Acute Health Effects and Occupational Exposure from Asphalt Paving

• Activity Number: 215
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Tuesday, August 13, 2002 : 12:00 PM to 1:50 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Statistics in Epidemiology*
• Author(s): H. Feng*+ and Allison Tepper and Greg Burr
• Affiliation(s): National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Keywords: asphalt ; exposure ; acute effects ; symptoms scores ; repeated measures

Abstract

This study examines associations between acute irritant symptoms and exposure to two types of asphalt used during road paving, conventional (CON) and crumb-rubber-modified (CRM). The main measure of exposure was air bonne total particulates (TP); several other specific air bonne contaminants also were assessed. A repeated measurement design was utilized, with each worker contributing 2 person days of observation. A total of 84 person-days were CON-exposed and 96 person-days were CRM-exposed. A symptoms score (the sum of all occurrences during the day) was calculated for each of the following symptoms: eye, nose, and throat irritation, cough, shortness of breath, and wheeze. The exposure-response associations were assessed by linking symptom scores with contaminant levels. Results from mixed model analysis suggests that asphalt type was associated with eye, nose, and throat irritation, and with cough. CRM exposure was associated with increased symptom occurrence. Controlling for asphalt type, TP was associated with nose irritation. These results suggest the need for improving exposure controls for asphalt paving workers.