Risk assessment of workers exposed to respirable crystalline silica in silica crushing units in Azandarian industrial zone, Hamadan, Iran
-
Ali Poormohammadi
,
Effat Sadat Mir Moeini
,
Mohammad Javad Assari
,
Salman Khazaei
,
Saed Bashirian
,
Mohsen Abdulahi
,
Ghasem Azarian
,
Fereshteh Mehri
Abstract
Introduction: Azandarian industrial zone with about 40 active silica crushing units is one of the largest industrial area in Hamadan province, Iran.
Materials and methods: In this study, the personal exposure of workers in the activated silica crushing units was measured. Assessing the risk of mortality due to exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS) in the workplace was then estimated through measuring the personnel exposure in accordance with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 7601 method. Moreover, the mortality rate of lung cancer and risk of mortality due to exposure to RCS were estimated.
Results: Based on the results, the average exposure of employees to RCS in the crushing units was in the range of 1.70 -0.14 mg/m3. As observed, the lowest and highest exposure was obtained for the admission unit and sandstone, respectively. In general, it can be inferred that in all studied occupation positions, the exposure level was higher than the recommended standard (0.25 mg/m3). As can be seen, the carcinogenic risk level for the exposed workers was in the range 2-26/1000. The results of risk assessment showed that the highest risk level was related to the stamping machine operator unit and the lowest was related to the administrative unit.
Conclusion: Therefore, the workers working in high-risk units such as stamping machine operator and stone separation operator are more likely to suffer from adverse health complications such as silicosis, lung cancer and other respiratory complications.
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Respirable Crystalline Silica in Crushing Factories.
Journal of Occupational Hygiene Engineering
Volume. 2021;7(4):53-60.
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risk assessment. Occupational and Environmental
Medicine. 2002;59(1):36-43.
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Occupational and environmental medicine.
2002;59(11):723-8.
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S, Alimi R. Risk assessment of exposure to silica
dust in building demolition sites. Safety and health
at work. 2016;7(3):251-5.
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Camp J. Silica exposure on construction sites:
results of an exposure monitoring data compilation
project. Journal of occupational and environmental
hygiene. 2006;3(3):144-52.
19. Chen W, Zhuang Z, Attfield MD, Chen BT,
Gao P, Harrison JC, Fu C, Chen JQ, Wallace WE.
Exposure to silica and silicosis among tin miners
in China: exposure-response analyses and risk
assessment. Occupational and environmental
medicine. 2001 Jan 1;58(1):31-7.
20. Azari MR, Rokni M, Salehpour S, Mehrabi YE,
Jafari MJ, Naser MA, Movahedi M, Ramezanka,
Hatami H, Mousavianm, Ramezani B. Risk
assessment of workers exposed to crystalline silica
aerosols in the east zone of Tehran. 2009.
21. Rice FL, Park R, Stayner L, Smith R, Gilbert
S, Checkoway H. Crystalline silica exposure
and lung cancer mortality in diatomaceous earth
industry workers: a quantitative risk assessment.
Occupational and environmental medicine.
2001;58(1):38-45.
22. Attfield MD, Costello J. Quantitative exposureresponse
for silica dust and lung cancer in Vermont
granite workers. American journal of industrial
medicine. 2004;45(2):129-38.
23. Cox J, Louis Anthony. An exposure‐response
threshold for lung diseases and lung cancer caused
by crystalline silica. Risk Analysis: An International
Journal. 2011;31(10):1543-60.
24. Esfahani M, Bashirian S, Mehri F, Khazaei
S. Association between Silica Exposure and
Cardiovascular Disease Mortality: A Meta-
Analysis. The Journal of Tehran University Heart
Center. 2020;15(4):157-63.
25. Askaripour Talib KA, Pahlavan Dariush,
Jandaghi Jafar, Kazemi Elahe. Health hazard
assessment of occupational exposure to crystalline
silica in a ceramic tile production complex.
Occupational Medicine. 2013; 6 (2): 44-53. .
26. Papp J. Quality Management in the Imaging
Sciences E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences; 2018
Sep 11.
27. Das TK. Industrial Environmental Management:
Engineering, Science, and Policy. John Wiley &
Sons; 2020 Feb 26.
JJB, Fernández LC, Fernández AP. Guidelines
for the diagnosis and monitoring of silicosis.
Archivos de Bronconeumología (English Edition).
2015;51(2):86-93.
2. Rice FL. Respirable Crystalline Silica—
Phase 1: Variability in fibrogenic potency and
exposure–response relationships for silicosis.
Hazard assessment document. EH75/4 Health
& Safety Executive 2002. ISBN 0 7176 2374 2.
80 pp. Respirable Crystalline Silica—Phase 2:
Carcinogenicity. Hazard assessment document.
EH75/5 Health & Safety Executive 2003. ISBN 0
7176 2191 X. 91 pp.
3. Goldsmith DF, Winn DM, Shy CM. Silica,
silicosis, and cancer. 1986.
4. Kauppinen T, Toikkanen J, Pedersen D, Young
R, Ahrens W, Boffetta P, Hansen J, Kromhout
H, Blasco JM, Mirabelli D, de la Orden-Rivera
V. Occupational exposure to carcinogens in the
European Union. Occupational and environmental
medicine. 2000 Jan 1;57(1):10-8.
5. Omidianidost A, Ghasemkhani M, Azari MR,
Golbabaei F. Assessment of Occupational Exposure
to Dust and Crystalline Silica in Foundries. Tanaffos.
2015;14(3):208-12.
6. Croissant JG, Butler KS, Zink JI, Brinker CJ.
Synthetic amorphous silica nanoparticles: toxicity,
biomedical and environmental implications. Nature
Reviews Materials. 2020;5(12):886-909.
