, including 6 open-field, 9 mixed crop-livestock, and 4 organic dairy farms. The number of molecules quantified per participant over the year was 33 (range: 5–74), and 3 per sample (i.e., per half-day session; range: 0–42), with differences between production systems (p < 0.001). Similarly, median quantity per sample was higher for open-field (11.7 µg) compared to mixed crop-livestock (2.3 µg) and organic dairy farms (0 µg) (p < 0.001). Only 7% of samples were collected on days when pesticide application was reported, highlighting potential exposure during non-application tasks.
Conclusion: Analyses of task effects and seasonality are ongoing. Exposure assessment will be extended by integrating data from other exposure matrices (urine and silicone wristbands), and from the viticulture sector.
Development of a Quantitative Job Exposure Matrix for standing, walking, and bending for pregnant workers
Hannah Nørtoft Frankel (presenter)
Esben Meulengracht Flachs, Camilla Sandal Sejbaek, Jonathan Aavang Petersen, Jens Peter Bonde, Ingrid Sivesind Mehlum, Mette Korshøj, Susan Peters, Magnus Svartengren, Pasan Hettiarachchi, Peter J. Johansson, , Alex Burdorf, Luise Mølenberg Begtrup,
Abstract
Background Occupational physical activity (OPA) during pregnancy has been linked to adverse pregnancy outcomes, but crude exposure assessment remains an issue in causal inference. We aimed to develop a quantitative trimester-specific job exposure matrix (JEM) for standing, walking, and forward bending, among pregnant workers.
Methods Accelerometer measurements from 403 female workers within 109 DISCO-08 job codes were obtained between January 2023 and June 2024 in Denmark. Full workdays were measured during two weeks in pregnant workers and one week in non-pregnant workers. To estimate exposure levels of occupational standing, walking and forward bending for all 1171 DISCO-08 codes, we included expert ratings, age and trimester as fixed effects, and job codes and workers as random effects in linear mixed-effects models.
Results The between-job variances relative to total variances were 56% for standing, 51% for walking and 45% for forward bending. The fixed effects age and trimester reduced standing time with 0.02 hours/year, and 0.38 hours during 3rd trimester, respectively whereas no differences were observed for walking or forward bending. Including expert ratings in the final models reduced between-job variances with 50% for standing and forward bending, and 17% for walking. Based on the trimester-specific JEM for standing, bakers had the highest exposure (range 5.41-5.03 hours). For walking and forward bending, the highest exposed jobs were waiters (1.76 hours) and livestock/dairy producers (1.24 hours), respectively.
Conclusion The JEM enhances independent objective exposure assessment in epidemiological studies of OPA and pregnancy outcomes and may advance guidelines and potentially prevent adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Occupational exposure to diesel engine exhaust emissions among bicycle couriers operating in the City of Milan, Italy
Luca Boniardi (presenter)
Valeria Mardonez, Laura Renzi, Cecilia Magnani, Marco Rapuano, Marco Zanatta, Camila Perfetti, Angela Marinoni, Michele Carugno, Angela Pesatori, Silvia Fustinoni and Laura Campo
Abstract
Introduction Due to prolonged and direct contact with vehicle traffic, exposure to diesel engine exhaust emissions poses an occupational risk for workers in the logistics sector. Bicycle couriers, a growing and increasingly recognized workforce in urban environments, are particularly at risk due to the high ventilation rate and physical effort required by their job.
Objective To assess the exposure of bicycle couriers to diesel exhaust emissions during last-mile delivery operations in the city of Milan.
Methods Four AE51 micro-aethalometers (Aethlabs) with high temporal resolution (1 s) were used to measure equivalent black carbon (eBC), a tracer of diesel engine emissions. Devices were mounted on four cargo bikes, with sampling tubes fixed to the handlebars. Exposure was monitored over all four seasons, from autumn 2023 to summer 2024, during weekday working hours (9:00–18:00). Instruments were compared regularly during the campaign with a stationary AE33 aethalometer (Magee Scientific) located in traffic-free background sites.
