Study of Cleaners in San Antonio: Immunologic and Inflammatory Responses to Total Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Exposure

摘要 作为家庭清洁工的西班牙裔妇女受到环境和职业的双重限制 危险，因为他们生活和工作的地方，这使得这一特殊的拉美裔群体 很脆弱。据我们所知，研究还没有检查接触挥发性有机物质对健康的影响 在既生活在环境正义社区又作为 家政清洁工。 尽管在这个国家有大量的家庭清洁工，但美国劳动法通常将家庭清洁工排除在外，因此 除其他外，他们受到的保护有限：组织、赚取最低工资或加班费、有固定的 休息时间，以及健康和安全的工作环境。在德克萨斯州(TX)尤其如此，它位居 这些工人数量最多的州，但他们在德克萨斯州的年平均工资是 国家。此外，国内清洁工，特别是在南得克萨斯州，绝大多数是少数族裔，主要是 西班牙裔或拉丁裔女性。 作为家庭清洁工工作的妇女受到一些环境和职业危害的影响。 例如，接触清洁产品中的危险化学品，如挥发性有机化合物(VOCs)， 与呼吸结果有关(例如，喘息、哮喘、上呼吸道/下呼吸道) 激怒)。VOCs在环境中也无处不在，室内和邻近环境代表 个人总接触的重要决定因素，即使在职业接触者中也是如此。因此，除了 与工作相关的VOC暴露，作为家庭清洁工的西班牙裔女性可能会经历“双重危险”， 在他们的家庭环境中可能有大量的VOC暴露。 我们的长期目标是减轻环境和职业危害以及相关健康的负担。 易受伤害的西班牙裔妇女的结果。这项研究的目的是使用社区参与的 确定影响个人空气VOC的个人、职业和邻里层面因素的方法 在德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥这一负担过重的拉美裔妇女群体中进行接触，并探索两者之间的联系 在这些暴露于炎症和氧化应激生物标志物之间。我们将通过以下方式实现这一目标 与基层组织Doméstias Unidas建立持续的学术-社区伙伴关系 它提供了针对西班牙裔女性工作的外展和教育活动，这些女性往往是无证的 在圣安东尼奥，主要是做家政清洁工。本研究的目的是(1)评估个人的空气中挥发性有机化合物暴露。 以及高危拉美裔女性中炎症和氧化应激的生物标记物；(2)评估关键的、潜在的 家庭和工作场所高危拉美裔妇女个人空气VOC暴露的可修改决定因素，以及； 评估个人空气VOC暴露与炎症和氧化应激生物标记物的相关性 在高危的西班牙裔女性中。

ABSTRACT Hispanic women working as domestic cleaners are subject to both environmental and occupational hazards because of where they live and work, and this makes this particular group of Hispanics especially vulnerable. To our knowledge, studies have not examined the health impact of exposures to volatile organic compounds (VOC) among Hispanic women who both live in environmental justice neighborhoods and work as domestic cleaners. Despite their large numbers in this country, US labor laws generally exclude domestic cleaners and thus they have limited protections to, among other things: organize, earn minimum wage or overtime pay, have regular breaks, and a healthy and safe work environment. This is particularly true in Texas (TX) which ranks among the states with the highest number of these workers, yet their annual mean wage in TX is among the lowest in the nation. Also, domestic cleaners, particularly in South Texas, are overwhelmingly minorities and are primarily Hispanic or Latina women. Women working as domestic cleaners are subject to a number of environmental and occupational hazards. For example, exposure to hazardous chemicals in cleaning products, such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which have been associated with respiratory outcomes (e.g., wheeze, asthma, upper/lower respiratory tract irritation). VOCs are also ubiquitous in the environment and the indoor and neighborhood environments represent important determinants of total personal exposure, even among occupationally exposed person. Thus, in addition to work-related VOC exposure, Hispanic women working as domestic cleaners may experience `double jeopardy', with potentially significant VOC exposures in their home environments. Our long-term goal is to reduce the burden of environmental and occupational hazards and related health outcomes among vulnerable Hispanic women. The objective of this study is to use a community-engaged approach to characterize individual, occupational, and neighborhood-level factors that influence personal air VOC exposure among this overburdened group of Hispanic women in San Antonio, Texas, and to explore associations between these exposures with biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress. We will achieve this goal through an ongoing academic-community partnership with a grassroots organization, Domésticas Unidas, an organization that provides outreach and educational activities targeted toward Hispanic, often undocumented, women working in San Antonio, primarily as domestic cleaners. The aims of this study are to (1) Assess personal air VOC exposure and biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress among at-risk Hispanic women; (2) Evaluate key, potentially modifiable, determinants of personal air VOC exposure of at-risk Hispanic women at home and work, and; (3) Evaluate the association of personal air VOC exposure with biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress among at-risk Hispanic women.