Seminário: O perigo do ar que se respira no trabalho

 

 

• Title: Variation in worker air pollutant exposure across seven occupations in Londrina
• Lecturer: Dr. Woodrow Pattinson (CNPq Young Talent Researcher)
• Date and Time: March 15th, at 1:30 pm
• Place: Lecture Hall, Building B, 1st floor

This seminar will be presented in English

Abstract: This research investigated exposure differences between various occupational settings in Londrina. Concentrations of black carbon (BC), fine and ultrafine particulates (PM2.5 and UFPs), total volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and ozone (O3) were measured for an entire week (~45 hrs) at a pharmacy, highway police station, central office building, hair & beauty salon, gas station, shoe repair store and also inside the public bus which travels to and from UTFPR. These results have provided a strong indication of quantifiable and statistically significant differences in pollutant concentrations between these environments, most of which are impacted by both specific local sources and common sources originating from traffic, biomass burning, waste burning and industrial activity. In addition to on-site measurements, this study assessed the impact of smoke arriving from outside of the city using data from background instrumentation at UTFPR, fire spot mapping and air mass trajectory modelling tools. The results of this work show that average VOC exposure for hair and beauty salon workers could be up to 4 times higher than for office workers in the city. For shoe repair workers, the difference is even wider at up to 11 times greater, likely due to the materials used and a lack of ventilation systems. Black carbon, largely originating from traffic sources [in the city context], was found to be 3.5 times higher for the UTFPR bus and for a pharmacy situated on a Sergipe St corner, than inside the clean office environment. This suggests that some workers are disproportionately exposed to pollutants that are associated with potentially serious long-term health impacts.