Results and Conclusions This abstract presents preliminary results for the winter season only, considered a worst-case scenario due to typically higher pollution levels. Average BC exposure during work shifts was 4.1 µg/m³, double the background level (2.1 µg/m³) and comparable to the traffic-site reference (4.0 µg/m³). The highest daily average was 6.1 µg/m³. Morning shifts (5.0 µg/m³, max 9.8 µg/m³) showed higher exposure than afternoon shifts (3.2 µg/m³, max 8.2 µg/m³), with peak values from 9:00 to 10:00. Intra-day variability was high (average CV% 33%, max 42%), suggesting a role of routes and timing. While eBC levels remained below the occupational limit defined for elemental carbon (a closely related marker), the findings still highlight a relevant professional risk. Further analysis will model exposure, focusing on spatial and temporal determinants such as urban layout, routes, road types, and meteorological factors.
Exposure of asphalt workers paving with different types of PMB asphalts including a new bio asphalt
Hilde Notø (presenter)
Kristin Helmersmo, Anniken Sandvik, Dag Ellingsen
Abstract
Introduction Asphalt used on roads is a complex mixture of chemicals that may cause different adverse health effects for the pavers. Due to increased focus on climate changes the content is rapidly changing from traditional petroleum-based asphalts to types made of renewable materials like plant-based oils. Additives to lower the production temperatures are now common, but new information about the exposure and health effects of these is limited and important to assess.
Methods Whole shift personal exposure of pavers, screed men, material transfer vehicle (MTV) /Shuttle buggy operators, roller and tractor operators and others paving with PMB asphalt at different temperatures are measured regarding respirable and total dust, asphalt smoke, organic (OC) and elemental (EC), carbon, nitrogen dioxid (NO2) during three seasons from 2021-2023 in the Norwegian capitol and its surroundings.
Results The median respirable dust exposure was 0.13, 0.15, 0.07, 0.03 and 0.08 mg/m3 for paver operators, screed men, material transfer vehicle operators, roller/tractor drivers, and other workers respectively. Their total dust exposure was 0.21, 0.26, 0.15, 0.09, 0.10 mg/m3, while the OC concentrations were 0.24, 0.21, 0.17, 0.08, 0.14 mg/m3. The asphalt smoke exposure was 0.04, 0.05, 0.04, 0.01, 0. 0.01 mg/ m3. Nor negligible amounts of EC were detected and NO2 was mainly found during paving in tunnels. High asphalt temperatures generally result in more exposure than at lower temperatures, with the bio oil giving the lowest exposure
Conclusion Lowering the temperature and adding bio oil seem to decrease the exposure when paving with these PMB asphalts.
Improved pesticide exposure assessment in a Norwegian agricultural cohort: integrating exposure from applications, re-entry tasks and livestock production
Joanne Kim (presenter)
Isabelle Baldi, Laura Beane Freeman, Pierre Lebailly, Karl-Christian Nordby, Joachim Schüz, Hans Kromhout
Abstract
Introduction: Accurate retrospective pesticide exposure assessment is essential in agricultural epidemiology, particularly when investigating diseases with long latency such as cancer. In the Cancer in the Norwegian Agricultural Population (CNAP) cohort, previous assessments assumed uniform pesticide use for all registered active ingredients (AIs) across crops and over registration years. We aimed to refine assessment for selected active ingredients (AIs) by adding probability, frequency and intensity, and incorporating exposure from applications, re-entry and livestock production.
Methods: We constructed an exposure algorithm informed by pesticide registration data, sales records (1967–2022), and expert input. Sales records and expert input informed the calculation of use probabilities when multiple AIs were registered per crop. Experts also provided historical and cultural insights on division of application and re-entry tasks by gender.
Result: For crop application, we estimated AI-, crop-, and year-specific use probabilities, combined with application frequency and formulation dose data to assign annual and cumulative applicator exposure for male farmers. Re-entry exposure was assigned to farm holders and spouses cultivating orchard or greenhouse crops, accounting for AI-specific dissipation rates and crop-specific contamination factors. Livestock-related exposure was estimated using veterinary insecticide sales data, weighted by livestock type and herd size, and assigned to individuals reporting livestock production. The algorithms produced harmonized, AI-specific cumulative exposure estimates for over 245,000 Norwegian farm holders and spouses. Incorporation of re-entry exposure revealed frequent pesticide contact among female farmworkers. The livestock exposure matrix provided additional exposure differentiation for selected insecticides used in livestock farming.
Conclusion: We created comprehensive exposure assessment algorithms for CNAP that improve specificity, reduce misclassification, and strengthen ongoing harmonized analyses of cancer risks within an international consortium of agricultural cohorts.