Volume 7, Issue 4 (Winter 2021)                   johe 2021, 7(4): 53-60 | Back to browse issues page

XML Persian Abstract Print

Download citation:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
Assari M J, Ghorbani Shahna F, Poormohammadi A, Chavoshi E, Karami Z. Application of Arc-GIS for Zoning of Occupational Exposure Levels to Respirable Crystalline Silica in Crushing Factories. johe 2021; 7 (4) :53-60
URL: http://johe.umsha.ac.ir/article-1-645-en.html
Application of Arc-GIS for Zoning of Occupational Exposure Levels to Respirable Crystalline Silica in Crushing Factories
Mohammad Javad Assari * 1, Farshid Ghorbani Shahna2 , Ali Poormohammadi3 , Ebrahim Chavoshi4 , Zahra Karami5
1- Health Sciences Research Center, Department of Occupational Health, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran , Asari@umsha.ac.ir
2- Center of Excellence for Occupational Health, Occupational Health and Safety Research Center, Department of Occupational Health, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran
3- Health Sciences & Technology Research Institute, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran
4- Biosystems Engineering Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamadan, Hamadan, Iran
5- Department of Occupational Health, School of public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran
Abstract:   (3404 Views)
Background and Objective: Silica crushing is a process based on crushing, sieving, and granulating various types of siliceous rocks. The inhalation of silica dust leads to silicosis by imposing structural changes and irreversible fibrosis in the lung tissues. The crystalline silica is classified as a human carcinogen (Group 1) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Azandaryân region, Hamadan Province, Iran, is one of the largest silica production units in Iran with 40 silica crushing factories. This study was conducted to investigate the application of Arc-GIS in the zoning of occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) in this region.
Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study, the individual exposure levels to RCS were measured among 16 workers in silica crushing factories according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health method No. 7602. Moreover, 16 air samples were collected and quantified simultaneously to evaluate the environmental concentrations of RCS in the studied factories.
Results: The results showed that the mean score of individual exposure level (2.01±2.61 mg/m3) exceeded the occupational exposure limit proposed by the Iran Technical Committee of Occupational Health for 8 working h (0.025 mg/m3). It was also found that there was a significant difference between the mean of individual exposure concentration and RCS in the different job activities (P=0.001).
Conclusion: The results showed that the individual exposure levels had no significant relationship with environmental concentrations of the RCS. Furthermore, geographic information system had a desirable potential for zoning occupational exposure levels to RCS in workplaces. The findings of this study also emphasized the application of other modeling methods to determine the amount of silica emission in different units of the silica crushing factories.
Keywords: Azandaryân, Crystalline Silica, Exposure Assessment, Geographic Information System, Silica Crushing
Full-Text [PDF 1697 kb]   (1269 Downloads)    
Type of Study: Research Article | Subject: Chemical agents
References
1. Chen W, Liu Y, Wang H, Hnizdo E, Sun Y, Su L, et al. Long-term exposure to silica dust and risk of total and cause-specific mortality in Chinese workers: a cohort study. PLoS Med. 2012;9(4):e1001206. PMID: 22529751 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001206 [DOI] [PubMed]
2. Mozafari A, Rokni M. Exposure to silica, its effects on workers' physiology system and its way of controlling from a professional health perspective. Tehran: Naghsh Gostaran Bahar; 2008. [Persian]
3. EPA U. Ambient levels and noncancer health effects of inhaled crystalline and amorphous silica: health issue assessment. Washington, D.C: US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development; 1996.
4. Jalali M, Zare MJ, Bahrami A, Berijani N, Mahjub H. Analysis of endogenous alkanes and aldehydes in the exhaled breath of workers exposed to silica containing dust. J Occup Hyg Eng. 2015;1(4):19-29. [Persian]
5. Ebrahimi S, Ghazanfari H, Taheri E, Zamani K, Babaeian M, Hassanzadeh A. Prevalence of silicosis and related factors among workers of stone carving workshops in Khomeinishahr, Iran. Health Syst Res. 2013;9(4):362-9.
6. Naghizadeh A, Mahvi A, Jabbari H, Dadpour A, Karimi M. Determination the level of dust and free silica in air of khaf iron stone quarries. Health Environ. 2008;1(1):37-44. [Persian]
7. IARC I. Monographs on the evaluation of the carcinogenic risk of chemicals to humans. Chem Environ Exper Data. 1982;4:50-1.
8. American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists. Threshold limit values for chemical substances and physical agents and biological exposure indices. Washington, D.C: American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists; 2017.
9. Azari M, Ramazani B, Mosavian M, Movahadi M, Salehpour S. Serum malondialdehyde and urinary neopterin levels in glass sandblasters exposed to crystalline silica aerosols. Int J Occup Hyg. 2011;3(1):29-32.
10. Verma DK, Shaw DS. A comparison of international silica (α-quartz) calibration standards by Fourier transform–infrared spectrophotometry. Ann Occup Hyg. 2001;45(6): 429-35. DOI: 10.1093/annhyg/45.6.429 [DOI]
11. Atashnafas M, Atashnafas E. Application of GIS and comprehensive map of the country in the field of health. Univ Med Sci Islam Repub Iran. 2011;8(4):305-13. [Persian]
12. Mohammadi Kaji S, Zare Sakhavidi MJ, Barkhordari A, Mostaghaci M, Zare Sakhavidi F, Ghorbani R. Application of GIS and alignment maps of dust pollution in the workplace in order to evaluate the inhalatin exposures. Occup Med Quart J. 2016;1(8):34-42. [Persian]
13. NIOSH. Manual of analytical method 7602. Silica, crystalline by IR. 4th ed. New York: NIOSH Press; 2003.
14. Bahrami AR, Golbabaei F, Mahjub H, Qorbani F, Aliabadi M, Barghi M. Determination of exposure to respirable quartz in the stone crushing units at Azendarian-west of Iran. Ind Health. 2008;46(4):404-8. DOI: 10.2486/indhealth.46.404 [DOI]
15. Farokhzad M, Ranjbar A, Kheiripour N, Soltanian AR, Assari MJ. Potential in the diagnosis of oxidative stress biomarkers in noninvasive samples of urine and saliva and comparison with serum of persons exposed to crystalline silica. Int Arch Health Sci. 2020;7(2):84-8. DOI: 10.4103/iahs.iahs_37_19 [DOI]
16. Omidianidost A, Gharavandi S, Rezazadeh-Azari M, Hashemian, AH, Ghasemkhani M, Rajati F, et al. Occupational exposure to respirable dust, crystalline silica and its pulmonary effects among workers of a cement factory in Kermanshah, Iran. Tanaffos. 2019;18(2):157-62. PMID: 32440304 [PubMed]
17. Akbar-Khanzadeh F, Brillhart RL. Respirable crystalline silica dust exposure during concrete finishing(grinding) using hand-held grinders in the construction industry. Ann Occup Hyg. 2002;46(3):341-6. PMID: 12176721 DOI: 10.1093/annhyg/mef043 [DOI] [PubMed]
18. Gottesfeld P, Nicas M, Kephart JW, Balakrishnan K, Rinehart R. Reduction of respirable silica following the introduction of water spray applications in indian stone crusher mills. Int J Occup Environ Health. 2008;14(2):94-103. PMID: 18507285 DOI: 10.1179/oeh.2008.14.2.94 [DOI] [PubMed]
Add your comments about this article : Your username or Email:
CAPTCHA
Send email to the article author

Rights and permissions
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

© 2024 CC BY-NC 4.0 | Journal of Occupational Hygiene Engineering

Designed & Developed by : Yektaweb