Browsing by Author "Hardy, Emilie"
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- HBM4EU chromates study: overall results and recommendations for the biomonitoring of occupational exposure to hexavalent chromiumPublication . Santonen, Tiina; Porras, Simo P.; Bocca, Beatrice; Bousoumah, Radia; Duca, Radu Corneliu; Galea, Karen S.; Godderis, Lode; Göen, Thomas; Hardy, Emilie; Iavicoli, Ivo; Janasik, Beata; Jones, Kate; Leese, Elizabeth; Leso, Veruscka; Louro, Henriqueta; Majery, Nicole; Ndaw, Sophie; Pinhal, Hermínia; Ruggieri, Flavia; Silva, Maria J.; van Nieuwenhuyse, An; Verdonck, Jelle; Viegas, Susana; Wasowicz, Wojciech; Sepai, Ovnair; Scheepers, Paul T.J.; Aimonen, Kukka; Antoine, Guillaume; Anzion, Rob; Burgart, Manuella; Castaño, Argelia; Cattaneo, Andrea; Cavallo, Domenico Maria; De Palma, Giuseppe; Denis, Flavien; Gambelunghe, Angela; Gomes, Bruno; Hanser, Ogier; Helenius, Riikka; Ladeira, Carina; López, Marta Esteban; Lovreglio, Piero; Marsan, Philippe; Melczer, Mathieu; Nogueira, Ana; Pletea, Elisabeta; Poels, Katrien; Remes, Jouko; Ribeiro, Edna; Santos, Sílvia Reis; Schaefers, Françoise; Spankie, Sally; Spoek, Robert; Rizki, Mohamed; Rousset, Davy; van Dael, Maurice; Veijalainen, HennaExposure to hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] may occur in several occupational activities, e.g., welding, Cr(VI) electroplating, and other surface treatment processes. The aim of this study was to provide EU-relevant data on occupational Cr(VI) exposure to support the regulatory risk assessment and decision-making. In addition, the capability and validity of different biomarkers for the assessment of Cr(VI) exposure were evaluated. The study involved nine European countries and involved 399 workers in different industry sectors with exposures to Cr(VI) such as welding, bath plating, applying or removing paint, and other tasks. We also studied 203 controls to establish a background in workers with no direct exposure to Cr(VI). We applied a cross-sectional study design and used chromium in urine as the primary biomonitoring method for Cr(VI) exposure. Additionally, we studied the use of red blood cells (RBC) and exhaled breath condensate (EBC) for biomonitoring of exposure to Cr(VI). Personal measurements were used to study exposure to inhalable and respirable Cr(VI) by personal air sampling. Dermal exposure was studied by taking hand wipe samples. The highest internal exposures were observed in the use of Cr(VI) in electrolytic bath plating. In stainless steel welding, the internal Cr exposure was clearly lower when compared to plating activities. We observed a high correlation between chromium urinary levels and air Cr(VI) or dermal total Cr exposure. Urinary chromium showed its value as a first approach for the assessment of total, internal exposure. Correlations between urinary chromium and Cr(VI) in EBC and Cr in RBC were low, probably due to differences in kinetics and indicating that these biomonitoring approaches may not be interchangeable but rather complementary. This study showed that occupational biomonitoring studies can be conducted successfully by multi-national collaboration and provide relevant information to support policy actions aiming to reduce occupational exposure to chemicals.
- HBM4EU chromates study: usefulness of measurement of blood chromium levels in the assessment of occupational Cr(VI) exposurePublication . Ndaw, Sophie; Leso, Veruscka; Bousoumah, Radia; Rémy, Aurélie; Bocca, Beatrice; Duca, Radu Corneliu; Godderis, Lode; Hardy, Emilie; Janasik, Beata; van Nieuwenhuyse, An; Pinhal, Hermínia; Poels, Katrien; Porras, Simo P.; Ruggieri, Flavia; Santonen, Tiina; Santos, Sílvia Reis; Scheepers, Paul.T.J.; Silva, Maria João; Verdonck, Jelle; Viegas, Susana; Wasowicz, Wojciech; Iavicoli, Ivo; Aimonen, Kukka; Antoine, Guillaume; Anzion, Rob; Burgart, Manuella; Cattaneo, Andrea; Cavallo, Domenico M.; Costa, Alcina; De Palma, Giuseppe; Denis, Flavien; Forte, Giovanni; Gambelunghe, Angela; Hanser, Ogier; Ladeira, Carina; Leese, Elisabeth; Lehtinen, Risto; Louro, Henriqueta; Lovreglio, Piero; Majery, Nicole; Marsan, Philippe; Melczer, Mathieu; Miranda, Armandida; Ribeiro, Edna; Schaefers, Françoise; Senofonte, Marta; Seuanes, Filomena; van Dael, Maurice; Velin, RiittaOccupational exposures to hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) can occur in welding, hot working stainless steel processing, chrome plating, spray painting, and coating activities. Recently, within the human biomonitoring for Europe initiative (HBM4EU), a study was performed to assess the suitability of different biomarkers to assess the exposure to Cr(VI) in various job tasks. Blood-based biomarkers may prove useful when more specific information on systemic and intracellular bioavailability is necessary. To this aim, concentrations of Cr in red blood cells (RBC-Cr) and in plasma (P–Cr) were analyzed in 345 Cr(VI) exposed workers and 175 controls to understand how these biomarkers may be affected by variable levels of exposure and job procedures. Compared to controls, significantly higher RBC-Cr levels were observed in both plating and paint application workers, but not in welders, while all the 3 groups had significantly greater P–Cr concentrations. RBC-Cr and P–Cr in chrome platers showed a high correlation with Cr(VI) in inhalable dust, outside respiratory protective equipment (RPE), while such correlation could not be determined in welders. In platers, the use of RPE had a significant impact on the relationship between blood biomarkers and Cr(VI) in inhalable and respirable dust. Low correlations between P–Cr and RBC-Cr may reflect a difference in kinetics. This study showed that Cr-blood-based biomarkers can provide information on how workplace exposure translates into systemic availability of Cr(III) (extracellular, P–Cr) and Cr(VI) (intracellular, RBC-Cr). Further studies are needed to fully appreciate their use in an occupational health and safety context.