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Barbecue Grill Workers Occupational Exposure to Particulate-Bound Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

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Occupational and Environmental Safety and Health

Part of the book series: Studies in Systems, Decision and Control ((SSDC,volume 202))

Abstract

During a regular working day, grill workers are exposed to the emissions of charcoal-fired cooking activities, which include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that are among the most health relevant compounds. Thus, in this work, the particulate matter at the breathing air zone of grill workers from a barbecue restaurant was sampled and the concentration of eighteen particulate-bound PAHs was determined by liquid chromatography with fluorescence and diode array detection. Median level of total PAHs (ΣPAHs) during 5 consecutive hours of exposure to barbecue fumes was 77.2 ng/m3 (maximum values of 261 ng/m3). Benzo(g,h,i)perylene, phenanthrene, and acenaphthylene were the most abundant compounds (82.7% of ΣPAHs). Levels of benzo(a)pyrene and total carcinogenic PAHs (naphthalene, benz(a)anthracene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(j)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, benzo(a)pyrene, chrysene, and indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene) varied between 0.03–0.79 ng/m3 and 2.10–36.7 ng/m3, respectively. Grill worker’s exposure to PAHs was well below the existent PAHs occupational threshold limit value of 200 µg/m3 proposed by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists for an 8-h of exposure to coal tar pitch volatiles. Some preventive measures such as adequate maintenance of barbecue ventilation system, regular wash of workers exposed skin and the use of clean working clothes can contribute to reduce grill worker’s occupational exposure to PAHs.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by European (FEDER funds through COMPETE) and National funds through Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia project UID/QUI/50006/2013. Authors are thankful to all grill operators that participated in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. REQUIMTE-LAQV, Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, 4249-015, Porto, Portugal

    Marta Oliveira, Sílvia Capelas, Cristina Delerue-Matos & Simone Morais

  2. Ibero Massa Florestal, 3720-584, Oliveira de Azeméis, SA, Portugal

    Sílvia Capelas

  3. CIETI-Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, 4249-015, Porto, Portugal

    Isabel Brás Pereira

Authors
  1. Marta Oliveira
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  2. Sílvia Capelas
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  3. Cristina Delerue-Matos
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  4. Isabel Brás Pereira
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  5. Simone Morais
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Simone Morais .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. DPS, School of Engineering, University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal

    Pedro M. Arezes

  2. DEM, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    João S. Baptista

  3. DPS, School of Engineering, University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal

    Mónica P. Barroso

  4. DPS, School of Engineering, University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal

    Paula Carneiro

  5. DPS, School of Engineering, University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal

    Patrício Cordeiro

  6. DPS, School of Engineering, University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal

    Nélson Costa

  7. Faculty of Human Kinetics, Technical University of Lisbon, Cruz Quebrada–Dafundo, Portugal

    Rui B. Melo

  8. DPS, School of Engineering, University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal

    A. Sérgio Miguel

  9. Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Gonçalo Perestrelo

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Oliveira, M., Capelas, S., Delerue-Matos, C., Pereira, I.B., Morais, S. (2019). Barbecue Grill Workers Occupational Exposure to Particulate-Bound Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons. In: Arezes, P., et al. Occupational and Environmental Safety and Health. Studies in Systems, Decision and Control, vol 202. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14730-3_22

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14730-3_22

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-14730-3

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