Opportunities and challenges in reducing personal inhalation exposure to air pollution among electronic waste recovery workers in Ghana

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoey Laskaris ◽  
Stuart A. Batterman ◽  
John Arko‐Mensah ◽  
Bhramar Mukherjee ◽  
Julius N. Fobil ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Electronic Waste ◽  
Inhalation Exposure ◽  
Waste Recovery

scholarly journals Derivation of Time-Activity Data Using Wearable Cameras and Measures of Personal Inhalation Exposure among Workers at an Informal Electronic-Waste Recovery Site in Ghana

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (8) ◽  
pp. 829-841 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoey Laskaris ◽  
Chad Milando ◽  
Stuart Batterman ◽  
Bhramar Mukherjee ◽  
Niladri Basu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electronic Waste ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Inhalation Exposure ◽  
Kappa Statistic ◽  
Work Environments ◽  
World Health ◽  
Activity Data ◽  
Waste Recovery ◽  
Time Activity ◽  
Wearable Cameras

Abstract Objectives Approximately 2 billion workers globally are employed in informal settings, which are characterized by substantial risk from hazardous exposures and varying job tasks and schedules. Existing methods for identifying occupational hazards must be adapted for unregulated and challenging work environments. We designed and applied a method for objectively deriving time-activity patterns from wearable camera data and matched images with continuous measurements of personal inhalation exposure to size-specific particulate matter (PM) among workers at an informal electronic-waste (e-waste) recovery site. Methods One hundred and forty-two workers at the Agbogbloshie e-waste site in Accra, Ghana, wore sampling backpacks equipped with wearable cameras and real-time particle monitors during a total of 171 shifts. Self-reported recall of time-activity (30-min resolution) was collected during the end of shift interviews. Images (N = 35,588) and simultaneously measured PM2.5 were collected each minute and processed to identify activities established through worker interviews, observation, and existing literature. Descriptive statistics were generated for activity types, frequencies, and associated PM2.5 exposures. A kappa statistic measured agreement between self-reported and image-based time-activity data. Results Based on image-based time-activity patterns, workers primarily dismantled, sorted/loaded, burned, and transported e-waste materials for metal recovery with high variability in activity duration. Image-based and self-reported time-activity data had poor agreement (kappa = 0.17). Most measured exposures (90%) exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) 24-h ambient PM2.5 target of 25 µg m−3. The average on-site PM2.5 was 81 µg m−3 (SD: 94). PM2.5 levels were highest during burning, sorting/loading and dismantling (203, 89, 83 µg m−3, respectively). PM2.5 exposure during long periods of non-work-related activities also exceeded the WHO standard in 88% of measured data. Conclusions In complex, informal work environments, wearable cameras can improve occupational exposure assessments and, in conjunction with monitoring equipment, identify activities associated with high exposures to workplace hazards by providing high-resolution time-activity data.

scholarly journals Electronic waste recovery in Finland: Consumers’ perceptions towards recycling and re-use of mobile phones

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 374-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenni Ylä-Mella ◽  
Riitta L. Keiski ◽  
Eva Pongrácz
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Electronic Waste ◽  
Waste Recovery

Evaluación de la exposición de ciclistas a la contaminación del aire: una revisión de la literatura

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 771-777
Author(s):  
Oscar D. Díaz-Fonseca ◽  
Nestor Y. Rojas-Roa ◽  
Alba I. Rodriguez-Pulido
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Environmental Exposure ◽  
Inhalation Exposure ◽  
Environmental Pollutants

Objetivos Describir e interpretar las metodologías y resultados de los principales estudios relacionados con el monitoreo de contaminación atmosférica en ciclistas.Métodos Se buscaron y analizaron las investigaciones a nivel nacional e internacional de los últimos diez años en las bases de datos Cochrane, Scopus, Embase, Science Direct y Pubmed. La búsqueda se realizó de Agosto a Septiembre del año 2017 usando los siguientes descriptores de búsqueda para MeSH: air pollution, bicycling, environmental exposure, enviromental health, inhalation exposure, environmental pollutants, transportation, public health y toxicology, y para DeCS: contaminación del aire, ciclismo, exposición a riesgos ambientales, contaminantes ambientales, inhalación, transportes, salud pública y toxicología.Resultados Se identificaron diecinueve artículos publicados elegibles. La mayoría de los estudios se realizaron en Europa y Estados Unidos. En Latinoamérica se han reportado cuatro estudios. Otros estudios buscaban comparar la exposición en distintas rutas en bicicleta, comparar trayectos de una misma ruta, y otros determinar la relación distancia vs exposición. De igual manera, variables como el tráfico vehicular, la distancia a las fuentes de emisión y el tipo de ciclorruta, juegan un papel fundamental en la exposición a contaminantes en ciclistas.Conclusiones Se encontraron diversas variables que influyen de forma directa o indirectamente en la exposición a la contaminación del aire de los usuarios de bicicleta, así como algunos factores que pueden reducir la exposición a estos contaminantes. 

scholarly journals Air Pollution Particulate Matter Alters Antimycobacterial Respiratory Epithelium Innate Immunity

2015 ◽  
Vol 83 (6) ◽  
pp. 2507-2517 ◽  
Author(s):  
César E. Rivas-Santiago ◽  
Srijata Sarkar ◽  
Pasquale Cantarella ◽  
Álvaro Osornio-Vargas ◽  
Raúl Quintana-Belmares ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Immune Responses ◽  
Inhalation Exposure ◽  
A549 Cells ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Ambient Air Pollution ◽  
Alveolar Type ◽  
Content Type

Inhalation exposure to indoor air pollutants and cigarette smoke increases the risk of developing tuberculosis (TB). Whether exposure to ambient air pollution particulate matter (PM) alters protective human host immune responses againstMycobacterium tuberculosishas been little studied. Here, we examined the effect of PM from Iztapalapa, a municipality of Mexico City, with aerodynamic diameters below 2.5 μm (PM2.5) and 10 μm (PM10) on innate antimycobacterial immune responses in human alveolar type II epithelial cells of the A549 cell line. Exposure to PM2.5or PM10deregulated the ability of the A549 cells to express the antimicrobial peptides human β-defensin 2 (HBD-2) and HBD-3 upon infection withM. tuberculosisand increased intracellularM. tuberculosisgrowth (as measured by CFU count). The observed modulation of antibacterial responsiveness by PM exposure was associated with the induction of senescence in PM-exposed A549 cells and was unrelated to PM-mediated loss of cell viability. Thus, the induction of senescence and downregulation of HBD-2 and HBD-3 expression in respiratory PM-exposed epithelial cells leading to enhancedM. tuberculosisgrowth represent mechanisms by which exposure to air pollution PM may increase the risk ofM. tuberculosisinfection and the development of TB.

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