Title: | Occupational exposure during treatment of offshore drilling waste and characterization of microbiological diversity |
Author(s): | Daae HL; Heldal KK; Madsen AM; Olsen R; Skaugset NP; Graff P; |
Address: | "National Institute of Occupational Health, Pb 5330 Majorstuen, N-0304 Oslo, Norway. The National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Lerso Parkalle 105, DK-2100 Copenhagen O, Denmark. National Institute of Occupational Health, Pb 5330 Majorstuen, N-0304 Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: pal.graff@stami.no" |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.131 |
ISSN/ISBN: | 1879-1026 (Electronic) 0048-9697 (Linking) |
Abstract: | "The exposure for workers handling and recycling offshore drilling waste are previously not described, and given the potential for exposure to hazardous components, there is a need for characterizing this occupational exposure. In this study five plants recycling offshore drilling waste with different techniques were included. Measurements were conducted in both winter and summer to include seasonal exposure variations. Altogether >200 personal air-exposure measurements for oil mist, oil vapor, volatile organic compounds (VOC), hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S) and solvents were carried out respectively. Microorganisms related to drilling waste were identified in bulk samples and in stationary air measurements from two of the plants. The exposure to oil mist and oil vapor were below 10% of the current Norwegian occupational exposure limits (OEL) for all measured components. The plants using the Resoil or TCC method had a statistically significant higher exposure to oil vapor than the plant using complete combustion (p-value <0.05). No statistically significant difference was found between the different treatment methods for oil mist. The exposure to solvents was generally low (additive factor?ª+ª+0.03). Endotoxin measurements done during winter showed a median concentration of 5.4 endotoxin units (EU)/m(3). Levels of H(2)S above the odor threshold of 0.1?ª+ppm were measured at four plants. Both drill mud and slop water contained a high number and diversity of bacteria (2-4?ª+x?ª+10(4) colony forming unit (CFU)/mL), where a large fraction was Gram-negative species. Some of the identified microorganisms are classified as potentially infectious pathogens for humans and thus might be a hazard to workers" |
Keywords: | "Air Pollutants, Occupational/*analysis Biodiversity Endotoxins/*analysis *Environmental Monitoring *Extraction and Processing Industry Humans Norway Occupational Exposure/*analysis/statistics & numerical data Volatile Organic Compounds/analysis Endotoxin;" |
Notes: | "MedlineDaae, Hanne Line Heldal, Kari Kulvik Madsen, Anne Mette Olsen, Raymond Skaugset, Nils Petter Graff, Pal eng Netherlands 2019/05/24 Sci Total Environ. 2019 Sep 1; 681:533-540. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.131. Epub 2019 May 11" |