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Development of a total hydrocarbon ordinal job-exposure matrix for workers responding to the Deepwater Horizon disaster: The GuLF STUDY
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Development of a total hydrocarbon ordinal job-exposure matrix for workers responding to the Deepwater Horizon disaster: The GuLF STUDY

Patricia A Stewart, Mark R Stenzel, Gurumurthy Ramachandran, Sudipto Banerjee, Tran B Huynh, Caroline P Groth, Richard K Kwok, Aaron Blair, Lawrence S Engel and Dale P Sandler
Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology, v 28(3), pp 223-230
May 2018
PMID: 29064482
url
https://europepmc.org/articles/pmc6104396View
Accepted (AM)Open Access (License Unspecified) Open

Abstract

Air Pollutants, Occupational - analysis Air Pollution - analysis Cohort Studies Disasters Environmental Monitoring - methods Gulf of Mexico Humans Hydrocarbons - analysis Occupational Exposure - analysis Particulate Matter - analysis Petroleum Pollution Surveys and Questionnaires
The GuLF STUDY is a cohort study investigating the health of workers who responded to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The objective of this effort was to develop an ordinal job-exposure matrix (JEM) of airborne total hydrocarbons (THC), dispersants, and particulates to estimate study participants' exposures. Information was collected on participants' spill-related tasks. A JEM of exposure groups (EGs) was developed from tasks and THC air measurements taken during and after the spill using relevant exposure determinants. THC arithmetic means were developed for the EGs, assigned ordinal values, and linked to the participants using determinants from the questionnaire. Different approaches were taken for combining exposures across EGs. EGs for dispersants and particulates were based on questionnaire responses. Considerable differences in THC exposure levels were found among EGs. Based on the maximum THC level participants experienced across any job held, ∼14% of the subjects were identified in the highest exposure category. Approximately 10% of the cohort was exposed to dispersants or particulates. Considerable exposure differences were found across the various EGs, facilitating investigation of exposure-response relationships. The JEM is flexible to allow for different assumptions about several possibly relevant exposure metrics.

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34 citations in Scopus

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Environmental Sciences
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Toxicology
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