Exposure to silica, arsenic, and chromium (VI) in cement workers: a probability health risk assessment

Cement mineral dust contains a variety of carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic substances. The study aimed to determine the probability of health risk among cement workers due to respirable silica (Si), arsenic (As), and chromium (Cr) VI dust exposure. A cross-sectional study was carried out among 123 cement workers. A personal air sampling pump was used to assess respirable cement dust exposure. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used for As, and Cr analysis, and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) was used for Si analysis. The Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide levels and lung function test were obtained by using NIOX MINO and Chestgraph H1-105 spirometer. Risk assessment was calculated by using the incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) and non-cancerous hazard quotient (HQ). The geometric mean and standard deviation of respirable Si and Cr dust concentrations were 5.27 ± 2.36 mg m–3 and 1.53 ± 2.47 mg m–3, respectively, in manufacturing workers. The mean concentration for As in administrative workers was 0.07 ± 0.02 mg m–3. After controlling for confounders, the abnormalities of FVC% predicted and FEV1% predicted were significantly associated with the respirable Si dust among cement workers (OR = 6.913; CI = 1.965–24.322 and OR = 18.320; CI = 3.078–109.027). FENO concentrations in administrative workers were significantly influenced by the exposure to respirable Si dust (R2 = 0.584, p = 0.006). Manufacturing workers had a high probability of getting cancer due to Si exposure in cement respirable dust at 29.81 × 10–4 times compared to administrative workers at 4.14 × 10–4 times. After reducing for control factors, the probability of manufacturing workers reduced to 0.45 × 10–4 times. As and Cr (VI) dust exposures among cement workers had a probability of cancer risk of 7.49 × 10–4 and 44.09 × 10–4 times, respectively, after reducing for control factors. The non-cancerous disease risk of the workers from exposure to cement mineral dust exceeded the acceptance limit (HQ > 1). Cement workers were at high risk of developing cancerous and non-cancerous diseases due to exposure while working. Cement workers were highly exposed to respirable Si, As, and Cr dust above the permissible exposure limit.

Text (Abstract) CEMENT.pdf Download (67kB) Official URL or Download Paper: https://aaqr.org/articles/aaqr-19-12-baq-0656

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