Current nitrogen dioxide exposures among railroad workers

Journal Article · Sat Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1989 · American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/15298668991374787· OSTI ID:5471247

Woskie, S R; Hammond, S K; Smith, T J; Schenker, M B ^[1]

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1. Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA (USA)

As part of a series of epidemiologic studies of the mortality patterns of railroad workers, various air contaminants were measured to characterize the workers' current exposures to diesel exhaust. Nitrogen dioxide (NO{sub 2}), which is a constituent of diesel exhaust, was examined as one possible marker of diesel exposure. An adaptation of the Palmes personal passive sampler was used to measure the NO{sub 2} exposures of 477 U.S. railroad workers at four railroads. The range of NO{sub 2} exposures expressed as the arithmetic average +/- two standard errors for the five career job groups were as follows: signal maintainers, 16-24 parts per billion (ppb); clerks/dispatchers/station agents, 23-43 ppb; engineers/firers, 26-38 ppb; brakers/conductors, 50-74 ppb; and locomotive shop workers, 95-127 ppb. Variations among railroads and across seasons were not significant for most job groups.

• OSTI ID: 5471247
• Journal Information: American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal; (USA), Journal Name: American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal; (USA) Vol. 50:7; ISSN AIHAA; ISSN 0002-8894
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

500200 -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
560300* -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
AIR POLLUTION
AIR SAMPLERS
BODY
CHALCOGENIDES
DIESEL ENGINES
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ENGINES
EPIDEMIOLOGY
EQUIPMENT
EXHAUST GASES
FLUIDS
GASEOUS WASTES
GASES
HEAT ENGINES
INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES
LUNGS
MORTALITY
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN DIOXIDE
NITROGEN OXIDES
OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE
ORGANS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PERSONNEL
POLLUTION
RAILWAYS
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
SAMPLERS
TOXICITY
WASTES