Occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica at an underground copper mine in Zambia.

IF 1.8 4区医学 Q3 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH Annals Of Work Exposures and Health Pub Date : 2024-12-10 DOI:10.1093/annweh/wxae096

Lubinda Nabiwa, Stephanus J L Linde, Adrian Habanyama, Patrick Hayumbu, Mwaba Sifanu, Masilu Daniel Masekameni

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Abstract

Introduction: Overexposure to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) can lead to the development of silicosis and other respiratory diseases. The mine under study was reported to have the highest number of certified cases of pneumoconiosis in Zambia in 2015, and in 2008, a study revealed that 56% of the RCS samples exceeded 0.05 mg/m3. This study aims to assess occupational exposure to RCS at this underground copper mine.

Method: In this cross-sectional study, personal exposure monitoring was conducted using National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's methods 0600 and 7602 (KBr pellet), and 114 samples were collected. Gravimetric analysis of respirable dust (RD) samples and quantification of RCS were performed at an ISO 17025:2005 accredited analytical laboratory. BOHS-NVvA 2022 standard was used for determining activity areas' overexposure.

Results: The median, 95th percentile (P95), and maximum (Max) RD concentrations were 0.279, 1.650, and 3.7 mg/m3, respectively. For the RCS exposure, the median, P95, and Max RCS exposure concentrations were 0.02, 0.179, and 0.548 mg/m3, respectively. Thirteen (11.7%) of the 111 samples had exposure exceeding the Republic of South Africa (RSA) TWA-OEL of 0.1 mg/m3, and 11 out of 18 activity areas were statistically overexposed to RCS when applying the BOHS-NVvA 2022 standard.

Discussion: The number of RCS samples exceeding 0.05 mg/m3 reduced from the 67% recorded in 2008 to 32.4% in this study. One factor that could have led to this reduction is the mine not working at full capacity during the sampling period. However, the lack of adherence to the occupational health and safety (OHS) guidelines by the miners still leads to personal exposure above the limits set by various countries.

Conclusion: Exposure to RCS in more than half of the activity areas was not under control. Routine RCS monitoring in Zambian mines should be mandatory, as this is not an isolated case, though it is more of a challenge at this mine because of the high percentage of RCS in RD samples (18.5%). Miners should be continuously trained on the importance of adhering to the OHS guidelines. Furthermore, Zambia should consider adopting the RSA occupational exposure limit for RCS and the BOHS-NVvA 2022 standard for exposure level compliance testing.

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赞比亚地下铜矿职业性暴露于可吸入结晶二氧化硅。

过度暴露于可呼吸性结晶二氧化硅（RCS）可导致矽肺病和其他呼吸系统疾病的发展。据报道，正在研究的矿井在2015年是赞比亚尘肺病确诊病例最多的矿井，2008年的一项研究显示，56%的RCS样本超过0.05 mg/m3。本研究旨在评估该地下铜矿的RCS职业暴露。方法：采用横断面研究方法，采用国家职业安全卫生研究所方法0600和7602 （KBr颗粒）进行个人暴露监测，收集114份样本。呼吸性粉尘（RD）样品的重量分析和RCS的定量在ISO 17025:2005认可的分析实验室进行。采用BOHS-NVvA 2022标准确定活动区域的过度暴露。结果：中位、第95百分位（P95）和最大（Max） RD浓度分别为0.279、1.650和3.7 mg/m3。RCS暴露的中位数、P95和最大RCS暴露浓度分别为0.02、0.179和0.548 mg/m3。111个样本中有13个（11.7%）的暴露量超过了南非共和国（RSA）的TWA-OEL 0.1 mg/m3，在应用BOHS-NVvA 2022标准时，18个活动区域中有11个统计上过度暴露于RCS。讨论：RCS样品超过0.05 mg/m3的数量从2008年的67%下降到本研究的32.4%。可能导致这种减少的一个因素是，在抽样期间，矿山没有满负荷工作。然而，由于矿工没有遵守职业健康和安全准则，个人接触量仍然超过了各国规定的限度。结论：超过一半的活动区域暴露于RCS没有得到控制。在赞比亚矿山进行常规RCS监测应该是强制性的，因为这不是一个孤立的案例，尽管由于RD样品中RCS的比例很高（18.5%），这在该矿山更具挑战性。矿工应不断接受培训，了解遵守职业健康安全指导方针的重要性。此外，赞比亚应考虑采用RCS的RSA职业暴露限值和BOHS-NVvA 2022暴露水平符合性测试标准。

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来源期刊

Annals Of Work Exposures and Health Medicine-Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

CiteScore

4.60

自引率

19.20%

发文量

期刊介绍： About the Journal Annals of Work Exposures and Health is dedicated to presenting advances in exposure science supporting the recognition, quantification, and control of exposures at work, and epidemiological studies on their effects on human health and well-being. A key question we apply to submission is, "Is this paper going to help readers better understand, quantify, and control conditions at work that adversely or positively affect health and well-being?" We are interested in high quality scientific research addressing: the quantification of work exposures, including chemical, biological, physical, biomechanical, and psychosocial, and the elements of work organization giving rise to such exposures; the relationship between these exposures and the acute and chronic health consequences for those exposed and their families and communities; populations at special risk of work-related exposures including women, under-represented minorities, immigrants, and other vulnerable groups such as temporary, contingent and informal sector workers; the effectiveness of interventions addressing exposure and risk including production technologies, work process engineering, and personal protective systems; policies and management approaches to reduce risk and improve health and well-being among workers, their families or communities; methodologies and mechanisms that underlie the quantification and/or control of exposure and risk. There is heavy pressure on space in the journal, and the above interests mean that we do not usually publish papers that simply report local conditions without generalizable results. We are also unlikely to publish reports on human health and well-being without information on the work exposure characteristics giving rise to the effects. We particularly welcome contributions from scientists based in, or addressing conditions in, developing economies that fall within the above scope.