Monitoring fine particles and nanoparticles at the workplace - the role of biomarkers and alternative tools

暴露在环境中的细和超细颗粒，包括纳米材料，与各种健康影响有关，如心血管和呼吸系统疾病。世界卫生组织认为，职业性接触致癌物约占肺癌的8%，接触空气中的颗粒物占慢性阻塞性肺疾病死亡人数的12%。我的计划旨在开发新的方法来评估工作场所空气颗粒物的暴露，以帮助健康和安全专业人员就工人保护做出明智的决定。我的计划有三个主要目标：1)开发用户友好的决策支持系统，以预测工人的暴露情况，并通过基于网络的工具将其提供给工人和健康和安全专业人员；2)开发在工作场所收集和分析空气中纳米材料的标准方法；3)评估生物液体中的化学物质作为暴露于空气中颗粒物的标志的使用情况。收集和分析样本既耗时又昂贵。通常，小型工作场所和独立工作人员承担不起测量空气污染物暴露的费用。基于网络的工具可以补充工作场所监测，并帮助工人和卫生和安全专业人员就使用额外保护做出明智的决定。同样，生物体液比空气样本更容易收集，在所接受的剂量上也更具代表性。因此，生物体液中的化学物质可能更能代表真实的暴露。卫生和安全专业人员有必要开发新的标准方法来确定暴露在空气中的纳米材料，因为目前只有一种现有方法。我的计划可以帮助工人和健康和安全专业人员确定或估计暴露，并就所需的保护类型做出明智的决定。这将有助于减少工人接触有毒空气中的颗粒物，从而减少因工作场所暴露而导致的呼吸系统疾病的发生。最后，它将有助于降低与这些呼吸道疾病相关的成本。

Exposure to ambient fine and ultrafine particles, including nanomaterials, has been linked to various health effects such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. The World Health Organization considers that occupational exposure to carcinogens accounts for about 8% of lung cancers and exposure to airborne particulates accounts for 12% of deaths due to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. My program aims at developing new methodology to assess exposure to airborne particles at the workplace in order to help health and safety professionals make informed decision on workers' protection. My program has three main objectives: 1) to develop user friendly decision support systems to predict workers' exposure, and make it available to workers and health and safety professionals through web-based tools; 2) to develop standard methods for the collection and analysis of airborne nanomaterials at the workplace; and 3) to assess the use of chemicals in biological fluids as markers of exposure to airborne particles. Collecting and analyzing samples is time consuming and expensive. Often, small workplaces and independent workers cannot afford to measure exposure to airborne contaminants. Web-based tools can complement workplace monitoring and help workers and health and safety professionals make informed decisions on the use of additional protection. Similarly, biological fluids are easier to collect and more representative on the dose received than air samples. Therefore, chemicals in biological fluids maybe be more representative of real exposure. Developing new standard methods are necessary for health and safety professionals to determine exposure to airborne nanomaterials as there is currently only one existing method. My program can help workers and health and safety professionals determine or estimate exposure and make informed decision on the type of protection needed. It will help reduce workers' exposure to toxic airborne particles, thus reducing the occurrence of respiratory diseases due to workplace exposure. Finally, it will help reduce costs associated with these respiratory diseases.