7. Leung CC, Yu IT, Chen W. Silicosis. The Lancet.
2012;379(9830):2008-18.
8. Mehri F, Jenabi E, Bashirian S, Shahna FG,
Khazaei S. The association between occupational
exposure to silica and risk of developing rheumatoid
arthritis: a meta-analysis. Safety and Health at Work. 2020;11(2):136-42.
9. Stolt P, Padyukov L, Kallberg H, Lundberg
I, Klareskog L, Alfredsson L. Silica exposure is
associated with increased risk of a restricted subgroup
of rheumatoid arthritis linked to antibodies
to cyclic citrullinated peptides. In Arthritis and
Rheumatism 2005 Sep 1 (Vol. 52, No. 9, pp.
S404-S404). 111 River St, HOBOKEN 07030-
5774, NJ USA: Wiley-Blackwell.
10. Mohammadi P, Abbasinia M, Assari MJ,
Oliaei M. The toxicology of silica nanoparticles: A
review. Toxicological & Environmental Chemistry.
2018;100(3):285-316.
11. Stolt P, Yahya A, Bengtsson C, Källberg H,
Rönnelid J, Lundberg I, Klareskog L, Alfredsson
L, EIRA Study Group. Silica exposure among
male current smokers is associated with a high
risk of developing ACPA-positive rheumatoid
arthritis. Annals of the rheumatic diseases. 2010 Jun
1;69(6):1072-6.
12. Hoy RF, Chambers DC. Silica‐related diseases
in the modern world. Allergy. 2020;75(11):2805-17.
13. Respirable crystalline silica by IR (KBr Pellet):
Method 7602 I, dated 25 July 2017 - Page 5 of 7.
14. Assari MJ, Shahna FG, Pourmohammadi A,
Chavoshi E, Karami Z. Application of Arc-GIS
for Zoning of Occupational Exposure Levels to
Respirable Crystalline Silica in Crushing Factories.
Journal of Occupational Hygiene Engineering
Volume. 2021;7(4):53-60.
15. Park R, Rice F, Stayner L, Smith R, Gilbert
S, Checkoway H. Exposure to crystalline silica,
silicosis, and lung disease other than cancer in
diatomaceous earth industry workers: a quantitative
risk assessment. Occupational and Environmental
Medicine. 2002;59(1):36-43.
16. Steenland K, Attfield M, Boffetta P, Checkoway
H, DeKlerk N, Koskela RS. Exposure-response
analysis and risk assessment for silica and silicosis
mortality in a pooled analysis of six cohorts.
Occupational and environmental medicine.
2002;59(11):723-8.
17. Normohammadi M, Kakooei H, Omidi L, Yari
S, Alimi R. Risk assessment of exposure to silica
dust in building demolition sites. Safety and health
at work. 2016;7(3):251-5.
18. Flanagan ME, Seixas N, Becker P, Takacs B,
Camp J. Silica exposure on construction sites:
results of an exposure monitoring data compilation
project. Journal of occupational and environmental
hygiene. 2006;3(3):144-52.
19. Chen W, Zhuang Z, Attfield MD, Chen BT,
Gao P, Harrison JC, Fu C, Chen JQ, Wallace WE.
Exposure to silica and silicosis among tin miners
in China: exposure-response analyses and risk
assessment. Occupational and environmental
medicine. 2001 Jan 1;58(1):31-7.
20. Azari MR, Rokni M, Salehpour S, Mehrabi YE,
Jafari MJ, Naser MA, Movahedi M, Ramezanka,
Hatami H, Mousavianm, Ramezani B. Risk
assessment of workers exposed to crystalline silica
aerosols in the east zone of Tehran. 2009.
21. Rice FL, Park R, Stayner L, Smith R, Gilbert
S, Checkoway H. Crystalline silica exposure
and lung cancer mortality in diatomaceous earth
industry workers: a quantitative risk assessment.
Occupational and environmental medicine.
2001;58(1):38-45.
22. Attfield MD, Costello J. Quantitative exposureresponse
for silica dust and lung cancer in Vermont
granite workers. American journal of industrial
medicine. 2004;45(2):129-38.
23. Cox J, Louis Anthony. An exposure‐response
threshold for lung diseases and lung cancer caused
by crystalline silica. Risk Analysis: An International
Journal. 2011;31(10):1543-60.
24. Esfahani M, Bashirian S, Mehri F, Khazaei
S. Association between Silica Exposure and
Cardiovascular Disease Mortality: A Meta-
Analysis. The Journal of Tehran University Heart
Center. 2020;15(4):157-63.
25. Askaripour Talib KA, Pahlavan Dariush,
Jandaghi Jafar, Kazemi Elahe. Health hazard
assessment of occupational exposure to crystalline
silica in a ceramic tile production complex.
Occupational Medicine. 2013; 6 (2): 44-53. .
26. Papp J. Quality Management in the Imaging
Sciences E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences; 2018
Sep 11.
27. Das TK. Industrial Environmental Management:
Engineering, Science, and Policy. John Wiley &
Sons; 2020 Feb 26.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 6 No 3 (2021): Summer 2021 | |
| Section | Original Research | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.18502/japh.v6i3.8234 | |
| Keywords | ||
| Azandarian industrial zone; Risk assessment; Lung cancer; Workers; Silica crushing | ||
| Rights and permissions | |
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
How to Cite
1.
Poormohammadi A, Mir Moeini ES, Assari MJ, Khazaei S, Bashirian S, Abdulahi M, Azarian G, Mehri F. Risk assessment of workers exposed to respirable crystalline silica in silica crushing units in Azandarian industrial zone, Hamadan, Iran. JAPH. 2022;6(3):225-232.
