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. 2025 Jan 8;69(1):48-58.
doi: 10.1093/annweh/wxae082.

Measurements of dust and respirable crystalline silica during indoor demolition and renovation

Affiliations

Measurements of dust and respirable crystalline silica during indoor demolition and renovation

Johanne Ø Halvorsen et al. Ann Work Expo Health. .

Abstract

Increased focus on renovating and maintaining the existing building stock is an integral part of the circular economy, however this might pose challenges to workers health. The aim of this study was to assess the renovation workers' exposure to inhalable dust, thoracic dust, respirable dust, and respirable crystalline silica (RCS). Personal aerosol samples were collected as full shift samples from 92 workers to a total of 407 samples. Fourteen locations around Oslo, Norway was visited for multiple days with repeated measurements of the same individual. Particulate matter from 3 aerosol fractions, respirable, thoracic, and inhalable, were analyzed gravimetrically, and the respirable fraction was analyzed for RCS by NIOSH 7500 method for X-ray diffraction (XRD) with low temperature plasma ashing sample preparation. The total measured concentrations of respirable dust (n = 192) had a geometric mean (GM) of 0.88 mg/m3, RCS concentrations (n = 182) had a GM of 0.040 mg/m3, thoracic dust (n = 131) had GM 2.4 mg/m3, and inhalable dust (n = 84) had a GM of 8.5 mg/m3. The maximum measured concentrations were 29 mg/m3, 3.2 mg/m3, 65 mg/m3, and 163 mg/m3, respectively. Workdays involving tasks such as mechanical demolition and clearing out demolished materials led to the highest exposure levels of both dust and RCS. However, other workers at the renovation sites were indirectly exposed to a considerable amount of RCS. This study revealed substantial exposure to both RCS and dust during renovation, and protective measures are warranted to reduce exposure levels in the industry.

Keywords: construction industry; exposure assesment; particulate matter; quartz; respirable dust; respirable silica.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest relating to the material presented in this article. Its contents, including any opinions and/or conclusions expressed, are solely those of the authors.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Air dust concentrations (mg/m3) for the inhalable dust, thoracic dust, respirable dust, and respirable crystalline silica based on exposure scenarios (primary, secondary, and indirect) for the complete sample sets (n = 81). Significance was tested using Wilcoxon test with P < 0.001 marked “***,” and P < 0.05 marked with “*.”

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